Tiktaalik: A Fish Out of Water

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn that transitional fossils provide scientists with evidence to establish how major animal groups are related to one another.

Ken

This video segment from Wide Angle features Ken, a third grade student in Japan.

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Abraham Lincoln: A Good Man? or A Good Man!

In this lesson, students use video from American Masters: Bill T. Jones: A Good Man as well as consult primary sources to investigate the life of Lincoln and to write a one page argument essay on whether Lincoln was "a good man."

Agony of Defeat

Students are asked to explain how forces and motion affect the skier in the film.

American Stories: Teens and Immigration

In this lesson designed to enhance literary skills, students explore the experience of four teen immigrants to the United States.

Analyzing and Comparing Perspectives on Issues - Gorillas

Students compare and contrast their perspectives on raising gorillas in captivity with their peers and with scientists. They summarize their perspectives and the perspectives of others.

Analyzing an Issue From Three Perspectives - Smoking in Public Places

Students note various perspectives on the debate about smoking in public places in NYC and create an interview to research the perspectives of peers and community members. They write a report to present their findings and opinion on the issue.

Baseball and Social Change: The Story of Roberto Clemente

In this lesson designed to enhance literary skills, students explore how a culture changes as new groups of people enter it, focusing on the experiences of baseball player Roberto Clemente and the influence of Latino culture in the United States.

Bees

In this video segment from WILD TV, learn about bees and the different techniques for handling them.  

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Building the Erie Canal

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students look at how the construction of the Erie Canal brought about major changes within United States, particularly in New York City, upstate New York, and the Midwest.

Building the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the pyramids of ancient Egypt, the pyramids' role in Egyptian society, and historians' theories about how the Egyptians were able to build these massive structures.

Bullying

In this lesson designed to enhance literary skills, students think about the impact of bullying on individuals' rights in a democratic society.

Cancer - A New Treatment

In this segment from Curious, Mark Davis is motivated to develop a new, less debilitating treatment for his wife's cancer.

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Cats - Yesterday and Today

In this video segment from Nature, discover the various roles the cat has played in our history.

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A Character's Perspective - Colonial House

Students watch a video segment that shows the reactions of colonists and native people when they encounter one another for the first time during a colony settlement reenactment. Students then select a character and write a letter from that character’s point of view that describes the meeting.

Character Change: The Diary of Anne Frank

In this lesson designed to enhance literary skills, students examine how Anne Frank's character changed while she was in hiding from the Nazis in World War II.

Character Conflict: Language Immersion

In this lesson designed to enhance literary skills, students explore conflict as a plot device through the story of Moises, a fictional young immigrant to the United States.

Character Development: Cancer - A New Treatment

Students will answer questions about what motivated chemical engineer Mark Davis to search for a better treatment for his wife's cancer. They then complete a journal entry in which they compare his motivations and goals to those they’ve established for themselves.

Character Motivation - Sapelo Island Culture

Students write a poem (using simile and flashback) about the culture of Sapelo Island. They read their poems for an audience.

City Horses Part II

In this video segment from Wild TV, riders discuss the benefits of coming to the Cedar Lane Stables in New York City.

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