Reform and Resistance: The Cuban Revolution Part II

“They talk about the failure of socialism, but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia, and Latin America?” – Fidel Castro

This lesson was reported from:
Adapted in part from open sources.

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Bartolomé de Las Casas and the Atrocities of the Spanish Conquistadors

Continue reading “Bartolomé de Las Casas and the Atrocities of the Spanish Conquistadors”

Conquest or Westward Expansion?: Native Americans and the Stories We Tell

Continue reading “Conquest or Westward Expansion?: Native Americans and the Stories We Tell”

The Americas: A Free, Open Textbook in Progress

Continue reading “The Americas: A Free, Open Textbook in Progress”

Open Ended Social Studies has the chapters that your world history textbook is missing

What is the root cause of our world’s troubles?  

If you ask me, it’s not a trade imbalance or a terrorist threat.  If we’re talking about the problem that lies at the heart of everything, it’s got to be a severe, devastating lack of empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Continue reading “Open Ended Social Studies has the chapters that your world history textbook is missing”

For educators: Create an illustrated glossary of Nahuatl/English loan words

When you’re teaching from many textbooks, it’s easy to think of native societies as “the other” – the Aztec are conquered and swept aside, if they’re mentioned at all, and they appear from the perspective of their conquerors.  They didn’t even call themselves the Aztec, for that matter – they referred to themselves as the Mexica, a name lent to the modern nation, and often excluded from your textbooks to prevent confusion between the two among students.   Continue reading “For educators: Create an illustrated glossary of Nahuatl/English loan words”

Empathy in Action Bingo: A Different Kind of Social Studies

Continue reading “Empathy in Action Bingo: A Different Kind of Social Studies”

Now More Than Ever: Lesson Plans on the Basics of Islam and the Modern Middle East

Some of these girls are refugees from Syria and Iraq.  Now, through the mercy and compassion of others, they are safe, fortunate enough to attend school in Bahrain.  But there are many more just like them still hoping to escape the conflict and war that continues unabated in their homeland. 

If only the United States – self-proclaimed greatest nation on Earth  – could hold itself to the same standard as Bahrain.

The President of the United States – acting from fear, ignorance, and prejudice, in defiance of the America’s best virtues, of tolerance, inclusion, and mercy – has unilaterally decided that Islam is the enemy.

Educators, do your part! Teach the next generation of American students that Islam is not the enemy. The enemy is extremism, whether it comes from Aleppo or Washington.
 
Find time in your class for one of these lessons on the history, beliefs, culture, and humane values of Islam.

Continue reading “Now More Than Ever: Lesson Plans on the Basics of Islam and the Modern Middle East”

New Mini-Documentary: What Happens in a Mosque?

Our new Open Ended Social Studies video has gone live.  Use it in your classroom to supplement your lessons on Islam.  Kick start a conversation about salat and the Five Pillars.  Answer the question: What happens in a mosque?

LESSON PLANS

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The Basics of Islam

Continue reading “The Basics of Islam”