Curated OER
Redistricting: Drawing the Lines
Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They analyze...
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Social Studies: Elections and Public Policy
Students explore the methods employed by political parties to influence voters. By creating presentations, they illustrate how voters can critically interpret that information. Students compare and contrast the influence of various...
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Does Rick Warren Represent Diversity?
The topic of this lesson focuses on whether or not Obama was able to convincingly defend his choice of choosing Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. This is considered a controversial or hot topic because it...
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Translating Science Into Public Policy
Students role-play participants at a panel on climate change. They represent either scientists or policymakers. "Scientists" use the information they've learned in other classes and assignments to present information to "policymakers,"...
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Learning about Interest Group Politics
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,...
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Environmental Law-Making
Learners go through the process of creating and passing a federal law. They select an environmental issue, research related policies for the issue, draft the bill, discuss it among committee members, bring it before the class and bring...
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Using Current Events to Understand Elections
Eleventh graders explore the the major phases of the electoral process for president. In this US Government instructional activity, 11th graders compare and contrast the delegate system of nomination and the electoral college.
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Government Policy and Its Impact on HIV/AIDS
High schoolers examine "President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief", identify important U.S. policy events related to AIDS/HIV from the last 25 years and hold a policy debate on the funding for AIDS/HIV programs.
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Genetics
Students investigate public policy regarding genetic research and have formed an educated opinion on what they believe the government role should be.
Social Media Toolbox
Verification
When you're putting together a great story, you've got to consider the source! Scholars discover the dangers of errors in reporting during the 14th activity in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Groups collaborate to create a source...
Curated OER
Public Policy & The Federal Budget
Students, in groups, represent a single deparment in the executive branch and research the work of their department and their current budget via a provided Internet site and then must decide how to cut their budget for an emergency.
Curated OER
Schools for Sale
Students differentiate between public and private goods. They analyze and evaluate various and positions on a public issue. They establish decision-making criteria. They develop a public policy based on a formal decision making model.
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The Power of One
Students study the principles on which Canada was founded. They examine the elements that affect federal and provincial policy making. They identify and evaluate various strategies for influencing public policies. They create a visual...
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Let's Make a Plan
Young scholars investigate pollution reduction policies in place at their school. In this pollution reduction instructional activity, students interview people in their school to determine what pollution policies are in place. They...
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Education Research Search
Learners research post-World War II educational development and policy in the United Kingdom. In groups, they develop pro and con arguments about grammar, secondary modern, comprehensive, and independent schools. Collaborative work...
Federal Reserve Bank
Is the Fed Public or Private?
The Federal Reserve System as a decentralized central bank can be a difficult concept for learners to grasp. Help them get a firm handle on this concept using this resource, in which class members work as a group to identify the...
Center for History Education
How Did the Public View Women’s Contributions to the Revolutionary War Effort?
Calling upon the legacies of Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, and Catherine the Great, Esther Reed rallied Southern women to support the American Revolution. Using a broadside by Reed and other primary sources, such as poetry, young historians...
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Economic Use of Public Natural Areas
Students examine the public controversy between the use of public natural areas for economic activities by viewing video clips, researching on the Internet, and calculating sustainable land.
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A Day in the Life of Bill C-One: Canada's Parliamentary System
Studnets explore the procedure that makes bills into laws, through research and class discussion. They conduct public opinion and media research surveys and discuss the impact they have on deliberations conducted during the passage of a...
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Problem Solving
Students identify problem solving strategies and demonstrate the ability to make choices using those strategies. In this problem solving lesson plan, students are introduced to vocabulary and strategies by playing a hula hoop game, then...
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Yellowstone Fires
Students assume the role of environmental biologists and help several government agencies resolve the debate surrounding "let it burn" policies in national parks.
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The Declaration of Independence
Students identify and examine the Declaration of Independence and ascertain its true intent and its eventual realization. Then they analyze the Declaration of Independence and summarize the intentions of the Declaration. Students also...
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Air Pollution: The Issue of Global Warming
Here is an outstanding 10-page lesson plan on global warming. Learners discover that there is a lot of controversy surrounding this topic in that the science behind global warming is difficult to prove. The best thing about this plan is...