C-SPAN
Should Your State Modify Its Voter Registration Laws and Methods for Submitting a Ballot?
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...
C-SPAN
Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?
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...
C-SPAN
Presidential Debate Analysis
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...
C-SPAN
Evaluating Historical Presidential Campaign Ads
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Emoluments Clause and the President
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...
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Iran Nuclear Deal and Its Critics
What was the purpose of the Iranian Nuclear Deal? An insightful resource explains nuclear tensions in the Middle East and Iranian weapon development that contributed to the Nuclear Deal in 2013. Academics learn the agreement limited...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Global Warming and the Paris Agreement
Global warming: a political debate or a scientific fact? Young historians read text, complete activities, and participate in group discussion to understand the political debate surrounding global warming and the US decision to withdraw...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Automation and the American Worker
A thought-provoking resource examines the future of automation and the effects on employment. Academics read informational text, complete written prompts, and participate in activities to understand automation and the possibilities for...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Putin's Illiberal Democracy
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,...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Elections, Money, and the First Amendment
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Suppressing the Vote
Voting rights have expanded over time, but some voters are still being suppressed. A thought-provoking resource explores the history of voter suppression in the US and efforts to remove roadblocks to voting. Young historians learn about...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Purged From the Voter Rolls: Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute
Once a registered voter isn't always a registered voter. Academics explore the topic of voter registration and hindrances to remaining registered. The resource focuses on data analysis, federal voter registration law, and Supreme Court...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Why We Have Freedom of the Press
A newspaper receives documents that reveal not only a devastating secret the public needs to know, but also troop movements that could put American lives at risk: to publish or not to publish? Using background readings, discussion...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Amendment Process
Long revered as the "upper chamber," the US Senate was created to give the new nation a balance between large and small states. However, has the time for this institution passed? Using a reading on how the amendment process works,...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Census in US History
The census has been a part of the American landscape since the Constitution was written; however, it does have a history of controversy. Class members use a guided reading and simulation activity on developing census questions to...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Achieving Diversity: The Question of Affirmative Action in College Admissions
How can a college board of trustees both increase cultural and racial diversity and offer all incoming high schoolers equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment? Class members debate the question using readings about how colleges...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Understanding Fake News
Fake or fact? Learners must decide while looking at two published "news" stories. A reading about why fake news exists and a checklist on how to evaluate sources rounds out the activity.
PBS
Free, but Not Free: Life of Free Blacks Before the Civil War
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...
Teaching Tolerance
Film Festival
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...
American Battlefield Trust
Pre-1860: Disunion
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...
Teaching Tolerance
My Voice, My Voter's Guide
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...
American Battlefield Trust
Civil War Battle Strategy
But for a fluke, 1862 could have gone differently during the Civil War. When Union troops found Robert E. Lee's battle plans for critical engagements in Maryland wrapped around cigars and tossed aside, history changed forever. Class...
American Battlefield Trust
1861: The Country Goes to War
While the firing on Ft. Sumter may have seemed like a sudden event, the long march to war spanned decades. Using games and a presentation, class members review the events that led up to the fateful April day in 1861 when brother turned...