Curated OER
The Alien and Sedition Acts: Defining American Freedom
Young scholars analyze the Alien and Sedition Acts. In this Bill of Rights instructional activity, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the details of the Alien Act and the Sedition Acts. Young...
Curated OER
Making Sense of the Employee Free Choice Act
Students examine the Employee Free Choice Act. In this workers' rights lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the details of the legislation. Students work in pairs to discuss questions and...
Curated OER
The Earth's Rain Forests
Learners study the importance of the world's rain forests. In this rain forest instructional activity, students read about the role of the rain forests in the world's environment. Learners then write a formal letter to a member of...
Curated OER
Stepping Inside the Flowchart: How Does a Bill Become a Law?
Students explore the steps a bill must pass through to become a law and create a flow chart that maps the complexities of the process. They research the committees that are involved in a bill that relates to energy policy and the...
Curated OER
Who Are My Local Representatives? Can I Influence Their Vote?
Students find out who their national, state, and local representatives are and write and mail a letter to one of them. The letter should be persuasive and should attempt to influence their representative's vote on a given issue.
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
The Duties of Governments: Dix vs. Pierce
Students examine the role of Dorothea Dix on behalf of people with disabilities. They discuss President Pierce's veto of legislation she helped create. They address the rights and responsibilities of citizen's and the role of government.
Curated OER
America¿s Leader
Students examine the roles and responsibilities of the President of the United States. Using their textbook, they discover when the presidency was formed, how it works and what kind of power the President has. They also discuss how the...
Curated OER
The Role of the Executive Branch in the Lawmaking Process
Young scholars examine Article I, Section 7, and Article II, Sections 2 and 3, of the U.S. Constitution, explain the president's role in the lawmaking process, and define the term veto.
Curated OER
Supreme Court
Eleventh graders explore the redistricting process. In this American Government instructional activity, 11th graders examine the electoral map. Students write an essay posing an argument for the redistricting process.
Curated OER
Measuring Civic Engagement
Students begin the lesson by defining what a citizen is in today's society. In groups, they brainstorm a list of qualities and responsibilites a good citizen should have. They also develop and give a survey that measures the amount of...
Curated OER
The Influence of Citizen Action
Students brainstorm a list of items citizens can do to influence or change their government. In groups, they identify the reasons why it is important to vote and why they have a right to protest. They also write a letter to their...
Curated OER
On The Senate Floor
Students examine the process of how a bill becomes law. Pupils discuss reasons for debates and explore the use of filibusters. The class observes a video to discover procedures in the House and Senate. Students visit a filibuster...
Curated OER
What if the Senate were Reformed on the Triple E Model
Students investigate what the Canadian Senate does and what reform would do to the power relationship between the Prime Minister and the Senate.
Curated OER
The Nuclear Option
Students explore the history behind judicial nominations as well as the filibuster process. They discuss and debate filibuster merits and detractions, its use and alleged misuse, and what some Congressional leaders are currently doing...
Middle Tennessee State University
Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
Curated OER
Does Money Talk?
Students describe role that money plays in politics, and write an editorial that explains whether or not they think money gives some people too much influence in government.
Curated OER
Making the Branches of Government Relevant
A discussion of the three branches of government can be a fascinating experience.
Heritage Foundation
Courts and Judges
If the Supreme Court is so supreme, why do all cases not just start there? High schoolers learn why every case does not start at the Supreme Court as well as the importance of hierarchy in the US judicial system in the 11th installment...
Heritage Foundation
The Senate
Do your learners struggle to understand the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives? Help them develop an understanding of how the US Constitution's clauses affect the Senate's operations. A high-quality...
Humanities Texas
A President's Vision: Abraham Lincoln
Invite your learners to take a close look at Abraham Lincoln's presidency through analysis worksheets of several images and primary documents, presented on an educational poster entirely dedicated to this great United States...
Curated OER
Congressional Moments
Students listen to clips from Congressional Moments radio programs to examine role government plays in our lives, and discuss role of citizens in a representative democracy.
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Read All About It”: Primary Source Reading in “Chronicling America”
Can investigative journalism become too sensationalistic and accusatory, or is it vital for the survival of a democracy? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents from early 20th-century newspapers as well as Theodore...
Curated OER
Understanding the Debt Ceiling Debate and the Budget Control Act of 2011
Upper graders listen to a podcast on the EconTalk website featuring economist Keith Hennessey. The podcast focuses on the Budget Control Act of 2011, the national debt, and government spending. They read specifics about the BCA, then...