Women and Media
In this lesson, students examine the role of women in the media; critique and discuss different portrayals of women in popular culture and focus on how these reflect larger societal and cultural values.
Challenges in Changing the Face of a City
This lesson is designed to explore the complex challenges Oakland's Mayor Jerry Brown faces as he attempts to bring change to the city of Oakland. Key issues include housing, poverty, gentrification, politics and business development.
Will the Real Cinderella Please Stand Up?
Students learn that folk stories can be told in many ways and learn to write their own Cinderella story and script according to their own gender or culture. They also become aware of the steps that are necessary to make a film as they learn the various parts that go into the process.
Peace Is Hard Work
In this lesson, students will create their own lists of what they consider to be the characteristics of a successful peacemaker. They will then research two peacemakers - Jody Williams and Desmond Tutu - and consider how each laureate might take action to end a specific conflict that is happening at the present time.
Finding Racial Stereotypes in Popular Culture
In this lesson students analyze current media and determine if racial stereotyping exists and consider causes of and remedies for racial stereotyping.
Lights, Camera, Action!
This lesson is designed to introduce students to the role immigration has played in building our country. Through literature and hands-on activities, students will explore the difficulties that have confronted newcomers to the United States. Students will also construct an interview with a character from a story, then videotape the presentation.
Civil Disobedience Action Plan
This lesson acquaints students with historical and current concepts of civil disobedience. They will also consider issues that affect their own lives in relation to civil disobedience.
Civil Rights of Japanese-American Internees
In this lesson students analyze basic civic and human rights and determine if Japanese Americans rights were violated during WWII.
Fairness: Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II
The purpose of this lesson is to have students examine the concept of equality, one of the fundamental concepts embodied in our constitution and laws, and try to understand why Japanese Americans were treated so unfairly during WWII.
Backward to the Future
Oral histories not only help us to recall important memories, but when told to children in the form of storytelling, they also provide a connection to the real world and give children a place within their own community. Oral histories help to explain events in one's life while providing an account of the time remembered. In this lesson, students watch a video of a personal history and learn the difference between primary sources and secondary sources of information. They learn how technology and
Protesting Corporate Globalization
In this lesson students will explore the different ways that corporate globalization affects society.
Multiple Perspectives on the Immigrant Experience
In this lesson, students will reflect on the individual Dominican-American experiences of the Ortiz sisters in the film My American Girls, create a talk show that addresses the themes and issues of the film, and conduct research on how Latinos are portrayed in the media.
Flying Solo With My Digital Camera
Students will view a film clip about immigration and arrange interviews with immigrants they know. Using digital cameras they will create a classroom book that tells about the immigrant experience.
Creating and Evaluating Ethnic Advertising
In this lesson students research how advertising agencies market products for different ethnic groups and how they generally target specific audiences.
Creating an Ethnic Student Newspaper
In this lesson students analyze news articles and features covered by ethnic newspapers in both the past and present. They will also have the opportunity to create a school newspaper.
Challenging Students/Changing Lives: Exploring the Oakland Military Institute
In this lesson, students will explore educational reform efforts in Oakland, the challenges facing Oakland Schools and the efficacy of the Oakland Military Institute.
Bough Down to Trees
Students become familiar with the impact trees have in their lives and learn about some of the conservation issues that we face in the 21st century.
What's Growing in That Dish?
In this lesson, students will view the clips of the video discussing the discovery of penicillin and the scientific discovery process. They will then run their own open-ended experiments to see how body molds and bacteria respond to variable substances.
The Television Confessional
This lesson introduces students to confessional television as a genre. Students discuss the conventions of confessional television and explore viewpoint from the perspective of participants and the audience. Students examine their own response to the genre and create a confessional television show of their own.
The Nature of Protest
This lesson will focus on the nature of protest by examining the different avenues that people take to express their opinions.
