Curated OER
Respect and Democracy
Students explore the concept of respect. In this respect and democracy instructional activity, students define respect and brainstorm examples of showing respect and disrespect. Students read Core Values of American Constitutional...
Curated OER
What Are Our Common Values?
Students make a poster. In this values lesson, students read the Preamble to the Constitution and discuss the core democratic values that are found there and in the Declaration of Independence. Students are each assigned a core...
Curated OER
Bullying and Core Democratic Values
Middle schoolers explore the concept of core democratic values. After completing a survey of student populations regarding bullying, small groups analyze their findings and present their findings to the Student Council, principal,...
Curated OER
Using Multimedia to Teach Core Democratic Values
Students produce multimedia presentation to fellow class members on one of the Core Democratic Values, such as patriotism or civilian control of military, that is part of State of Michigan Social Studies Framework.
Curated OER
Kid-Friendly CDVs
Learners discover core democratic values. In this service learning lesson, students create posters in order to promote core democratic values.
Curated OER
New Citizen Exam is Democracy 101
Young scholars read a USA Today article about U.S. democracy and then complete questions about the topic. For this democracy lesson, students read the article 'New Citizen Exam is Democracy 101.' Young scholars learn about the test for...
City University of New York
Women's Suffrage and World War I
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect...
Curated OER
Reflecting on the Far Right
Students examine the London assembly election of 2008. For this political parties lesson, students research the platform of the British National Party. Students visit suggested websites to determine the party's core beliefs.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Troubled Elections of 1796 and 1800
Congress does more than create new laws. Political scientists delve into the elections of 1796 and 1800 to understand how political parties, the Electoral College, and personal agendas affected the election process. The resource also...
Curated OER
Leaders, Laborers, and Other Perspectives of World War II
How did the women in France feel about their country’s involvement in World War II? Class groups are assigned a country involved in WWII, and individuals within the group adopt the point of view of leaders, laborers, businessmen, women,...
Curated OER
Role Playing for the Common Good
Students explore conflict resolution. In this character education lesson, students role play simple conflict resolution situations at school and present the skits to other classes.
Curated OER
My Promise
Students define their own civic responsibility and create a PowerPoint presentation about their volunteer efforts. In this civic responsibility lesson, students define the word volunteer and read an article about a volunteer in their...
Curated OER
How Does My Government Grow?
Students identify the core democratic values. They explain how the values affect their life in America. They also relate the topic of philantrophy to the core values.
Curated OER
Growing a Citizen
Students analyze messages and values associated with civic engagement present in the media. They analyze the local community's promotion of values associated with civic engagement by conducting investigative research. They hypothesize...
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Pocahontas (Matoaka)
Students explain how Pocahontas contributed to the people of Jamestown. They relate her actions to the core democratic values. They also infer about the effect of her actions.
Curated OER
CDV, CDV, What's a CDV?
Introduce your class to the Core Democratic Values. The lesson focuses on defining the Core Democratic Values and related terms. Small groups look up terms and present a song based on the information they've found. After the...
Curated OER
Citizen Journalism
Students examine the role of citizen journalism, freedom of the press, and the First Amendment. They analyze the results of an Internet survey, discuss the ethics of downloading copyrighted material on the Internet, and write a news story.
Curated OER
The Whole World is Watching: Iran, 2009
Students study the impact of social media. In this Iranian election lesson, students examine the outcome of the 2009 election and the public protests that followed it. Students determine how citizen journalism informed people around the...
Curated OER
The Statue of Liberty: The Meaning and Use of a National Symbol
Engage your class in a series of activities, each related to the use or analysis of symbols used to convey patriotic or national concepts. They identify different national symbols and explain their meanings, discussing the importance of...
Curated OER
The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?
Students analyze the Preamble of the Constitution and identify the historical context that led to its wording. They, in groups, interpret phrases from the Preamble, examine relevant court cases and create illustrations for their portion...
Curated OER
Voting
Students investigate voter participation in the U.S. They watch and discuss a Bill Moyers video, complete a handout, and develop a plan to help a community overcome obstacles to voter participation.
Curated OER
Bearing the Torch: A Study of Ancient Greece
Second graders research Ancient Greece. In this Ancient Greece lesson, 2nd graders survey the geographical, historical, and cultural aspects of Greece. Students discover stories of Greek mythology and explore the beginning of the Olympic...
Curated OER
Small Steps; Great Journeys
Twelfth graders examine contributions to communities. In this philanthropy lesson, 12th graders discuss the quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Students identify issues that exist in their community and...
Curated OER
A Collage of American Icons: Presidents and Symbols
Students use KWL charts, stores, news, books, and movies to learn about the Presidents and symbols of America. In this Presidents and symbols lesson plan, students participate in many activities that introduce them to the leaders and...