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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

How will COVID-19 Impact Campaign Strategies in 2020?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
While COVID-19 has changed almost everything about daily life, it's also had a tremendous impact on the 2020 presidential contest. Using video clips featuring political advisors from both sides of the aisle, learners brainstorm what they...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
With election security looming large for 2020, pupils decide what should be done to protect them from foreign interference. A series of videos, including interviews with national security officials, elected representatives, and experts...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Voting Discrimination and the Effects of Shelby County v. Holder

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Show students that every vote counts as they debate the federal government 's role in protecting voting rights in historically racially discriminated areas. In the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder, the high court found that...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Should Your State Modify Its Voter Registration Laws and Methods for Submitting a Ballot?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What is the balance between democracy and security? Using articles and videos that examine state voting procedures, learners explore the difficult question. After looking at voting regulations in their state and nationally, they consider...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Presidential Debate Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The modern presidency is defined by the development of television—including the use of televised debates in the campaign. Using debates going back to the first one between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, young scholars evaluate...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Electoral College

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Evaluating Historical Presidential Campaign Ads

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Political ads flood the airwaves each election cycle. An activity including more than a dozen political ads from iconic presidential campaigns helps learners unpack how the sausage gets made during election "silly season." Using the...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

The Emoluments Clause and the President

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While the Emoluments Clause didn't get a lot of attention before the 2016 election, all eyes have been on this short phrase in the Constitution with the election of Donald Trump. As a business owner, do his financial interests conflict...
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Worksheet
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Putin's Illiberal Democracy

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Is Russia really a democracy? High school scholars explore Russian democracy under the leadership of President Putin. The resource provides opportunity for group discussion, writing, and research to understand Russia's political history,...
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Worksheet
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Elections, Money, and the First Amendment

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Those who spend the most, win.  Academics read informational text, participate in group discussion, and defend campaign reforms to understand the correlation between money, the First Amendment, and election results. The resource explains...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

The Census Questionnaire: Then and Now

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As the United States has changed, so has the census! While required by the Constitution, the questions the government asks to allot representation and federal funding has developed over time. Using images of previous censuses, young...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

The Opportunity Atlas

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The American dream is to climb the social and economic ladder, but is it really possible? Using an online opportunity atlas, class members explore income and social mobility throughout the country. Discussion prompts allow learners to...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Free, but Not Free: Life of Free Blacks Before the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Using the family stories of a famous comedian and singer-songwriter, learners consider what life was like for African Americans who were enslaved and free before the Civil War. To complete a concluding activity, they write about the...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Community Change

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
America is a country on the move. Analyzing data from the Census Bureau, class members gauge the people moving in and out of their areas. An interactive web feature allows pupils to see who is moving out and moving in, while discussion...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Featured Activity: How the Census Impacts My Community

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Individuals have $50,000 to spend on a program at their schools—what will they do with the money? After looking at the Constitutional mandate, learners use a census simulation activity to consider the question. After conducting their own...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Diversity: Minority Entrepreneurship and the Economy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using data from the Census Bureau, learners discover the growth in minority-owned businesses over time. After crunching numbers, analytical questions probe the reasons behind the shift. 
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Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Journalism for Justice

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Roll the presses! Or at least have your class members participate in the time-honored tradition of the student press by creating their own newspapers or journalist pieces on a social problem. After conducting research and collaborating...
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Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Film Festival

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Fredericksburg 360

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Urban combat long preceded today's video games. Pupils today experience the battle of Fredericksburg—a major Civil War engagement in an American city—using a 360-degree interactive app. Users explore the battlefield online, using  a...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Antietam 360

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It was the single bloodiest day in Civil War history. Now, class members have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Antietam using an interactive website. Supplemental resources include...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Pre-1860: Disunion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using personas ranging from freed African Americans to wealthy plantation owners, young historians consider various points of view around the events in the days leading up to the Civil War including major milestones such as the Dred...
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Activity
Teaching Tolerance

My Voice, My Voter's Guide

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Class members may be too young to vote, but that doesn't mean their voices are silent! After researching key information, such as policies for registering to what to expect at the polls, young scholars create and present election guides...
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Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Listen Up! PSA for Change

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Challenge scholars to speak up about a topic by creating a public service announcement or social media blitz about an issue they feel passionate about. Have them research their issues, then decide the best way to take their messages to...