The high school instructional activity explores what hate crimes are and how the government has responded to those crimes. Academics read legislation, analyze political cartoons, and complete hands-on-activities to understand what...

Getting a bill through the legislative process to become a law in the United States is a very long and difficult procedure by design! To understand the deliberation, debate, and compromises involved, class members take on the role...

Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...

What is the purpose of immigration legislation? How has this legislation evolved over the years? What are the factors that caused these changes? Class members research immigration legislation to determine whose rights the laws are...

Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration...

Students study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction lesson, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th, 14th, and...

Students study the role of the U.S. Congress in American government as described in the Constitution. For this U.S. government lesson, students watch an overhead about 'public criticisms' in the legislative process and complete a quiz....

Students examine the general concept of representative democracy, and compare/contrast the American representative democracy to the monarchical system. They research the role of legislative bodies in serving the government, particularly...

Students analyze Article 1 of the Constitution. They respond to the Public Criticism E-Learning module.

The Fair Play Act of 2009 came about due to the actions of one woman. Young historians research Lilly Ledbetter and what she went through to get pay equal to that paid to men for the same work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The...

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...

Here is a fantastic resource on the civil rights movement! It includes reading materials and worksheets, and particularly highlights major legislation and the role of the judicial branch in the federal government in addressing the...

Students describe role of the U.S. Congress in American government as set forth in the Constitution, and explain why the Framers created a Congress with a House and a Senate and gave them different roles.

An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...

High schoolers use the Internet to read a brief description of Magna Carta (link provided). They "walk through" the document with the teacher, identifying four major themes. Young scholars read and discuss "The Rhetoric of Rights:...

Students view the film The Persuaders that discuss the perspective and spin of language use for a variety of issues. They discuss the career of Frank Luntz, a man that runs focus groups to determine how to advantageously phrase issues in...

Government classes benefit from examining how a bill passes through Congress, while they focus on the compromises made by Obama's administration regarding health care reform. This includes an online video and a couple of handouts. The...