Dive into the political breach with pupils and explore the reasons for political polarization. Using clips from C-SPAN that include discussions from reporters and scholars, class members consider what is causing the political fault lines...

Examine American political culture with your scholars using this self-assessment lesson. Individuals rate a list of 14 values from highest to lowest, including ideas such as financial security, right to private property, justice,...

Help young people become excited to participate in politics. High school historians participate in an engaging instructional activity focused on ways for youth to become involved in government. Scholars review articles, videos, and...

Students explore American social movements. In this writing skills lesson, students read Orwell's "Politics and the English." Students then apply the rules for writing that are included in the piece. Students follow-up by completing a...

Critical analysis skills can be built in a variety of ways. Using editorial cartoons (both domestic and foreign) learners will consider how American Imperialism was perceived during the late 19th century. Critical thinking questions,...

Examine historical perspectives through the use of political cartoons. Learners complete analysis activities related to the president's title, the establishment of the national bank, and the Jay Treaty.

Vote, it's your civic duty! The high school lesson focuses on voter turnout and civic participation with a series of activities. Young scholars analyze data to discover voter turnout trends, complete worksheets, and participate in group...

After learning about the growing revolutionary sentiment among colonists, class members work in small groups or pairs to design a political cartoon.

Learners explore the grievances of the American colonists. They relate to that which is held most dearly i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The emergent adults in your US Government class can become informed, self-aware voters. This activity enables them to form an opinion about particular political issues then identify themselves on the political spectrum. Informed and...

Beginning with the experience of hearing that lockers in school will be taxed, through analysis of political cartoons and informational text, and culminating in a debate between loyalists and patriots, your class members will engage in a...

During the Industrial and commercial expansion of the United States, war broke out between America and the Philippines. Explore conflict, American Imperialism, and political cartoons with this creative project. Learners view the film,...

Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...

How do the presidential debates of 2016 compare to the debates from the 1980's? What about the 1960's? Evaluate a chosen candidate or issue from the 20th and 21st centuries with a lesson plan focused on political debates. Middle and...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...

The Chinese Exclusion Act—the first race-based immigration restriction—is echoed in today's debates on the topic. Using graphic organizers and structured discussions, historians consider the reasons behind the act and compare the...

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...

What makes a cartoon political? The lesson plan provides learners with political cartoons and teaches how to analyze them using a five-step process. Scholars also complete a hands-on activity and participate in group discussions to...

The fourth installment of the seven-lesson unit focused on African Americans elected to and serving in the US Congress looks at the period from 1971 through 2007. Class members read a contextual essay that provides background information...

The transition of power between former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump may be the first political process that your middle schoolers have followed. Fill out the details between these two leaders with a set of...

Discover the five main elements political cartoonists use—symbolism, captioning and labels, analogy, irony, and exaggeration—to convey their point of view.

Middle schoolers explain why the American colonies declared the independence, students should relate to that which is held most dearly i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They participate in a drama that illustrates this.

When in the course of a course on historic American events, it becomes necessary for learners to examine, with decent respect, the Declaration of Independence, it becomes evident that there are six separate and equal parts of that...