Annenberg Foundation
Service Learning in the Social Studies
Active Citizenship Today (ACT) is a "unique social studies service learning program" that requires learners to learn about the public policy associated with community issues they identify in their local community. This web site provides...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Asian Islam and Arab Islam
Focus on the impact and practice of Islam throughout Asia and the Middle East. Learners review the seven major religions, the spread of Islam, and Islamic tenets commonly practiced. They then research one country that practices Islamic...
Curated OER
Getting Help: Food Stamps and Nutrition Programs
Here is another lesson regarding the law. This time, the laws that dictate eligibility for food stamps is the focus. After an initial discussion about the basics of the laws, learners do a case study of a family who is applying for food...
Curated OER
Termination of Parental Rights
Learners study the causes for a juvenile court to terminate all rights of a parent to a child. They do case studies of a few examples of this scenario taking place. This instructional activity invites quite a bit of debate amongst the...
Curated OER
Equal Protection of the Law: Fact or Fiction
High schoolers focus on the 14th Amendment of the Bill of Rights to decide whether or not racism denies citizens of their rights under the amendment. They watch a movie, Every Two Seconds and complete a worksheet (included in the plan)...
Curated OER
What's Wong? What's Right?
Explore the ethics, responsibilities, and impacts of the career cluster that relates to law. Learners examine various cases where legal action was taken and resulted in a consequence. They'll act out various scenarios, research jobs in...
Curated OER
Double Jeopardy Clause: A Fifth Amendment Constitution Trivia Game
Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This lesson is extremely...
Curated OER
Gold Rush California and its Diverse Population
Students compare contemporary cultural differences with historical differences based on population percentage. In this cross-curriculum Gold Rush/math lesson, students analyze aspects of California's Gold Rush population and diversity...
Curated OER
Keep Your Eye On the Prize
High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...
Curated OER
Who's The Boss?
Upper elementary and middle schoolers research and analyze some different types of governments. Democracies, Monarchies, and Dictatorships are some of the types that are looked at. Learners use the Internet to gather information that...
Curated OER
Streetfilms' Moving Beyond the Automobile
This is an exceptional series that you can use in an environmental or engineering unit. There are four lessons: "Sustainable Transportation," "Designing for Safety," "Changing the Landscape," and "Engaging in Policy." Each lesson plan...
Curated OER
Stage a Debate: A Primer for Teachers (Lincoln-Douglas Debate Format)
For a comprehensive overview of debate styles and formats, look at this resource. It details the Lincoln-Douglas debate format (one-to-one debate with specific, timed rounds of points, cross-examination, and rebuttals). You can also find...
Curated OER
Family Life
What is family? Challenge your scholars to write an encompassing definition of what this word means to them. After reading "It May Be a Family Matter, But Just Try to Define Family," class members discuss the emotional issues surrounding...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cloning
Students explore the issues and challenges of cloning. In this cloning lesson plan, students read about how cloning affects people and the types of cloning, then they prepare a debate either for or against cloning.
Curated OER
How Often Do You Interact with People of Another Race or Ethnicity?
Is interacting with people from different backgrounds part of a well-rounded education? A big question awaits young readers as they explore two New York Times articles that discuss modern-day segregation, population statistics, and...
Curated OER
Who Could Have Been Who
Can word choice affect a candidate's likeability? Use a New York Times lesson to explore how a presidential candidate's likeability factor can fluctuate in public opinion polls. Young readers choose a presidential election from their...
Curated OER
A Positive Spin
Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally, they...
Curated OER
Jefferson vs. Franklin: Revolutionary Philosophers
Students cite connections among Franklin's Albany Plan of 1754, his Plan of Confederation of 1775 and the U.S. Constitution and/or the Declaration of Independence. In an essay, they give examples of the philosophical and political...
Curated OER
The Campaign of 1840: William Henry Harrison and Tyler, Too
High schoolers list some issues important during the campaign of 1840. They compare and contrast the careers of Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison before they became president and explain why the Whigs wanted to find a candidate...
NPR
Civil Rights of Japanese-American Internees
Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...
Curated OER
Consequences of the Sedition Act
Learners research and discuss the consequences of the Sedition Act. They illustrate the difficulty of balancing security needs and personal freedom using an example from John Adams's presidency.
Curated OER
The Election Is in the House: The Denouement
Young scholars research the US Presidential election of 1824. They explain why the election of 1824 was decided in the House of Representatives. They summarize relevant portions of the Constitution on presidential election procedures.
Curated OER
Remembrance of Things Past
Engage critical and social thinking by exploring the value of language and word choice. The class considers the article "The Silence of the Historic Present" and analyzes several presidential speeches. They engage in class discussion,...
Curated OER
Whose Rite Is It?
The class explores and debates, from multiple perspectives, a petition to allow Hopi Indians to take golden eagle hatchlings from a federal wildlife sanctuary for use in a religious ceremony. Pupils defend their personal views on the...