High schoolers discover details about the federal budget. In this contemporary government lesson plan, students research the efforts to maintain a balanced federal budget in the United States since the 1980's. High schoolers then...

The epilogue to former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill's memoir provides readers with an opportunity to practice their informational text reading comprehension skills. 

Learners engage in a lesson which facilitates their learning about the history of the American presidency. They create their own lessons based on C-SPAN's American Presidents Timeline poster.

An inaugural address represents the first moments of a new beginning. Using John F. Kennedy's speech as a model for guided practice, groups examine the ingredients of an inaugural address. Individuals then repeat the analysis...

Pupils use the internet and other sources to explore incidents where the President of the United States has become incapacitated. They research the reasons for the 25th Amendment, and solutions set in place to solve the problem of...

Scholars use primary and secondary documents, as well as video evidence, to investigate the end of the Cold War.  After completing the final installment of an eight-part series, class members better understand the issues surrounding...

After reading about the presidential race in 1976, learners think critically about presidential legacy. They read all of the provided background information, related New York Times articles, and then respond to a writing prompt via blog...

Political ads flood the airwaves each election cycle. An activity including more than a dozen political ads from iconic presidential campaigns helps learners unpack how the sausage gets made during election "silly season." Using the...

If you had to write a song about Oliver North, would it be a ballad or a dirge? If you had to put him on a trading card, would he be a hero or the bad guy? Young historians decide for themselves after examining documents from the...

Students examine a quote from George W. Bush's recent speech on space exploration. They evaluate one writer's stance on Bush's space exploration goals by reading and discussing "Plea to Policy Makers: Let's Take Another Giant Step." In...

Eighth graders identify and analyze domestic and foreign policy. They develop analytical questions to ask a panel. They develop a sequence of events of each presidential office holder.

Students write an essay presenting their understanding of presidential elections and the issues related to presidential elections. Students discuss the effect of immigration on the United States and the major points that swung the nation...

Pupils view images of presidents working and living at the White House. They list activities that take place at the White House and discuss the many purposes of the building.

Young scholars explore the concept of historical myth. They read speeches by two presidents who allude to the mythic cowboy and they answer questions about the purpose of each speech. For homework, they read two historian interpretations...

While the Iranian Hostage Crisis was a watershed moment, few history classes take on the complex series of events leading up to it. Using declassified documents, including a hostage's diary, young historians create their own reports to...

Students compare and contrast two Presidents and how viewed the government in times of difficulty. They examine what role each President handled the role of philanthropy during their years in office. They identify acts of philanthropy...

Students identify ways in which the president can use various media to communicate his messages and intent. They demonstrate ways in which the news media can create public opinion.

What is a good citizen? Here is a fantastic unit of ten lessons that will thoroughly cover the concept of civics and citizenship in your class. Examples of activities include learning stations, primary and secondary source analysis of...

In this everyday editing worksheet, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about Groundhog Dog. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

Students examine the effectiveness of 'trickle down' economics. For this "Reaganomics" lesson, students use readings, analogies, discussion and debate to understand basic economic concepts. Students will analyze the what they think are...

Students examine the roles of each of the branches of U.S. government. In this checks and balances lesson, students watch Discovery video segments and discuss the concept of federalism as they create a school-wide policy for government...

Though slightly dated (around the 2008 Presidential election), the information and discussion points in this presentation about political humor are solid. Use the slides in your language arts class in a lecture about semantics, or in a...

Learners read a case study of one campaign to discover how political campaigns addresses the needs of the voters. In groups, they answer questions related to the case and discuss how the commercials affect society as a whole. They use...