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Lesson Plan
Judicial Branch of California

Balancing Act: The Three Branches

For Teachers 5th Standards
What do hula hoops and the American system of government have in common? Using hands-on station activities, pupils consider the roles of the three branches of government. A script for teachers and writing prompts help round out a...
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Lesson Plan
City University of New York

Urban Politics: Machines and Reformers

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Take a trip to the turn of the twentieth century with a resource about industrialism in America. With primary source documents and focus questions, learners think about the ways that government groups and organizations paved the way for...
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Lesson Plan
Judicial Learning Center

Rule of Law WebQuest

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Go on a WebQuest to find the Rule of Law! Scholars use the Internet to learn all about how law works in a democracy and how the Rule of Law relates to both American government and governments around the world. Researchers then engage in...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Analyzing McCulloch v. Maryland

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What happened in the Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland? The resource teaches the specifics of the case with a video and provided discussion questions covering issues such as precedent and the Supreme Court as an equal branch of...
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Lesson Plan
Pace University

Jacksonian Democracy

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Jacksonian Democracy ... a total success or a complete failure? Young academics examine Jacksonian Democracy, including the concept of the supremacy of the federal government and the forced relocation of Native Americans. Scholars...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Featured Activity: Exploring Questions for the 2020 Census

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Just what is the census for? Using data and census questions, class members explore how officials gather information. Then, they consider how the government uses the answers to determine how it spends its money with a collaborative...
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Lesson Plan
BBC

Local Democracy

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Expanding our students' understanding of government at a local level is a great way to build an understanding of government at a global level. Start the understanding by using any of these fun teaching ideas. Learners engage in several...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

You Can’t Say That: Right to Know vs. Security Risk

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Print or block? That is the question young journalists debate as part of their study of the freedom of the press. Half the class represents the journalists' legal team, and the other half represents the government's legal team. Teams...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

A Cry for Help in Alabama - 1934

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
What should be the role of the federal government during an economic crisis? That is the question at the center of this introduction to a study of the New Deal. Class members examine letters to the state government asking for help,...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Conflict in Alabama in the 1830s: Native Americans, Settlers, and Government

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To better understand the Indian Removal Act of 1830, class members examine primary source documents including letters written by Alabama governors and the Cherokee chiefs. The lesson is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Presidential Campaign Game

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Upper graders play a game as a way to facilitate understanding of US Presidential Campaign issues and strategies. After being divided into small groups, a candidate will be chosen to run for office. Each group creates propaganda to get...
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Lesson Plan
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Bonneville

Renewable Energy Panel

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Plan a panel on public policy. On the first day of lessons, scholars identify local government planners and create questions to ask regarding renewable energy and infrastructure. On the second day, they conduct the panel and learn about...
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Lesson Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

Unintended Consequences

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What would your class members say to the opportunity to take two years off of school between grades 10 and 11? Examine the economic concepts of costs, benefits, and unintended consequences with this unique and engaging approach.
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Unit Plan
Film Foundation

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: What Is a Movie?

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Watching is not the same as seeing. Transform viewers from passive watchers to active students of film with this 34-page packet, filled with lessons and activities that use Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to examine the technology, the...
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Unit Plan
Film Foundation

Film Language and Elements of Style

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
How do you read a frame? How do you read a shot? Here's a resource that shows viewers how to read films. As part of the study, class members examine the camera angles, lighting, movement, and cinematic point of view in Mr. Smith Goes to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Your Tax Dollars at Work

For Teachers 5th - 12th
In order to understand how tax dollars are spent, young economists use given data and graph it on a circle graph. Circle graphs are highly visual and can help individuals describe data. A class discussion follows the initial activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Can You Find in the Cabinet?

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Looking in the cabinet can be fascinating! Examine the various departments of the Executive Cabinet in this group research project, which jigsaws so each small group has a different department and presents to the class. Groups create...
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Lesson Plan
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School Improvement in Maryland

Building a Pyramid

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After reviewing the structure and powers of the three branches of the US government, groups investigate a problem and research what is being done to address this criticism.
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Lesson Plan
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School Improvement in Maryland

Political Systems: Advantages and Disadvantages

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a...
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Lesson Plan
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School Improvement in Maryland

Affirmative Action

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do the government's affirmative action policies promote equity in the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and affirmative action policies come under scrutiny in an activity that asks class members to...
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Lesson Plan
1
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School Improvement in Maryland

Pollution Data

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Smog? Vog? What is being done about air pollution? Government classes investigate federal and state programs designed to improve air quality, and then develop a proposal for further actions that are needed.
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Lesson Plan
1
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School Improvement in Maryland

Smart Growth

For Teachers 9th - 12th
New roads, new businesses, new developments, new mass transit systems. All growth has both positive and negative effects on communities. Government classes investigate the principles of Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth program and the...
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Lesson Plan
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School Improvement in Maryland

Demographic Investigation

For Students 9th - 12th
What are the factors that influence voting patterns? How do these factors influence government funding? Is participation the squeaky wheel gets the grease? Class members interpret graphs and analyze trends to determine what demographic...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Evolution of the Presidency: Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin D. Roosevelt

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
How much power should a president be allowed to exert? Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt exercised their power according to their interpretations of the United States Constitution, and these interpretations affected the...

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