Federal Reserve Bank
Constitutionality of a Central Bank
Considering the expressed and implied powers of Congress, was it constitutional for the United States to establish the Second National Bank in the early nineteenth century? What is the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve...
Federal Reserve Bank
Financial Regulation: A Primer on the Dodd-Frank Act
Get the lowdown on the most sweeping financial regulatory reform since the Great Depression: the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
DocsTeach
Birth of the Environmental Protection Agency
Seeing is believing when it comes to climate change. An informative activity explores the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its efforts to document environmental issues with photographs. Academics match images...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2 James Madison: The Second National Bank—Powers Not Specified in the Constitution
How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second lesson of a...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
This exercise on the Constitution requires small groups to design a visual metaphor that expresses the concept behind one of seven principles: popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, separation of powers, checks and balances,...
DocsTeach
Where Was the New Deal?
Young historians delve into the origin of federal social programs to understand the impact of the New Deal. An informative activity explores some of the New Deal programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corp, using historical...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Nomination Process
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States..." Scholars investigate the nomination process of Supreme Court justices when assuming office. Through examination of primary and secondary...
DocsTeach
"We Are Badly in Need of a Breath of Fresh Air": A Letter to President Kennedy About LGBTQ+ Rights
The 1960s were a pivotal time for many Americans who had long been discriminated against. Scholars read a document addressed to President Kennedy in support of LGBTQ+ rights and why they are essential. The activity includes group...
College Board
2002 AP® Macroeconomics Free-Response Questions
Imagine the United States is experiencing an unusually high unemployment rate. What options does the federal government have to kick-start the economy? Learners consider the question with a structured prompt. Other questions examine...
Bill of Rights Institute
Celebrate Constitution Day
September 17 is a great day to focus on the US Constitution for on this day in 1787, the Constitution was signed. Through a series of activities, high schoolers get a chance to look closely at this famous document and the rights and...
American Bar Association
What Is Separation of Powers?
Who has the power? Scholars investigate the creation of the three branches of government in the United States Constitution. They analyze just why the framers created the branches the way they did.
DocsTeach
Challenger Explosion Photograph Analysis
Young historians turn into detectives in a thought-provoking activity on the Challenger Explosion. The activity uses an image of President Reagan watching the Challenger explode on live TV to help academics practice historical analysis....
Curated OER
Folktales of Zora Neale Hurston
Do you know why woodpeckers have red heads? Why the possum has no hair on its tail? Why a cat has nine lives? Find out by downloading this resource that uses Zora Neale Hurston's collection Mules and Men as the basis of a study of...
Practical Money Skills
Budgeting Your Money
How do you make sure that your income doesn't disappear before you have a chance to save it? Use a creative budgeting activity to teach learners in both special education and mainstream classes how to keep track of their expenditures and...
University of California
Anti-Communism at Home
Have you ever been accused of something without cause? The sixth installment of an eight-part series asks scholars to create a museum exhibit on the anti-communist activities in the United States at the start of the Cold War. To make...
University of Richmond
Renewing Inequality: Family Displacements through Urban Renewal 1950-1966
What is progress? Who bears its cost? High schoolers consider the questions as they review data on families displaced by urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 1960s. An interactive, curated data project asks historians to consider the...
Carolina K-12
Sample Test: The Judicial System
From Marbury v. Madison and original jurisdiction to Gideon v. Wainwright and civil appeal, here is a simple and comprehensive assessment on the judicial system of the United States.
College Board
2002 AP® Macroeconomics Free-Response Questions Form B
What would happen if the federal government replaced the income tax with a national sales tax? Learners consider the consequence and other economic scenarios using authentic College Board materials. Scholars also evaluate the role of...
College Board
2006 AP® Macroeconomics Free-Response Questions Form B
How does employment affect supply and demand? It may seem like a simple question, but an authentic prompt from College Board helps learners unpack various scenarios. Additional queries explore exchange rates and the effects of monetary...
Federal Reserve Bank
FRED in the Classroom: Measures of Inflation
Don't just tell class members about how to measure inflation, have them experience it firsthand by asking them to work with real data and construct graphs!
Federal Reserve Bank
Measuring the Great Depression
Young historians examine the cost of goods and services through the Consumer Price Index (CPI), output measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and unemployment measured by the unemployment rate to gain an understanding of the economic...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Texas v. Johnson
Which right does the Constitution weigh more heavily: the sanctity of the American flag as a symbol of national unity, or the right to burn the flag in protest? The 1989 Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson explores a...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: The NIEHS
Should the work of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences be funded by the government? Middle schoolers weigh in on the status of federal funding for programs that protect the environment with three text passages...
PBS
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History—Snapshot Lessons
The Roosevelt family was one of the most influential and prominent political forces in the 20th century, leaving behind a wide-ranging legacy of conservation, progressivism, and economic growth. Learn more about President Theodore...