A More Perfect Union
This lesson is designed to show the process of perfecting the Union through changes made to the Constitution and through the powers delegated to each branch of government by the Constitution. The lesson encourages student deliberation on race in America by familiarizing students with Senator Obama's speech entitled, A More Perfect Union, his famous race speech, given at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia in March 2008. Students are asked to read the speech for homework, guided by e
A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
This site shows the typewritten draft of the December 8, 1941, speech in which Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. The draft shows Roosevelt's hand-written edits, including his change of the phrase a date which will live in world history to a date which will live in infamy. Students can also listen to the beginning of the speech.
Meeting Standards with Our Documents
As an assessment activity at the end of a U.S. History survey course, provide students with copies of appropriate national, state and/or local curriculum standards and a list of all of the 100 Our Documents. Divide the class into groups of three or four and assign each group an equal number of the Our Documents. Ask students to conduct secondary research to correlate their Documents to the standards. Allow each group to present their findings orally to the class. The result will be a ready-made
Affidavit and Flyers from the Chinese Boycott Case
This site introduces students to one instance in which immigrants overcame the ramifications of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 through the U.S. judicial system. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences. It also has cross-curricular connections with history, government, language arts, and math.
Anti-Railroad Propaganda Poster: The Growth of Regionalism, 1800-1860
This lesson uses a poster decrying the disruptive influence of railroads on local culture to launch a discussion on local differences and their effect on American politics. Explanatory text, materials for teachers, and links to further resources accompany the documents. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences. It also has cross-curricular connections with history, government, and art.
Fugitive from Labor Cases: Henry Garnett and Moses Honner
This lesson encourages students to analyze historic documents related to two fugitive slave cases and determine the impact events of the period 1850 to 1860 had on them. The Henry Garnett and Moses Honner cases demonstrates the political crisis in the 1850s arising over the issue of slavery and the necessity for the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social S
Parents Thrilled with the Results of Son's Dermoid Cyst Removal
Doctors at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children diagnosed pediatric patient Ashton Schomburg with a complex dermoid cyst in December 2010. The surgery to remove the cyst involved a multidisciplinary team of physicians and surgeons, including Dr. Kevin Pereira, Dr. Derek Bruce and Dr. Bryan Ambro. In this three-minute video, Ashton's parents talk about the care their family received during their time at the Medical Center, as well as their surprise at their son's fast recovery.
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Conversations with History - Ron E. Hassner
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Berkeley political scientist Ron E. Hassner for a discussion of his book, War on Sacred Grounds. Hassner discusses the challenges facing international relations scholars and policy makers as they address political conflict in which religion plays a central role. He emphasizes understanding religion on its own terms in order to move toward rationally addressing the religious processes at work in conflict situations. Hassner defines the essential feature
Best Thunderbird career?
Does Jon Kailey have the best Thunderbird career? His expatriate assignments with Owens Corning have taken him to 65 countries. What is your Thunderbird story? Send details in 200 words or less to alumni@thunderbird.edu.
Manipulation of Light in the Nanoworld
"Manipulation of Light in the Nanoworld" extends the standard topics of wavelength, diffraction, and interference into the nanoscale by introducing students to the concept of photonic crystals. Hands-on activities present macro and microscale diffraction and interference effects in an engaging way. Computer simulations that parallel some of these hand-on activities allow students to observe the changes in these effects as objects move from the micro to the nanoscale. These concepts are then appr
Introduction to X-ray Diffraction
This site is intended as a brief introduction to some of the common x-ray diffraction techniques used in materials characterization. It is designed for people who are novices in this field but are interested in using the techniques in their research. Topics include x-ray generation and properties, lattice planes and Bragg's Law, powder and thin film diffraction, texture measurement and pole figures, residual stress measurements, small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), and x-ray crystallography.
Going around in circles!: around and about a geometric figure
Geometry can be an exercise arena for strengthening those logic muscles that middle school students need to flex. When we work with a geometric figure—a circle, for instance—and apply the ancient tools of compass and straightedge, geometry can become a rich ground for developing design. And a circle has size, so a unit on this topic necessarily brings in the mathematics of its measurement. Circles, then, is a geometric topic that can provide mental challenge, opportunity for artistic develop
A Colonial Legacy in Miskito Turtle Knowledge (Nicaragua)
Over the past several decades the increasing prevalence of natural resource crises has led many ecologists to seek alternatives to Western resource use paradigms. Primary amongst these alternatives are systems guided by indigenous knowledge (IK). It is commonly presumed that these systems represent institutions uncorrupted by the exploitative hand of Western culture and state domination and therefore hold the key to rectifying the unsustainable behaviors of Western societies.
The Subaltern Learns to Speak: African Voice and the Haitian Revolution in The Kingdom of this World
The subaltern may not be able to speak in a world inundated by Western philosophy, thought, and political organization, but in The Kingdom of This World, Alejo Carpentier offers the possibility of unlearning the language of the hegemony. In this novel, African voice solidifies African resistance in Haiti, and that voice is symbolized through the novel's agnus dei, Ti Noel. This African slave's first words are a daring question that begins to highlight his potential for rebelli
Cordel do Fogo Encantado: "Jackhammering" Sedimented Representations of the Brazilian Northeast
Within Brazil, the Northeast region has been represented in popular music, literature and film as a wellspring of cultural authenticity, pre-modern roots and a living past. However, it has also been the site of terrible periodic droughts and mass migrations that have contributed to it being portrayed as a space of misery. Linked to its status as a space of poverty, the arid serta
Children Between Two Nations
The belligerent anti-immigrationism of recently-retired CNN television and radio commentator Lou Dobbs has become so much of a trademark in U.S. popular culture that reviewer after reviewer of the 2008 Patricia Riggen film La misma luna (Under the Same Moon) has used his name as a shorthand reference to tell their readers what to expect from the movie: Lou Dobbs, grab your hankie
War and Peace
Gain insight into wars by studying maps, letters, and historic newspapers. Consider women’s roles during the Civil War and World War II. See film clips of the Spanish-American War, the first war to be captured on film. Listen to recordings from World War I and the 1920 Election. Analyze Ansel Adams’ photo documentary of life at Manzanar to deepen understanding of Japanese internme
An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera
The Printed Ephemera collection at the Library of Congress is a rich repository of Americana. In total, the collection comprises 28,000 primary-source items dating from the seventeenth century to the present and encompasses key events and eras in American history. An American Time Capsule, the online presentation of the Printed Ephemera collection, comprises 17,000 of the 28,000 physical items. More are scheduled to be digitized in the future. While the broadside format represents the bulk of th
After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
The collection African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection, 1818-1907, contains pamphlets and other materials, most of which were written by African American authors about pressing issues of the day. In this lesson, students use the collection's Timeline of African American History, 1852-1925 to identify problems and issues facing African Americans immediately after Reconstruction. Working in small groups on assigned issues, students search the collection for
Reel American History Project
The general goal of the Reel American History project is to foster critical thinking about a matter of enduring cultural attention, especially where young people are concerned: the formation of our national identity.
Reel American History is designed to be a "Collaborative Shared Resource". It aims at being a large, ongoing, cumulative, collaborative project that involves many students and many faculty over a long period of time. We strive to engage students in authentic learning – making st
