Students compare the role of federal and local government. For this government lesson, students watch "Separation of Powers." Students discuss the federal and state powers prior to participating in a simulation that requires them to...

While this lesson includes several nice worksheets to identify and discuss the various limits on government (i.e. a constitution, the rule of law, separation of powers, consent of the governed, etc.), its main value lies in a case study...

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...

Young scholars study the concept of separation of powers. They recognize how the Constitution provides for separation of powers and categorize public officials into one of three branches of government. Students do a role play and...

Scholars demonstrate what they know about the separation of powers through role play. Two individuals act out a skit as the remaining class members discuss and decide whether the interaction they observed is an appropriate example...

Students examine the roles of each of the branches of U.S. government. In this checks and balances lesson, students watch Discovery video segments and discuss the concept of federalism as they create a school-wide policy for government...

In a fun and informative simulation, your learners will act in groups as lead chefs, menu writers, and nutrition inspectors in deciding a new school lunch menu. They will then compare and contrast their experience to the interaction...

Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, students go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...

Get your class working on the railroad with this detailed and interactive lesson plan. After reading and discussing Ten Mile Day, learners explore division of labor, human capital, and productivity with a hands-on group activity in which...

Students identify and classify the powers and responsibilities of all three levels of executive government in Australia. In this executive government lesson, students discuss the various services that the government in...

Young scholars examine the changing socioeconomic status of the evangelical Christian population in the United States. They discuss the relationship between class and religion in American society.

Sixth graders discover details about the 3 branches of government. In this primary source analysis lesson, 6th graders examine documents and images from the Library of Congress to investigate the structure of the U.S. government.

Students focus on the First and Ninth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Before visiting a museum, they examine the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the visit, they work together with a museum member to watch a video and get...

The stated goal of this resource is to provide learners with basic facts about and build empathy for Iraqi refugees. To do so elementary classes develop a plan for how to welcome refugees to their classroom. Middle schoolers read...

The story of Ruby Bridges and the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education are fantastic tools for discussing the concept of separate but equal. Kids tackle some big questions about what is fair, what is civil, and what rights or laws...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

Fifth and sixth graders are introduced to the primary landforms of Illinois and discover how they were created. Landform cards are made for each pupil. They use the twenty-questions format until they have identified each one. Then,...

Learners examine the role of photography in recording and sharing history. They view online photos that Life magazine has identified as changing the world, then conduct research on one of the photos. Students create and present an oral...

Words are powerful ... can your class choose them wisely? Scholars evaluate news articles to discover the concepts of tone, charge, and bias during a media literacy lesson. The resource focuses on recognizing implicit information and...

Students complete activities surrounding the study of groundwater movement, energy resources, wind energy, and riparian areas. They debate/role-play the viewpoints of different interest groups in considering whether the black-footed...

Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.

Sixth graders are introduced to the concept of the orders of operations. The skills of using exponents are needed before trying the new concept. Students can be separated in groups for scaffolding.

Bloom's Taxonomy is a great way to address the many levels of comprehension. With explanations and examples of each level, you can create questions that focus on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Students explore how words can be powerful instruments of racism, and discuss ways to combat racism, prejudice and discrimination in their own lives.