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With Liberty and Justice for All
Fifth graders identify and define in their own words the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They are assigned a CDV or amendment from the Bill of Rights and create and present a one-minute skit demonstrating it.
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About Abraham Lincoln
Fifth graders complete a variety of activities and exercises as they study the life, policies, and lasting influence of Abraham Lincoln.
Caucus 101
Caucus History and Iowa’s “First in the Nation” Status
What is a caucus? Why is Iowa's first? Why did Iowa shift to the caucus format? After researching these basic questions, class members debate the question of whether or not Iowa should maintain its "first in the nation" status for caucuses.
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Growing a Citizen
Students analyze messages and values associated with civic engagement present in the media. They analyze the local community's promotion of values associated with civic engagement by conducting investigative research. They hypothesize...
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Seeing Things From the Someone Else's Point of View
Young scholars examine the cultural trait of sharing, trying to view it from the point of view of someone in another culture. They question what we gain from trying to see the world from the perspective of another person or culture and...
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Using a Mentor Text to Develop a New Style of Writing
Students examine some of the author's writing traits and then make an effort to incorporate his style into their own writing. They show how richly written literature can be used as a mentor text, or model, for improving one's own writing.
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Populism and the People’s Party
Students examine the history of the Populist Party as it relates to its reforms and economic plight. In this Populism and the People's Party lesson plan, students explore why farmers experienced financial difficulty at the end of the...
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Lose a Vote, Gain a Vote
Students explore the issues behind close Senatorial races. They investigate the qualities of political leaders, the 2002 senatorial elections and the differences and similarities between the Republican and Democratic parties.
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World Fair? A Global Classroom Unit On Economic Rights
Students explore economic rights of people. After listening to statements and songs by people such as John Lennon and Mahatma Ghandi, students examine the truths and values depicted by each person. Students participate in a simulation to...
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Integrating Public Accommodations in Kentucky
Middle schoolers watch videos and conduct research on the belief systems and values related to segregation in Kentucky.
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Constitutional Issues: Civil Liberties During War
Learners discuss democratic ideals and constitutional principles. They decide which side of the issue they are on dealing with the placement of Japanese-Americans in camps during World War II. They examine primary source documents for...
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Power of the People
Students determine the meaning of democracy and investigate accomplishments of a number of United States presidents. They look at images of the presidential one dollar coins before they determine how the job of the president differs from...
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The Need for Government—A Cinematic and Literary Perspective
Students examine the philosophy of government. In this types of government lesson, students explore literature and movie clips to determine the value of rules in lawless societies.
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Our National Documents
Students explore the significance of National Documents. In this National Documents lesson plan, students read handouts regarding the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Students complete the provided...
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Philanthropy and You
Students identify human rights and study the values of historical figures who fought for human rights. In this human rights lesson plan, students define the term human rights and research examples of human mistreatment in history....
iCivics
Voting in Congress
In a role-play activity acting as members of either the Senate or House of Representatives, class members will vote on bills to halt mail delivery on Saturdays in the United States and to raise the minimum wage. Through an included...
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What does it mean to be a citizen?
Students examine democracy and the role of a citizen. They contrast rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups, and organizations. Students identify two forms of democratic action and describe demoncratic values. Students observe...
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Canada Belongs to Us All
Tenth graders have the opportunity to meet with people in their own school who have not lived in Canada their entire lives. They describe fundamental beliefs and values associated with democratic citizenship.
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Launching Your Ship with Citizenship Lesson 4: Hoisting the Flag
Students discuss the U.S. electoral process and brainstorm solutions to increase voter turnout in their community. For this democratic citizenship lesson, students identify keywords in speech and video related to freedom of speech and...
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Communicating with the World
Students practice their communication skills with people from other cultures. Using predetermined questions, they email their penpal and wait for their responses. They reflect on the value of the information given to them and complete an...
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Pine Barrens
Tenth graders study environmental values vs. economic development. In this environmental decisions activity students role play in a policy making setting.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Movement
Class members examine human migration. For this population lesson, they read an article entitled, "Freedom of Movement" and respond to discussion questions about the article related to guest worker programs.
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Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
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The Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1949
Students investigate the early years of the Cold War and the origins of containment. Both supporters as well as critics are probed to examine the differences that emerged in the months following the end of the war in Europe. This unit...