"Have respect for the dead!" Scholars investigate how science and religion often clash. As they look into the laws of science and the laws of religion, the legal ramifications at the federal level of both play into an argument they...

If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment....

Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...

Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...

Did you know there are seven Articles and 27 Amendments to the US Constitution? Explore each and every one of them, including the Bill of Rights and other rights around the world, in a super neat US Constitution interactive. 

Who is responsible for protecting the environment, and who should pay when it is damaged? The role of government and private industry is complicated. A role-play simulation prompts individuals to decide how to protect a fictitious town...

Every president of the United States must be a natural-born citizen, but the definition of natural-born is not as straightforward as it seems. Secondary scholars examine two points of view surrounding the constitutional requirement...

A role-playing scenario has middle-schoolers imagining that they are refugees forced to flee their community and integrate into a new one. Then, some play the roles of members of the new community and the class brainstorms ideas about...

The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...

Partners examine the family tree of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, a Spanish admiral and explorer who founded St. Augustine, Florida, and answer several questions about the text using a worksheet. After they've explored the family tree,...

There are some historical events that may warrant greater reflection and more in-depth analysis, and the decision to intern Japanese-Americans in the United States during World War II, as well as to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and...

Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles...

Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...

Is a college education necessary for success in today's world? The class investigates the question, along with others at the end of the sixth workshop in a 15-part series. The lesson has four parts with multiple activities and...

Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...

Throw down with a fun language arts game! Armed with a hand of writing-themed cards, learners craft arguments based on the strategies written on the cards, dropping cards as they discuss their claims further until there are no strategies...

Imagine having no control over your life and then suddenly having to provide for yourself. Such was the challenge faced by many American slaves after emancipation. Class members are asked to consider these challenges are they examine...

Encourage learners to think critically about common myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in Colonial America. They discover that behind every myth are many possible explanations—and that learning more about American history helps them...

Vladimir Lenin is on trial in an engaging, animated video where the merits and consequences of the formation of the Soviet Union and Lenin's actions are reviewed. This is a great way to illustrate how to establish and argue unique...

Should we continue to spend money on nanotechnology? Groups engage in a problem-solving unique process around the newly emerging research field of nanotechnology. In order to propose a solution, the groups must research nanotechnology...

Celebrate April's National Poetry Month or enrich a poetry unit with a wealth of language arts material. Class members develop an oral interpretation of a poem and/or develop a podcast interview with a poet. 

Spy games are not just for professionals anymore! Scholars use short video clips, primary documents, and photographs to investigate Nazi spies in America during World War II.  The young detectives analyze the paranoia warfare can...

Explore the excitement and ethical challenges of CRISPR and genetic-editing technology. Participants engage in do-nows, view a slideshow, and collaborate on scenarios about genetic editing. Group members analyze scenarios to generate...

If called, would you go? Should the US government have the power to impose a draft during any war? The Selective Service Act of 1917 (aka the Conscription Act of 1917) authorized the drafting of men into the military for only the...