Social Studies
President's
World Itinerary
ClarisWorks: Word Processing/Database, Internet, Scanner
Overview
The purpose of this activity is to have small groups of students to plan a U.S. President’s world itinerary and to present a press release announcing the economic and international importance of this itinerary.
Bias
in the Media
ClarisWorks and Web Browser
Overview
A student and a partner will select one current news story to research and examine how two examples of the same story can be presented differently. The students will explain their findings to the class demonstrating how personal feelings can affect news reporting.
Bill
of Rights
Hyperstudio
Overview
In groups of four students will research one of the Bill of Rights. Students will discover how their amendment relates to society and how it affects them personally.
Closing
the Frontier, 1849-1909
ClarisWorks
Overview
Students will work in groups to prepare slide shows to review the settlement of the West, 1849-1909. The slide show will identify the major concepts related to the following topics:
Moving West
Rails Across a Continent
The Mining Frontier
Culture and Traditions of Native Americans (Plains Indians)
The Last Indian Wars
The Cattle Kingdom
The Farming Frontier
All
Men are Created Equal
Internet & ClarisWorks
Overview
Students will research an Internet web site (WebQuest: All Men Are Created Equal) to gain a better understanding of the experiences of the Cherokee, Japanese, and African-American people during their struggle for respect and tolerance. Students will then create a newspaper containing a news account and an editorial about one of the three groups.
Writing
and Amending Bills
ClarisWorks
Overview
Students will have already chosen a topic on which to write a bill (to be passed in the Classroom Congress) and will have completed the research necessary for the bill. This lesson will take the teacher through the process of writing the bill in the lab, peer editing, and amending and passing the bill through a classroom Congress.
A
Portrait of Americans
Overview
Students will generate two pie charts as to their estimation of the composition of the United States by racial groups. The first pie chart will be their own estimation (as a class), the second will be a pie chart generated using the actual numbers.
Country
Economic Organization
ClarisWorks
Overview
In this lesson students will research the economic organization of another country. After completing the research students will create a slide show presentation for the class.
Community
Improvement
Word Processing
Overview
Students identify and research a local problem and decide what
actions they as citizens need to take to improve their community.
Although this lesson focuses on stream preservation and the
Chesapeake Bay Act,
The
President's Cabinet
Internet Access
Overview
In-depth coverage of the President's Cabinet and its organizational structure.
Country
Cookbook
ClarisWorks, Internet, and Scanner
Overview
The Student or group of students will research and develop a cookbook for an assigned country. Each cookbook will include items to complete 5 menus from the student's assigned country.
HyperStudio
Civil Rights Magazine
Overview
HyperStudio Civil Rights Magazine.
"Separate
But Equal" video project
"Separate But Equal" video and a computer
Overview
Students will view the video and write an objective editorial based on it.
Capital
Punishment
Internet and Word Processing
Overview
Students will investigate a contemporary issue (in this case capital punishment) and prepare, using a word processor, a position on the argument that they are putting forward.
American
System of Government Newspaper: Michael Magathan
Word Processing and internet access
Overview
Working in groups of 4, students will design, research, and create a "newspaper" that effectively explains the who, what, when, where and why of four historical events that in some way have influenced the American system of government.
Should
Voting in the United States be Mandatory? Research Activity
Internet, word processor, and printer
Overview
Students will access the Internet in order to compile voter turnout
statistics and comparative government information from ten countries.
Students will use this information to create a spreadsheet. The
spreadsheet will serve as a foundation for a class discussion and
subsequently a three paragraph persuasive
essay
Spreadsheet
Budget Project
Spreadsheet Program
Overview
Students will gather personal data and graph results of this collection in the spreadsheet program.
Stock
Market Culminating Project
Business Section of Major City Newspaper, Computer for each
student with Internet access and
PowerPoint,
Overview
In this lesson, students use the Internet and PowerPoint to research and relate information on American corporations to classmates. This is a culminating lesson in Economics/Stock Market.
Contemporary
Civic-life Issue Research Based Essay
Computers with a word processing program and Internet accessibility, and a library with reference materials.
Overview
Students choose a contemporary civic-life issue, research their topic to form and defend an argument, and write a five paragraph persuasive essay with bibliography to cite their sources.
Foreign
Travel
Computer, internet and printer
Overview
Students will be taking a "trip" to a foreign country, via the Internet. Each student will visit the website of the U.S. embassy of a different country, and gather bits of information that would be important for them to know (as if they were getting ready to travel to that country)