Americans love to learn about their rights, especially those that protect them from the government's power to invade their privacy. Young people are especially engaged by this topic. An informative lesson explores four Supreme Court...

Four lessons, each following the same routine, explore the careers of a teacher, nurse, electrician, geologist, plumber, and police officer. After listening to a read-aloud and thoughtful discussion, young scholars construct puppets...

As part of a study of ways to resolve conflicts, class members examine the characteristics of win-win solutions and then practice win-win negotiations. They also examine the role of a mediator in conflict resolution and then script and...

Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...

High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...

Students listen to the teacher read a book about a police officer and his trained dog and make connections to their own personal safety habits. In this safety lesson, students create a classroom bulletin board of safety tips, and then...

Second graders illustrate the roles, responsibilities, and skills of community members and write a paragraph that summarizes the importance of those roles, responsibilities, and skills. They are asked: "What is a role?" Students are...

In this grammar online interactive worksheet, students match up 6 pictures to their appropriate formal titles. Students label where to buy 5 specific items found within their neighborhoods. Students read a short passage and choose the...

Students get excited about their community which can be extended through visits from members of the community or field trips. In this community helpers lesson, students demonstrate knowledge of the interaction of location, family,...

Students discover police procedures by filling out crime reports.  In this government lesson, students discuss the benefits of historical reports pertaining to criminals and victims.  Students listen to an officer of the law...

In this community helpers worksheet, learners use the 16 words in the word bank to locate and identify them in the word search puzzle.

Learners explain the rationale behind the Fourth Amendment, and the types of activity regulated by the Constitution. They analyze situations, and explain a citizen's rights when an unlawful search or seizure is conducted.

Students research the issue of zero tolerance for students to have guns in schools. They realize the difficulties the schools and law enforcement officials face dealing with the issue.

Students are introduced to careers with an aquatic emphasis. They take a self-evaluation test on what they enjoy in school to determine which career is right for them. They listen to people in the field discuss what their job is like.

Learners honor local heroes. In this community heroes lesson plan, students create an award or plan an event honoring a local hero. Learners are encouraged to be creative!

Through discussion, role play, read-alouds, writing, and more, scholars explore the concept of bullying and practice having courage while responsibly reporting unfriendly behavior. Friendship and respect are practiced and...

Should the United States ban the death penalty? Scholars use real-life examples of criminal activity to come to their own conclusions on the death penalty. Primary source documents, as well as video clips, open the issue of capital...

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough lesson, discussion guide, and series of activities to discuss the social...

As Mister Rogers would say, "It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood," especially when youngsters know all about community helpers and their role in the community. These two units, one designed for ages two to three and the other...

What would your class do if a police officer arrested a student in class? This is exactly the anticipatory set that gets young scholars engaged in a unit on the legal system. The plan is to get the officer to simulate an arrest, and then...

Second graders review community leaders, their role and responsibility. After reviewing the job of a police officer, they write about the skills, roles and responsibilities a worker has on a provided silhouette. Students share their...

Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre.  Based on what...

Students explore community helpers. In this social studies lesson, students research a variety of community helpers. Students choose a community helper and explain why they would want to spend a day helping that worker.

Calling all cars! It's time to solve some division problems! A chart of special police units and the number of officers in each provides the data for six word problems. Young recruits use their division skills to solve them. Note that...