Curated OER
True Admissions
Students examine affirmative action and study the diversity of their own classrooms and communities, then of a particular college or university. They write essays examining how colleges should increase the diversity of their student bodies.
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Online and Off the Record
Students evaluate how effectively teen Web sites abide by privacy protections of the studenT Online Privacy Protection Act. They write letters to the Webmasters offering recommendations for improving the privacy and appeal of the sites...
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We Were Here First
Students explore the legal and historical experience of native peoples living in the United States. They write a letter to their United States senator commenting on the Hawaiian bill using information gathered during their research.
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Liberty, Equality, Uniformity?
Students examine the French draft law to ban religious symbols from public schools. They research "secularist" and "pluralist" positions regarding this ban, debate the topic in class, and draft a position paper on the ban.
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Connecting Immigrants In Black And White
Young scholars explore the many ways that ethnic newspapers help immigrants in the United States stay connected to their cultures and countries of origin. They write articles for ethnic newspapers.
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The East Africa Times
Students work in teams as editors to design the front page of a newspaper covering a country in east Africa. They individually research and write articles that define modern life for the country's citizens.
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The Science of Aging
Students reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging and...
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Typecasting Roles
Students read and discuss various news articles where an element of surprise was present about the criminal and the crime. They research a news story, present the information in the form of a newscast, and write an opinion piece.
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Muddle East
Students explore the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. They research various perspectives, discuss the events in context, and write statements from the perspective of a country or organization involved.
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Safe and Secure: More or Less?
Students discuss what they believe to be the state of security of the nation since September 11, 2001. Reading articles on security, they gather insight into new reports on security. They write letters to major newspapers expressing...
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The Rules of the Game
Students debate whether college athletes should be held to a higher behavioral standard than non-athletes. Students determine whether behavior outside of school should be punishable by university administration, then write letters to the...
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Dedication to Douglass
Students study the controversy surrounding the proposed Frederick Douglass Circle monument in Central Park. They review the notion of historical inaccuracy by reading and discussing the article, "In Douglass Tribute, Slave Folklore and...
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A Hard Sell on Stem Cells?
Learners examine their prior knowledge of cell regeneration and therapeutic use of stem cells. After reading an article, they discover new techniques for deriving embryonic stem cells. In groups, they research on the different types of...
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Mending the Rift
Students determine what factors identify a country's political borders. After reading an article, they investigate questions surrounding the Great Rift Valley. On a map, they trace the valley from Asia through Africa and research the...
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East Meets West: Americans on the Move
Students imagine what it was like to be part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this Lewis and Clark Expedition lesson, students watch "East Meets West: Americans on the Move," and then write journal entries from the perspective of...
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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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Back to the Classics
Students closely examine chamber music as it has changed from the Middle Ages to today. They work in small groups to research the composers, instruments and typical presentation in 5 time periods. They write biographies and share their...
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A Distant View
Students investigate the essential concepts of how lenses work to magnify vision, and then build simple telescopes to demonstrate their understanding. They write a description of how their telescope could be improved and how it works.
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Fighting for Fair Farming
Students consider various economic terms, examine the impact of subsidies on farmers and other industries, write essays explaining the subsidy process, and illustrate through posters how subsidies affect both domestic and foreign markets.
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Homegrown Terror
Students investigate history of domestic terrorism in six European countries; they analyze and write about differences between terrorist acts planned and committed by a country's citizens and those planned by groups or individuals...
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Sparking History
Learners create exhibits about patriotic symbols for a living museum. They write reflective essays exploring the themes and symbols of independence and their influences on social responsibility.
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2002: The Year In Review
Young scholars research and create a book highlighting significant events and trends throughout the world in the year 2002. Then, through creative writing, they respond to the events or trends themselves and how they affected our world.
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Art as Therapy
Students explore how they connect with artwork on an emotional level through writing and the creation of an original piece of art.
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Won't You Be My (E-)Neighbor?
Students explore the concepts of community, belonging and human relationships through an Internet application designed to foster neighborly relations and write a persuasive statement to recruit others to join their community.