Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, made up of more than 17,000 islands, with lush rain forests, mountainous interiors, mangrove forests, rich coral reefs, and sandy beaches. Read all about the country's land and resources, the environmental challenges it faces, and the impact of colonization by Europeans, as well as daily life and culture for people across Indonesia. Free downloadable Teacher's Notes.
Dominated by the mighty Alps and sharing borders with five different countries, Switzerland is known for its beautiful landscapes and multicultural society. Read all about the country's land and resources, the population-dense central plateau, and its early settlement, as well as daily life and culture today for people across Switzerland. Free downloadable Teacher's Notes.
Cuba, an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, is a top tourist destination due to its subtropical climate and beautiful coastline. Read all about the country's land and resources, its complicated political history, and the impact of colonization by Europeans, as well as daily life and culture today for people across Cuba. Free downloadable Teacher's Notes.
As the fifth-largest country in the world, Brazil's landscapes range from the famous Amazon rain forest to biodiverse mangroves, flat grasslands, and mountain ranges. Read all about the country's land and resources, how Indigenous peoples live, and the impact of colonization by Europeans, as well as daily life and culture today for people across Brazil. Free downloadable Teacher's Notes.
As a famous actor and person of privilege, Emma Watson's 2014 speech as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador was a call for equality and justice. In her speech, she implores men and boys to join the fight for gender equality - for their own sake and that of the other half of the world's population. Watson shares her own experience discovering feminism at an early age and wanting other young women and men to not shrink from the word or the work required to make a more inclusive world.
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." The prophetic words of abolitionist, writer, and social reformer Frederick Douglass live on in his speeches and books of autobiography. This speech, delivered on July 5, 1852 was an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass grew up enslaved and deprived of rights and liberty and argued that the American values of freedom and liberty for some, but not all, was an injustice to all humans.
Journalist, speaker, and early civil rights leader Ida B. Wells was one of the most outspoken and famous women in the United States. Her powerful speeches on the injustices of lynching in America meant she was subjected to threats on her own life. Her 1909 speech to the newly formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) addresses the social and political circumstances that led to lynching. Her fact-based analysis dispels contrary arguments in clear tones and sets out why this race-based crime was a stain on the nation.
Elie Wiesel lost most of his family to the Nazi death camps of World War II. As a Holocaust survivor, he dedicated his life to ending injustice, suffering, and indifference. In this 1999 speech given at the White House, Wiesel makes the case for gratitude, passion, and "making a difference" in the world. His speech links being indifferent, or being a bystander to hate, to destroying humanity. Indifference harms all, because "in denying (people) their humanity we betray our own."
From its roots in ancient Greece to its revitalization in the Age of Enlightenment and beyond, democracy as a form of government has changed over time. Find out what threats democracy faces today, and how it is a process that requires constant upkeep and renewal.
When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in 2020, nearly every country in the world went into some form of lockdown. Yet each was different. With fascinating images and informative text, this book looks at the rules and restrictions people lived under and how they affected work, school, commerce, and daily life. A detailed final chapter examines the success and failures of lockdown and how countries could approach future pandemics.
When people boarded the Diamond Princess cruise ship in February 2020, they had no idea their luxury vacation would turn into a nightmare of quarantine, sickness, and death. Using real examples of living through the pandemic, this fascinating book gives an overall inside look at how much changed and how quickly during COVID-19--the first major pandemic since 1918. A useful timeline will help readers keep track of the major events during the pandemic.
Read about the different kinds of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures that lived long ago. Find out how they lived and died, how only their fossils remain, and much more. Then see if you can answer questions, such as: Why did the dinosaurs become extinct? Which dinosaur had the smallest brain? What can we learn from dinosaur footprints?
This timely book offers a critical examination of issues in the headlines concerning racial bias, crime, and police violence. Race and Crime shines a light on biases and assumptions that link race with crime in the media, and encourages readers to reflect on these biases in the information they consume daily. Readers are asked to consider the roles that policing, prisons, immigration, and the media play in enforcing racism, and to examine their effects throughout history, which include hate crimes in the forms of slavery, genocide, and police violence. Through debate sidebars, critical thinking questions, and real-world case studies, this title goes beyond media headlines to encourage students to critically explore important issues surrounding race and crime in their communities, nations, and the world.
This important title tackles the complex events that led up to the global financial crisis and recession of 2007 onward. Readers will weave their way through the differing causes and effects of the crisis and are encouraged to come to their own conclusions about global economic theories, the effects of globalization, and the income inequality between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. Using case studies, debate sidebars, and critical-thinking questions, Global Financial Crisis offers perspectives on past and current economic situations, ultimately addressing the question: Is the current economic climate fair and stable, or are the world's economies heading for another crash?
How did soccer originate? When was the game first added to the Olympics? These are questions answered in Score! The Story of Soccer. This book provides a historical look at the sports development from ancient times through its explosion in Europe to its huge popularity in North America today.
The ultimate military society is explored in this book on the ancient Spartan civilization. From training methods to the famed Battle of Thermopylae, the heroics and failures of Sparta are uncovered.
On July 23, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin stepped from their spacecraft onto the alien soil of the Moon - Earth's sister world. Using archival images and explanatory text, this riveting title guides the reader through NASA’s Apollo space program, including the tragic deaths of an entire flight crew and Apollo's ultimate triumph - the first lunar landing in 1969. Maps of the Moon show where Apollo 11's lunar lander Eagle landed and the route taken by the Soviet robot lander Lunokhod 1 in 1970.
This fascinating book describes what scientists discovered about the Moon from the Apollo missions that came after the successful landing in 1969, until the last mission in 1972. A discussion follows of why flights to the Moon stopped, the creation of space stations, such as Skylab, that followed, and what exciting new plans are now being made to revisit the Moon. Maps of the Moon show where astronauts drove in rovers on the surface and what resources can be found on the Moon, from ice to helium.
This timely and important title examines the motivations, events, and effects of the terrorist practice of taking hostages. From political bargaining throughout history to current activity by the terrorist group ISIS, readers will consider the reasons that groups engage in hostage taking and learn about the effects it has on victims and their larger communities. Taking the stance of a global citizen, readers will debate whether hostage takers should be negotiated with and how hostage taking could be prevented. Using case studies, debate sidebars, and critical thinking questions, Hostage Takers allows readers to critically explore the media’s coverage of terrorism and hostage situations, exposing them to differing perspectives on how best to deal with these threats now and in the future.
From limiting the working day to eight hours to forming unions and protecting children in the labor force, the rights of workers has long been, and still remains, a fascinating and important topic. This title weaves through the history of workers' rights using engaging primary sources, following multiple perspectives of differing groups including women, children, and immigrants. Readers will gain an understanding of the social and economic conditions under which change was demanded, and learn about the essential movements for better working conditions and the people who led the way. A critical look at the rights of different working groups today encourages readers to explore the steps that still need to be taken to achieve working equality across the globe.
An important addition to any multicultural collection, this title examines the internment of “enemy aliens” in the United States and Canada during the Second World War. With particular emphasis on “yellow peril” and the plight of Japanese-American and Canadian citizens, the book reveals the events, mindsets, and policies leading up to and following the forced removal of thousands of citizens from their homes into internment camps. Using primary sources including real accounts of survivors, the title encourages readers to examine differing perspectives on the events and think critically about the complex relationship between citizenship and diversity in North America. A final chapter considers the lasting effects of internment - and how harmful stereotypes in today’s global climate run the risk of repeating past mistakes.
True or false? In October 1871, a cow kicked a lantern over and sparked a fire that would destroy much of the city of Chicago. The cow tale is likely not the true story, but the damage and death toll of the Great Chicago Fire were very real. This engrossing book explores the causes of the fire, how it spread, and the aftermath of the blaze. It also explains how the mighty city was rebuilt to become one of the most architecturally diverse and original cities in the world.
As we reflect in 2016 on the 30th anniversary of the Shuttle Challenger tragedy, it is fitting that we remind ourselves why all of these brave and daring pioneers go into space. From the first unmanned spacecraft to the planned mission to Mars in 2030, this awesome book celebrates the milestone achievements of space travel, the agonizing - but no less important - failures, and the pioneers who made it happen - sometimes giving their lives to do it.
The snarls of beasts, the clash of steel, the cries of the victims, and the roar of the crowd - these are the gladiator games of ancient Rome. The heroes of these spectacles were the gladiators, who were idolized like today’s pop stars. This exciting book reveals the sometimes surprising facts about how these fierce combatants lived - and if they could not - how they tried to "die well."
Black Tuesday and the Great Depression explores the causes of the stock market crash in 1929 and the resulting Great Depression. For more than ten years the effects of October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, were felt not only in North America, but worldwide. Source material, including posters, political cartoons, books, interviews, and articles show the devastation of the resulting mass unemployment, epidemic real estate foreclosures, and crushing poverty of those years.
