Focusing on the judicial branch of government, the fourth lesson plan in this series explores the structure of the US courts system. Beginning with an engaging activity based on the short story The Lady or the Tiger,...

The process of nominating and confirming federal judges can sound like a lot of bureaucratic hoops, but a resource breaks down the steps of the Supreme Court nominations in a simpler manner. Learners participate in four activities that...

It's never too early to practice smart voting! Gain practice voting in a general election using a booklet compiled of an assortment of activities including a word search, maze, graphing, and more!         

The system of checks and balances is integral to the functionality of the United States government. Learn more about the ways the three branches of the government work together—and about the limitations of their power—with an informative...

Introduce your learners to the federal and state court systems with a fun, interactive online video game! After reading sample cases, class members identify to which court the case should be assigned and gain a greater...

Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...

Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...

Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...

The government at the local level acts as perhaps one of the most relevant government systems to many in their communities. Learners discover how the local government shapes their lives and the similarities and differences between the...

Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution expressly lists powers given to Congress. Over the years, lawmakers have expanded the enumerated powers to include powers implied by the list. To better understand the significance...

The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution delegates rights that have not been defined by the federal government to the states. But what are the responsibilities of state governments? What about county and city governments?...

Six activities teach students about the U.S. Constitution. Learn about checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, some of the history of the document, and how each of the states became a state. The site also provides teacher resources,...

Test your knowledge of U.S. geography and government with these games and printable activities. In one game, see if you can place all 50 states in their correct location. In the second game, see if you can recognize the powers of each...