Does the influence of interest groups harm a political system? Your class members will analyze the role of interest groups in American politics, as well as consider the effect of perspective, bias, loyalty, and the...

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...

Letter-writing, e-mail and telephone campaigns, petitions, marches, meetings, with lawmakers. Options for influencing elected representatives are the focus of resource that details how to craft each of these approaches to influencing...

Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With...

Students 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. Students select several Web-based transcripts of interviews,...

Research water use in California, environmental protection laws, and the proposition to raise Shasta Dam by 200 feet. Researchers use their findings to build an argument which will be presented at a mock decision panel. Groups then...

Students define the terms "interest groups" and "public policy". In groups, they discuss the ways in which interest groups can have an effect on how a Board member votes. Using examples, they discover the effectiveness of interest...

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...

Students work in groups to research and examine Constitutions from various countries. In this government and public interests lesson, students analyze primary and secondary documents to make a comparison between constitutional documents...

High schoolers explore the interaction between the legislature and other governmental institutions. They watch videos exploring the relationship between the state legislature and two government institutions, and the role of lobbyists on...

Students examine the needs of their community for public space and determine the solutions to math problems related to planning landscape designs. They read and discuss an article from the New York Times, create their own designs for a...

Students review the Federalist Paper by James Madison. They discuss the influence of interest groups in contemporary politics.

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...

For this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about special interests groups and respond to 4 short answer questions.

All 50 US states require vaccinations for children entering public schools. Pupils set out to determine whether these requirements are fair with a thought-provoking resource. They read an interesting history of vaccines, watch pro and...

Students role play roles of people in the life of Aspyer Tu Moore. They analyze his public choices and solve a problem related to them. They answer questions to end the instructional activity.

Emerging orators distinguish between effective and ineffective public speaking strategies. They read a text that fits in with a Native Americans unit and speak about the text with both ineffective and effective volume, tone, phrasing,...

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...

Students are able to define and identify a type of interest group. They are able to describe some strategies used by interest group. Students are able to identify the postive and negative aspects of interest groups.

Twelfth graders explain the work of interest groups and give examples of South Carolina interest groups. They identify positive & negative influences of interest groups in U.S. & S.C. politics. They take and defend a position on...

I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...

Engage 12th graders in a series of activities focused on public trust and ethics in US Government. They view a series of videos, hold a class debate, and compose a short essay. Note: Suggested videos are listed but are not available...

Of particular interest to a group of business and finance pupils, this instructional activity explores depreciation of automobile values by comparing the double declining balance to the straight line method. Mostly this is done through a...