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All TRAILS Resources
All TRAILS Resources
May 31, 2023

Browse the entire collection of TRAILS resources here.

Jessica Anna Cebulak
Identifying Colorblind Ideology on The O'Reilly Factor
March 31, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Racial and Ethnic Relations
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
The purpose of this activity is to engage students with examples of colorblind racism in media discourse. To do this, this activity utilizes an excerpt from The O’Reilly Factor. This activity will assess students’ understanding of the four central frames of...
Cover Page Requires Subscription DOC
Katherine L. Newton
Criminological Theories Through Rap Music
March 24, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Criminology/Delinquency
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
The objective of this classroom activity is to engage students with examples of criminological theories found in popular culture. This activity will assess students’ understanding of criminological theory such as labeling theory, differential association theory, and...
Cover Page Requires Subscription DOCX
Courtney Blue
Students’ Accounts for Drinking and Driving: Applying Excuses and Justifications to Explain Behaviors
March 23, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Deviant Behavior/Social Disorganization
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
This classroom activity is designed to define and apply Scott & Lyman’s (1968) typology of accounts. Accounts are linguistic tools social actors use to explain their actions when their behavior is deemed unexpected and inappropriate. In other words, accounts are...
Cover Page
Marcella Louise Mulhollem
EXPLORATION OF MERTON’S INNOVATOR AND BLOCKED OPPORTUNITIES
March 18, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Criminology/Delinquency
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
This is a classroom activity designed to help clarify Merton’s blocked opportunity structures and innovation deviance. Merton (1939;1959) defined the innovator as one who uses unconventional means in order to attain culturally approved goals. Often the illustration...
Cover Page Requires Subscription DOCX
Kosha D Bramesfeld
The Game of Social Life: A Multidimensional Poverty Simulation
February 23, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Stratification/Mobility
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
Understanding structural factors in social life is one of the top learning goals of a course in sociology (Persell 2010). Still, students often react defensively to discussions about structural inequality (Davis 1992; Watt 2007). Simulation activities may be a means...
Cover Page Requires Subscription DOCX
Todd W. Ferguson, Brita Andercheck, Paul McClure
Education and the Conflict Perspective: A College Admissions Committee Activity
February 23, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Education
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
This in-class activity is designed to illustrate the conflict perspective and to further a student’s understanding of how the education system perpetuates economic, gender and social class inequalities. In this activity, students take on the role of a college...
Cover Page Requires Subscription PDF Requires Subscription PDF Requires Subscription PPTX Requires Subscription JPG
Melanie D Hildebrandt
Sociology of Native Americans
February 23, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Racial and Ethnic Relations
Resource Type(s):
Syllabus
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Medium
Abstract:
This course is designed to introduce undergraduates to some of the history, cultures, and dramatic changes experienced by the indigenous populations of North America as a result of European settlement and American conquest. Using a sociological approach, the course...
Cover Page Requires Subscription PDF
Reid J. Ilten
Socializing Social Media
February 23, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Socialization
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
One way to help students develop a deeper understanding of course material is to have them apply concepts to their own lived experience. This class activity is designed to help students gain a deeper understanding of agents of socialization by considering how/if they...
Cover Page Requires Subscription PPTX Requires Subscription PDF
Katy M. Pinto
Context of Immigration Exercise and Lesson
February 9, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Migration/Immigration
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity, Lecture, PowerPoint
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Medium
Abstract:
This is an immigration exercise to teach students the four components of the concept of context of reception. The exercise uses an open ended survey that students complete in the classroom and a PowerPoint presentation that introduces and explains the concept. The...
Cover Page Requires Subscription PPTX Requires Subscription JPG Requires Subscription DOCX
Katherine Lyon, Neil Guppy
Teaching the Sociological Imagination: Imagining the Social Side of Loneliness
January 23, 2015
Subject Area(s):
Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
This lesson plan outlines a set of interactive exercises designed for one 50 minute tutorial in a first year introductory sociology course. Students are introduced to Mills’ The Sociological Imagination (1959) and participate in a close reading activity. The class...
Cover Page Requires Subscription PDF

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