Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a...

As an introduction to economics, government classes investigate different types of economic systems (traditional, command, market or capitalist, mixed) to determine answers to basic question about how goods are produced.

Five governmental regulatory agencies are tasked to respond to market failure. Groups investigate the roles of each of these agencies as well as the social, economic, and political impact of their actions.

As an introduction to monetary policy, groups investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of current monetary and fiscal policies on promoting full employment, price stability, and economic performance. They then apply monetary tools...

Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...

How does examining an ice core tell us about weather? Learners set up and explore fake ice cores made of sugar, salt, and ash to represent historical snowfall and volcanic eruptions. From their setups, scholars determine what caused the...

To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...

Scholars investigate the need for encryption as they read a portion of the book Blown to Bits and discuss encryption techniques. They finish by attempting to decode a message written using a Caesar cipher.

Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...

Learners won't have to squirm when asked the facts after completing an intriguing lab investigation! Hook young scholars on science by challenging them to verify Hooke's Law using a gummy worm. Measuring the length of the worm as they...

What would you do to protect your own freedom? How far would you go to protest injustice? Class members are asked to consider these questions as they read primary source documents that detail events in the lives of Gabriel, Nat Turner,...

Scholars analyze the role of bystanders during the Holocaust. The investigation explores the roles of the bystanders, upstanders, and rescuers with primary and secondary resources to determine actions taken—or not—and their implications...

How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...

Was the Civil War fought only due to slavery? Using an interactive web tool, scholars investigate the four main causes of the Civil War. Gathering evidence and data to support their claims, they present a final statistical breakdown...

Who decides someone is not a real person? Scholars investigate the Dred Scott v. Sandford court case which deals directly with slavery and citizenship. After viewing a short video clip, classmates work in pairs to assess and discuss the...

World War II left the British desperate for help in any form—including in the form of a magician! High schooler conduct research on Jasper Maskelyne, a stage magician who used his talents to deceive the Germans on the war front, before...

As part of their study of the women's suffrage movement, groups analyze political cartoons and drawings. They create a caption for an image from the time, add an exhibit label that provides a context for their drawing, and post as part...

Learners investigate the climate changes occurring locally, regionally and globally over the last one hundred years. They brainstorm and predict whether the current year's weather was warmer or colder than last year then check the...

Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....

While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...

Fifth graders investigate how the geography of the land effected the human experience of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They research using primary and secondary sources, design a map.

Pupils explore the upbringing of John Kennedy and how it effected his culture, character and personality. They investigate their own family traditions, values, and interests.

Students listen to and discuss three radio broadcasts that deal with worship in early times. They investigate a wide range of historical sources and piece together evidence of the past, Celtic beliefs and how early people worshiped...

Students use their critical thinking skills to write about historical events. In this historical perspectives lesson plan, students read documents about historical events and make annotations and marginal notes. Students then respond to...