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Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

States' Rights: 1798-1860

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students develop an annotated timeline specific to the concept of States' Rights. They research an example to the doctrine noting how the ideas change and beome more specific as time passes and discuss their findings through class...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Ratifying the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Ratifying the Constitution was no simple task. Using primary sources, such as classic writings from the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, young scholars examine the arguments for and against the Constitution. They then decide: Would they...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Beyond Vietnam

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's stance. 
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Handout
ProCon

Obamacare

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Former President Barack Obama reformed the United States' health care system with Obamacare, but is the new legislation good for America? Scholars read a historical timeline about the passage of health care reform laws and compare United...
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Handout
ProCon

Drinking Age

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Eighteen is the age of adulthood in the United States, but 21 is the legal drinking age. Pupils use the provided website to determine whether the age to legally purchase and consume alcohol should be lowered. They weigh the pros and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Promoting the Common Good

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in a service learning activity regarding universal human rights. In this service learning lesson, students craft posters that illustrate guaranteed rights that all people should possess.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Individual Rights and Liberties: Free Speech

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Right of Privacy: 4th Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charlie Four Star: A Case Study

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Engage in a class debate dealing with the allocation of organs to those waiting for a transplant. How do they decide who gets a transplant and who doesn't? Learners attempt to determine what is fair for the individual requiring an organ...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

The Power of Images

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
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Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Cloning

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers  explore the issues and challenges of cloning.  In this cloning lesson plan, students read about how cloning affects people and the types of cloning, then they prepare a debate either for or against cloning.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Computer Debates

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research controversial Internet technology issues concerning security, privacy, and intellectual property. They formulate and present various perspectives on these issues in a mock television panel discussion.
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

NAACP’s Anti-Lynching Campaign in the 1920s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners investigate the anti-lynching campaign of the NAACP in the 1920's. In this human rights instructional activity, students prepare for and participate in a simulated debate of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill that was presented to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Meant by Returning to Fundamental Principles?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain in what ways the American experience in self-government can be called an adventure in ideas. They evaluate positions on a number of issues related to the fundamental principles and values of government and individual...
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Handout
Curated OER

Animal Testing

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Animal testing: cruel and inhumane, or innovative and life-saving? Scholars explore the topic and form their own opinions with help from the highly informative website. Pupils read a comprehensive overview of the topic, including...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Utopian Visions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine Sir Thomas More's Utopian vision. In this philosophy lesson, students read Utopia and determine the pros and cons of Utopian societies. Students then create and present monologues of residents of the Utopia.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sharing Or Stealing? Debating the Ethics of Napster

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students debate ethics of free Internet file-sharing of copyrighted materials.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Lesson To Accompany "The First Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...
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Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Juvenile Justice

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils compare and contrast the legal system as it pertains to juvenile and adult crime and punishment. Incorporating primary documents, legal decisions, and video evidence, individuals form an argument debating the treatment of...
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Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

National Service

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Uncle Sam wants you to serve! Scholars investigate the role of mandatory national service in an open democracy. They research, watch a video, and hold a debate surrounding the issue of requiring one year of service to gain a better...
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Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Cyberbullying—Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners examine cyberbullying. In this lesson on democracy, students discuss the different ways to deal with cyberbullying. They then take a position on the question of whether a democracy should allow schools to take action against off...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Why Do Governments Exist? Locke, Hobbes, Montesquieu, and Rousseau

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Here is a great secondary source reading that includes the primary ideas and philosophies of the famed Enlightenment philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In additional to discussing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Human Cloning, Genetic Engineering and Privacy

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Review the aspects of human cloning and the moral issues associated with it. Individually, your students will keep a list of the articles related to this issue and research issues related to the ethic issues people are concerned with....
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Lesson Plan
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Constitutional Rights Foundation

Naturalized Citizens and the Presidency

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution takes center stage in a instructional activity that asks class members to assume the role of state senators, debate a resolution to amend the U. S. Constitution to permit naturalized...