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Standards Index: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2:

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Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

Image from Why the Supreme Court Endorsed, Then Limited Affirmative Action
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Why the Supreme Court Endorsed, Then Limited Affirmative Action

Students will examine contemporary and historical Supreme Court cases dealing with affirmative action.
Image from Brown v. Board of Ed and Busing Promised Integration. Why Are Schools Still Segregated?
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Brown v. Board of Ed and Busing Promised Integration. Why Are Schools Still Segregated?

Students will learn why much of the school integration achieved through cross-town busing has unraveled over the last few decades.
Image from The War on Terror  and the Debate Over Torture
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The War on Terror and the Debate Over Torture

Students will learn about the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and the ensuing calls for accountability.
Image from Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)
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Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)

Students will learn how President Reagan’s administration, trying to stop Soviet communist influence around the world, supported authoritarian regimes, and the impact that had in El Salvador and in the U.S. then and now.
Image from Midterm Elections: 1966 Midterms Signal a Realignment, Shaping Today’s Parties
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Midterm Elections: 1966 Midterms Signal a Realignment, Shaping Today’s Parties

Students will learn how Southern voters, once loyal to the Democratic Party, elected Republican candidates in 1966 as the two parties began to sort themselves into distinctly partisan camps.
Image from How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan
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How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan

Students will learn how the U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks led to decades of war and a chaotic ending."
Image from Aftermath of the War on Terror
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Aftermath of the War on Terror

Students will learn how the climate of fear and panic following the 9/11 attacks resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of innocent Arab immigrants.
Image from Can You Spot Misinformation?
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Can You Spot Misinformation?

Students will learn how to fact-check a sensational story using a technique called lateral reading.
Image from Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics
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Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics

Students will learn how the midterm elections, often a referendum on the sitting president’s agenda, can set the stage for future policy debates.
Image from Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago - Mini Lesson
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Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago - Mini Lesson

Students will learn about how as deportations of unauthorized immigrants rose under President Donald Trump, some churches and cities declared themselves sanctuaries and shielded migrants from immigration enforcement.
Image from How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees
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How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees

Students will examine the question of what obligation countries have to refugees. As Afghan and Ukrainian migrants settle in the U.S., this video asks whether refugee resettlement is better now than it was for the Vietnamese 50 years ago.
Image from The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
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The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Students will learn about the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota and examine political decision-making as it relates to public works projects.
Image from McCarthyism: Populism and the Press
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McCarthyism: Populism and the Press

Students will learn how Joseph McCarthy rode to power on a wave of anti-communist fears, and how television contributed to both his rise and fall.
Image from Harvesting the Rain
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Harvesting the Rain

Students will explore the issue of water sustainability by examining the distribution of fresh water on Earth and using a physical model to simulate the implementation of rainwater harvesting practices.
Image from American Reckoning
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American Reckoning

Students will learn about a little-known story of the civil rights movement told using excerpts from “American Reckoning," a Retro Report and PBS Frontline collaboration.
Image from Vincent Chin and Asian American Civil Rights
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Vincent Chin and Asian American Civil Rights

Students will learn about the case that set the precedent for racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans being prosecuted as hate crimes.
Image from How a 1944 Supreme Court Ruling on Internment Camps Led to a Reckoning
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How a 1944 Supreme Court Ruling on Internment Camps Led to a Reckoning

Students will learn how the U.S. government imprisoned 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most American citizens, during World War II and the lasting impact of a related Supreme Court ruling.
Image from The Indian Child Welfare Act
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The Indian Child Welfare Act

Students will learn about how for generations, Native American children were removed from their homes and placed with white families. A recent Supreme Court ruling affirms the rights of Native families and tribes, giving them preference in adoption and foster care.
Image from Where's That Photo From? Identify the Source
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Where's That Photo From? Identify the Source

Students will learn the skill of reverse image search and describe the process as applied to the provided examples.
Image from How to Fact-Check History
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How to Fact-Check History

Students will learn about the methods professional news organizations and historians use to check facts and how that applies to their own work.
Image from Protests For Racial Justice: A Long History
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Protests For Racial Justice: A Long History

Students will learn how current protests against police violence and racial inequality are connected to the past, and about the White House commission that released a report in the aftermath of the major urban disorders of 1967.
Image from 9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest  Attack on U.S. Soil
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9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest Attack on U.S. Soil

Students will learn about Sept. 11, 2001, and specifically about the experience of some of the more than 2,000 New York City emergency workers who sped toward lower Manhattan.
Image from Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation
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Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation

Students will examine primary and secondary sources related to voter intimidation to determine how integrity of elections can be ensured.
Image from The Cold War in Latin America: Massacre in El Salvador
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The Cold War in Latin America: Massacre in El Salvador

Students will learn about the Cold War in Latin America, with a focus on the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador.
Image from Unprepared: Lessons From Two Massive Oil Spills
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Unprepared: Lessons From Two Massive Oil Spills

Students will learn about the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills, as well as examining the long-term effects on ecosystems and coastal communities.
Image from Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns
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Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns

Students will learn about the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and how decades later, lawmakers and the American public continue a debate over gun control.
Image from Dictators and Civil Wars: The Cold War in Latin America
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Dictators and Civil Wars: The Cold War in Latin America

Students will learn how driven by fears of the rise of Communism, the United States adopted a policy of containment, intervening in the politics of countries across the globe, including many countries in Latin America.
Image from Facing Eviction
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Facing Eviction

Students will learn about housing insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic and how eviction outcomes often came down to what county, or even city, a tenant lived in.
Image from Immigration in the 1990s: Proposition 187
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Immigration in the 1990s: Proposition 187

Students will learn about the anti-immigration movement in California in the 1990s, and why it is relevant today.