The Impact of Identity
Students explore how identity impacts our responses to other people and events by examining a cartoon and analyzing an opinion poll from a week after Ferguson.
![Students learning in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2019_SL_190522_0613_FH2101388.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=_mOwH2tA)
The Power of Images
Students examine how identity and biases can impact how individuals interpret images and experience the challenge of selecting images to represent news events, particularly connected to sensitive issues.
![People hold hands in prayer in the parking lot of convenience store that was looted and burned after Michael Brown was shot by police in Ferguson, Mo.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2014_LivinginFerguson_FH230964.jpg?h=8b6300e7&itok=E_y1giir)
Preparing Students for Difficult Conversations
Students establish a safe space for holding sensitive conversations, before introducing the events surrounding Ferguson, by acknowledging people's complicated feelings about race and creating a classroom contract.
![Students learning in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2019_SL_190522_0595_FH2101381.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=pAqFB2Uf)
Social Media and Ferguson
Students explore the role of social media in Ferguson, apply information verification strategies to social media posts, and develop strategies for becoming critical consumers and sharers of social media.
![Peaceful demonstrators gather in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/2016_PeacefulProtestinFerguson_FH224149.jpg?h=c4842d71&itok=6lE2ICT0)
The Devastation of War
Students learn about the aftermath of the Civil War and examine primary source documents that provide insight into the difficult task of reuniting the nation.
![The ruins of Mills House and nearby buildings, Charleston, South Carolina, at end of American Civil War.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1865_MillsHouseCharleston_FH21291.jpg?h=dfc3751c&itok=xxOQb9az)
Healing and Justice
Students examine President Andrew Johnson's plan for Reconstruction and the debate it provoked with Congress while reflecting on deeper issues of healing and justice.
![Columbia with black union soldier with amputated leg in ornate Greco-Roman style building](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civic_Engagement_1865_Pardon_Franchise_Columbia_FH21375.jpg?h=5bba1fc0&itok=DENbKk8S)
Acts of Hate in Schools
Students learn about the overall rise in acts of hate in schools and examine a story that illustrates how acts of antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hate can overlap.
![A young man holds a dark can of spray paint close to a blue wall to sketch his graffiti](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/ActsofHateSchools_iStock-464736054_full-res.jpg?h=bfa41935&itok=c-HOmvE3)
Brave Girl Rising: A Refugee Story
Created in partnership with Girl Rising, this lesson invites students to engage with the story of a young refugee and to consider the power of storytelling to spark empathy.
![Young woman in red in front of trees](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/shorthand_image140of143.jpeg?h=4dc35482&itok=7UScoCil)
Can Dress Codes Exclude People?
Explore how dress codes can unfairly target the appearance of certain groups of people and help students consider what fair school dress codes look like.
Different Perspectives on Migrant Detention
In this mini-lesson, students gain insight into migration and the systems surrounding migrant detention by considering the perspectives of migrants, an immigration lawyer and advocate, a border guard, and an immigration judge.
![Undocumented immigrant families walk from a bus depot to a respite center](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/PerspectivesonDetention_RTX6D3SR_fullres.jpg?h=2a871bf3&itok=i7w7FDb7)
Verifying Breaking News
Students evaluate the differences among news accounts about Ferguson, develop strategies for verifying news and information, and understand the challenges facing journalists as they cover complex, fast-moving events.
![Reporters conducting an interview.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/iStock-1350663690.jpg?h=62bc044e&itok=TN8_VBij)