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Addressing the Nation
Students examine the leadership skills of Civil War leaders. In this American Civil War instructional activity, students describe attributes of effective leaders and then debate the effectiveness of leaders during the war.
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Leader of the Pack
Students take a closer look the 2008 London mayoral race. In this current events lesson, students research the listed Web sites that include information about the candidates for mayor and their attributes. Students also gather...
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Andrew Jackson and the Formation of Political Parties
Eighth graders explore the political election process. They identify how the system changed during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Students use analogies and discussion, and answering questions to explore Jackson and his cabinet. ...
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Election of 1860
Students determine how the presidential election of 1860 led to the American Civil War. In this election of 1860 lesson, students discover details regarding the election and hold their own mock debate and election. Students also write an...
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A More Perfect Union: Barack Obama's Race Speech at the National Constitution Center
Eleventh graders explore the process of perfecting the Union through changes made to the Constitution, and through the powers delegated to each branch of government. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders research various...
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What are the Issues?
Seventh graders complete political analysis activities. In this political analysis lesson, 7th graders discuss party platforms and research party issues for their party's candidate's positions. Students complete an issues organizer and...
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Major Issues Facing America
Students continue to examine the issues of the 2004 presidential election. Using the internet, they discover where they stand on each issue and where each candidate stands on the issues as well. In groups, they participate in a...
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The Media
Students explore political advertising. They discuss what informed voters should know about upcoming elections and identify the four main types of ads and view a video to identify the types of ads. Evaluating the ads, they identify...
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Decision Day
Students participate in a role play activity that emphasizes the theory behind the Electoral College. They form small groups of different sizes in order to present a candidate for class president. Finally, they use a map to determine the...
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Presidents
Second graders pretend they have just watched a presidential debate and cannot decide which one to vote for. In groups, they also pretend they go back in time to compare and contrast former presidents with the candidates. They use...
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Bank Loans Money to Start Businesses
After locating Latin American countries on a world map, children read about how microbanks are loaning money to help start small businesses. Involving both current events and economics, the teacher introduces the article with a map...
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Medicare Reform
Young scholars calculate how much of each paycheck is deducted into the Medicare system, explain the need for health insurance and Medicare, and work in small groups to develop their own plan to reform Medicare.
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Welcome to the Blogosphere
Create a blog spot for your classroom and promote online discussions. There are several blogging websites listed here, and you can create one specific to each class or one collective site. Teach your learners how to post on the blog, and...
Brown University
Analyzing the News
With so many ways to follow the news today, it is imperative to think critically about the sources of information we are turning to. Here is a fantastic graphic organizer that will help your learners develop the skills to...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Power of Images
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Charisma vs. Experience
Which is more important for a president: experience or charisma? Scholars consider this as they analyze 2 political cartoons in this analysis handout. Background information gives context through a quote from The Telegraph, and 3 talking...
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Sandra Day O'Connor: Always Supreme
Demystify America's governing system through a legendary role model and a fabulous website.
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Voting Isn't Enough
Students compare and contrast their perceptions of politicians and leaders, analyze the consequences of negative public perceptions of politicians, and develop solutions to the problems caused by negative attitudes toward politics.
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Dubious Adoption Data
Students analyze a graph from the New York City Administration for Children's Services that shows a significant increase in New York City adoptions after ACS was founded. They determine whether the graph supports ACS' claims and whether...
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Inform Your Vote
Students examine and participate in the election process, analyze current event topics and offer their opinions. They then share their viewpoints on civic issues. They are encouraged to do additional research on the election's hot issues.
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The Economics of Voting
Students examine the voting behavior of people during a presidential election to determine costs and the benefits of voting and how this behavior is influenced by incentives.
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Global Warming - The Heat is On: Global Climate Change Revisited
After listening to your lecture on climate change, young scientists access NOAA's database listing Mauna Loa's carbon dioxide data. They graph the monthly means and then compare their graphs to NOAA's. This is a concise plan that could...
Digital History
The New Nation
George Washington and the new nation of the United States of America faced many problems in their inaugural years. Use this worksheet as a straightforward approach to learning about the reasons the country was experiencing a lack of...
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Presidential Elections
In this online/interactive vocabulary in conversation worksheet, students fill in the blanks to complete sentences using the words in the word bank. Students fill in 10 blanks.