Reading Through History
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation: one of the most important primary sources for studying American history! An interdisciplinary resource includes a reading of Abraham Lincoln's seminal speech quoted directly. Following the reading, pupils...
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China and Communism
Sixth graders discuss what might happen if United States government took over media ownership, read Junior Scholastic article entitled "China Looks to the Future," and create chart comparing Chinese Communist government to United States...
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Youth vs. Adult Employment
Students investigate the unemployment rate in Canada. In this statistics lesson, students collect data on youth finding jobs, graph and analyze the data. This assignment raises awareness of the employment problems in Canada.
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Representation of the Common Citizen From Declaration of Independence to Present
Young scholars create working definition of common citizen, and investigate and discuss important sections of Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other Amendments. Students...
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Alaska's Current Issues
Students work in small groups to brainstorm a list of issues in Alaska. As a class, they discuss their concerns. Students place their issues in two lists, those that are in the domain of the local and state governments, and those that...
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The Constitution
Eighth graders watch as their teacher presents information on the Constitution, government and laws through a PowerPoint presentation. In groups, they discuss the importance of government and laws and identify the main ideas in the...
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Comparing Sparta and Athens
Learners are taught the differences between totalitarianism and democracy. They discuss the historical roots of the democratic tradition. Students are introduced to the term totalitarianism and are told that it is a form of government...
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From the Classroom to the Ballot Box
Learners examine British voting rights. In this current events lesson, students listen to a lecture about the proposal to drop the British voting age to 16. Learners create and distribute surveys about the proposal and debate voting rights.
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Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution
High schoolers examine how the French and American revolutions influenced and emergence of free press in these countries. Students explore the link between government control of the press and the type of government. They compare and...
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Introduction to the Constitution: The First Three Articles of the Constitution, Separation of Powers
Students review the first three articles of the United States Constitution. In groups, they examine the three branches of government and their function. They follow the path of a bill until it becomes law and discuss Congress' role.
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What is Economics? An Economic Board Game
Learners learn the fundamental concepts of economics as it relates to government.
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Law, Values and Lobbying
Students begin to examine the lawmaking process. Using their text, they describe the role of the three branches of government. In groups, they identify the four basic values protected by law and define the concept of lobbying and...
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How Shall We Rule China? Role Play
Eleventh graders analyze what relationship the Mongols established with the Chinese, how the Mongols governed, from what political center and what their policies were toward land use in China.
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Sport Comparison and Contrast
Students read a piece of literature relating to sports and discuss sport, how it affects society, and the reasons people participate. They research sport during the time of pioneers and write a compare and contrast paper dealing with...
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Economics/Emissions
Students produce manufactured good, monitor energy consumption, encounter international government regulations, make choices about emissions and energy, and share findings in order to understand how international commerce could affect...
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Gymnastics Lesson
Learners investigate the importance of having a healthy body by performing gymnastics. In this physical education instructional activity, students utilize their flexibility and body strength to perform intense physical gymnastic...
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Influencing the Agenda: The Impact of Interest Groups on Policy Making
Middle schoolers examine the role of interest groups and how they affect voters. In groups, they research how the groups have affected policy making in the county. They examine a specific issue and discover whether or not a vote was...
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Why a Bill of Rights? What Impact Does it Have?
Students explore the Bill of Rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students compare the Federalist view of government to the Anti-Federalist view of government. Students consider the impact of the bill of rights as they take notes on...
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Why Come To America?
Eighth graders investigate reasons large numbers of people immigrated to the U.S. They identify hardships and risks involved in coming to America and identify the affects immigration has had on the traditions and cultures in the...
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Water Resources and the Role of the Independent Sector
Students explore how water conservation is influenced by the four sectors of economy. In this social studies economics lesson, students brainstorm problems and solutions related to water conservation. Collages are created to represent...
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Writing A Letter Using the Book Mole's Hill
Pupils listen to the book, Mole's Hill, and identify the problems and solutions in the story. They choose characters from the book and write letters using Interactive Writing procedures, then create a display of the setting of the story.
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Looking for Heroes
Students explain the importance of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March and the long term impact in the US of non violent civic participation.
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Map Literacy
Students locate their home state on a map. They differentiate between physical and population sizes of states. In two groups, students "become" states with string for boundaries. They ascertain that area does not always equal large...
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Reader's Theater
First graders imagine the house they live in. They think about the colors, materials, shape, size and location of their home. Students read and discuss the book "Houses." They perform this book as a Reader's Theater using a script.