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Libraries Are the Place to Be
Celebrate National Library Week by discovering all that your local library and the Library of Congress have to offer.
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...
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Lesson PlanThomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
Students explore techniques of persuasive writing. In this persuasive writing lesson, students examine primary sources regarding the sale of Thomas Jefferson private library to Congress. Students write their own persuasive letters...
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3 Branches of Our Government
This straightforward fill-in-the-blank activity could be used for a variety of purposes. Young historians are given 10 sentences about the branches of government; they fill in the blanks with terminology that is related to the United...
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Federal Court Systems and Court Cases
Ninth graders investigate the basis for the Common Law Tradition. They examine the organization of the Federal Court System and students identify the various sources of the American Law.
National First Ladies' Library
Rosie the Riveter
Learners identify and interpret the power of symbols. Then they research and identify what type of information that they can locate at the Library of Congress website and list what they learned from it in the time allotted. Students also...
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Organizers for Students
Students . In this organization instructional activity, students have a general discussion about sports cards and make a chart to answer the questions. Students read the baseball card story from USA Today. Students watch a web video...
C-SPAN
Presidential Veto and Congressional Override
One of the key powers of the executive branch is the president's ability to pass or veto legislation proposed by Congress. Congress, the legislative branch, on the other hand, can override a president's veto. Five film clips show how the...
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Is it Legal? - The Judicial System
Fourth graders explore the judicial branch of government; in particular, Florida's judicial branch of government.
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Branches of Government
After reading a short text on the branches of government in the United States, future voters answer 8 fill-in-the-blank questions, as well as 11 true or false questions. This instructional activity would be a great homework assignment or...
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In Their Own Words: Slave Narratives
Students identify primary sources, explain the strengths and weaknesses of personal accounts in history, and negotiate the Library of Congress Database. They also analyze documents and write a summary that compares and contrasts the...
University of Wisconsin
Analyzing Presidential Campaign Propaganda
Campaign propaganda has evolved from 1952 through the presidential election of 2008. A social studies activity prompts class members to analyze the devices used in ads and political cartoons, noting strategies they believe would work to...
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Jews and Blues
Students examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.
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The Age of Reform
Students are introduced to a variety of reform movements within this lesson. They explore the beliefs and motivations of each group. Connections are made from these movements to present day situations and happenings.
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Suffrage Strategies: Voices for Votes
Students discuss the history and importance of voting. In this voting lesson, students research the women's suffrage movement and the methods used to change people's beliefs about suffrage for women. Students also create posters to...
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Cosmic Wheels
Young scholars build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
C-SPAN
Judicial Review and Marbury v Madison
The Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison may not be widely recognized but the landmark case is particularly significant because it established the precedent for judicial review and that the Supreme Court had power as an interpreter of...
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Louisiana's Indian Tribes At the Time of the Louisiana Purchase
Students research primary readings concerning first hand accounts of the Indian tribes living in and around Louisiana's River systems. They complete a brief character sketch of each tribe characterized in the digital readings. These...
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The Federalist Papers
Students identify the Articles of Confederation and explain why it failed. They explain the argument over the need for a bill of rights in the Constitution and James Madison's role in securing its adoption by first Congress. Finally,...
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Students explore the culture of the Middle East. In this Islamic culture lesson, students conduct research to create personal narratives that reveal what life is like in the Middle East for Islamic teens today.
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Students examine the lives of Islamic teens. In this global studies lesson, students explore selected Internet sites to discover the attributes of Islam, the cultural traditions of Islam, and information regarding Middle Eastern...
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To what extent should the Canadian Political and/or Electoral systems be reformed?
Twelfth graders look critically at the government and then take a defend a position on the prospect of reform.
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Stop the Bus: Confronting Our Assumptions About Muslims in America
Students explore Virginia Interfaith Center's A More Perfect Union "Misunderstanding" Ad Campaign, view two episodes of PBS America at a Crossroads series, examine historical context of colonialism and geo-political tensions in Middle...
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Glossary Of Federal Reserve Terms
Learners engage in a reading of a document in order to become familiar with the Federal Reserve of The United States in the interest of strengthening reading comprehension skills with the exposure to expository literature. They read the...