Curated OER
Legally Wed
Students explore the controversial topic of same-sex marriages in a fishbowl discussion. They write balanced news articles based on interviews exploring people's opinions on laws that define marriage.
Curated OER
Civil War
Students explore rules of conduct in a political body, first drafting rules that apply to their classroom, then adapting them to political actions in Congress.
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Winning Tickets
Students research background, personal interests, family history, and positions on current issues of the leading presidential and vice presidential candidates. They create unbiased presentations aimed at informing voters about...
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Hollywood Candidate
Students consider how a political candidate creates a campaign image. They, in groups, create short biographical films promoting various candidates currently running for office in the United States.
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Where Will You Be November 2?
Students consider reasons why many Americans do not vote in national elections and explore the increase in new registered voters. They research a particular demographic and create an advertisement encouraging members of that group to vote.
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The Final Countdown
Students examine the United States electoral college system as it applies to the 2004 presidential election. They investigate the impact of the twelve battleground states in the 2004 election and develop informative pamphlets on the...
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Keeping an Appointment
Students studey about Bernard B. Kerik's decision to withdraw his nomination as homeland security secretary by President Bush. They hold a mock vetting process for other potential nominees for this position.
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Love It or Leave It?
Students identify flags by country, then research the symbolism and history of those flags in preparation for writing and delivering oral presentations. For homework, they write essays reflecting on the relationship between flags,...
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Intimidation of a Nation
Learners discuss their understanding of "intimidation." In groups, they analyze and discuss recent terrorist threats to the scheduled democratic elections in Iraq, and then reflect on whether they believe the elections should continue as...
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Get Surreal
Students analyze and write text for audio guides about particular pieces of art from the Surrealism movement.
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The Secret is Out
Students explore ideas about journalism ethics as they relate to Watergate and discuss various issues related to an anonymous source being revealed. They write letters to the public editor of The NY Times about credibility and anonymous...
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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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FINDING A RESOLUTION
Students examine detailed Moon and Earth views provided by the NASA-sponsored "World Wind" computer program. They work in groups to create maps of different scales using landmarks of their choice, and challenge their classmates to...
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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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Fighting Fire With Satire
Students consider satire in the news by exploring various sources of "fake news," and then creating their own political satire in the form of a skit, news article, or cartoon.
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Soldier's Payback
Students examine their thoughts about enlisting in the Army, then consider the question of whether former soldiers should be called up for active duty. They debate the issue in a town hall meeting, and write proposals offering possible...
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Stand Up For Her Rights
Students consider how different cultural and religious groups perceive girls' education. By addressing differences and identifying common ground, students attempt to arrive at a philosophy of girls' education that takes varying...
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Turkey Soup for the Soul
Students read an article that tells how a young man turned his life around through the help of a local charity. They create inspirational scrapbooks and posters to help motivate their peers when they are facing adversity.
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At Your Service
Learners discuss various volunteer activities and read how New York City organizes its volunteer efforts. They create their own databases compiling volunteer opportunities and write reflective essays on how volunteers help their...
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Trial By Wire
Learners identify the arguments on both sides of the new Medicare policy debate over claim hearings. They participate in a mock trial to adjudicate the fairness of the new policy.
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Trading Up?
Students explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...
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Whose Fate at the G-8?
Students explore the 2005 Group of 8 Summit, investigating the member countries' views on the summit issues, as well as the views of the African Union and G-8 protesters. They offer predictions on outcomes of the summit given this...
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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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Happy Ending?
Young scholars explore different perspectives on withdrawing troops from Iraq. They examine the endings and consequences of other major conflicts in modern history to gain further insight into the situation in Iraq and its uncertain end...