Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders examine the portrayal of African Americans in the media. In this socio-political lesson plan, 5th graders view various news clips of African Americans and discuss the way they are presented. Students create narrations of...
College Board
2009 AP® English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions Form B
Do you have a political agenda? Some authors do. Scholars analyze a piece of work and determine how the author deals with a political or social issue. Responding to two other essay questions, writers create essays exploring how authors...
Facing History and Ourselves
Reflection and Action for Civic Participation
Slacktivist or activist? Bystander or upstander? Positive social change requires involvement and commitment. After reading a series of articles about young people who chose to get involved, scholars examine a framework that helps peers...
Curated OER
No Joke -- My Voice Counts!
Pupils compare different cartoons dealing with social or political issues. They discuss the cartoons as a class. They create their own cartoon with their own message and shares them with the class.
Library of Congress
Child Labor in America
Students investigate child labor during the Great Depression. In this US policy lesson, students evaluate multiple layers of the social, economic, and political affects of policy during the Great Depression. Students will engage in 5...
C-SPAN
Presidential Candidate Research
Don't let the young citizens in your social studies class get all their election information from inflammatory commercials and arguing pundits. Use a lesson plan from C-SPAN to guide class members through an election season with a...
Curated OER
1960 America: Foreign Policy
The 1960's marked shifts in American culture, politics, and policy. Your class groups up to research a series of primary source documents resulting in a timeline and a 15 minute oral presentation. Active learning all the way.
Curated OER
The French Revolution
An excellent resource for a unit on the French Revolution, this informative presentation guides your class through the events of the Reign of Terror and the events preceding and following it. The slides could be easily broken up into...
Curated OER
Ballots, Bloomers and Boycotts
Students compare a controversial issue or policy in need of reform in their classroom to the suffrage movement of the 1800's. They research important figures in the suffrage movement, produce written pieces and complete worksheets.
Curated OER
Bioterrorism
Students research bioterrorism and then create two political cartoons, one that shows the viewpoint that bioterrorism is not a threat and one that shows the viewpoint that it is.
Curated OER
Map It!
Fourth graders collect and explore different maps and their uses before using the program Pixie to create maps of geographic features, political features, and economic information for the state in which they live.
Curated OER
Politics in Your Own Back Yard
Students take a closer look at local government in Britain today. In this current events instructional activity, students visit selected websites to discover a history of county councils and neighborhood authorities. Students...
Curated OER
Simulating a Middle East Peace Summit
Tenth graders explore the issues in the Middle East. In this World History lesson, 10th graders research the problems between Palestine and Israel. Students write a speech on their point of view of the peace process.
Curated OER
Parallel Timelines
Twelfth graders research the history of how a particular environmental issue moves through the Conservation Movement. They create timelines that show the progression of public sentiment and the legislation about the issue.
Curated OER
Campaign Signs and Pranksters
Pupils interview a selected candidate and find out his or her views on important issues and what he/she hopes to convey to voters. They write and design campaign flyers. Students create final mock-ups of the materials.
Curated OER
Protest Music Video
Students create an iMovie that expresses the meaning of a protest song from the 1960's or 1970's. They investigate the emotional and political overtones of the times and use images to interpret the song's meaning.
Curated OER
Presidential Endorsements: Newspapers Decide
Students read The Plain Dealer editorial about its "non-support" of a candidate and other articles about this and discuss the newspaper's role in the political process. Students then form an editorial board and debate which candidate...
Curated OER
California Primary 2000
Students explore the open primary system and the candidates that appeared on the ballot in California's Presidential Primary in 2000. A variety of issues and sites are explored and form the focus of this lesson.
Curated OER
Sectionalism and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Learners define and discuss sectionalism and popular sovereignty, analyze impact of popular sovereignty in creation of state of Kansas, compare issues in territorial Kansas to current politically divisive topic, and evaluate primary...
Curated OER
Activism of Terrorism
Students research animal rights issues and controversies and determine whether they believe extreme tactics are justified. They practice debate and rhetoric skills by successfully arguing both sides of the issue.
Curated OER
The Life of a President
Young scholars examine the life of President Gerald R. Ford. After reading an article, they discuss his legacy. They collect articles written during his time in office and examine the key issues of his presidency. They write an article...
Huntington Library
The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes
Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...
Curated OER
The Federalist Papers
Students identify the Articles of Confederation and explain why it failed. They explain the argument over the need for a bill of rights in the Constitution and James Madison's role in securing its adoption by first Congress. Finally,...
Curated OER
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Summit
Students examine the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Summit. In groups, they use the internet to research world leaders and discuss the peace process. To end the instructional activity, they present their findings along with issues that...