This unit explores the legality of racism and nationalism as it existed in America. The unit addresses portions of the Constitution and their exclusionist clauses, equal protection, civil rights, and liberties. The unit also examines the country's dual judicial system and the distribution of power within the Federal Government.
94.01.05
This unit addresses the language of the law as a means to increase understanding of the problems of the student’s everyday life. The primary question that the unit examines is whether the laws enacted are in the best interests of the children.
94.02.03
This unit seeks to present a method of reading poetry at a much higher level than presented in classroom texts. The poems are selected according to theme, and thematic units encourage students to write and talk about their feelings on poetry read and discussed. The emphasis of the unit is on student perception, not correctness. This unit fosters a classroom environment in which writing is respected and valued.
94.02.07
This unit focuses primarily on the poetry of Langston Hughes, his universal themes and historical commonalities as his poems journey across continents, oceans and time lines. The unit explores Black History back to the ancient civilizations through a variety of themes. Hughes works are introduced by a brief excursion into the poetry of Dunbar. The idea that Hughes's works are entrenched in jazz, rhythm and blues is also explored in such a way as is pleasing to all ethnic backgrounds in a classroom.
94.02.09
Elementary students are exposed to elements of Japanese culture and customs through poetry in this, the first of three units intended to integrate social studies and poetry in a team effort. Various forms of Japanese poetry and folklore are entwined with a study of festivals and traditions.
94.02.10
This unit intends to expose elementary students to a variety of cultures. The main focus is Mexico, a country, large, rich in culture and filled with diversity. The unit explores the various ways in which poetry allows children to "see" pictures of places, people, and traditions of Mexico. Part of a school team
94.02.11
The unit, part of a team excursion into the integration of social studies and poetry in the elementary classroom, is a study of African Americans. This unit explores African America culture and history through poetry. Activities allow for teaching across grade levels.
94.03.01
This unit explores the principal religions which flourish today, mold our lives, and impress their image on our history. This unit raises the questions what, how, and why does man worship?
94.03.02
Through lessons on worldwide food origins, an eyewitness of a Mexican marketplace seen during Cortes’ first trip, and Aztec poetry, this unit attempts to bridge the gap between European Spanish and Spanish spoken in America. Also applicable to classes with multicultural themes.
94.03.03
This unit examines the Aztec culture through its myths. Includes a variety of language arts and field trip activities.
94.03.04
This unit focuses on the creation mythology and the beliefs of the Aztec and Mayan peoples in Mesoamerica. Students research the daily life of the Aztec and Mayan people and eventually write their own creation myth.
94.03.05
This unit first seeks to make a link between the past and present by recognizing the connections between the ancient Mesoamerican culture and other cultures. The second focus of the unit is to link the ancient Mexican arts of print making and paper construction using the architecture, calendar and writing system. The students will also make pictographic graffiti.
94.03.06
Students are taken on a trip from New York to Benito Juares, Mexico and Mexico City, then into the ancient cities of Tenochtitlan and Teotihuacan, in order to contrast two modern cities to the grandeur of two Mesoamerican cities. The unit incorporates visits to the Yale Art Gallery and the Peabody Museum of Natural History. Slides of artifacts and architecture are also utilized.
94.04.01
This unit seeks to explore why the atrocities of the American slave system have yet to be acknowledged as a crime against humanity and when restitution, as promised, will be made. Students examine the definitions and legal connotations of reparation, retribution, and redress, as well as the ways that other minorities have been treated in America.
94.04.02
This unit incorporates six basic themes about race and "specialness" and proposes an alternative definition of race, awareness of "specialistic" tendencies, awareness of cultural affiliations as well as how prevailing belief systems have been used historically to justify "specialness."
94.04.03
As its basis, this unit allows students to examine the principles of the American political system with an emphasis on understanding racism and its relationship to the Constitution and other laws. In a controlled environment, students are allowed to define, experience, recognize, and positively affect racism. Contains a variety of student-involving activities.
94.04.04
This unit attempts to facilitate greater interracial understanding, friendship, and cooperation through proactive projects and activities designed to reduce racism and build a community of more united citizenry.
94.04.05
In this unit, students first examine the legacy of England’s fear and hatred of Catholicism, the history of the Know Nothing movement, and origins of the Ku Klux Klan. In conclusion, they investigate two organizations which developed in the face of U.S. racism and nativism, the Mexican American Youth Organization and the Nation of Islam.
94.04.06
Focusing on the struggle for minority rights, this unit examines the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950's and 1960's, tracing its roots and investigating its influence on the Womens and Farm Workers Movements.
94.04.07
This unit seeks to link America's multi-ethnic past to its present, particularly the social relationships existing among ethnic groups. Students are encouraged to make critical evaluations of their own sense of justice as it relates to the rights of others.