Curated OER
Freedom from Oppression
Young scholars investigate instances of genocide and role play as reporters writing news stories and editorials.
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights Is in the News!
Students determine currency of the Bill of Rights by locating current newspaper articles or editorials that support or refute each of the 1st Ten Amendments.
Curated OER
US Policy Toward Egypt: A Dialogue
Students examine U.S. foreign policy concerning the 2011 Egyptian uprising. In this current events instructional activity, students discuss the uprising in Egypt and examine news reports related to it. Students then discuss their...
Anti-Defamation League
Student Dress Codes: What's Fair?
The controversy over school dress codes continues. The debate involves questions like, why is there a policy? Who sets the policy? Who enforces the policy? What is a fair policy? Tweens and teens have an opportunity to engage in the...
The New York Times
Teaching Orwell and '1984’ with the New York Times
Doublethink and alternate facts? Big Brother and Facebook? 1984 and 2019? Sales of 1984 have surged and so has the use of George Orwell's dystopian classic in classrooms. Whether new to teaching the novel or a seasoned veteran you'll...
Curated OER
Civil liberties: Fundamental freedoms
Young scholars explore civil liberties. They list and describe the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to Canadians. Students illustrate how Charter rights are applies. They examine current issues and suggest how the courts might apply...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of Immigrants in the United States
Based on their understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of Migrants in the United States, groups adopt a human rights perspective and analyze media reports to evaluate how the US is addressing the rights...
Curated OER
Who To Believe?
Students interpret meaning from opposing views on the same topic, and discuss that there is often so much "spin" and "hidden agendas" in the media.
Curated OER
The First Amendment: What's Fair in a Free Country
Students describe the contents of the First Amendment while telling about an example of speech that is protected by the Constitution and that which is not. They attempt to apply the First Amendment to situations that could occur in their...
Curated OER
CIVICS/CURRENT EVENTS
Young scholars choose to either make an exhibit of posters of pictures about Darfur, or write a letter to the local newspaper regarding Darfur, or plan a concert, party, or bake sale to raise money for refugees. They write a poem...
Curated OER
Border Art: the Study of Artworks Responding To the Border Between the United States And Mexico
Pupils discuss the concepts of immigration and migration and explore their own family's history. They examine the media's presentation of the Border Art Project and then incorporate their own views into what they have studied through an...
Curated OER
Rights And Responsibilities: Debating Free Speech, Responsibility And Censorship on Campus
Students weigh rights of students and others to free speech versus the responsibilities that come with those rights.
PBS
The March on Washington and Its Impact
High schoolers read Martin Luther King, Jr's speech that he gave in Washington. They identify the social conditions that led to the civil rights movement. They discuss the significance of the March on Washington.
Curated OER
Rights Under the Fourth Amendment
Twelfth graders examine the Fourth Amendment and discuss an actual Supreme court case. They determine whether or not the person's rights were violated. they search newspapers for articles where the Fourth Amendment may have been violated
Curated OER
Fighting The Horse Race: Creating Ads Which Explore 2008 Presidential Candidates & Issues
What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Understanding China: The Prospects for Democracy in China
This document provides useful information for a unit on democracy in China. While it does not include detailed activities, it does have a list of democratic principles, and important facts about China that facilitate understanding of its...
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
Are Curfew's Fair?
Students explore and discuss how curfews are set up. They discuss how difficult it can be to define appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Students role play situations involving curfew and the behaviors they are meant to curb.
Curated OER
Law & Ethics for Photojournalists
Students identify and discuss First Amendment rights, examine how to make sound legal judgements regarding photographs of private individuals, examine difference between public and private figures as far as libel law is concerned,...
California Polytechnic State University
Australian Geography Unit
At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Montgomery Bus Boycott: We Would Rather Walk!
Have historians use primary sources to learn about the circumstances and implementation of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and think about the issue of boycotts as a means of effecting social change. Wrap it up with a letter to the editor...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Curated OER
Looking After Pets
Students work in groups to compose their own "Duty of Care" for pets and make their own individual list from this discussion and illustrate it with drawing or images taken from magazines, websites or newspapers.
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
A Deliberate, Palpable and Dangerous Exercise of Other Powers: James Madison & Homeland Security
This resource uses primary source documents to explore the First Amendment. After reviewing key events of the 1790s, government or US history classes explore Madison's letter to Jefferson regarding the Alien and Sedition Acts. They then...