For Educators

In this lesson, students will watch film clips that tell the story of Salim Hamdan, a driver employed by Osama bin Laden who spent more than seven years in United States custody because he was suspected of terrorist activities. Students will also debate whether or not terrorism suspects should be tried in civilian courts so that their civil liberties can be protected by the U.S. Constitution.

In these lesson plans designed to accompany The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, students will study past and present whistleblowers, bringing problems of ethics, civics, and transparency into question.

This lesson plan is designed for teachers to assign students video projects to enter in the This is My Family Contest. The contest deadline is November 15, 2010. We are assuming that each teacher has access to a digital video-editing lab and is familiar with basic video editing software or direct video capturing software via digital cameras or webcam.

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film The English Surgeon, which follows the volunteer work of an English neurosurgeon as he improves medical care for patients of a brain surgery clinic in Ukraine. Classrooms can use this film and its companion website resources to explore volunteerism and how students can make a difference in their own communities.

New Muslim Cool follows the day-to-day life of a Muslim family living in Pittsburgh, PA. Classrooms can use this program to help increase their understanding of Muslim culture in the United States.

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film Beyond Hatred, which tells the story of a brutal hate crime and the response of the victim's family and the French legal system. Classrooms can use this program to examine how prejudice and discrimination can negatively impact a democratic society.

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film Life.Support.Music., which documents the recovery of guitarist Jason Crigler after he suffered a brain hemorrhage while onstage at a show. Classrooms can use Crigler's powerful story to raise issues about U.S. health care reform, especially topics related to long-term care.

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court, which tells the history of this judicial body and the struggles it has faced since it was organized in 2002. Classrooms can use this film to explore U.S. policy related to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), which tells the story of members of a Laotian family whose father and husband helped the United States wage a so-called "secret war" in Laos during the Vietnam War, only to face imprisonment or execution after the United States withdrew its forces. It is a case study for showing students how U.S. foreign policy decisions have the potential to impact generations.

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film Utopia, Part 3: The World's Largest Shopping Mall, part of the POV Shorts Program.