Explore the powers of the federal and state government. Learners use a Venn Diagram to classify tasks as belonging to the states, the federal government, or both. This activity provides a quick way to review these concepts.

A presidential election is a lot like the 2004 World Series, and it's also a lot like choosing an orange in a paper bag. Apply the process of the electoral college to these two analogies with a set of lessons about government...

Students identify and classify the powers and responsibilities of all three levels of executive government in Australia. For this executive government lesson, students discuss the various services that the government in...

How is your state government organized? How many elected officials are women? What is the mean age of your state representatives? Young scholars answer these questions in a research project before creating a chart to reflect their...

Students name and broadly classify the powers and duties of each level of executive government in Australia. They identify and examine areas of overlaid and cooperation between various executive levels. Students examine the nature of...

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...

Sixth graders discover details about the 3 branches of government. In this primary source analysis lesson, 6th graders examine documents and images from the Library of Congress to investigate the structure of the U.S. government.

Learners study and examine how elections are conducted in Australia. In this representation lesson plan, students make comparisons regarding systems of voting. Learners explore the three levels of government and discuss federal...

Students explore the interaction between the legislature and other governmental institutions. They watch videos exploring the relationship between the state legislature and two government institutions, and the role of lobbyists on...

Pupils research the web sites of state or federal executive departments, and prepare summaries of the department's functions, locations, and programs. They debate the role of interest groups in government.

Students explore government. In this decision making lesson, students discover the importance of majority rule in the passing of bills. They all participate in a class debate and practice the different forms of decision making. This...

Young scholars identify 50 States and the major geographic features, regions, and political representation of each. In connection, they investigate the causes and effects of European colonization on North America. They identify the...

Young scholars consider race and representation. In this voting rights lesson, students listen to their instructor lecture on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Georgia congressional districts, and North Carolina voting districts. Young...

The system of checks and balances is integral to the functionality of the United States government. Learn more about the ways the three branches of the government work together—and about the limitations of their power—with an informative...

Students answer the question, "Should the town of Twin Cheeks ban motorized rentals on Thome Lake?" They explore the political, personal, and economic issues involved in making this decision as they assume different roles in this...

Students discuss the three branches of government and the different levels. They talk about the purpose of laws and use the Internet to locate information about governments. They watch the video, "United States Constitution" and look up...

Students describe the relationships between state and federal parliaments in Australia. They identify responsibilities shared between federal and state and territory governments. Students explore an alternative federal structure by...

Eighth graders empathize with how colonists felt when they were taxed without representation. They use a metaphor of students and a school principal to describe the strained relationship that developed between the colonies and Britain.

Students create working definition of common citizen, and investigate and discuss important sections of Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other Amendments. Students demonstrate...

Third graders identify the three branches of government, describing their functions, and the important people in each branch. They construct models of the buildings and people to visually represent the Legislative, Executive, and...

Tenth graders work as a grade to conduct a mock election. They tally votes in two different systems and discuss if proportional representation or straight counting of votes leads to a fairer outcome.

Scholars demonstrate what they know about the separation of powers through role play. Two individuals act out a skit as the remaining class members discuss and decide whether the interaction they observed is an appropriate example...

Students discover the links between population and Congressional representation. In this government activity, students research population statistics and create spreadsheets that compare population to the number of Congress members per...

Students identify the three functions of government and describe their importance in the success of government. They describe the necessity of representation in the political process. Students simulate the characteristics of British rule...