Curated OER
Searching for Answers
How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...
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Living Under the Illinois Black Codes
Students use the text of the Illinois Black Codes to examine the laws in place. Using this information, they draw their own conclusions about why the laws existed in a free state. They also identify the purpose of these laws and how they...
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Hodgson v. Minnesota
Students investigate the role of and develop opinions of the court in weighing competing interests in making decisions. They examine the power of the courts and legislature to regulate constitutional rights.
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In the Courts
Students explore desegregation in the courts. In this civil rights lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Supreme Court cases Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson. Students examine the cases and...
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Judicial Review
High schoolers review the concepts they were introduced to in a telecast on judicial review. After reading an article, they answer discussion questions and repeat the same procedure for another article. They participate in a debriefing...
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Does My Hair Disrupt Your Learning
Students research the laws and policies for school dress codes. They interview school employees to find out opinions of the policies. This they compare the findings with student interviews that are conducted.
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The National Women's Party and the Enfranchisement of Black Women
Students analyze the attitudes and hostility given to African-American women within the National Women's Party. They finish the lesson by examining another moment in the party's history and writing about it.
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Radio Program #5: Moonshining
Students interpret the conditions that surrounded the "moonshining industry" in southeastern Ohio. Interview people who may have been influenced by some experience with someone involved in this type of industry. Prohibition laws are...
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It's in Your Pocket
Students examine American coins. In this American currency lesson plan, students study how American money came to be as well as the responsibilities of the U.S. Mint. Students discover details regarding American coins and design their...
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Race and Voting in the Segregated South
Learners examine the history of African American voting rights. In this voting rights lesson, students listen to a lecture on African American voting rights between the years 1890 and 1965. Learners respond to discussion questions...
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Private Matters
Students examine the intersection between an individual's right to privacy versus the public's right to know, through the lens of the relationship between public figure Gary Condit and missing intern Chandra Levy.
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Government: The Mystery Epidemic
Students are able to identify some roles of government in dealing with the prevention and treatment of skin cancer. They are able to list two reasons why the occurrence of skin cancer in youths has increased.
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The Right to Vote
In this voting worksheet, students identify and discuss changes in voting rights throughout American history.
Then, they identify why voting is an important right for Americans. Finally, students create voting bookmarks instead of or in...
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Voting and the U.S. Constitution (Past, Present, and Future), Part 2
Students analyze and discuss the 19th Amendment, and read the document, Why Women Want to Vote. Students illustrate statements from the handbill, then conduct a play about women's suffrage.
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Racial Profiling
Learners debate both positions on the controversial topic of racial profiling with support for each and then develop a consensus position on how racial profiling as a law enforcement tool should be used.
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Political and Cultural Road to the American Revolution
Learners examine the Declaration of Independence. For this Revolutionary War instructional activity, young scholars use primary sources to analyze how the creation of the Declaration of Independence lead to the development of the United...
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The New Republic
Students research the Federalists and Anti-federalists. In the lesson on state legislature, students use primary sources to create a brochure and write an essay that illustrates federalist and anti-federalists viewpoints.
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Legally Wed
Students explore the controversial topic of same-sex marriages in a fishbowl discussion. They write balanced news articles based on interviews exploring people's opinions on laws that define marriage.
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Right of Privacy: 4th Amendment
Learners are introduced to the 4th Amendment of the Washington state Constitution. In groups, they examine the Constitution of the state of Washington and compare it to the United States Constitution. They role play the role Supreme...
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Individual Rights and Liberties: Free Speech
Students review free speech laws and the First Amendment in the Constitution. They discuss a current event involving free speech. They present the information to the class.
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Constitutions and Mindmap of Government
In this European Union studies worksheet, learners examine governments in the United Kingdom and other European nations as they respond to 10 short answer questions and complete a graphic organizer.
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Government Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan 5
Students identify the process of writing a case brief. They analyze the case McCulloch v Maryland. After a lecture/demo, students utilize a case study worksheet imbedded in this plan to help them explain the process of performing a case...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
What Were They Thinking? Why Some Some Alabamians Opposed the 19th Amendment
To better understand the debate over the 19th Amendment, class members examine two primary source documents that reveal some of the social, economic, racial, and political realities of the time period.
School Improvement in Maryland
Political Systems: Advantages and Disadvantages
Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a...