Mass incarceration: A result of a tough stance on crime or racial discrimination, you decide. Academics explore the history and reasons behind mass incarcerations in the United States and its impact on ethnic communities. The...

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...

Are learners heavy sighing at the idea of reading a primary source, written in a language that is difficult to understand and in cursive? Look no further, because the resource breaks down the Declaration of Independence in an...

What does it mean to say that a right is unalienable? How did the founding fathers convey this revolutionary concept in the Declaration of Independence? Engage in a close reading and analysis of the Declaration of Independence, and...

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...

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...

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...

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 They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...

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...

Rediscover the values at the heart of American democracy and what makes it unique with your pupils. Use a reading and discussion questions—in addition to an analytical activity—on the preamble to the Constitution. An additional activity...

In this grammar worksheet, students read the story "State of Emergency in Nepal" and fill in the fourteen blanks with the correct form of the word given in bold.

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...

Observe Constitution Day with a worksheet that delves deep into the who, what, why, when, where, and how of the U.S. Constitution. Scholars read a short informational text then answer 10 questions—short answer and multiple choice. 

How do rhetorical devices advance an author's point of view? Scholars consider this question as they continue exploring Machiavelli's The Prince. They work in small groups, annotating the text for evidence of rhetoric before engaging in...

A good prompt is hard to find, especially ones that encourage application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of a text. Help is here in the form of a prompt list for George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four that offers essay topics that...

Students use a map of the Missouri Compromise to explain the geographical changes it brought to the U.S. and why the changes provoked a debate over the expansion of slavery in the U.S.

Is there a bank for the banks? Pupils analyze the complexities of the Federal Reserve system by breaking it down into easy-to-understand sections. Step-by-step investigation using flow charts and graphs of how the monetary system works...

Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary...

Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government.

Students examine a poster of Brown v. Board of Education and discuss what the important details are. They read the story behind the poster and court case. They role play different sections of the case such as the court case or Linda...