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Church and State Separation: The Challenge and the Debate
Students describe the basic elements of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment as it relates to the separation of church and state and freedom of religion.
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Presidential Places
Students investigate American presidential landmarks throughout the continental United States. They research and analyze American presidential landmarks to determine their value to American history and how they have been preserved over...
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Crime Time
Young scholars examine fundamentals of American criminal justice by analyzing each step of the criminal process. They follow the process of a well-known or publicized criminal case in The New York Times, and keep a journal of its...
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Citizen Journalism
Students examine the role of citizen journalism, freedom of the press, and the First Amendment. They analyze the results of an Internet survey, discuss the ethics of downloading copyrighted material on the Internet, and write a news story.
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The Decision to Americanize the War in Vietnam
Students research the major events of the Vietnam War and construct a timeline. They do the same with the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson or the 1960's. They act as an advisor to President Johnson to recommend a course of action...
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Mid-term Elections: The Impact of Local and National Issues
Students discuss the right to vote and the significance of mid-term elections. They research and discuss mid-term issues and the importance of voting in these elections.
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Storytellers: Pearl Jam "Never Let Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story"
Students analyze the lyrics from a Pearl Jam song and examine the concept of truth in political advertising. They watch the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," participate in a class discussion, conduct research, and prepare a report...
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Education: Passing Enough Knowledge to Survive to the Next Generation
Students compare and contrast the knowledge requirements for human and animal children. They identify the consequences of an animal if it is unprepared for the given environment. They discover the importance of education as well.
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Structure of Congress
Students examine the structure of Congress. They identify the roles of the Democratic and Republician parties and their leaders. They role play the role of congressmen and pretend to pass new legislation.
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Calculating the Cost of a "Sound Basic Education"
Students state their opinions about school funding and the use of monetary resources by school districts and use reasons, facts, and examples to support their ideas. They compare sets of data related to school funding and draw...
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The Election
Students participate in an election. They are asked to vote for one of four candidates without knowing who they are or what they stand for. Students gain an important lesson plan when voting to make sure that security of freedom and...
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Is a Tough Smoking Law Coming to Your State?
Students read and discuss a news article about a new anti-smoking law in Hawaii. They answer article comprehension questions, complete a fill-in-the blank activity, discuss laws that ban smoking in small groups, and create a No Smoking...
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The Great Depression
Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs and letters) for evidence of difficulties children faced during the Great Depression. They are asked how the government tries to help people with problems that people face to...
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Lesson 2: The Tired King
Students are introduced to the three functions of government (legislative, judicial, and executive). They read and discuss a story about an overworked king who must handle all the tasks of government. Students give a description of the...
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We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
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Separation of Powers
Students examine the separation of powers in local and federal government. Using case studies, they review several instances of separation of powers. After reading the case studies, they write a brief opinion essays supporting their...
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Westward Expansion
Learners explore the Westward Expansion Movement of U.S. history. In this Westward movement lesson, students use primary and secondary source documents research personal accounts of those who travelled west during the era....
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Choosing to Remember
Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till and civil rights activist, believed that her son's murder was the last straw before public outrage over racial injustice spilled over into the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. A history...
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A Century of Challenge and Change: The Filipino American Story
Middle schoolers recognize the events that led to the Philippine Revolution. In this Philippine Revolution lesson, students relate the causes of the Philippine Revolution to situation in the world today. Middle schoolers examine the...
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Establishing the Presidency
Young scholars consider how George Washington influenced the presidency. In this presidential history worksheet, students discuss the precedents Washington set and analyze a letter that Washington sent to James Madison.
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The Right Choice
Students examine the leadership role of George Washington in the American Revolution. In this George Washington instructional activity, students read selections titled "Generalship," and "Candidate for Commander-in-Chief." After students...
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The Mayflower Compact
Fourth graders explore the events leading up to the Mayflower Compact. In this government lesson, 4th graders have a teacher-led class discussion on the importance of government, then complete a worksheet on the topic.
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Participating in Democracy
Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well as...
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Images of the American Revolution
Students analyze several documents as they research the Revolutionary War. They evaluate documents and examine them for bias and perspective. They use their research to write monologues from the point of view of a famous Revolutionary...