Media Smarts
Thinking like a Citizen
Explore the influence social activism can have on important issues, and create a class full of young citizen activists. This plan calls for learners to participate in a whole class discussion and brainstorm about ways to effectively...
Teaching Tolerance
Digital Tools as a Mechanism for Active Citizenship
How is technology a useful tool for active citizenship? Pupils assume the role of technology consultants reviewing citizenship projects. Small groups collaborate to make recommendations about how to incorporate technology to improve...
Facing History and Ourselves
Citizen Power Makes Democracy Work
Eric Liu's formula "power plus character equals citizenship" and his three strategies to making change happen model for high schoolers how to develop citizen power, how to get involved and participate to make democracy work. Class...
National Wildlife Federation
Citizen Science to the Rescue!
You don't have to be a scientist or even out of high school to contribute to scientific research. In the 12th lesson in the series of 21, scholars use this opportunity to add to the growing body of scientific knowledge and consider the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
"From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," Claudia Rankine
Claudia Rankine's poem "From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," asks readers to consider direct and more subtle forms of prejudice. After discussing the format of the poem, its tone, and the emotions expressed, class members...
National Park Service
Civil War to Civil Rights: From Pea Ridge to Central High
Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning.
Curated OER
Be the Change: Core Values
How do core values and identity contribute to citizenship and leadership? After engaging in a series of activities that explore core values, writers craft a children’s story that focuses on one value. They arrange to read their story to...
Curated OER
A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Color Your Community
Eighth graders work together to come up with a topic for a service learning project that engages all members of the school community. Groups then develop a dialogue and visit other classrooms to encourage other students to participate....
Wish for the Future
Wish for the Future
What would be your class's ideal world 30 years in the future? What about 100 years? Use a series of activities to discuss globalization, sustainability, scientific contributions to society, and the global community of which your...
What So Proudly We Hail
A Lesson on Benjamin Franklin’s “Project for Moral Perfection”
Benjamin Franklin identified 13 virtues that he felt would strengthen his character if he could focus on each one. A thorough lesson plan explores high schoolers' personal values in the context of their lives, and compels them to strive...
Advocates for Human Rights
Civic Engagement and U.S. Immigration Policy
To conclude their study of immigration and human rights, class members create a civic engagement project centered on an issue of immigration and designed to influence US immigration policy. They examine examples of attempts to influence...
Civil War Trust
Genealogy
The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether they...
Teaching Tolerance
How Fair Use Works
What's fair is fair! Using the resource, scholars discuss the key differences between fair use and copyright. Next, in small groups, pupils create and present projects that demonstrate fair use of copyrighted material, such as a song,...
Missouri Department of Elementary
My Action Plan
To complete a study of the importance of developing a positive self-image, high school seniors complete an "Action Plan for Maintaining Who I Am" worksheet. They then submit their finished worksheets for inclusion in their Personal...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Color Your Destiny
Class groups bring feeling words alive by creating a poster that illustrates with images and colors, but not words, the feeling conjured by the word. The posters are then combined into a mural for the classroom wall.
Curated OER
Immigration Illumination Project Curriculum Materials
Gain an understanding of the complex topic of immigration with a collection of resources. Class members engage in a series of activities designed to give them insight into the factors that influence immigration policies and the effects...
Northwest Career & Technical Academy Foundation
Stand Up. . . Be InCtrl!
What is the difference between a bystander and an upstander? A collaborative project created through digital media helps the class understand that they can participate in an online community respectfully and responsibly. They consider...
Florida Center for Instructional Technology
Communicating with Mentors
Nothing says 21st century learning skills like an Internet-based collaborative learning lesson plan focused on using technology to compile and synthesize information. An embedded video shows you what collaborative learning in high school...
Foreign Policy Association
Public Diplomacy Online Lesson Plan
To build an understanding that there are many perspectives of global issues and that an individual's perspective is influenced by background and experience, class members assume the identity of a person in the global community and...
Dream of a Nation
Group Presentation Assignment
Rather than waiting for the world to change, encourage your class members to become agents of change with a project that asks groups to select an issue found in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America....
US National Archives
Documented Rights Educational Lesson Plan
How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research how people...
Carolina K-12
Create a City!
What is the purpose of a city charter? What services do local governments provide to their citizens? Is there an ideal way for citizens to behave? Approach these often overlooked yet important questions with your class members by having...
Our White House
The Our White House Inauguration Celebration Kit for Kids!
Get the youngest American citizens involved in the presidential election and inauguration with a set of social studies activities. Focusing on the history of presidential inauguration ceremonies, learners draft their own poems, design...