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Words of Deep Meaning
Students create their own poems to express a deep feeling or transformative experience, then write imaginary letters to people in the article, responding to their poetry and sharing their own creative process.
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Reviews Revealed
Students discuss the benefits or drawbacks in consulting movie reviews. They analyze movie reviews from The New York Times and create a list of features in effective movie reviews. They write their own movie reviews based on this list.
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Historical Perspective
Students research the different perspectives of important groups and figures involved in the American Revolution and apply their findings to write and perform monologues depicting this pivotal time in history.
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Can Peace Prevail?
Students examine terrorist attacks in Amman, Jordan, and consider how events like these affect the global war against terrorism. They write reflective pieces exploring their own opinions about terrorism and the state of current affairs...
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Use Or Abuse?
Students explain the meaning of "use value" of nature's resources by researching and writing studenT books personifying an aspect of nature. They produce public service announcements regarding use value for their local community.
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Devil May Care?
Students study about a deadly disease decimating the Tasmanian devil population. They research diseases that affect animals and write a fictional story about the animals they researched.
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For Your Dining Pleasure
Students share opinions about their favorite ethnic dishes. They research the cuisine of another culture and write a review of a local restaurant that features that cuisine.
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Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
In this unit, students examine the many different themes in Anne Frank's diary. They connect the themes to their own life and keep a journal to explore the triumphs and challenges in their own life.
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In King's Words
Students analyze writings of Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. They read and discuss an article, and in pairs, research and analyze a written work or speech by Dr. King, create a mixed media collage to represent the text, and write an artist...
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Time Changes Everything
Students analyze census data from 1915, 1967 and 2006. They read an article about how the world's population is growing at an alarming rate. They use primary source documents to create a timeline on the information they gathered. They...
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Discord in Dixieland
Learners brainstorm businesses located in their community, and whether or not their community has been affected by the introduction of chain stores. Students debate the effects that chain retailers have on local businesses and...
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Position Wanted
Learners share their opinions about local job opportunities for people their age. After reading an article about hiring trends, they discuss Google's answer to filling jobs. Class members research and report on an employer that offers...
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The Political is Personal
Learners examine their own political party affiliations and political beliefs. After reading an article, they discuss how students at Duke define their political philosophies. They brainstorm events, people and experiences that have...
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Separation Anxiety
Students examine the instances in history in which groups of people were segregated by race or ethnicity. After reading an article, they discover how apartheid impacted people's attempt to an education. Using the internet, they research...
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Discoveries of Titanic Proportions
Young scholars analyze various statements on the moon. After reading an article, they discuss the findings about a new moon around Saturn. In groups, they re-create a press conference in which the new findings were released to the...
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By Any Other Name
Students examine the differences between the definitions of race and ethnicity defined by the United States government. After reading an article, they discuss the possiblity of the elimination of some races from the 2010 census. They...
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The Aftermath of War
Students share their opinions on the war in Iraq. After reading an article, they identify the thoughts of President Bush on the conflict. In groups, they share their opinions for and against current United States policy in Iraq and the...
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Reaching New Heights
Students consider the impact of genetics on a person's intelligence and appearance. After reading an article, they examine the controversy over using human growth hormones. They debate the approval of using the hormone to increase the...
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Quilt-y Pleasures
Students write about how they preserve memories to share with others. After reading an article, they discuss the role of quilts in society today. They design their own section of quilt that shows an important part of their lives and...
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Read On
Students consider the question "Why do we read?" through creating and sharing individual timelines of their own histories as readers. They then choose a book on which to write a personal essay.
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Literary Wizardry
Students discuss what they already know about the Harry Potter series. After reading an article, they examine a critic's reaction to the latest book in the series. As a class, they brainstorm what parts of their school day could use...
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A Court Case with Real Appeal
Students analyze the United States' current appellate process, with a critical eye focused on possible inequities within the system. They then write letters to a Manhattan district attorney giving their recommendations on how he should...
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Emission Statement
Students investigate the emission of greenhouse gases by industrialized nations. They present their findings in a simulated international global warming conference. They then whether or not the United States should take part in the...
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Sobering Plans
Students explore the rights they give up while in school and then learn about plans to use breath analyzer tests during school hours. They then debate the issues surrounding this topic and write letters to the principal advocating or...