This acitvity is meant to be used in conjunction with the article "A Fire Waiting to Be Lit: The Origins of World War I." In this activity, students role play members of a commission who read experts' differing assessments on blame for World War I and decide which country, if any, was responsible for the war. The article can be accessed at: http://www.crf-usa.org/resources/a-fire-waiting-to-be-lit-the-origins-of-world-war-i

In 1095, Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade, calling forth knights and peasants from across Western Europe to march against Muslim Turks in the Byzantine Empire and ultimately ?re-conquer? the holy city of Jerusalem. In this lesson, students compare Christian and Muslim perspectives of the First Crusade by analyzing different accounts of the siege of Jerusalem.

Students examine newly uncovered research on what took place during those 13 days in the fall of 1962. They?ll decide whether the crisis, a turning point in the Cold War, stands as an example of cool leadership under pressure or a cascade of error and miscalculation. Extension activities allow them to dig deeper into factors that made the Cuban missile crisis such a turning point, and explore continuing or potential conflicts that might put today?s world at similar risk.

Suggestions on how to guide students through the writing process when writing editorials "” from brainstorming a topic to publishing their work "” and all the steps in between.

In this lesson, students explore the free exercise clause in the first amendment by reading about various court cases throughout history. Discussion questions are provided. In an associated close-reading activity, students will review the two tests used by the Supreme Court in the Sherbert and Smith cases and apply the tests to the 1972 case of Wisconsin v. Yoder.

This activity engages students in an analysis of the 2008 speech by Barack Obama on race. Students will then create an annotated version of the speech that has them analyze and comment upon Obama's use of history, rhetoric, and language in his message. Students can also create a hypertext of this assignment in order to publish works in different media.

This lesson-plan focuses on students analyzing, critiquing, and examining the language and meanings of historical and cultural documents such as The Pledge of Allegiance and the First Amendment. Through this activity they will also examine the impact and meaning of language, as well as the relevance of the meaning behind the words of each document. All handouts are downloadable and printable from this site.

This lesson is the first of a two-part series focused on how scientists perform their work. These lessons make use of a book called The Frog Scientist, by Pamela S. Turner. Students will read the book and view and analyze supplemental resource materials to better understand how scientists are using the scientific method to study human environmental impact.

Students consider how ordinary citizens contributed to and experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall. They then develop scrapbooks depicting how people experienced the wall and use the books as symbolic bricks in building a classroom Berlin Wall.

In this lesson, students consider how ordinary citizens contributed to and experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall. They then develop scrapbooks depicting how people experienced the wall and use the books as symbolic bricks in building a classroom Berlin Wall.

Students are introduced to Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" by reading "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss. After reading the picture book, students discuss the historical allusions as a class and identify its main satirical theme. Students then work in small groups to find additional background information and present it to the class. They chart details from the book and link each one to the historical information they have discovered. Students then repeat this process with "Gulliver's Travels," eventually discovering the overall message that the text communicates about society.

Students will gain the ability to recognize important names of the enlightenment and will understand the basic idea that the order of society was changed from a system of government in which people served the government to a system that envisioned the government serving the people that formed it.

Students will read scientific text about top predators in Arctic marine ecosystems and how they may be affected by global climate change. Students will work individually or collaboratively to write a report based on the scientific text they have read and participate in a large-group discussion session based on their analysis.

In this lesson, students will examine potential benefits and risks of genetically modified (GM) foods. Students conduct an interview at a biotech company, analyze nutritional information on food labels, design enhanced GM food products, and participate in a class debate on the topic. This lesson includes several literacy components, including reading a scientific article, conducting basic research, and writing assignments.

Galileo has long stood as an emblem of intellectual freedom and the triumph of truth over superstition. Yet his achievements can also help students recognize the contingency of even the most inevitable-seeming historical developments and how the consequences of historic turning-points extend into our lives today.

In this lesson, students will read and analyze primary source documents, then participate in a discussion focused on the questions about the scientific method and the nature of Galileo's conflict with authorities in the Roman Catholic Church.

This resource includes a unit lesson designed to provide students with the opportunity to perform a close reading of the Gettysburg Address. The resource includes activities, text-dependent questions, vocabulary and writing assessments.

This video from Shakespeare Uncovered explores the origins, unique characteristics and challenges presented by the 17th century Globe Theatre. Students will take a glimpse into the world of Elizabethan theater by watching actors perform scenes from Shakespeare’s plays on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe, a modern-day replica of the Globe Theatre located one hundred feet from the original.

In this fourth unit of eight total, Think Alouds (pages 27-33 of the pdf), students will apply skills to investigate and understand text.

This cross-curricular resource contains a primary source and a secondary source document on wealth and trade unions. Accompanying the readings are text-dependent questions, an academic vocabulary list, a writing prompt and sample student responses.