iCivics
Sortify: U.S. Citizenship
What is the difference between a right and a responsibility? Scholars consider the question while sorting characteristics of citizenship into buckets using a video game. After playing, class members see how effectively they sorted the...
Pace University
Urban Communities
Urban communities are the focus of a series of lessons created to meet specific needs using differentiated instruction. A pre-assessment designates scholars into three groups based on their ability level. Small groups take part in...
Good Project by Harvard Project Zero
The Good Project Lesson Plans
Excellence, ethics, and engagement are the three E's featured in a unit that promotes good work among elementary scholars. Through discussion, reflection, read-alouds, activity worksheets, and written responses, participants gain...
Chesterfield Township Elementary School
Gifted and Talented Enrichment Curriculum
Looking to start or support a Gifted and Talented program? An 80-page packet outlines grade-leveled lessons in all subject areas as school district's Gifted and Talented enrichment curriculum.
Digital Forsyth
Civil Rights and Active Citizenship
As part of a study of the American Civil Rights movement, class members search the Internet to find important facts, people, events, and pictures that they use to create a timeline of events between 1955 and 1970.
Australian Human Rights Commission
An Introduction to Human Rights and Responsibilities
How are your students' rights protected? What are their responsibilities in protecting the rights of others? A lesson on human rights and the responsibilities therein introduces class members to the concepts of global citizenship,...
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Empathy
Scientists discovered empathy is a learned behavior, not an instinct or inherited behavior. The second lesson in a 12-part series focuses on teaching empathy, an important life skill. Scholars use discussion and role playing to practice...
Deliberating in a Democracy
National Service
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...
Advocates for Youth
What Does Community Mean to Me?
Having a strong and supportive community is key for adolescent success. Teenagers explore the circles of their own communities, including the rights and responsibilities of being in their families, peer relationships, and their country,...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: Self-Command
Even for one of the most accomplished men in American history, there was room for improvement. Challenge high schoolers to use Benjamin Franklin's Project for Moral Perfection to analyze text, make inferences, connect to historical...
What So Proudly We Hail
A Lesson on Benjamin Franklin’s “Project for Moral Perfection”
Benjamin Franklin identified 13 virtues that he felt would strengthen his character if he could focus on each one. A thorough lesson explores high schoolers' personal values in the context of their lives, and compels them to strive for...
Learning to Give
Create a Volunteer Spirit
Motivate young citizens to make a positive difference through volunteering. Scholars examine the local and school community to discover ways the class, as a whole, can volunteer their time to help one or the other, then reflect on their...
Giraffe Heroes Project
It’s Up to Us
The Giraffe Heroes Program is designed for teens willing to stick their necks out to make a difference, and to create community service projects that tackle real world problems. The resource guides teens to choose an issue, design a...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Naturalized Citizens and the Presidency
Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to assume the role of state senators, debate a resolution to amend the U. S. Constitution to permit naturalized citizens to run for...
Scholastic
Women's Suffrage for Grades 1–2
Scholars take part in a grand conversation after they examine facts and stories about the Women's Suffrage Movement. Eight discussion questions bring light to influential women, the importance of voting, citizenship, and voting rights.
Peace Corps
Community
What is a community? Find out with a lesson plan that sheds light onto the different types of communities—school, local, and global. Scholars read informational text detailing the life of a young girl from Cape Verde and take part in a...
C-SPAN
Presidential Birth Requirement
Every president of the United States must be a natural-born citizen, but the definition of natural-born is not as straightforward as it seems. Secondary scholars examine two points of view surrounding the constitutional requirement and...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
Museum of Tolerance
Citizenship Then and Now: Comparing Ancient Rome and Contemporary American Society
Class members research citizenship in Ancient Rome and in the United States and use the provided graphic organizers to compare the rights and responsibilities of citizens in these two democracies.
New York City Department of Education
Myself and Others
Self reflection is an important skill to reinforce in our children, and it's especially helpful to help them realize who they are in the context of their environment. A collection of lessons about self image and community encourage...
Illinois State Bar Association
Mock Trial Teacher Training
Whether you are new to the mock trial format or have extensive experience with the program, you'll find much to learn from this teacher training manual that includes strategies for teaching the various aspects of court room trials.
August House
Go to Sleep, Gecko
Use this multidisciplinary lesson to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A Balinese Folktale by...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Citizenship Test
Could you pass a citizenship test? As part of their study of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and the immigrant experience, class members are presented with a sample citizenship test.
City University of New York
Presidential Elections and the Electoral College
To understand the controversy surrounding the US 2000 presidential election, class members investigate the rationale behind the Electoral Collage, the intimidation involved in the election of 1876, and the 2004 American League...