Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...

The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote—as long as they were white. High schoolers read articles and essays about racism in the suffrage movement and consider how intersectionality played a role in the movement. Scholars...

Convert a table to probabilities. Pupils set up the winning rules for the sums of two dice. Using the rules, the applet fills out a table showing the winners for each combination. Learners determine the probabilities of winning for each...

Navigate the ups and downs of learning about energy. Future engineers consider how potential and kinetic energy apply to roller coasters. They design a roller coaster of their own and then use computer design software to showcase their...

Unless you are a lawyer, you might not understand just how unrealistic Law and Order and other legal dramas actually are. Here's a great resource to help scholars of criminology gain a more realistic perspective. The lesson outlines the...

Students 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 see if...

Learners explain what a fossil is, learn six dinosaurs and tell one characteristic about each, then describe verbally what a dinosaur might have looked like.

This study asks students to keep a log at home of their daily physical activities for at least one or two weeks. They bring their logs back to class. They compare the activities and discuss different levels of intensity.

Young scholars research nonprofit organizations. As they research, they learn how those living in the colonial period formed community organizations to provide for the common good of their society. Each pupil chooses one organization to...

How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...

Students examine the implication of civilian targets in war. In this World War II lesson, students investigate the history of bombing practices in war. Students zero in on World War II bombing practices as they discuss precision and area...

Students study the Bill of Rights. As a class, they create a "School Bill of Rights," with amendments. Students discuss the difference between rights and responsibilities and examine Supreme Court decisions dealing with the first ten...

Students investigate civil liberties in the U.S. They watch and discuss a PowerPoint presentation, conduct research on an event from a timeline, complete a worksheet, take an ideology quiz, and conduct a debate.

Students complete a unit of lessons on the documents, symbols, and famous people involved in the founding of the U.S. government. They create a personal bill of rights, write a found poem, design a flag, conduct research, and role-play...

Students explore the challenges that Iraqi leaders are facing while working to create a new government. They engage in a class simulation in which they create a new governing council to preside over their school.

  Students take a survey that is asking them about their feelings or experiences about bullying.  In this tolerance lesson, students discuss what responses would be to the survey.   

Students examine reasons for studying government. In this U.S. government lesson, students brainstorm the reasons for rules. Students draft their own class constitution in the style of the U.S. Constitution.

Students investigate the meaning of community. In this community lesson, students look at the concepts of civic engagement, civic responsibility, and common good. They determine how a classroom is a community and the need for having...

Eighth graders explore the effect of the Fourteenth Amendment.  In this US History lesson, 8th graders read and analyze primary source documents.  Students write a three minute paper demonstrating their understanding of the...

Students follow a recipe to make ice cream. In this ice cream lesson plan, students make their own ice cream by measuring out ingredients and following directions.

Students investigate some basic facts about the Supreme Court by examining the United States Constitution and one of the landmark cases decided by that court. The operation of the Supreme Court forms the focus of the lesson.

Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...

Where did the cherished ideals enshrined in the Bill of Rights originate? While history gives the Founding Fathers much of the credit, laws in colonial America influenced the Bill of Rights. An interactive web-based activity allows...

Explore what voting rights really are in an intriguing lesson that explores the history of American voting. The resource examines the timeline of voting rights in the United States with group discussions, hands-on-activities, and...