Judicial Branch of California
Faces of Citizenship: Jury Duty
An interesting middle school lesson focuses on the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Academics choose a civic project to complete, such as an oral history or photo essay. They then conduct interviews with members of the community...
PBS
President Theodore Roosevelt: Foreign Policy Statesman or Bully?
Can a negative perception of a president's foreign policy harm his or her historical legacy? A project that winds the clock back to the date of Theodore Roosevelt's death puts students at the editorial desk of a fictional newspaper....
Curated OER
Everyone Wants to Be President
How can you help your class understand the breadth of duties and the challenges of being the leader of the United States?
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Curated OER
Who are American Citizens?
Young scholars investigate American citizenship. In this civics lesson, students consider the basic knowledge of U. S. government new citizens are required to have. Young scholars also examine the 14th amendment that describes U. S....
Curated OER
Changes In The New Nation: New Beginnings
Students consider the role of American newspapers in the revolution and plans for new government. In this early American history lesson, students determine how communication provided by newspapers contributed to the organization of the...
iCivics
The Executive Command
Take on the role of president of the United States with this interactive online game, which will acquaint your learners with the various responsibilities of the executive branch of government. While not an in-depth or complex resource,...
Curated OER
Government Lesson Plan 11
Students apply United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the United States Constitution to contemporary situations, and predict possible United Nations responses to violations of the UDHR.
Curated OER
American Indian Reservations
Fifth graders examine life on American Indian reservations, and discuss how confinement on the reservations affected American Indians. They visit the Bureau of Indian Affairs website, and develop positive and negative impact charts about...
Curated OER
American Federal
Students review and apply architectural history and identify selected architectural features and styles of the Americal Federal time period. They write down the information on their outline from a PPT presentation included with lesson. ...
Curated OER
The American's Creed
Students explore the meaning of the American's Creed. In this civics instructional activity, students examine the creed, define related vocabulary words, and write their own creeds.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: What Is the Purpose of the White House?
Pupils view images of presidents working and living at the White House. They list activities that take place at the White House and discuss the many purposes of the building.
Curated OER
Why was the Constitutional Convention Necessary?
Eleventh graders explore the steps leading up to the Constitution. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders practice document based questions. Students create a letter that describes how a person felt during this...
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan:Launching the New U.S. Navy
Learners demonstrate understanding of the issues related to the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution and the new Government it established.
Curated OER
Woodrow Wilson and American Involvement in the Great War
Pupils examine American involvement in World War I. In this World War I instructional activity, students investigate Wilson's policy of neutrality as they read excerpts from his messages to Congress. Pupils respond to questions regarding...
Curated OER
Just how broken is the Senate?
Twelfth graders examine the role of the Senate in the United States. In this American Government lesson, 12th graders read various articles and answer questions to these articles. Students write a letter to their Senator on a...
Curated OER
Voting and US Resident Aliens
Twelfth graders examine the process of voting. In this American Government lesson, 12th graders evaluate the arguments for and against alien voting. Students participate in a debate on voting rights.
Curated OER
Presidential Gallery
Students identify the three branches of the federal government and their role in our government. They identify important events and accomplishments in the life of one president of the United States. Students identify the major national...
Curated OER
Abolish the Office of Governor
Students explore the history of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. In this historical analysis lesson plan, students analyze the constitution of the state and determine how citizens benefited (or didn't benefit) from the document....
Curated OER
Origin of the Purple Heart
Students research the origin of the Purple Heart. In this writing lesson students research personal stories of friends or family who have received the Purple Heart. Students then design their own armed forces award complete with an...
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Sioux Treaty of 1868
Students study the Sioux and their lives in the Black Hills before 1868. They engage in a wide variety of cross-curricular activities which give them a good understanding of the Sioux culture.
Curated OER
Yellow Journalism
Seventh graders investigate yellow journalism and how it affected public opinion and the government during the Spanish American War. They define key vocabulary words, and take notes during a teacher-led lecture. In pairs they read...
Curated OER
We the People
Students 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...
Curated OER
Declarations of Independence
Students examine what they know about American Indians past and present, then research key issues facing American Indian tribes today. To synthesize their learning, students write letters taking the perspective of an American Indian.