What's New
December 2008
New Resources in "Teaching with the News"
India and Pakistan in the Wake of the Mumbai Attacks is a one-day lesson in which students gather information from several audio news reports in order to understand the circumstances surrounding the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the context of the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.
Partnership with the Pulitzer Center
Choices' partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting will integrate Pulitzer’s on-the-ground reporting with Choices’ print and digital curricular resources. Choices is developing online lesson plans to accompany Pulitzer’s Global Gateway resources for students. (See Choices lesson plans for Water Wars as a sample.) Pulitzer is providing video, audio, and print reporting resources to Choices. These will be integrated into Choices’ teaching resources, introducing frontline reporting into classrooms across the country.
November 2008
New Lesson in "Teaching with the News"
Globalization and the Economic Crisis is a one-day lesson in which students explore a series of political cartoons and consider the relationship between globalization and the economic crisis.
Discussion Guide for Torturing Democracy
The Choices Program has developed the discussion guide and lesson plans for the new documentary film, Torturing Democracy. The guide is available from the Torturing Democracy web site. This film is appearing on PBS stations around the country. See their web site for local listings.
Scholars Online: Confronting Genocide: Never Again? Video Clips
The printed curriculum unit Confronting Genocide: Never Again?traces the evolution of the international community's response to genocide and examines how the United States has responded to five cases of genocide.
All Scholars Online videos are available free from the Choices website. There are now more than 350 videos available. Visit iTunes to download videos as podcasts.
Scholars Online: From Colony to Democracy Video Clips
The printed curriculum unit From Colony to Democracy: Considering Brazil's Development explores the choices Brazilians faced as the country transitioned to democracy in the mid-1980s and introduces historical forces that informed debates at that time. Scholars Online videos supplement the reading to help students better understand the key issues addressed in the curriculum.
Videos include clips from Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Former President of Brazil; Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Visiting Professor, Brown University; and James Green, Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Brown University
All Scholars Online videos are available free from the Choices website. There are now more than 350 videos available. Visit iTunes to download videos as podcasts.
Water Wars Lesson Plans
Choices has developed a 2-day lesson plan to accompany Water Wars, a series developed with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The lesson plan and link to the Water Wars interactive site are available from Teaching with the News.
On day one, students learn how water shortage in East Africa affects people’s lives and consider whether water shortage is a local issue or a global one. On day two, students work in groups as they take on the role of stakeholders in the issue of water use in southern Ethiopia.
UPDATED UNITS FROM CHOICES
Responding to Terrorism: Challenges for Democracy - 6th edition
A Forgotten History: The Slave Trade and Slavery in New England - 2nd edition
October 2008
Scholars Online: Cuban Missile Crisis Video Clips
The printed curriculum, The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History, probes the complex relationship between the United States, Russia, and Cuba, and examines the crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Videos include clips from Professors Jim Blight & janet Lang of the Watson Institute and Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev and a senior fellow at the Watson Institute.
All Scholars Online videos are available free from the Choices website. There are now more than 350 videos available. Visit iTunes to download videos as podcasts.
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Teaching with the News - Iran
The U.S. and Iran: Confronting Policy Alternatives has been revised. It includes a selection of Scholars Online video clips in the lesson plan.
September 2008
NEW UNIT: Russia's Transformation: Challenges for U.S. Policy
Using primary sources, readings, and simulations, students consider the history of the U.S. relationship with Russia and explore changes inside Russia since the end of the Soviet Union. The materials prepare students to role-play a debate in the U.S. Senate about what principles and policies should govern U.S. relations with Russia today. (This unitl replaces Charting Russia's Future and Russia's Uncertain Transition.)
July 2008
UPDATED UNIT
NEW WEB STORE - Easier Ordering, Faster Checkout!
We have redesigned the Choices Store to make onine ordering faster and easier. In addition to Teacher Sets (print or pdf), you can also order classroom sets online. You can also still talk to us at 401-863-3155 or mail in an order and payment using our Printable Order Form. We gladly accept Purchase Orders as well.
NEW SERIES: ELECTION SERIES
Choices offers an Election Series that includes six titles on topics central to the 2008 election. They include:
The U.S. Role in a Changing World
Conflict in Iraq: Searching for Solutions
U.S. Immigration Policy in an Unsettled World
U.S. Trade Policy: Competing in a Global Economy
Responding to Terrorism: Challenges for Democracy
Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy
May 2008
UPDATED UNITS FROM CHOICES
The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons - 2nd edition
Confronting Genocide: Never Again? - 5th edition
Caught Between Two Worlds: Mexico at the Crossroads - 8th edition
April 2008
NEW UNIT
Contesting Cuba's Past and Future
Published in spring 2008, this new unit traces Cuban history from the country's pre-colonial past to its recent economic, social, and political changes. Students step into the shoes of ordinary Cubans to recreate current discussions about the future of Cuba. The unit includes more than sixty primary sources
March 2008
UPDATED UNIT FROM CHOICES: Conflict in Iraq: Searching for Solutions
"TEACHING WITH THE NEWS": Conflict in Iraq: Confronting Policy Alternatives
CHOICES INTRODUCES E-TEXTS
E-texts are a new electronic product, derived from our printed texts and designed for use in a paperless environment. This new interactive e-text format allows teachers to post materials on their intranet at their own pace and to work electronically with students in different locations (as in a virtual high school).They are available as a pdf package (delivered on CD) that includes individual pdf files for each reading, guide, or handout.
February 2008
UPDATED UNIT FROM CHOICES
The U.S. Role in a Changing World - 4th edition
NEW LESSON IN "TEACHING WITH THE NEWS"
Castro's Legacy and the Future of Cuba is a one-day lesson that introduces students to the worldwide debate taking place now that Fidel Castro has resigned. The lesson includes links to internet resources from around the world.
January 2008
NEW UNIT: Iran Through the Looking Glass: History, Reform, and Revolution
This unit, published in winter 2008, traces the history of Iran from its early dynasties to the present. Readings and activities help students understand the political and cultural conditions that led to the 1979 Revolution and its aftermath. Students recreate the debate among the Iranian people as they pondered their future after the departure of the shah.
CHOICES INTRODUCES "SCHOLARS ONLINE"
Scholars Online brings university scholars into secondary level classrooms. Designed to be used with Choices printed curricula, these short, informative videos can be used in conjunction with student readings or with lessons that accompany each unit. Each video discusses a specific question and includes graphics to help students better understand the scholar's answer to the question.
Scholars Online videos were recently recognized in iTunes as a "New and Notable" resource. Visit the podcasting page of Scholars Online for more information on how to get these videos free from iTunes or your preferred podcasting tool.
UPDATED UNIT: China on the World Stage: Weighing the U.S. Response
December 2007
NEW LESSON IN "TEACHING WITH THE NEWS"
The U.S. and Iran: Confronting Policy Alternatives is an interactive lesson plan that engages students in consideration of divergent policy alternatives concerning U.S. policy toward Iran. Scholars Online videos are available to accompany this lesson.
CHOICES RECEIVES GIFT TO START A DONORS PROGRAM
Choices received a generous gift this year to launch an individual donors program. The Choices Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to making resources affordable and easily available to teachers. We provide our materials at a subsidized cost and have numerous resources available on our web site free of charge. Visit our Contributions Page to learn more about how you can support the work of the Choices Program or to help us match this generous gift.
October 2007
UPDATED UNITS
U.S. Immigration Policy in an Unsettled World - 13th edition
Colonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Conflict, and Commerce - 3rd edition
September 2007
UPDATED UNIT
The United Nations: Challenges and Change - 2nd edition
UPDATED "TEACHING WITH THE NEWS" LESSON
August 2007
UPDATED UNIT FROM CHOICES
Shifting Sands: Balancing U.S. Interests in the Middle East - 11th edition