Democracy Lesson Plans

Students consider what they already know about democracy and examine how viable democracy is for Middle Eastern nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government.

Students examine the voting process.  In this democracy instructional activity, students watch a video about the history of voting rights, discuss voting concerns of young voters, learn how to register to vote and hold a mock election.

Students complete a worksheet about the government and identify the characteristics of different governments. In this government lesson plan, students define representative democracy and complete a worksheet.

Tenth graders analyze the development of self government in the United States. In this representative democracy lesson plan, 10th graders use primary sources to construct a firm understanding of the beliefs, settlements, and roots of American Democracy. They will then examine the development of these ideas as expressed in the Declaration on Independence.

Students create dictionary of terms for citizens of a democracy, using events and biographies from both their state's history and U.S. history.

Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well as create a presentation over the course of 4 days.

Young scholars explore the facets of democracy. For this civic responsibility lesson, students create a definition of democracy and discuss the difference between a spectator and a participatory citizen. Young scholars discuss whose responsibility it is to improve government and protect the rights of the people. Students work in groups to learn about civil society, civic responsibility, patriotism, advocacy and right to petition the government. They then present these ideas to the class.

Fifth graders contrast and compare ancient Greece to the U.S.A.  For this Greek History lesson, 5th graders investigate the buildings and designs of ancient Greece, as well as their democracy and government.  Students answer questions from a worksheet about the direct influence Greece has had on the United States.

Learners consider how to strengthen democratic principles in Latin America. In this government systems lesson, students explore the challenges to democratic forms of government in Latin America as they examine primary sources. Learners conduct research regarding 3 Latin American nations and create profiles for the nations that feature facts about the nations and the work being done in the nation to promote democracy.