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Fear, Civil Rights and Personal Freedoms
Students write and perform a one-act play. They present constitutional, personal and cultural issues of the internment camps of the 1940's. They research and present a historical examine internernment camps.
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Growing a Citizen
Students analyze messages and values associated with civic engagement present in the media. They analyze the local community's promotion of values associated with civic engagement by conducting investigative research. They hypothesize...
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A Tour in Sustainability
Learners explore two LEED certified green buildings. They examine what is the LEED certification process and what constitutes a green building. They tour via the internet two LEED certified green buildings, while comparing and...
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Interdisciplinary Task: Weather
Students design a chart to use to record the weather for five days. They then build an anemometer to record wind speed and discover why they are used for this purpose.
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Texas v. Johnson
Students examine the freedom of speech. In this Supreme Court lesson, students analyze primary documents from Texas v. Johnson and discuss the implications of the decision regarding flag burning.
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The Rights of the Child
Students create a set of rights that promote safety and tolerance at the school site. For this Bill of Rights lesson, students read the U.N. Declaration on Rights of the Child. Student presenters lead a discussion of these rights and...
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Perseverance and the First Amendment
Students investigate the right to petition and assemble. In this Bill of Rights instructional activity, students read the First Amendment and discuss the rights guaranteed by the amendment. Students research selected groups and movements...
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Memorandum of a Conference with President Eisenhower after Sputnik
Students document and list excerpts from a document that shows how calmly officials reacted to the launching of Sputnik. They research contemporary magazines and newspaper articles of the day as well.
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The European Union
Middle schoolers compare the structures and content of the United States Constitution against the draft of the European Union Constitution. They consider various perspectives on the formation of a constitution.
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Tribal Sovereignty Mock Trial
Students discuss the issue of tribal/native nation sovereignty. They review the Constitution of the U.S. and discuss how it legally provides for sovereign nations. Then they participate in a mock trial of the 1823 Supreme Court Case...
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Presidential Power and Influence
Students analyze the powers and duties that Article II of the US Constitution grants the President. They determine the influence the President has on the nation and how philanthropy changes in a nation.
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Colin Powell, a New Adlai Stevenson?: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Students compare and contrast a speech given to the United Nations by Colin Powell and a speech given to the UN by Adlai Stevenson. Clearifying the objective of each, they evaluate their proposals to the United Nations. In groups, they...
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The Judiciary in American History
Learners investigate the influence of political and societal forces on judicial decisions. Among the topics they examine are the selection of judges and the cause and effect relationship between politics, society, and the law. to...
National First Ladies' Library
The Flying Inauguration of the "Sudden President
Students study the inauguration process as well as what the constitution states about who succeeds the President of the US when the office is emergently vacant. They discuss the role of government and the events leading to Lyndon...
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The Food We Eat
Students plan a menu for one day after they study the food pyramid and learn about their daily food requirements. They are given an updated food pyramid with a summary fo dietary recommendations that replaces the old standard "four food...
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Trade Barriers
Learners write an editorial piece which takes a position supporting or opposing the free trade policy during the 1790s. After identifying barriers to trade in the 1790s they analyze how their position on the free trade would fit into...
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Wartime and the Bill of Rights: The Korematsu Case
Twelfth graders work together in groups to examine the discrimation Japanese Americans felt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Using primary source documents, they analyze and discuss the case of Fred Korematsu who was placed in an...
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First Amendment or Treason?
Young scholars investigate the meaning of the First Amendments right of freedom of speech. They examine the anti-war movement that occurred during the 1960's in response to the war in Vietnam. While studying primary sources, they...
National Constitution Center
Fourth of July (Grades 9-12)
Class members work to translate the Declaration of Independence into their own words, as well as design a Facebook page within the context of 1776 to raise public awareness about the document and its meaning for citizens.
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Act of Sabotage?
Students examine animal cruelty laws in Great Britain. In this health lesson, students visit selected websites to research animal cruelty laws as they consider animal rights and hunting rights.
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Producing a Strain of E. coli that Glows in the Dark
Students observe the experimental process called bacterial transformation and demonstrate phenotype changes in bacteria that have been transformed with an antibiotic-resistance gene and a metabolic marker. They create a luminescent...
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A Lesson To Accompany "The First Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking"
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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The Embodied Presidency
Tenth graders compare and contrast the immigration reform policies of Presidents Reagan and Bush. In this immigration lesson, 10th graders examine primary documents related to each president's policy for immigration reform. Students...
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Hunger in the World
Background information is a great tool for any teacher. This resource provides background information on nutrition and world hunger, as well as ten different activity options to help learners understand this global issue. Each activity...