Curated OER
Al Qaeda & the Taliban: What threat to the U.S.?
High schoolers examine the War on Terror. In this national security lesson, students read articles about the War on Terror and President Obama's foreign policy. High schoolers respond to discussion questions and debate the presence of...
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of Bill C-One: Canada's Parliamentary System
Studnets explore the procedure that makes bills into laws, through research and class discussion. They conduct public opinion and media research surveys and discuss the impact they have on deliberations conducted during the passage of a...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cloning
Learners explore the issues and challenges of cloning. In this cloning lesson plan, students read about how cloning affects people and the types of cloning, then they prepare a debate either for or against cloning.
Curated OER
Judges in the Classroom Lesson Plan: Drug Testing In Schools - Take A Stand
Students express opinions about drug testing in schools, examine arguments in favor of, and against, drug testing in schools, and consider and discuss consequences of a policy for or against drug testing in schools.
Curated OER
Affirmative Action Debate
Students recognize that there are class and school activities that can cause for their exclusion. They defend and dispute an issue in preparing for a debate and determine how a survey can tell you how other classes fell about issues.
Curated OER
The Free Trade Conundrum: Balancing Worker Wages and Consumer Prices Comparing the 19th and 21st Centuries
By examining free trade, protectionism, and analyzing 19th and 21st century arguments for and against the tariff, learners will be able to compare and contrast the 19th and 21st century. They will analyze text, answer discussion...
Curated OER
Liberty, Equality, Uniformity?
Students examine the French draft law to ban religious symbols from public schools. They research "secularist" and "pluralist" positions regarding this ban, debate the topic in class, and draft a position paper on the ban.
Curated OER
Electoral Politics
Students formulate their own opinions about the issues in an election campaign through a critical examination of political advertisements, candidate debates, and political cartoons.
Personal Genetics Education Project
DNA, Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...
Smithsonian Institution
Two Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass
Learners understand why historians conduct research and the importance of perception when it comes to studying history. The resource covers The Wars of Expansion and the Battle of Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass through group work, debate,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: The Debate in Congress on the Sedition Act
Pupils research and discuss the provisions in the Constitution that supported the arguments for and against the Sedition Act. They articulate objections to and arguments in favor of the Sedition Act.
Curated OER
Friday Forum (Day 5)
Young scholars evaluate their performance in different debates about the laws of Michigan. They write a letter to an editor of a newspaper sharing their opinions. They write journal entries as well.
Curated OER
Health Care
Options for public and privately funded health care is a valuable debate for students to follow and learn from. They can use their research to take part in a Town Hall Meeting using facts and style. They will contact the representatives...
US Holocaust Museum
Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
The Olympics are about more than sports—at times, the games are also a place of racism and prejudice! Pupils investigate the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. They analyze the meaning behind the materials included in the United States...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cyberbullying—Lesson Plan
Learners examine cyberbullying. In this lesson on democracy, students discuss the different ways to deal with cyberbullying. They then take a position on the question of whether a democracy should allow schools to take action against off...
Deliberating in a Democracy
National Service
Uncle Sam wants you to serve! Scholars investigate the role of mandatory national service in an open democracy. They research, watch a video, and hold a debate surrounding the issue of requiring one year of service to gain a better...
Curated OER
Journalists Under Fire
High schoolers research current events in relation to the United States military. In this current event lesson, students find out what is going on in the war and use what they find to explain and debate their stance on current events.
Curated OER
Mexican American Labor in the U.S.
Students research the history of immigration, particularly from the perspective of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. In this Mexican American labor lesson, students research questions from the perspective of an assigned group. Students...
Curated OER
Police patrol the city's garbage
Students debate the pros and cons of police searching the trash of suspected drug dealers. Students collect background information, and students interview city officials and garbage collectors. Students develop a strategic plan for...
Curated OER
School discipline includes paddling
High schoolers analyze corporal punishment, debating the pros and cons. Students investigate, collecting background information and interviewing school community members. If high schoolers disagree with the district's policy, students...
Curated OER
President Bush Balances Power
Students review the results of the November 2006 mid-term election. Using their text, they read the history of the balance of power and examine recent news articles. They present their findings to the class and may even hold a debate.
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
To Boldly Go, or Not
Here is a different way to combine social studies and science. Have your high schoolers read a passage about the 2004 vision for space exploration and then discuss the practicality, costs, and reasons for returning to the moon. Then, the...
Curated OER
Social Studies: A Quiet Protest
Students examine the protest by Gallaudet University students concerning the hiring of a new school president. They investigate laws related to protests and present their findings to the class in a multimedia show, oral report, or debate.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating About Immigration The DREAM Act
Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration legislation,...