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American Girl, Too
Students discuss the popularity of the American Girl dolls and write a wish-list for a nine-year-old girl. After reading an article, they discover the differences between this doll and barbie. As a class, they brainstorm eras or point...
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The Mural of the Story
Students write a description of what they believe is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. After reading an article, they discuss the restoration of the mural on its ceiling. They brainstorm a list of important buildings and write a...
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Portraits of the Artist
Students reflect on the different roles they have for themselves in a journal entry. After reading an article, they discover information on the life of Rembrandt. In groups, they examine the roles of Rembrandt in his self-portrait and...
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Changing of the Guard
Students reflect on their knowledge of democracy. After reading an article, they examine current plans for the placement of a democracy in Iraq. In groups, they research past regime changes and democratization attempts and discuss the...
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Making the Future Present
Students draw and describe a new system for prison surveillance. After reading an article, they discover the use of a wearable computer by prison guards. In groups, they develop a proposal for a new type of technology to be used in a...
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Cuba On My Mind
Students explore the Cuban society, politics, culture, and economy. As a class, they take a look at the Bush administrations policy on Cuba after reading "Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says" from The New York Times....
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Ghosts of Holidays Past
Students write in their journals to analyze the use of nostalgia. After reading an article, they identify aspects that are universal for holidays. They describe and examine their own memories of a specific holiday and interview someone...
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Trading Places
Students examine the tactics used by groups in the United States to lobby Congress. After reading an article, they discuss the efforts of unions and businesses to lobby Congress regarding the vote on China's trading relations with the...
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Digestible Computers
Students examine the pros and cons of 'embedded computing' in the field of medicine. They invent and describe a computer that would be embedded in an individual to improve their education or school and write essays critiquing their...
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It's Up for Debate
In this lesson, students investigate the different platforms of each of the Presidential hopefuls for the 2000 election. Small groups each carefully research the platforms of an assigned candidate and then create a political pamphlet...
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Plagued by Warfare
Students define "biological weapon" and explore why these types of weapons are so dangerous. They also explore the covert shift of American grant research money to an organization that once directed the Soviet Union's germ warfare...
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Stellar Resorts
Learners explore the future of "orbital vacations" and create fanciful tours of the Milky Way Galaxy. Students respond to the following prompt in their journals "Entrepreneurs are currently designing concepts for accommodating tourists...
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A Court Case with Real Appeal
Learners 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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Grozny on Guard
Students react to copies of leaflets dropped into Chechnya by Russian forces. After reading an article, they examine the historical and present conflicts in the area and answer discussion questions. In small groups, they trace how the...
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The ABC's of DNA
Young scholars describe genetics as if they were explaining it to a young child. After reading an article, they discover new discoveries in the human genome project. Using the internet, they research a pair of genetic terms and develop...
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Having the Last Word
Students discuss the influence of foreign languages in their everyday speech after reading an article from The New York Times on language legislation in Brazil. Students are divided into 4 groups in order to research languages spoken...
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Secret Agent Men
What does a secret agent really do? After reading an article, students discover the connection between intelligence and espionage. Using the Internet, they will research the history and motivations of intelligence agencies throughout the...
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Secret Services
Students examine news about an espionage case. They work in small groups to research espionage and spy trials of the Cold War era. Students create oral presentations detailing presentations in specific cases.
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Appliances with Minds of Their Own
Learners examine how everyday appliances might soon possess the capacity "to think" as a result of recent technological advances. A display of their knowledge of this new technology by creating a poster design of a "smart" machine.
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Bugging Out
Students explore how insects behave in their natural habitats and build dioramas to create an Insect World in their classroom. They investigate various insects and the roles they play in the environment. They write creative short...
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Eye on the Storm
Students discover the way geologists collect information about past hurricanes to determine patterns that may help with storm prediction. They then research the history of natural disasters in different regions of the United States and...
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The Historiography on Robert Boyle: Was Boyle the Progenitor of Modern Science?
Young scholars participate in a warm-up activity by attending a football match writing an account of who won the game. They discuss how their account could differ from someone else's account of the game. They discuss how different...
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Cold As Ice
Fourth graders investigate how glaciers cause the weathering of landforms. They observe a brick that has been placed on a frozen slab of ice, and discuss the results, comparing them to the movements of a glacier. In small groups, they...
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Evaporation
Fourth graders study the water cycle and the different processes involved, specifically evaporation. They explore the processes of evaporation through hands-on collaborative activities and relate learning to life through...