The Lincoln-Douglas Debates saw two primary political candidates debating seven different times about one of the most important social movements in United States history. Middle and high schoolers read an article that describes the...

How do you affirm and negate a statement of value? What is refutation? Interested in debate? Introduce your class to the format of the Lincoln Douglas debate with 14 lessons, designed to be used in order, so that debaters learn the logic...

The Election of 1912: an election with four competitive opponents. Pupils get to know the candidates with informative reading passages that provide context to the election. Then, the class engages in a debate and answers questions as one...

The Electoral College's role in elections is sometimes confusing and controversial. Pupils use a debate topics website to research the pros and cons of the practice to debate whether the United States should still use the Electoral...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson plan, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to...

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,...

Does technology always mean advancement? Scholars take a close look at the use of voting machines. Does using a machine make voting more effective? Readers consider the advantages and disadvantages of the current voting process. They...

At 69 years old, Ronald Reagan was the oldest man ever to be elected president in the United States. After reviewing a thorough history of Reagan's presidency, pupils read the main pro and con arguments to determine if he was a good...

President John F. Kennedy bought 1,200 Cuban cigars the night before he enacted the Cuban trade embargo in 1962. Should the United States maintain the embargo? Using the website, pupils explore the topic to prepare for a class debate or...

Can word choice affect a candidate's likeability? Use a New York Times lesson to explore how a presidential candidate's likeability factor can fluctuate in public opinion polls. Young readers choose a presidential election from...

Create a blog spot for your classroom and promote online discussions. There are several blogging websites listed here, and you can create one specific to each class or one collective site. Teach your learners how to post on the blog, and...

One of my favorite things about this resource is that they use a standardized lexile to help you determine who should be reading what book. I also love this great teacher's guide for the book, The Class Election from the Black...

Should age matter when it comes to voting? Scholars read an article discussing the pros and cons of lowering the voting age to 16. They then consider both the advantages and disadvantages of having younger voters. After thinking about...

In this language arts and government worksheet, learners analyze 10 scrambled words that pertain to elections. Students unscramble each word and may complete 3 extra credit activities with these words.

In this online interactive English vocabulary skills worksheet, students answer 10 fill in the blank questions regarding presidential elections. Students may submit their answers to be scored.

Powerful orators make their messages compelling with a combination of factors. Learn how to be an inspirational speaker with a reading assessment activity that presents a list of persuasive speaking techniques, as well as two...

Learners explore and engage in the art of debate. When both sides have been presented each pair have a few minutes to prepare a rebuttal based upon what the opposing side has said. A rubric imbedded in this plan is used as an assessment...

Students study the changes in reporting and journalism techniques that have evolved due to advances in technology by reading an online transcript. They debate whether the technological advances are positive or negative in the reporting...

In this Election Day worksheet, students alphabetize a set of 16 related words found in a word box at the bottom of the page. Worksheet has links to additional activities.

Sixth graders simulate an election-year debate between opposing political parties. In this persuasive-speech lesson plan, 6th graders will work in teams to prepare for and participate in a debate between opposing parties. The lesson plan...

For this online/interactive vocabulary in conversation worksheet, students fill in the blanks to complete sentences using the words in the word bank. Students fill in 10 blanks. 

One skill essential to reading comprehension, is learning how to summarize a text. After reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln, readers demonstrate this ability by crafting a brief summary of Lincoln's life.

Young scholars examine the roles and responsibilities the Department of Defense holds. They read an article about the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. They develop questions to submit to the White House about the recent changes.

Students view primary documents about the race for President in the time of Abraham Lincoln.  In this election lesson, students prepare arguments for and against Lincoln using an analysis sheet.  Students create a poster or...