Getting a bill through the legislative process to become a law in the United States is a very long and difficult procedure by design! To understand the deliberation, debate, and compromises involved, class members take on the role...

Why does the United States have a bicameral voting system? Through role playing as either advocates for or against a cell phone policy in school, your learners will organize, vote, compromise, and experience first-hand the benefits of a...

The college that directly affects young citizens' lives is not the university they're applying to. Learn about the Electoral College in a town hall activity in which class members debate the merits of the current system versus electing a...

While most high schoolers are too young to vote, they still need to learn the skills needed to solve problems. The ninth resource in a 10-part civics series presents class members with four "What Would You Do?" scenarios that have them...

Where does tradition fit in a divided community with violence on both sides? Scholars learn about the marches in Northern Ireland and the many issues surrounding them. They take on roles in the community and try to convince others of...

Bend it, but don't break it. Groups investigate the strength of different materials. Using a procedure in the seventh segment of a 22-part series on aviation, pupils determine how far a rod will bend. They determine the strength-to-mass...

A cross-curricular resource that takes the electoral votes and allows your learners to organize and analyze the data. Young voters can determine which states are more influential and interpret the dotplot provided for more data....

The beauty in this resource is the lengthy list of highly charged, controversial-issue research topics. Categories include issues of race, politics, law, environment, education, athletics, gender, and technology. After selecting a topic,...

When is it okay to go against authority and what can happen if you do? This is the leading question in this activity to accompany your classroom reading of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. After reading...

Are planes the best shipping method? Using maps, pupils determine the fastest mode of transportation between two cities. Given a list of items to ship, groups decide the best shipping method to finish the 18th segment of a 22-part unit.

From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the...

The Great Compromise, which resulted in the formation of two houses in the legislature of the United States government - the Senate and the House of Representatives - is explained in kid-friendly terms. Suggestions for research projects,...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A literary text about two girls who learn to compromise so they can both be happy when they play together. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

Students design, build and evaluate a spring-powered mouse trap racer. For evaluation, teams equip their racers with an intelligent brick from a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Education Base Set and a HiTechnic acceleration sensor. They use...

This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...

Comprehensive overview of the U.S. Constitution. Places the Constitution in context with two other founding charters of American democracy and government, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Includes access to digital...

From the U.S. Justice Department, this is a history of voting rights laws in the United States, including a discussion of the Fifteenth Amendment.

This site from The History Place provides an account of the history of Dred Scott, an African-American slave, who took his suit for his freedom to the Supreme Court. The information is somewhat brief, but worthwhile.

A thorough examination of the post-World War I Washington Naval Conference which dealt with treaties with Japan, the U.S. desire for naval supremacy, and the compromise of War Plan Orange, which had a drastic effect on U.S. strategy in...

This U.S. Supreme Court case dealt with the issues of slavery, citizenship, and property rights. It is detailed with an abstract providing a concise summary and a record of the justices that sat on the Court at that time.