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U.S. History


Curriculum Kits Suggested Grade Level
Causes of the American Revolution Elementary School
Chemicals In the Environment High School and College
Economics in U.S. History Middle School
Endangered Species High School through College
Media Construction of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
Media Construction of the Middle East High School through College
Media Construction of Peace High Schoolthrough College
Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns High School through College
Media Construction of Social Justice High School through College
Media Construction of War High School through College
Resource Depletion High School through College
Soviet History through Posters High School through College
Cover Description
Causes of the American Revolution
Elementary School
This kit provides teachers and other educators with the materials and guidance to help fourth grade students understand the reasons that the British colonists elected to declare their independence from King George III between the years 1763-1776. As a part of these lessons students will be encouraged to consider the intent and impact of media documents from a variety of points of view including those of the colonists, King George, patriots, loyalists, slaves and Native Americans. Includes an 80 page kit designed for Elementary Social Studies classes. This kit includes video and audio clips, Powerpoint slides, print handouts, readings and teacher guides for 10 lessons.

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Chemicals In the Environment
High School through College
Includes a 185-page kit with 40 slides covering an historical overview of American representations of chemicals from the three sisters to the Love Canal. It includes a teacher guide for each image, student readings, and both print and video case study lessons comparing conflicting constructions about nuclear reactor safety, depleted uranium, Rachel Carson and DDT. Through analyzing diverse historic and contemporary media messages, students understand changing public knowledge, impressions and attitudes about chemicals in the environment.

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Economics in U.S. History
Middle School
Includes a 140-page kit designed to integrate basic economic concepts with media literacy and critical thinking skills into U.S. history through decoding of print and audiovisual media materials. Media materials include posters, popular and documentary films, news articles, editorials, and excerpts from TV shows. Each lesson includes a student reading and worksheet, with core content and vocabulary tied to the NCSS and NCTE learning standards.

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Endangered Species
High School through College
Includes a 185-page kit with 40 slides covering an historical overview of American representations of endangered species from the slaughter of the American buffalo to Palm plantations in Sumatra. It includes a teacher guide for each image, student readings, and both print and video case study lessons comparing conflicting constructions about human/animal relations, rainforest biodiversity, the Northern Rockies gray wolf, frogs and Atrazine. Students decode how the relationship of animals and humans has been portrayed and passed on from generation to generation. Useful in any earth, natural or environmental science course as well as American history classes.

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Media Constructions of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Middle School
Includes a 100 page kit designed for high school English and Social Studies classes. This kit includes video clips, slides, print handouts, readings and teacher guides for 4 lessons that explore the ways in which King and his legacy have been portrayed in various media forms. The first lesson follows a chronology of King’s life through interactive decoding of rich media documents (comic books, billboards, songs, music videos, etc.). Lesson 2 uses excerpts of Dr. King's speeches from 1963, 1967 and 1968 to examine his views on social change. Lesson 3 explores the portrayal of King in magazine covers, advertisements, Web sites, film clips and monuments. Lesson 4 uses letters to the editor about celebrating King to explore challenges to change.

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Media Construction of the Middle East
High School through College
Includes a 250-page kit that covers stereotyping of Arab people, the Arab/Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq and militant Muslim movements. This kit includes 22 lessons with 14 different types of media from documentaries, Disney films, TV news, maps, textbooks and web sites. Students will learn core information and vocabulary about the historical and contemporary Middle East issues that challenge stereotypical, simplistic and uninformed thinking, and political and ethical issues involving the role of media in constructing knowledge, evaluating historical truths, and objectivity and subjectivity in journalism. This kit supports the teaching of global studies, U.S. history, government, current events and media studies classes.

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Media Construction of Peace
High School through College
Includes a 520 page kit that explores how antiwar movements over the past 170 years have been perceived by the people in the United States and how the U.S. media has constructed that public perception. Each unit includes three lessons, each one devoted to a different media form including visual images, film clips and song excerpts. The subject areas covered include U.S. history, African-American studies, labor studies, Latino studies, media studies, Native American studies, peace studies, sociology and womens studies among many others. The kit will be of particular interest to high school American history teachers and collegelevel Peace Studies professors.

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Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns
High School through College
Includes a 500+ page kit with materials for teaching about the role of media in 28 U.S. elections ranging from 1800-2008. Over 160 media documents are included for decoding, including slides of posters, handbills and political cartoons; audio clips of songs and radio programs; and video clips of speeches, debates, comedy TV and political commercials. Students will learn how to analyze historical documents, the history of presidential campaigns, the crafting and marketing of campaign messages, and the impact of new technologies and new media on presidential campaigns.

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Media Construction of Social Justice
High School through College
Includes a 58 page kit explores how social justice movements over the past 180 years have been perceived by people in the United States and how the U.S. media have constructed that public perception. Each unit includes three lessons, each one devoted to a different media form, including visual images, film clips, and song excerpts. The subject areas covered include U.S. history, African-American studies, criminal justice studies, immigrant studies, labor studies, Latino studies, LGBT studies, media studies, peace studies, sociology, and women’s studies, among many others. This kit will be of particular interest to high school American history teachers and college–level social justice studies professors.

 

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Media Construction of War: A Critical Reading of History
High School through College
Includes a 125-page kit that analyzes Newsweek coverage of the Vietnam War, Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan. This kit includes three dozen slides of carefully selected Newsweek covers with teacher guides for each, histories of all three wars, a 12-minute video and a lesson plan on media coverage of the Persian Gulf War. Students will learn core information about the wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan, how media influences public opinion of current events, and how to ask key media literacy questions and identify bias in the news

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Resource Depletion. High School through College
Includes a 185-page kit with 40 slides covering an historical overview of American representations of natural resources from ancient Indian basketry to contemporary web sites. It includes a teacher guide for each image, student readings, and both print and video case study lessons comparing conflicting media constructions about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the damning of rivers, and Chukchi sea oil drilling. By showing the slow realization that natural resources are finite, students will learn valuable lessons in earth, natural and environmental sciences.

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Soviet History through Posters
High School through College
Includes a 130 page kit that helps decode the messages of political posters created by Soviet regimes from Lenin and Stalin through Breshnev and Gorbachev. Teachers lead students through the interactive process of applying their historical knowledge to the analysis of these documents using background and additional information and carefully selected probe questions. The kit includes slides of 78 posters with a one-page teacher guide for each. Students will learn core information and vocabulary about the history of the USSR, political and historical perspectives as communicated through visual media, visual literacy and media literacy skills, especially the ability to identify bias in art and propaganda

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