How are elections really run and won? Learn about special interest groups, super PACs, and lobbyists with an engaging lesson about the caucus process. Young voters research specific interest groups and analyze their part in previous and...

Tenth graders study the American Civil War. As part of a service learning project, they volunteer to help preserve or promote a local Civil War site. They conduct research and write letters or lobby legislatures on behalf of historic...

Engage your class in a series of activities, each related to the use or analysis of symbols used to convey patriotic or national concepts. They identify different national symbols and explain their meanings, discussing the importance of...

Students explore a local seat of government to examine ways to make changes in their communities. In this local government activity, students read about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his nonviolent protests. Students read important dates...

Encourage pupils to design an election plan for the entire school. They participate in a Board of Elections, create polling rules, discuss election controversies, write questions about the issues, run the election through an online...

Middle and high schoolers are walking into a world rife with strong political viewpoints and vocal opinions. Help to prepare them for controversial discussions with a lesson in which they choose, research, and learn more about a...

Students brainstorm images and themes associated with the American Fourth of July holiday. They create illustrated posters to explain the processes or history behind these themes.

It's easy to criticize those in power until you're sitting at their desk, faced with the same decisions. A history instructional activity prompts secondary learners to research the Roosevelt presidencies through the lens of leadership...

Students read excerpts of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. Using the documents, they identify the ideas of how the government should be run. In groups, they develop a skit that encourages people to be...

Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...

Students examine how the work (paid or voluntary) they do in the past, present, and future affects and is affected by the communities to which they belong. They realize that human beings' perceptions of one another based on age, sex,...