Twelfth graders name some of the parties in the political system of the United States. They identify the two main parties along with key information, issues, events, elections and/or people for each system. They then break into groups...

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...

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...

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...

Young scholars research and discuss the consequences of the Sedition Act. They illustrate the difficulty of balancing security needs and personal freedom using an example from John Adams's presidency.

High schoolers research a political party and prepare a report about its history, philosophy, and the party's position regarding two major political issues. They complete a variety of additional creative activities regarding their party,...

Students conduct research on the events of the end of the 18th century in order to identify critical factors leading to the development of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican political parties. They summarize the key positions of...

At 69 years old, Ronald Reagan was the oldest man ever to be elected president in the United States. After reviewing a thorough history of Reagan's presidency, pupils read the main pro and con arguments to determine if he was a good...

Students investigate the beginnings of the political party system in the US. They determine the key positions of both the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. They compare the views of the early political parties with those of today.

Students explore the history of third-party politics in America. They research the impact of one third-party or independent candidate for president and develop a poster and stump speech representing that candidate's motivation for running.

Students establish how the first political parties were formed.  In this U.S. History lesson, students work in groups to share their personal viewpoint on various topics provided by the teacher, then they are assigned to bring a...

Seventh graders examine the first years of the U.S. under the U.S. Constitution. They identify the main themes of the Federalist and Republican parties, conduct research, and write a campaign speech and create a campaign poster.

Pupils research and discuss the provisions in the Constitution that supported the arguments for and against the Sedition Act. They articulate objections to and arguments in favor of the Sedition Act.

Students discover how Internet altered the public's involvement in the 2000 Democratic and Republican conventions, and synthesize their evaluations of convention sites to design their own pages for a convention-related Web site.

Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Reconstruction activity, 8th graders research the role of Reconstruction in South Carolina by simulating the environment of East Bay...

High schoolers examine the process by which candidates for U.S. president are nominated by the Democratic and Republican parties. They identify the differences between primaries and caucuses and key terms and issues related to the...

Young scholars conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...

Twelfth graders give their current events presentations to the class today. After completing the "T" exercise on classifying certain individuals as Democrats or Republicans, they pair up to figure out where the political parties fit into...

Students explore the U.S. political system by completing several worksheets. In this government election instructional activity, students define and describe the two main political parties in detail to one another. Students read a piece...

Eleventh graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this North Carolina history lesson plan, 11th graders examine the Briggs v. Elliott case in order to understand the difference in the state...

Young scholars discuss the presidential election in 1932. In this U.S. history lesson, students compare and contrast the differences between the Hoover administration and the administration of FDR. Young scholars work in groups and...

Pupils research Abraham Lincoln in a variety of ways. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson plan, students use primary sources, vocabulary activities, books, and more to research and learn about Abraham Lincoln.

Fourth graders investigate differences between the ideology of the Northern and Southern states in 1856. For this states' history lesson, 4th graders examine the needs for slaves in the Southern agricultural economy, and compare it to...

High schoolers read the history of John Brown. Using the internet, they research commentaries on the raid at Harper's Ferry. After observing a painting, "The Last Moments of John Brown," students analyze and write about what they see,...