Was what happened in 1886 at the Haymarket riot a crime or a case of xenophobia? Using political cartoons from the time, young historians consider the role the media played in anti-labor sentiment during the time and how that influenced...

A very timely lesson looks at the social and political factors that affect the spread of disease. Using the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as a case study, pupils research factors that influenced the spread of the disease, including the role of...

Campaign ads target both timely issues and general themes. Presidential campaign ads from 1952 and 1988 provide class members an opportunity to compare how the topics ads choose to address can dramatically influence election outcomes.

Beware political rhetoric! Connotation is everything! Groups select a presidential candidate and investigate how the candidate's position has changed on a specific issue. After analyzing the situation, the group determines whether they...

How do interest groups try to influence elections? As part of their study of the election process, groups view 30-second advertisements produced by advocacy groups and use the provided worksheet to evaluate these ads. They then craft...

Young historians investigate how sexism impacted the 2020 United States presidential election. They examine media coverage of the six women candidates, engage in a four-corners debate reacting to statements about gender and the...

In a time of fake news, media manipulation, and Internet trolls, a resource equips learners with the tools they need to recognize and combat resources that are designed to appeal to our cognitive biases. Introduce learners to five...

As part of a study of World War I, class members read newspaper articles from the time that urge American involvement, non-involvement, or neutrality. Using the provided worksheet, groups analyze the articles noting the central argument...

The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...

What obstacles did India face during their post-colonial formation after gaining independence? Topics discussed in the lesson include Pakistan's conflict over Kashmir, the Indian Constitution, economic development, and the...

Here is a unique and engaging approach to learning about the steps a presidential candidate must take during a campaign. Learners role play the part of a candidate in this online interactive, taking part in a presidential...

Letter-writing, e-mail and telephone campaigns, petitions, marches, meetings, with lawmakers. Options for influencing elected representatives are the focus of resource that details how to craft each of these approaches to influencing...

To gain an understanding of how images and sounds are used to influence viewers, class members analyze these features in Presidential campaign commercials from 1952-2012.

An informative resource provides a textbook on American government that covers topics such as the definition of government and how democracy works. Each section provides brief questions at the end to assess scholars' understanding. 

Students discover how to play sports fairly by role playing sports scenarios in class.  In this sportsmanship lesson, students participate in a charades activity in which they act out a random event while the class decides if this...

Students create pictorial biographies of George Washington. Working in groups, they research various portions of Washington's life, highlighting significant events. After presenting their projects to the class, they are displayed for...