Story of Stuff International
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, a
Take Action: Working to Stop Child Labor Today
In this lesson, students will first learn about the use of child labor in the cotton mills of North and South Carolina from the 1880’s through the 1920’s by listening to oral histories from former child mill workers. They will also research the use of child labor in today’s world. Students will then brainstorm and implement actions to stop child labor around the world, such as educating themselves and others about the issue, letter writing campaigns to governments and companies, and donati
Introduction to Java Programming
This is a beginning course in the Java programming language. Students will learn object-oriented programming, and will create applets which can be incorporated into HTML documents for the World Wide Web.
Physical Geography
Physical geography is the study of the earth's dynamic systems -- its air, water, weather climate, landforms, rocks, soils, plants, ecosystems and biomes -- and how humans interact with the earth's systems. Physical geography is the study of the world around you. Everyone, every day, interacts with the earth's dynamic systems. I challenge you to join me on an exploration of the complex, and exciting world in which you live! This is a freshman level college course in physical geography. It requir
Water and human health
Water is a natural resource that is vital for human survival and health, although only a tiny fraction of the Earth's supply is available to humans and terrestrial animals. In this unit we look at threats, such as pollution, to water's capacity to support life around the world.
Water for life
Atoms, elements and molecules are the building blocks of everything that makes up our world, including ourselves. In this unit you will learn the basic chemistry of how these components work together, starting with a chemical compound we are all very familiar with – water.
Islamic Societies of the Middle East and North Africa: Religion, History, and Culture
This new course offers a panoramic survey of the Islamic societies of the Middle East and North Africa from their origins to the present day. It will deal with the history and expansion of Islam, both as a world religion and civilization, from its birth in the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century to its subsequent spread to other parts of western Asia and North Africa. Issues of religious practices, political governance and movements, gender, social relations and cultural norms will be explo
Nature and the Built Environment
This course explores the evolutionary roots of form and order in the built environment. While grounded in scientific evidence, a broad perspective of humanism is emphasized throughout, with discussions of how ideas, beliefs, experience, ideals, and human nature animate individuals and societies and thereby give form to the things they make. Readings begin with the idea of nature and how it is manifest in ancient cities, architecture, and other artifacts. This is then contrasted with today's buil
Literature Games: Lord of the Flies
Play a game and find out about a Nobel Prize awarded discovery or work! William Golding's first novel, "Lord of the Flies," 1954, rapidly became a world success and has remained so. It has reached tens of millions of readers. If you are one of them, you may challenge your memory with this game. If you ...
Peace Games: Peace Dove
Play a game and find out about a Nobel Prize awarded discovery or work! Several people and organizations have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts concerning nuclear weapons disarmament. Worldwide, the white dove is a symbol for peace. Take on the mission to disarm the world of nuclear weapons! ...
Peace Games: Prisoners of War
Play a game and find out about a Nobel Prize awarded discovery or work! Can people behave as they like during times of war? No, they can't. The Geneva Conventions of written rules and articles make some acts unlawful. Nearly all countries in the world have promised to follow these rules by signing up. ...
Modern and Fossil Pollen Data
Palynology research scientists from around the world contribute pollen data to the NOAA Paleoclimatology World Data Center (WDC). There are pollen counts, related information, and various derived data sets. Users can access or contribute data. There are several links on obtaining WDC data, other data archives, software (including Tilia and PALYHELP), and other paleoclimatology, climatology, and botany sites.
Bioluminescence 2009
Ocean Explorer Expedition Education Modules (EEM) are designed to reach out in new ways to teachers, students, and the general public, and share the excitement of daily at-sea discoveries and the science behind NOAA's major ocean exploration initiatives with the people around the world. The Bioluminescence 2009: Living Light on the Deep Sea Floor Expedition offers a unique opportunity to engage explorers of all ages as we continue our journeys to parts of our ocean planet that few have seen - th
A Problem with Authority? Writing Challenging Questions for Today's World Leaders
In this lesson, students learn about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial invitation to speak at Columbia University. They then work in pairs to research and write provocative interview questions to ask other contentious world leaders for class presentations.
Current Contexts - Exploring Now through Then
In this lesson, students will explore how they relate to today's world. Through quotes written by Anne Frank, and current newspaper items that appear in The New York Times, students will examine the connection between the past and the present.
Dear Me - Remembering the Life Lessons of 9/11 on Its Fifth Anniversary
In this lesson, students will go on a "Memorializing 9/11" gallery walk and then write a letter to themselves that will be sent to them in one year about the lessons they have learned from catastrophic life and world events.
Natural Inquirer Climate Change Series: Carbon Dioxide
The Natural Inquirer Climate Change series article Where in the World is Carbon Dioxide explores how rising levels of carbon dioxide could impact United States forest.
Remembering Pearl Harbor
describes the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and features the USS Arizona, a battleship on which 1,177 sailors and marines perished. Photos, charts, documents, and research questions help students piece together what happened before, during, and after the attack that drew the U.S. into World War ...
Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
This site shows 41 churches, houses, and other properties related largely to the post-World War II civil rights movement. The links to these properties consist of photographs and texts, and the exhibit offers a bibliography and links to websites relating to civil rights.
The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide in the Pacific
examines a pivotal World War II battle. In the spring of 1942, Japan attempted to establish a toehold in the Aleutian Islands, convert Midway into an air base for invading Hawaii, and lure the U.S. Pacific Fleet into a final battle that would finish it off. The Japanese fleet depended on radio codes that codebreakers in Hawaii and Washington, D.C. worked around the clock to interpret. This website tells how they broke the code and ended Japan's advance across the Pacific.
