What does the government have to do with getting a driver's license? Including the calorie count for a meal on a restaurant menu? By discussing these kinds of questions and researching how concepts behind federal, state, and local...

While often not recognized, the ideas of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers still echo today. Using a series of videos and graphic organizers, individuals explore how ancient Greeks and Romans have influenced current Western political...

A group of citizens in North Canada has decided to leave their country, and they are asking for help in setting up an American-style democracy. Using a carefully structured activity, pupils lay out the principles in the American...

Sometimes, there is a better way. Scholars develop Pascal's triangle as a method to arrive at the coefficients of binomial expansions as an easier method to expand binomials. The learners connect the formula for binomial coefficients to...

The final activity in the Standing Up for Democracy unit offers class members a way they can stand up and speak out by crafting spoken word poetry, or Slam poetry. After analyzing several examples, individuals reflect on one positive...

Jane Elliott's controversial blue eyes/brown eyes experiment detailed in the film A Class Divided leads to a discussion of privilege, social power, and opportunity. Viewers note how the children react to the experiment, share their...

Class members continue their discussion of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). After examining an infographic the summarizes the document, groups examine four of the rights to decide if they are or are not universal, and if...

The final lessons in this section of the Standing Up for Democracy unit ask class members to consider ways they can help create a "more humane, fair, and compassionate environment" in their communities. For context, learners study how...

Investigate patterns in the binomial theorem. Pupils begin by reviewing the coefficients from Pascal's triangle. They look at the individual terms, the sums of the coefficients on a row, and the alternating sum of each row. Individuals...

Connect end behavior to previous learning. Pupils connect finding the end behavior of rational functions to finding end behavior of polynomial functions. The 13th segment in a 23-part unit starts with finding the end behavior or power...

Make a connection between rational expressions and rational functions. Pupils review simplifying and performing operations on rational expressions and recall what it means for two rational expressions to be equivalent based on their...

Undo the functions. Learners refresh their knowledge of inverses of functions from Algebra II in the 19th section of a 23-part Precalculus unit. Pupils look at inverses in tables and graphs. They then add to their understanding of...

Seventh graders are asked to choose and rank five scenarios from a list of ten that are most important to them. After explaining the reasons for the choices, they then identify the coping skills they used to make their decisions.

Rediscover the values at the heart of American democracy and what makes it unique with your pupils. Use a reading and discussion questions—in addition to an analytical activity—on the preamble to the Constitution. An additional activity...

Thoughtful decisions versus everyday decisions. Impulsive decisions versus thoughtful decisions. The decisions tweens must make become more and more complex as they age. Help them develop the skills they need to make thoughtful,...

Seventh graders create and perform a skit that demonstrates their conflict resolution skills. They begin by examining the process of crafting a performance and review what they have learned about conflict resolution. Next, they...

Imagine seventh graders developing a school wide plan to promote respect in their school. That's the vision behind the second instructional activity in the R-E-S-P-E-C-T series. In preparation for designing a school-wide media campaign,...

Developing a positive self-concept can sometimes be a challenge. Seventh graders engage in an activity that helps them identify their individual strengths and helps them recognize how these strengths can contribute to being a successful...

Seven video clips reveal how the checks and balances built into the constitutional framework of the United states' government are designed to keep any one branch from becoming too powerful. After watching each clip, groups identify the...

Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.

Most people are surprised to learn that American democracy is not as direct as they thought. Using a package of guiding questions, charts and curated videos, learners unpack the unique American institution of the Electoral College. The...

What began as an effort to show a movie by an interest group has impacted financing of federal elections. Did the Citizens United case lead to more "dark money" in politics, or did it shine a light with more speech? Using video clips...

The 1964 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches are the focus of a lesson designed to introduce learners to people who took part in the Civil Rights Movement. Class members set into the role of one of the participants,...

A theme runs through it. Scholars analyze how a common theme runs through the myths they have read and The Lightning Thief. They complete graphic organizers and view a four paragraph model essay. They analyze the essay for structure and...