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Curated OER
The United States Flag
Young scholars investigate the history of the United States flag. In this civics activity, students read handouts regarding the flag and its history. Young scholars also read and discuss the Federal Flag Code.
Curated OER
A New Twist on Race Relations
Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, students use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...
Center for Civic Education
Constitution Day: What Basic Ideas are in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Young scholars investigate the document of the Constitution as part of a national day of recognition. The lesson plan uses many different activities to dissect the national document to increase student awareness of how the Constitution...
Curated OER
Local Governments Don't Do Much ... Or Do They?
Students study and explore their local government. They role play members of their City Council and various constituents as they discuss a variety of subjects typical of a city council meeting.
Curated OER
The Role of American Embassies
Students examine services provided by US embassies abroad. They determine what US ambassadors and embassies do in relation to US foreign policy and the protection of American interests.
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Governments of the World
Students examine how different world governments function and interact with each other. In groups, they research one of the five types of governments. Students prepare news magazines, Powerpoint presentations, and newspaper storyboards...
National First Ladies' Library
Executive Order 9066: Japanese-American Internment
Students analyze conditions under which sections of United States Constitution are superceded, research history of Native Americans, African Americans, and Japanese Americans, and debate policy of reparations for various minority groups...
Curated OER
What is American Culture
Students create what they feel is American Culture using a video camera and capturing 5 frames. They are animating parts of a poem in small groups. They decide the set up, create movable figures, and have a music section. Each person...
Curated OER
Civic Education
Students in an adult ESL class are introduced to the political discourse in the United States government. As a class, they develop their own definitions of democracy. In groups, they read an article and present their analysis of the...
Curated OER
Sandra Day O'Connor: Always Supreme
Demystify America's governing system through a legendary role model and a fabulous website.
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
State Bar of Texas
White v. Regester
One vote doesn't really matter, right? Class members investigate the concept of voter rights and restrictions using the 1973 Supreme Court case White v. Regester. They view a short video and work in pairs to analyze how people create...
Caucus 101
Linkage Institutions: Interest Groups: Option A
How are elections really run and won? Learn about special interest groups, super PACs, and lobbyists with an engaging lesson about the caucus process. Young voters research specific interest groups and analyze their part in previous and...
Curated OER
Understanding Treaties: Students Explore the Lives of Yakama People Before and After Treaties
Students analyze treaties made between the US government and Native American tribes. In this government lesson, students evaluate bias emotionally connect with what was gained and lost during the late 1700's. This is a 3 part lesson...
Curated OER
"Open Mic" - Giving Creative Expression To The Connection Between The Japanese American Internment, September 11, And Our Rights Today
Pupils explore the similarities of the Japanese-American experience in WWII and Arab-American experience in post-September 11 US policy. They create presentations on their reflections and express themselves through poetry, dance, essay,...
Curated OER
Defining Moments From the Past: Japanese American Internment
Students conduct a mock Congressional Hearing to decide whether or not Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during World War II should be provided financial restitution. They research and create a time line of events...
Curated OER
Freedom Fighters Throughout American History
Students use the internet to research people who have contributed to the cause of freedom. They identify examples of freedom which are important to them and categorize them. In groups, they create a timeline of the Freedom Fighters and...
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
Abolish the Office of Governor
Students explore the history of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. In this historical analysis lesson, students analyze the constitution of the state and determine how citizens benefited (or didn't benefit) from the document....
Curated OER
Cold War Era Film Censorship: High Noon- a Slice of Americana Or Communist
Young scholars study of the effects of the Cold War on the home front. They analyze the film High Noon according to an abbreviated version of the standards that films were judged by in the early 1950s and determine whether or not High...
PBS
Making Change: Revolutionary Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Classroom Constitutional Convention
Students investigate the eight phrases that comprise the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution to determine its principles and purpose. Their own Constitutional Convention is convened to craft a preamble for their school's governance.
Curated OER
Black Kentuckians and the Civil War
Students demonstrate how the American Civil War affected black Kentuckians socially and politically. They identify and discuss the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forced the end of slavery in Kentucky months after the...
Curated OER
Civil Rights through Photographs
Students examine why racial tensions continued after laws were put into place to try and create equal treatment. In this two part Civil Rights lesson, students explored the causes of the movement through photography and a...