Historical Thinking Matters
Social Security: 3 Day Lesson
What does social security reveal about the political and social culture of the 1930s? After beginning with a brief introductory video on the impact of the Great Depression and how various Americans, such as Huey Long and Francis...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...
Curated OER
Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Activist
Learners analyze the life of Jackie Robinson and determine which characteristics contributed to his success as the baseball player who broke the color barrier and as a political activist.
Curated OER
Learning about Interest Group Politics
Students identify and interpret major interest groups and think tanks of the government. Students evaluate, record, and discuss the viewpoints of guests on the News Hour. Students select several Web-based transcripts of interviews,...
Curated OER
Political Parties
Twelfth graders give their current events presentations to the class today. After completing the "T" exercise on classifying certain individuals as Democrats or Republicans, they pair up to figure out where the political parties fit into...
Curated OER
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858: Interactive Map Activity
Students utilize an interactive map to explore the 1858 Senate campaign in Illinois. They examine how factors such as population, transportation, and party strongholds can affect campaign strategies. Students write an essay discussing...
Curated OER
Spanish Politics
Students identify Spanish and other leaders, political parties, and ideas on a political continuum as a class. They verbally answer questions demonstrating comprehension of the text. Students summarize in writing in Spanish the main...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons
Students explain that a political cartoon is very much like an editorial--both present personal opinions. Each student writes an editorial that supports the political cartoon. They must analyze the cartoon in order to write about the...
Curated OER
Political Protest Through Art
Students examine how artists (painters or cartoonists) use artwork as a means of disseminating a political point of view in this lesson that uses primary source documents and examples of political cartoons.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 4: Political Advertising
Students observe a political advertisement and evaluate the views promoted in the ad. After exploring governmental policies, students create their own 30-second ad to promote a specified cause and publicize their views. Students share...
Curated OER
UK Political System
Students study the political system in the UK. They compare/contrast the political system in the UK to the one in the United States. Students read Politics and Youth and follow with a discussion group. They create their own political...
Pulitzer Center
The Crisis in the Ivory Coast
Through reading a variety of news articles and other informational texts, learners discover the political turmoil and intense ethnic and religious tensions that envelop the Ivory Coast today. Class members research the historical...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Global Warming and the Paris Agreement
Global warming: a political debate or a scientific fact? Young historians read text, complete activities, and participate in group discussion to understand the political debate surrounding global warming and the US decision to withdraw...
Virginia Department of Education
World History and Geography: 1500 A.D. (C.E.) to the Present
Intended to help Virginia teachers align their curriculum to the state's history and social science standards, this packet provides a wealth of materials for any social studies or science instructor. Loaded with plans,...
Indiana Department of Education
Voting: It's Not a Spectator Sport!
Why is it important to vote? Who is eligible to vote? Why is it that some eligible voters do not vote? Class members conduct interviews with adults and other school mates before researching the eligibility requirements for their state,...
iCivics
Drafting Board: Interest Groups
Does the influence of interest groups harm a political system? Your class members will analyze the role of interest groups in American politics, as well as consider the effect of perspective, bias, loyalty, and the...
Teaching Tolerance
Critiquing Hate Crimes Legislation
The high school lesson explores what hate crimes are and how the government has responded to those crimes. Academics read legislation, analyze political cartoons, and complete hands-on-activities to understand what motivates individuals...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South
North is to factory as South is to plantation—the perfect analogy for the economy that set up the Civil War! The first lesson in a series of five helps teach beginners why the economy creates a driving force for conflict. Analysis of...
Curated OER
A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching The Grapes of Wrath
Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...
Curated OER
Italian City-States
Check out this packet of worksheets involving mapping activities, vocabulary logging, reading and comprehending informational texts, etc., which focuses on Italian city-states during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. There are also...
Defining US
Integration of Education and American Society
How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
Pearson
Gerunds: Subject and Object
Ace the next grammar quiz with the help of a presentation about subject and object gerunds! After defining the concept, the slides guide class members through different examples and activities with gerunds.
Annenberg Foundation
Revolutionary Perspectives
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Learners go to the heart of the causes of the American Revolution. Examining political cartoons, Enlightenment documents, and firsthand accounts, they present their ideas and reflective...