Curated OER
Coats for Kids
Fifth graders demonstrate ways to contribute to their community. In this citizenship lesson, 5th graders discuss how they would feel if they weren't fortunate to have a winter coat. Students brainstorm their feelings and listen to a...
Curated OER
Leadership (Intermediate)
In order to be a good leader, student need to evaluate their own personality traits. Using this 30 question activity, learners can get a grasp on their strengths and areas that they can improve on to be a better leader.
Curated OER
Teeshirt Printing
Learners become responsible and involved citizens. In this t-shirt printing lesson students design and create a teeshirt with a message about citizenship and responsibility. Natural objects are used as stamps.
Curated OER
Molly's Pilgrim
Third graders explore the multi-ethnic nature of America's citizens and examine the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty. In this Molly's Pilgrim lesson, 3rd graders discuss the poem "The New Colossus," examine vocabulary words...
Curated OER
The Catastrophe Clan
Students participate in a financial project and identify the three c's of credit. In this credit card instructional activity, students define and understand how to use credit wisely. Students become familiar with banking...
Curated OER
"Real Life" Budgeting Project
Students experience what it is like to be a responsible citizen through a monthly budget through using a variety of research skills.
They apply collected data in a decision making exercise and
present the final product in a clear and...
Curated OER
We the People: An American Government Project
High schoolers identify key representatives in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal and State governments
Curated OER
Interdependence in a Global Community
Students locate the geographic origin of a variety of products used in our society. They find countries in an atlas or on a wall map. They define the term imports and emphasize the theme of MOVEMENT and use it to explain interdependence.
Ohio State University
Where in the World Can I Find a Healthy Diet?
What constitutes a healthy diet? In what way is a healthy diet defined and influenced by culture? Groups investigate the community and national resources available in a country, and then design a healthy diet for its citizens.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Desalination: Turning Salt Water into Fresh Water
How does San Francisco supply its citizens with enough water, even during a drought? Learn about reservoirs and why desalination could be a good solution with a reading passage about water conservation. After kids finish the...
Curated OER
Diving into Iceland's Genetic Pool
Investigate ethical issues surrounding the Decode project in Iceland. Middle and high schoolers take the positions of the Icelandic government, scientific researchers, and citizens and defend or refute the Decode project in a Reykjavik...
Curated OER
Land and Liberty: The Saga of Sam McCulloch
The struggles of Sam McCulloch, a free black man, to be recognized as a citizen entitled to own land in Texas are the focus of research project that ask groups to examine a series of primary source documents and piece together...
Curated OER
Kids Can Make a Difference
What is a philanthropist? We can all be philanthropists! After assessing the needs of the school and listening to literature about how they can help others, primary learners develop a class project and maintain a journal of their...
iCivics
Taxation
A paycheck stub can offer loads of information on the taxes American citizens pay. This resource not only includes analysis of a stub as an activity, but also provides a wealth of informative reading material on such topics as the...
Curated OER
Keep Your Eye On the Prize
High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...
Annenberg Foundation
Service Learning in the Social Studies
Active Citizenship Today (ACT) is a "unique social studies service learning program" that requires students to learn about the public policy associated with community issues they identify in their local community. This web site...
Curated OER
Citizenship Program
Students explore teamwork, decision-making, and ways to communicate. They discuss their favorite activities, places they would like to travel and set ground rules for their groups. After identifying their feelings toward the program,...
Curated OER
Streetfilms' Moving Beyond the Automobile
This is an exceptional series that you can use in an environmental or engineering unit. There are four lessons: "Sustainable Transportation," "Designing for Safety," "Changing the Landscape," and "Engaging in Policy." Each lesson...
Annenberg Foundation
Masculine Heroes
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
Curated OER
EarthTrek Gravestone Project
Students explore the effects of acid rain. In this acid rain lesson, students investigate the effects of the weathering from acid rain in different places. Students visit cemetaries to collect data about the effects of acid rain on the...
Curated OER
Leadership
Learning about leadership, and different styles can be an important step toward understanding government and local organizations. By participating in a survey to evaluate leadership styles, involving 60 questions, learners get a better...
August House
Go to Sleep, Gecko
Use this multidisciplinary instructional activity to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A...
Amnesty International
Respect My Rights, Respect My Dignity: Module One – Poverty and Human Rights
Creating an environment where learners feel both educated and empowered challenges any teacher when discussing a sometimes bleak topic. A respectful resource provides them with the details and permits them to make a plan of action....