For Teachers
Lesson plans and activities
America at a Crossroads offers teachers a visually-rich jumping off point for discussing the post-9/11 world with middle and high school students whose lives will be impacted by the changes affecting U.S. foreign relations, domestic policy, and cultural realities.
To help teachers bring these issues to life, WETA has created lesson plans for use in middle and high school classrooms. You are welcome to download and use the lesson plans and activities below.
Lesson Themes
The lessons are based on a Richmond, Virginia project in which posters with Arabic script on them (that translate into silly sayings like I’m a Little Teapot and Paper or Plastic) were placed on buses and in bus stations. The translation of the Arabic phrase is spelled out in small type at the bottom of each poster with taglines such as “What did you think it said?”, “We fear what we don’t understand”, and “Misunderstanding can make anything scary.”
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I’m a Little Teapot
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Paper or Plastic
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Rock, Paper, Scissors
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WETA’s America at a Crossroads lesson plans take their cue from this public education campaign to help students think for themselves and individually confront their own assumptions, stereotypes, and fears.
Our thanks to A More Perfect Union (part of the Virginia Interfaith Center) and The Martin Agency, the two groups responsible for the original campaign, for their support, as well as to the author of the lesson plans, Maureen Carroll, Ph.D.
Download Lesson Plans
- For Middle School - Stop the Bus: Examining Fear, Stereotypes and Terror in Our Everyday Lives
- For High School — Stop the Bus: Confronting Our Assumptions About Muslims in America
- Bus sign graphics — Click below to download the posters used in the public education campaign.
- Other lesson plans — Many public television stations are offering educational resources to accompany the America at a Crossroads series. Please see the PBS website for a complete list.
Final Student Projects
As a final project, the lesson plans suggest that teachers ask students to submit their essays, video PSAs, or t-shirt designs regarding what they learned to weta.org. WETA will feature a selection of student projects on this web site.