Caucus 101
Linkage Institutions: Interest Groups: Option A
How are elections really run and won? Learn about special interest groups, super PACs, and lobbyists with an engaging lesson about the caucus process. Young voters research specific interest groups and analyze their part in previous and...
Curated OER
Influencing the Agenda: The Impact of Interest Groups on Policy Making
Students 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 changed...
Curated OER
Special Interest Groups
Students define term interest group, identify interest groups that people in the local community belong to, and contact an interest group and evaluate the impact of that group on the political process.
School Improvement in Maryland
Evaluating Political Advertisements
How do interest groups try to influence elections? As part of their study of the election process, groups view 30-second advertisements produced by advocacy groups and use the provided worksheet to evaluate these ads. They then craft...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
Curated OER
Learning about Interest Group Politics
Learners identify and interpret major interest groups and think tanks of the government. Students evaluate, record, and discuss the viewpoints of guests on the News Hour. Learners select several Web-based transcripts of interviews,...
American Documentary
Religion in Culture & Politics: Women’s empowerment in Syria
What defines a woman as empowered, and how does this definition compare to the ideas and actions of a group of Muslim women in Syria? After watching a series of video clips from a documentary film about a school for girls in Damascus,...
Curated OER
Homemade Political Parties
Use this 5-day lesson to clarify the platforms of the two major parties, comparing and contrasting against students' beliefs. Begin by looking at unlabeled summaries of both party platforms, having learners identify most with one. Groups...
Curated OER
Interest Groups in South Carolina Government
Students create an outline and short class presentation about an assigned interest group by conducting research using the Internet and interest group contacts. They evaluate the role of an assigned interest group in the South Carolina...
Mikva Challenge
The Great Electoral Race Kickoff
Do young people care about elections? Host a discussion about the role of young citizens in the electoral process with an engaging social studies lesson. As high schoolers read and respond to four statements about youth interest in...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons
Students explore political cartoons. In this government current events lesson, students analyze the visual language and symbolism present in five different political cartoons. Students discuss the event or issue that inspired the...
National WWII Museum
Dr. Seuss and WWII
What famous children's author and illustrator created World War II political cartoons featuring such subjects as fascism, the war effort, discrimination, and the dangers of isolationism? The who in this story is Dr. Seuss, and what...
Curated OER
History of Political Parties in the U. S.
Twelfth graders name some of the parties in the political system of the United States. They identify the two main parties along with key information, issues, events, elections and/or people for each system. They then break into groups...
Curated OER
Ad Nauseam
Young scholars explore the role of special-interest groups in American campaigns. They create their own political advertisements.
Smithsonian Institution
Us vs. Them: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Immigration issues are nothing new. An interesting lesson focuses on the racially motivated Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and its impact on the Chinese American community. Scholars read articles, analyze political cartoons, and...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Issues of Unauthorized Immigration
Unauthorized immigration is a complex and hotly debated topic. Class members read an article that examines the issues that motivate unauthorized immigration. Teams then assume the role of special interest groups and present their stand...
Curated OER
Roles of Individuals and Groups in Politics
Students review the Federalist Paper by James Madison. They discuss the influence of interest groups in contemporary politics.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers
Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...
Curated OER
Political Issues Survey
Fifth graders develop and conduct a survey regarding issues in a current political campaign. They distribute and collect the surveys, input the data using a spreadsheet program, and compare/contrast the recorded results.
Curated OER
Interpreting Political Cartoons
Students review political cartoons and discuss what political impact they can have. They choose a current political cartoon and write an essay exploring its intent and impact.
Curated OER
Technology and the Media
High schoolers are introduced to the roles and influence of technology and the media on American representative democracy. They examine the effects of the Internet on citizens' role in government and the role and effects of media on the...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Nazi Party Platform
Not all party platforms stay democratic. A resource covers many political issues in Germany during the time of World War II, and teaches pupils about the Nazi party platform and what went wrong. Individuals participate in a warm-up...
Stanford University
Explosion of the Maine
An intriguing activity features newspaper articles to help academics understand the political impact of the sinking the Maine and how the American media depicted the event. Scholars also view a presentation, participate in group...
Carolina K-12
Choice, Conflict, and Compromise at the County level
With all the hubbub surrounding national elections, it's easy to forget the importance of local government. After learning about county governance and voter turnout for local elections, young citizens demonstrate how local governance...