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Painting Portraits with Words
Students examine how an exhibition of an author's writings can become a portrait or biography of that author . They work in small groups, analyzing various poems by Yeats.
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Fan(tom) of the Opera
Students explore the ways in which the worlds of popular music and opera can work together to complement the other. They work in small groups to analyze plot, characters, setting and themes of a popular opera using a summary of that...
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A Test Case for Individual Rights
Students examine the different points of view regarding testing students for drug use. They then work in pairs to create and perform dialogues that flesh out two sides of the argument around this controversial issue.
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Cyber Skills
Young scholars, in groups, design and develop Web sites dedicated to special skills traditionally taught by humans rather than by technology. They write Web site reviews that describe and assess their group's envisioned Internet site.
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Is the Internet A Web Of Deceit?
Students become more savvy Web surfers by evaluating the various elements of a Web site to determine its credibility. They conduct a two-part investigation of a Web site, focusing on how one determines if a Web site is credible in...
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Revealing Untold Stories
Young scholars explore how and why various historical resources present information about slavery differently. They work in pairs to examine written texts to interpret the objectives, points of view, and depictions of slavery in these...
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Life Lessons
Students analyze various inspirational statements from graduation commencement speeches, and then write their own speeches that reflect lessons to help students succeed in the next stage of life.
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National Tragedy, Global Response
Students explore how different people on local, national and international levels respond to a destructive natural disaster and the needs of its victims and how various facets of the media cover such an event. The August 1999 earthquake...
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The Roots of American Culture
Students explore the notion of culture and the influence of Latino culture on the U.S. They work in small groups to identify ways that Latino and non-Latino U.S. cultures have engaged in cultural 'cross-fertilization.'
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Alarm as the Clock Ticks Toward 2000
Students explore how various people and businesses are reacting to the potential technological problems that may occur when the year 2000 arrives. They read and compare two related New York Times articles and share their own views of the...
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Making Sense of the World Economy
Students apply the economic principles of supply and demand, market economy, competition, unemployment rate, exports and imports and currency exchange rate to China's present economic success and Russia's economic strife.
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Can I Get A Witness?
Students consider difficulties involved in students testifying in criminal trials. Through first-hand experience in the position of either a witness to a crime or an investigator, students explain how various factors shape a person's...
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Playing with History
Students consider the elements that make computer games compelling, then use these elements to develop game 'narratives' based on historic events.
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Muppets as Mediators
Students explore current social issues in the Middle East to create their own student television programs for Palestinian and Israeli Students.
The New York Times
Kidding Around Down Under
After reading an article, "From an Alternate to a 'Miracle Kid' in a Flash," youngsters discuss the kind of commitment required for a teenager to become an Olympic athlete. A variety of activities is suggested, and the popular topic...
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The Life You Save...
Students identify common warning signs of depression that, if not addressed, could lead to suicidal behavior. They write skits and create booklets in which they document appropriate suicide prevention techniques.
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Know Bones About It!
Students make a model of a major skeletal muscle group. They consider how their life might change if they didn't have, or lack use of, this particular muscle group.
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Get Real!
Young scholars reach a consensus as to what makes a good reality-based TV show. They create their own scenarios for a new such show, and critique it, based on the criteria the class establishes.
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The Long and Short of It
Students take a look back at the week's news by exploring the news summaries article offered in The New York Times' Week in Review section each week. They look further into ongoing news stories of interest to them in order to create...
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The United States in a "School Daze"
Learners identify key issues existing in the American education system, work in committees to speculate on reasons and propose possible solutions for one of these issues, and design campaign posters illustrating the potential outcomes of...
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Race Toward a Cure
Learners come to explain how the presence of a mutation in the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene, along with another acquired sometime after birth, affect the chances developing breast cancer.
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You Can Dig It!
Students act as archeologists to examine, describe and hypothesize about 'artifacts' they have been given for their archeological interpretation. They rely on the descriptions and hypotheses of other students to identify the 'artifacts'...
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Set in Stone?
Students explore how different people interpret the separation of church and state and how these different interpretations affect their actions. They develop group speeches for a town hall meeting and participate in town hall meeting.
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Presidential Places
Students investigate American presidential landmarks throughout the continental United States. They research and analyze American presidential landmarks to determine their value to American history and how they have been preserved over...