PBS provides a fascinating glimpse of Egypt's New Kingdom, arising "more than one thousand years after the pyramids were built." Concentrating on the lives of seven pharaohs (one of them a woman), the site includes a timeline, lesson plans (on Egyptian Daily Life, Pharaohs, and Beliefs), and information on the making of PBS's "Egypt's Golden Empire" TV series. Visually impressive, with great pictures of pharaohs, artifacts, reenactments, and more.

This article from PBS explains the role of priests in ancient Egypt as advisors to the pharaohs among other duties. Find out why the priests grew so wealthy and important in the government.

The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In our lives, we are constantly telling stories to ourselves and to others in an attempt to both understand our experiences and present our best selves to others.  But how do we tell a story about ourselves that is both true and positive? How do we hold ourselves up in the best possible light, while still being honest about our struggles and our flaws? Students will explore ways of interpreting and portraying personal experiences.  They'll read Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart , analyzing the text through the eyes of one character. They'll get to know that character's flaws and strengths, and they'll tell part of the story from that character's perspective, doing their best to tell an honest tale that presents their character's best side. Then they'll explore their own stories, crafting a personal narrative about an important moment of learning in his or her life.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and analyze Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart , viewing the events and conflicts of the novel through the eyes of one of the central characters.
Students write a two-part narrative project: one narrative told through their character’s perspective and one personal narrative about an incident in their own life.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How do our conflicts shape and show our character?
How can we tell a story about ourselves that’s both honest and positive?
How do definitions of justice change depending on the culture you live in?
What are ways individuals can react to a changing world? To a community that doesn’t accept us?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.

Facts are facts, but often there is more than one way to tell a “true” story. In this lesson, students will examine the story of the missionaries’ arrival, viewing it from different characters’ perspectives and thinking about the different true versions that can be told about one set of events.

Detailed biography of John Colet, a famous scholar during the Reformation whose ideas influenced the movements of his day.

The Etruscans influenced not only the government of the Roman monarchy, but also the religious practices, and early architecture.

Explore the constitutional conflict regarding the question of whether the first amendment limits the government's ability to regulate fighting words or hateful speech? This source contains background information and links to historical court cases that revolved around this issue. Also included are critical thinking/discussion questions.

Modern first amendment law was formed by cases during the WWI era. Were dissent and subversive activity protected by freedom of speech? Examine five cases that answered this constitutional question. Included are the full opinions of the court and critical thinking questions.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn about Muslims in Lawrenceville, Georgia, their plans to build an Islamic cemetery and the stiff objections from their Christian neighbors.

Students build a deeper appreciation and respect for world religions in the aim of better understanding the differences and similarities among the religions and cultures of their classmates.

A three-part exploration of the Book of Revelation from the producers of FRONTLINE, the series on PBS. Includes descriptions of the book by university historians and biblical scholars, video clips from the series, essays about the book, and more.

Full opinion of the United States Supreme Court in the Cox v. New Hampshire case (1941).

Learn about the 1962 Supreme court case Engel v. Vitale, which addresses the issue of religion in education.

Meet the GIRL!: Hiba is 11 years old and has deemed her girl power to be bravery. She used to be afraid of snakes but with a little bit of inquiry and trust she overcame her fear and now loves all things reptile. She is a great student as she studies the language Arabic with her teacher. She also proclaims herself brave daily as she proudly wears her headscarf, also as a part of her religion. She is not afraid to be who she is! [3:40] UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina's GIRL Power! is shining a light on girls of ALL ages who lead, mentor, inspire and impact those around them by tapping into their unique strengths.

This site from Geographia.com has very detailed information on art and architecture in Russia. Read about religious icons, the modern art movement in Russia, and architecture.

View a timeline of Middle Eastern history, explore events through themes, and make connections through the use of big-picture questions such as "What's the appeal of religious militancy?"

Good summary of Frege's thought. Some sections are more technical, but the explanation of his philosophy of language and other sections are more readable.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, meet an American Muslim as he prepares for Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that commemorates the Abrahamic roots of Islam.

Performed with over two million other Muslims, the rites of Hajj, the required pilgrimage to Mecca, have a profound personal impact on each pilgrim. In this video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, a Muslim from America experiences Hajj for the first time.