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 * Topic:** American




 * Essential Question:** What does it mean to be American?


 * Challenge:** To inform others to make them understand what it means to be American.

1. Why is it important to be a diverse American? 2. What was the meaning of being an American in the past? 3. What are some privileges that Americans have that some foreign countries do not? 4. What can we do spread awareness about patriotism?
 * Guiding Questions:**



Survey about how students of Pascack Valley feel about being American. Use the internet to research statistics of diversity in America. Research any reliable resources to answer the questions.
 * Guiding Activities:**

Internet Databases/Sites/Images Pascack Valley Student Body Itunes U
 * Guiding Resources:**


 * Data:**

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__Being Diverse:__ If America has no diversities, it will be just an ordinary country like many others. Being versatile and diverse is what makes us unique and strong. By accepting different backgrounds and cultures into our daily American lifestyle, American have learn to accept that no matter who we are, or what we do, we are all human and should be treated as equals(Helium).======

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According to Mr. Convoy's lectures, being an American meant power. America was changing drastically in 1900's. First, it was undergoing industrialization, which improved its economy. Second, Americans adopted a philosophy called Social Darwinism, which refers to Darwin's famous saying, "the fittest survives." Therefore, America was building its power to become one of the dominating countries with other powerful European nations. One way to do that was by imperializing countries Americans considered less civilized. From this, they embraced the thought of "White Man's Burden," meaning they felt responsibility to civilize and help others by westernizing them. Therefore, citizens felt superior to be Americans due to the growth of the nation's power (history notes from Mr. Convoy's AP US II class).======

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__Privileges-__ Americans have more advanced technology and a more accepting culture. Meaning that there are many different religions and races that are accepted here in America. It also means to have an education system.

-Constitution: Bill of Rights; to protect freedom of speech, religion, petition, press, and assembly.

__**Solution Paragraph:**__

Being American can mean many different things for different people. What our group found out was that being American means three things. First, it means being diverse in our culture and race. Diversity brings uniqueness to America. Since we experience different cultures and ideas, we can adopt new ways easily. In 19th century, people were proud be Americans due to its fast advance in industry, business, military, and imperialism of smaller nations. Also, being privileged in terms of education and technology. For example, America was the first to invent computers, light bulbs, and other daily necessities. In addition, it provides many universities for people in various levels of education. Lastly, being free. Free in the sense that we have the choice to what we want with our lives. Free in the sense that the government protects our freedoms of speech, religion, petition, press, and assembly. We are the fundamental role model for other nations to follow in areas like military, government, economy, technology, education, and more. There are so many opportunities and privileges that America provides, but not many people are grateful of that.

High School students were asked, "What does it mean to be American." Many people thought having pride in ones self, while others thought being American means freedom. The majority of the responses said it meant that you live in America and support the United States.
 * __Survey Data:__**