Curated OER
Lesson 1: The Importance of Rules in Our Country and in Our Classroom
Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which the...
Curated OER
All About Groups & Community
Second graders examine the various kinds of groups in our communities and lives. They make charts and drawings of different groups and complete a worksheet imbedded in this plan. The groups are a true cooperative format, with each...
Facing History and Ourselves
Laws and the National Community
When it comes to the law, is justice always served? Teach scholars about how law sometimes enables prejudice of entire groups of people with a unit on World War II that includes a warm-up activity, analysis of primary sources,...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Patterns and Shapes In Our Community
Shapes in art, shapes in stories, shapes in the environment, shapes all around. A multi-part lesson that includes looking at the artist Paul Klee's work, reading books about shapes, taking a walk in the neighborhood and identifying...
Curated OER
Dr. Fix-It Subjects: Health, Government
Help your young scholars undertand the critical problems around healthcare. By focusing on the political and private process of healthcare, students will watch a video, analyze issues, and write an essay on their findings. Additionally,...
Curated OER
Mapping Our Home
Young scholars explore how communities participate in census counting. In this census instructional activity, students recognize the absolute and relative location of a state and understand ideas about civic life and government.
Curated OER
Our Community Helpers
Students explore community helpers in order to explain how they fit into their community and the world.
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
Our White House
The Our White House Inauguration Celebration Kit for Kids!
Get the youngest American citizens involved in the presidential election and inauguration with a set of social studies activities. Focusing on the history of presidential inauguration ceremonies, learners draft their own poems, design...
Curated OER
Working Together to Improve Our Community
Students from the fourth grade research a solution to a community problem and converse with eighth graders via email. Eighth graders study the political process and work with the fourth graders to present information to the public to...
Curated OER
Our Community Helpers
Students identify important aspects of community and culture that strengthen relationships. They discuss pictures of national symbols.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Free and Independent Press
Students determine how free press principles can be compromised. For this global studies lesson plan, students read an article titled "Free and Independent Press." Students respond to discussion questions regarding the article.
Curated OER
ABC Community Walk
Students identify the different relationships that can be found in a community and create a class Community ABC Book. They participate in walking field trips to explore their community.
Curated OER
Stamps and Cemeteries as Storytellers
Students discern the difference between commemorative and regular issue stamps while drawing conclusions about the time period. In this Stamps as Storytellers lesson, students design stamps using symbolism and historical data. In...
Curated OER
Introduction to Philanthropy- Recognizing Good Citizenship and Philanthropy in Our Community
Students define philanthropy. In this community lesson, students read A River Ran Wild and discuss the needs in the communities presented. Students discuss aspects of philanthropy in a community and brainstorm elements of a healthy...
Curated OER
Documents and Symbols and American Freedom
Students complete a unit of lessons on the documents, symbols, and famous people involved in the founding of the U.S. government. They create a personal bill of rights, write a found poem, design a flag, conduct research, and role-play...
Curated OER
Buildings in Our Community: What Do You See?
Students investigate the architecture in their hometown by visiting buildings. In this geometry lesson, students examine buildings through photographs and explain the different geometric shapes found in the architecture....
Curated OER
Guided Reading: What Is Government?
Learn about the government's role in everyday life in a guided reading activity. Groups create a KWL chart concerning the government's impact on the community.
Curated OER
Know Your Local Government
Students explore their local govenment structure and the people who hold various positions of power.
PBS
Making Change: Revolutionary Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...
Curated OER
Philanthropy and Citizenship-Hand in Hand
Students define philanthropy and evaluate how the government would functin without the help of volunteers. They write song lyrics, participate in a class discussion, and complete a Venn diagram.
Curated OER
Acting for the Common Goods
The first of a three-part series on bullying, this plan has class members present skits about bullying, write and sign an anti-bullying pledge, and complete a service project. For the skit, learners use information from previous lessons...
Curated OER
Social Class, Social Change, and Poverty
Learners demonstrate how sociological research and literature can add to our understanding of poverty. They explore poverty and its implications on society and future organizations.
Curated OER
Outreach and Distribution Lesson Plan
Students study the process for outreach and distribution of films. They design outreach and distribution plans for films which they create.