Curated OER
We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
Curated OER
Indian Removal: Does History Always Reflect progress?
Young scholars explore the idea that progress for some might not mean progress for all. In this Native American lesson, students recognize different viewpoints about historical events through the study of primary documents. Young...
Curated OER
We The People: A History
Students play a game about taxation where they have tax collectors that simulate the feelings and reasons that led to the American Revolution. For this taxation lesson plan, students learn about why the people in the colonies were so...
Curated OER
Foreign War and Domestic Freedom: A Delicate Balancing Act
Students investigate civil liberties in the U.S. They watch and discuss a PowerPoint presentation, conduct research on an event from a timeline, complete a worksheet, take an ideology quiz, and conduct a debate.
Curated OER
Founding Myths, Stories that Hide Our Patriotic Past
Learners participate in a scavenger hunt using their textbooks to find information about historical events, people and places in US history during the Revolutionary Era. After creating their list of important people, students create...
Curated OER
Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Students investigate the laws of using land. In this California Government lesson, students examine the many uses of land in California and find an environmental issue they care about. Students write a letter to a politician based on...
Curated OER
The Rise of the City States in Greece
Sixth graders examine Ancient Greece and its development of democracy. In this Greek History instructional activity, 6th graders explore the rise of city-states in Greece and its overall effect on the development of democracy. The class...
Curated OER
Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
Young scholars examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the...
Curated OER
Will America Fall Apart Like the Maya?
Students work in teams to research ancient Mayan civilization as they simulate working for the President of the United States. He is concerned that if a civilization as technologically advanced as the Maya's could disappear, could the...
Curated OER
Constitutional Struggle Over Centralized Power
Students participate in a classroom simulation to discover the issues facing those who formed the new U.S. government. They compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Using resource sheets and working in...
Curated OER
The Founding Fathers
Students discuss the basic ideas about the government of the English colonists. They identify three kinds of colonial government developed in the thirteen colonies.
Curated OER
Government
Eighth graders analyze the purposes of government. They examine or assess the importance of citizenship to the individual or to society at large (e.g., the importance of voting). Students explain the structure and functions of the three...
National Endowment for the Humanities
James Madison: Madison Was There
Madison was there! Scholars go on a journey to discover the person behind the founding father label as they explore James Madison's role in the formation of the United States government. The culmination is a writing assignment and...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Special Order 40
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
Curated OER
Roe v. Wade: A History of Controversy
Students research what is legal now as far as abortions are concerned. Does it matter what state you live in? Does it matter how old you are? If you are a teen, does the doctor have to notify your parents? Students prepare a panel...
Curated OER
Medical Marijuana - Legitimate Use Or Legalized Abuse?
Students, in groups, discuss opinions about medical marijuana use. They form their own opinion about the U.S Supreme Court case involving this issue.
Curated OER
American Focus on World Constitutions
High schoolers describe demographic, economic, political and geographic features of the U.S., summarize events leading to the creation of the Constitution and describe the process of amending the Constitution.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: What Is the Purpose of the White House?
Pupils view images of presidents working and living at the White House. They list activities that take place at the White House and discuss the many purposes of the building.
Curated OER
What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote
Students discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights lesson, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Students create a mock...
State Bar of Texas
Baker v. Carr
Can the federal government override the state government to protect the citizens of the United States? The 1962 Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr outlines the issue of equal protection under the law. Scholars investigate with a short...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Military Conscription in World War I: Alabamians Express Their Opinions
If called, would you go? Should the US government have the power to impose a draft during any war? The Selective Service Act of 1917 (aka the Conscription Act of 1917) authorized the drafting of men into the military for only the second...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights And Japanese Internment
Learners review the Bill of Rights. They interpret how the American Government violated these rights with regard to Japanese Americans during World War II. They write down the violations of the Bill of Rights during Japanese ...
Curated OER
American Justice on Trial
Students role play a trial in which they consider if the United States government violated the rights of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.