The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution delegates rights that have not been defined by the federal government to the states. But what are the responsibilities of state governments? What about county and city governments?...

Popular culture often portrays the Feds as the most fearsome of law enforcement agencies. Yet, someone charged with a crime is considerably more likely to end up in a state court. The lesson, one of six covering the Organization of the...

Should the United States Supreme Court have the power of judicial review? Instructors guide class members through a review of Marbury v. Madison and assist class members in writing a brief of the case. As independent practice,...

The government at the local level acts as perhaps one of the most relevant government systems to many in their communities. Learners discover how the local government shapes their lives and the similarities and differences between the...

Review the Great Depression in the United States from an economist's perspective, examining roots of the crash, government policy actions, and policies instituted by the Fed.

Help your learners work their way through a reading assignment for informational text. Using context clues, they answer five comprehension question based on a short passage about the three levels of government: local government, state...

Set down the basics of the three branches of government with the reading passage included here. After reading, class members answer five questions related to the passage.

A reading adventure pack looks closely at government with the help of two books—one fiction, one nonfiction, and a series of activities. Learners craft a mobile to visualize a balanced government, participate in a scavenger hunt around...

Should states or the federal government have more power? With this fantastic online interactive, your pupils will be charged with the task of identifying arguments that support either federal or state power.

Following the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, why did fiscal policymakers increase government spending and reduce taxes? Discover the motivation behind these actions and learn about the separate functions of monetary and...

Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...

Sitting Bull was not expected to be a great warrior. Yet, he led the Lakota people and other tribes to several pivotal victories against the United States government when federal troops threatened their land. Using primary sources, such...

Here is a hands-on activity where your class members will discover different ways to measure the government's financial situation and work to add data and redraw graphs in order to calculate the ratio of gross federal debt held by...

Ever wondered why there is a West Virginia but not an East Virginia? The resource answers questions like this one and more as it takes an in-depth and detailed look at the history of West Virginia and how it became a state. Several...

Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson plan of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...

You're never too young to learn about banking and personal finance. Use a set of seven banking lessons to teach middle schoolers about checking and savings accounts, interest rates, loans and credit cards, and safety deposit boxes.

Keep track of constitutional principles with a graphic organizer. Pupils define, describe the origins of, and note down the location of the following terms: checks and balances, federalism, individual rights, limited government, popular...

There's a lot to learn about the savings and loan crisis. Start off your learners with a quick reading assignment. Pupils read the brief informational article and respond to three questions about the savings and loan crisis, thrifts, and...

A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...

How can one court acquit someone of a crime, while another convicts the person of the same one? It's all because of the differences between civil and criminal trials. An informative resource provides scholars in the field of criminology...

Americans love to learn about their rights, especially those that protect them from the government's power to invade their privacy. Young people are especially engaged by this topic. An informative lesson explores four Supreme Court...

The process of nominating and confirming federal judges can sound like a lot of bureaucratic hoops, but a resource breaks down the steps of the Supreme Court nominations in a simpler manner. Learners participate in four activities that...

Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...

Marbury v. Madison is arguably the most important landmark case in the history of the Supreme Court. A fact-filled lesson provides background information about the case and two others related to the concept of judicial review. Scholars...