2012

Communism or Capitalism: Which is Best For China - A Command Economy or A Free Market Economy?

Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: In recent years the People’s Republic of China has increasingly adopted capitalist models for its economy with much success. Will China’s leaders be able to hold onto these changes or will they pull back and revert to the command economy of the past?  

Grade level(s): Middle                            Standards: OAS, GFL                        Produced By: Ann Kennedy

The Political Puzzle of Modern Europe

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Students will locate the European nations of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy on a map of Europe along with their capital. They will analyze the types of government systems that each of these countries has and organize these governments on a compare-and-contrast chart.

Grade level(s): Middle  Standards: OAS, GFL                    Produced By: Denise Aguilar

EU Who?

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: The single market economy and common currency provides a unique situation for the European countries that belong to the European Union (EU). This commonality bridges the differences between governments and languages, but presents difficulties for nations with a higher gross domestic product (GDP) in their attempt to assist developing EU countries.

Grade level(s): Middle                          Standards: OAS, GFL                      Produced By: Jayne Marley

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: Most students will know the issues involved in historic migrations to the United States from Europe and Asia, and more recent ones from Central and South America. Fewer know of the issues involved in migrations from much of North Africa and the Arabic-speaking world to Europe. This lesson will provide information to fill those gaps of knowledge and to give students opportunities to improve their skills of visual literacy.

Grade level(s): Middle                          Standards: OAS, GFL                      Produced By: Jayne Marley

Mix-N-Match: Geography Essentials for the Common Core

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: The purpose of this activity is to provide students with a sense of positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, and whole class participation. This is a review activity where half the class has one part of a pair of cards and the other half of the class has the matching card. The students must change positions to find their match. They can review content and have fun at the same time.

Grade level(s): Middle                          Standards: OAS, GFL                      Produced By: Ann Kennedy

A Threat to Northern Africa: Desertification

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Students will examine the process of desertification by identifying important terms relevant to this process. Students will get to analyze the cause and effects of desertification in Northern Africa by studying a regions map of Africa.

 Grade level(s): Middle                             Standards: OAS, GFL               Produced By: Denise Aguilar

China's One Child Policy

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

This lesson focuses on analysis of the causes and effects of China’s population control policies commonly referred to as their “one-child policy."

Grade level(s): Middle                              Standards: OAS, GFL                              Produced By: Janet Hall

Meltdown at Chernobyl

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Students will analyze the effects such an event would have on the environment, not only where it takes place, but in distant places as well, by viewing a video and examining a National Geographic article. Students will determine the changes in the environment of places distant from the explosion site, and organize these effects in a poster project.

Grade level(s): Middle                              Standards: OAS, GFL                              Produced By: Denise Aguilar

Covered in Sand

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: The entire existence of the nomadic pastoralists of the Sahel is based on the ability to move livestock from area to area to secure fresh grazing lands and water. Pressure by governments to change to a life of cultivation, years of drought, and the encroachment of the Sahara on the Sahel is endangering the lifestyle of a marginal group of people who have maintained this existence for over 800 years.

Grade level(s): Middle                          Standards: OAS, GFL                      Produced By: Jayne Marley

Oil at the Crossroads of History

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Students will discover the positive and negative effects of abundant oil reserves in the Middle East by making assumptions and drawing conclusions. Students will then choose a positive or negative effect and further examine their topic with research. They will prepare a brief persuasive essay to present at a class discussion or debate. These activities will also address PALS (Process and Literacy Skills).

Grade level(s): High School                Standards: GFLOAS                              Produced By: Teresa Begley

Nigeria's Ethnic Challenges

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

The first part of this lesson focuses on the pre-colonial ethnic history of Nigeria. The second part looks at how European colonization impacted the area’s development. The third part shifts the focus to modern times and the north-south conflicts of today.   

Grade level(s): Middle                            Standards: OAS, GFL                          Produced By: Janet Hall

The Disappearance of Lake Chad

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Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Students will examine how a change in the lake can directly affect the lives of humans and other living creatures. Students will determine the changes in the environment of distant places around the explosion and organize these affects in a poster project.

Grade level(s): Middle                              Standards: OAS, GFL                              Produced By: Denise Aguilar