Students write about working in one branch of government.  In this branches of government lesson plan, students read about the three levels of government using various websites and then work in groups to discuss, illustrate and...

Learners complete a unit on the three branches of government. They compare/contrast the three branches of government, write a letter or e-mail to an executive in the Federal Government, and develop outlines for historical documents.

Fifth graders conduct Internet research about the governmental balance of power. They create Kidspiration projects demonstrating the workings of the three branches of government. They compare U.S. democracy with other forms of government.

What rights are guaranteed to learners? Do they align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved by the United Nations in 1948? Middle and high schoolers present persuasive arguments about the rights they believe...

Who has the power? The founding fathers asked the same question when the United States was formed. Learners explore issues that arose during Madison’s presidency that raised constitutional questions. Through discovery, discussion, and...

What is on your to-do list today? The second lesson of a three-part series on Lost Heroes of America investigates the laundry list of items in front of the second Continental Congress. Scholars research, analyze, and present information...

Upper elementary and middle schoolers research and analyze some different types of governments. Democracies, Monarchies, and Dictatorships are some of the types that are looked at. Learners use the Internet to gather information that...

Students identify and examine the Declaration of Independence and ascertain its true intent and its eventual realization. Then they analyze the Declaration of Independence and summarize the intentions of the Declaration. Students also...

Examine conflicting viewpoints in this lesson, in which middle schoolers write their own proposal for including a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. As a class, they discover how the Bill of Rights was not a planned document to be...

Explore early American documents that qualify as primary sources. Tenth and eleventh graders use the provided worksheets to analyze the texts of the Articles of Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation,...

A substantive New York Times article about the U.S.A. Patriot Act, military tribunals, racial profiling, and the Bill of Rights forms the basis for a discussion of the complex interplay of fundamental American rights and the aftermath of...

The Election of 1912: an election with four competitive opponents. Pupils get to know the candidates with informative reading passages that provide context to the election. Then, the class engages in a debate and answers questions as one...

Seventh graders examine how to be active participants in their local, state, or federal governments. They create a powerpoint presentation and write a letter to one of their governmental representatives about a problem and solution of...

The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, instructional activity...

Teach your class about the Declaration of Independence while giving them practice working as a team. The resource breaks participants into groups and has them answer questions about specific grievances from the Declaration of...

Explore the origin of political parties in the United States. Learners work in groups to read and analyze copies of the "Report on Manufactures" written by Alexander Hamilton. Then, they complete a worksheet comparing the Federalists to...

Explore New England government in the 1700's with your class. They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...

Fourth graders research the past and present forms of government in Utah. For this government studies lesson students analyzes different forms of government and work with a group to gather information about how Utah was/is run and then...

Help your students undertand the critical problems around healthcare. By focusing on the political and private process of healthcare, students will watch a video, analyze issues, and write an essay on their findings. Additionally, they...

Capitalism, socialism, communism ... these may seem like a whole bunch of isms to your scholars. High schoolers won't  confuse them after completing an informative resource. Your class masters how to use primary sources to...

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...

Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...

Middle schoolers create a map illustrating the three branches of goverment. They identify the branches of government and the shared or exclusive powers of each. Students use mapping as a prewriting stategy. They discuss our national...

Ninth graders examine the purposes and mandate system of the League of Nations. They watch a PowerPoint presentation on the mandate system and complete a fill-in-the-blank worksheet, and participate in a "pick your side" activity.