How long can you speak without stopping? Scholars analyze the concept of a filibuster in the United States Senate using an installment of the Legislative Branch series of mini-lessons. They research recent filibuster attempts in the...

What is the difference between foreign and domestic policy? What are the primary differences in what the United States hopes to accomplish through foreign aid, the military, and the creation of treaties? Your class members will examine...

Students explore the laws and regulations of pesticides. For this pesticides lesson, students research how laws are made and identify the agencies responsible for enforcing the laws. Students research the Internet for laws and bills...

Students examine provisions of USA PATRIOT Act and controversies that led the ACLU to take legal action against the legislation. They create, conduct, and document results of a survey related to the PATRIOT Act and controversies...

Students learn why the census makes a difference. In this U.S. Census lesson plan, students learn about the methods and politics of redistricting as they explore their local congressional districts and debate the merits of different...

Students experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties

Students examine how laws on hazardous waste is developed and enforced. They work together to discover how statutes are passed as well. They complete an activity to end the lesson.

Students participate in a classroom Congress simulation. They research and write a bill, and enact the passing, amending, and vetoing process of taking a bill through the Committee process of Congress.

Tenth graders compare and contrast the opinions of northerners and southerners about the issue of slavery in the 1850's. They study how the legislation that was enacted by Congress addressed the issues. As they investigate, they create a...

Pupils investigate the concept of the Federal Legislative Process. This is done through the use of research on approved class websites. The lesson gives the option of developing other resources for students to use for the teacher to make...

President Lincoln believed in the Thirteenth Amendment so strongly that he signed 14 copies of it, but died before he could see it passed on December 18, 1965. Explore the text that forever abolished slavery in America with a document...

How many moments from Abraham Lincoln's historic life and presidency can your pupils describe?As part of their study of Abraham Lincoln, class members create a timeline of important events in this life.

Learners explore how the Constitution provides for separation of power and limited government, as evidenced by the three branches of government. They participate in role-playing situations, group discussions, and complete worksheets to...

Here is a very simple handout that illustrates how the Constitution provides for a separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Vive la résistance! Provide young historians with a list of important people and events during the French Revolution and Napoleonic periods.

The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...

Students examine government-funded programs. In this government lesson, students research legislation from the Depressions era as well as current legislation regarding government-funded programs. Students evaluate the current need of...

Students read about and discuss how a bill becomes a law and then propose a law themselves. In this law lesson plan, students learn legislative vocabulary and then brainstorm a law a write a letter proposing that law.

After reading a short text on the branches of government in the United States, future voters answer 8 fill-in-the-blank questions, as well as 11 true or false questions. This worksheet would be a great homework assignment or silent...

Fourth graders examine the history of the Ohio Statehouse and order the major historical events in its development. The lesson traces the development from the time of Ohio's vast wilderness to the house's completion in 1861.

Middle schoolers investigate bills under consideration by the United States Congress and create a flow chart that tracks the movement of the bills to gain understanding of the legislative process.

Pupils make a chart on what they learned about how a bill becomes a law. In this law making lesson plan, students research the authority and restrictions placed on Congress on how they make a bill into a law and then present their...

Students discover how a bill becomes a law. In this Legislative Branch lesson, students watch C-Span coverage of a bill making its way through the House and the Senate. Students use the provided worksheet to chart the progress of the bill.

Students discover how a bill becomes a law. In this Legislative Branch lesson, students discuss how a bill makes its way through the House and the Senate. Students author their own bills as well.