Civics Lesson Plans

Students explore the idea of what a community is. In this civics instructional activity, students discover the difficulties a person might face when coming to a new school, and how one adapts to a new community.

Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this The Diary of Anne Frank lesson, students examine the characters in the play and identify how altruism, civic responsibility, moral reasoning, human rights, sacrifice, and social justice are portrayed. Students compare the play to the primary source Diary of Anne Frank.

Students report\ on the definition of Taliban, a description of what it is like to live under Taliban rule, background information on the Taliban leader, Osama Bin Laden, and an explanation as to why America (and other nations) are at war with the Taliban

Third graders relate the everyday duties in the classroom and in the community. In this character education lesson, 3rd graders compare duties in the classroom to duties in the community and chart them on a Venn diagram. Students discuss current issues in the community and how solve problems fairly.

Learners examine why civic facilities are located where they are in their community. They collect and analyze data using primary and secondary sources, take a walking tour of their school and surrounding neighborhood, and summarize the information.

Sixth graders interpret Franklin's style, his ease of writing and content, using this to inspire, motivate and guide them to do more writing. They list Franklin's civic accomplishments and political accomplishments. They name 4 documents he signed and interpret how he felt about his accomplishments.

Students examine the impact of 4-H clubs during World War II. In this primary source analysis lesson, students read 4-H primary source materials in order to discover how the clubs functioned during the war. Students write articles that reveal how the counties participated in 4-H during the war.

Students compare Neoclassical objects from the Getty collection to American civic architecture of the time. They discuss the moral and political ideas of the Enlightenment and articulate how these art forms influenced democratic thought in America.

Young scholars think about designing and, perhaps, creating their own public park or space. It helps students think about community needs, park design, and civic activism.

Learners become familiar with the results of the Canadian Federal Election by analyzing data on the number of valid votes by political affiliation. In this civics lesson plan, students integrate data and knowledge with other research materials to produce a 2 to 3 page election strategy for a specific political party.