This lesson covers the four U.S. wars fought during the 1800s, linking each to other civics content, such as U.S. territories, the national anthem, and the celebration of Memorial Day. We recommend teaching the lesson on the Civil War prior to this one. Covers civics test items 72, 73, 91, 98, and 100.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This lesson is about how to relate one of the civic communication topics which is gender equality to classroom
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Holocaust education is history, literature, social studies, psychology, art, and so much more. By studying the Holocaust we learn the importance of speaking out against bigotry and indifference, promoting equity, and taking action. Studies show that Holocaust education both improves students' critical thinking skills and encourages "upstander" behavior: willingness to act upon civic awareness and confront hatred in all its forms. On this site you're going to find lessons that adhere to the requisite guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide, with options for in-person and remote instruction. Each Overview Lesson includes:Historical summarySurvivor video clipsDiscussion questionsCommon Core State Standards addressed in that lesson
Material Type: Primary Source, Teaching/Learning Strategy
EARTH’S CLIMATE CHANGES. It always has and always will. However, an extensive and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities—including the burning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, clearing of forested lands for agriculture, and raising livestock—are now the primary force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of southern New Hampshire has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by a warmer planet due to human activities.
Material Type: Reading
TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. In Climate Change, speakers give talks that boldly illuminate the nature and scale of current-day climate science, policy and ethics. They explore the economics and psychology of individual and collective action — or inaction — on climate change in order to assess the costs of our choices and opportunities for change. Relevant areas of interest, study and coursework include: ecology, atmospheric science, oceanography, glaciology, energy development, environmental policy, science in the media, political science, ethics, sociology, behavioral psychology and cultural studies.
Material Type: Lecture, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy
Host Harry Kreisler welcomes scientist Lars-Erik Liljelund, Director General of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, for a discussion of Swedish policy for addressing climate change and global warming. He reflects on his own career which combines work in public policy and science. He also talks about the distinctive quality of the global warming problem and the obstacles for finding and implementing solutions. 54 min)
Material Type: Lecture
Designed for a large urban high school’s upperclassmen in a Journalism class, the unit’s central thematic focus is the causes and effects of economic inequality on the middle class. In this country, we believe that everyone has a chance for prosperity, or at least a comforting sense of security: being able to pay our bills, send our children to college, succeed if we try hard enough, being able to afford health care. Taken together, we call this being middle class. Put another way, we call this The American Dream. Some of us aspire to great wealth, a mansion in the Hamptons. For the vast majority of Americans, making it is a simpler aspiration: doing better than our parents, living longer than our parents, being more educated than our parents. My topic is “The Shrinking Middle Class?” Within this topic are various subtopics/questions: 1) What is an accurate definition of “Middle Class?” (Is it defined by an income range or by a state of mind?) 2) What are the effects of periodic economic downturns on ordinary Americans? (confidence, conformity, fear of failure, mental health), 3) What effects do increases in the minimum wage have on the middle class? (decreased poverty, overall confidence in the future, the effect on the overall economy?) My own students are urban and many do not consider themselves, and are not, among the middle class. The topic should resonate.
Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
This lesson uses the strategies of “student questioning for purposeful learning” (SQPL) and jigsaw grouping to engage students in examining Constitutional issues related to school-based grooming policies.
Material Type: Lesson
Eighth grade students in Michigan continue their study of United States History from the development of the Constitution through Reconstruction. Geographic, civics/government, and economics content is integrated within the historical context. Students should understand the relevancy and connections of this history to their lives. Students will use significant content knowledge, research, and inquiry to analyze issues. They develop reasoned arguments and write a persuasive civic essay addressing issues from the past within a historical context.
Material Type: Textbook
presents 26 historic places?barns, civic buildings, churches, railroad depots, schools, and libraries?that depict the history of this county, known as the Heart of the Heartland.
Material Type: Reading
Environmentalists passionately opposed to a giant pipeline that would transport crude oil from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf coast are going head-to-head with proponents of the project. Students explore the controversy surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline and the strategic questions it raises for environmentalists.
Material Type: Lesson Plan, Reading
This unit aims to provide a framework for introducing economic theory as an instructional strategy supporting ELA comprehension skills. Titled The Economics of Inequality, the unit will examine the arguments germane to the study of economic inequity gleaned from the seminar titled An Introduction to Income Inequality in America: Economics, History, and Law for the 2018 Yale Teachers Institute. Enduring unit goals intend to build student capacity to become literacy-based economists by examining the relational patterns between economic inequality and mobility while reinforcing reading comprehension and writing skills through novel analysis. This approach is unique because currently there is no formalized alignment between English Language Arts standards, Standards in Economics, and economic education. As teachers explore this unit, it is hoped that strategies, especially those that support critical and extended thinking, are used as a springboard for learning. This unit considers a cross-curricular approach as it was designed with the intent for teachers to spark more ideas on how they can enrich their own pedagogy and engage in lesson development using economic literary across other core subjects. It is also hoped that students’ enduring understandings are made through text-to-self connections by reflecting on how the economy affects their own lives.
Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
This unit introduces the topic of economics and economic inequality to 8th grade students through the use of nonfiction texts, podcasts, and films, and also asks students to examine, interpret and evaluate data independently, thus acquiring one of the most important skills for critical literacy in the 21st century. The recent young adult book, Economic Inequality: The American Dream Under Siege, by Coral Celeste Frazer is the central text for this curriculum unit and each student will have a copy of the text to read in class. Students study about the American Dream, and economic mobility as well as how these factors have changed over the past 50 years in the United States. Most importantly, students discover exactly what economic inequality consists of, how it impacts our lives, and what can be done about it. In addition to reading text there are classroom debates and the interpretation of political cartoons. As a culminating project, each student chooses a proposed solution to economic inequality for his or her own topic for an argumentative essay. It is hoped that in addition to teaching valuable skills and content that the unit provides a more educated citizenship for the future of our society.
Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
**The publisher of this resource is Civix.Help Students Fight Information Pollution Case Studies are created by Civix, a Canadian organization developed to support civics and media literacy education
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Case Study
Seventh grade students will review the tools and mental constructs used by historians and geographers. They will develop an understanding of Ancient World History, Eras 1 – 4. Geography, civics/government, and economics content is integrated throughout the year. As a capstone, the students will conduct investigations about past and present global issues. Using significant content knowledge, research, and inquiry, they will analyze the issue and propose a plan for the future. As part of the inquiry, they compose civic, persuasive essays using reasoned arguments.
Material Type: Textbook
Using both families and schools as a lens for study, 1st grade students learn about geography, history, economics, and civics with strong connections to the literacy block!
Material Type: Textbook
Water rights are a big deal for many reasons. In this lesson, students learn where water comes from, what water rights are, and how a variety of competing interests factor into managing water resources in Washington State. Got a 1:1 classroom? Find fillable PDF versions of this lesson’s materials below. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify key factors involved in Washington’s water resource management Explain the basics of water rights and the prior appropriation doctrine Analyze how competing interests affect water resources Predict how impacts on a water source could affect competing interests
Material Type: Lesson
In this lesson, students will use the case of Park51’s Islamic Cultural Center as a starting point for a discussion about whether religious freedom is absolute and if religious freedom requires respect for other religions.
Material Type: Lesson
SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students practice civic engagement by researching and writing a proposal for climate resiliency and scarce water allocation in the Deschutes River Watershed and presenting it in a mock Town Hall meeting. SCIENTIST NOTES: The lesson allows students to propose ways to solve water scarcity in their local communities and engage with key stakeholders and policymakers to design policies that will enable local communities in Oregon to manage their water resources while building their resilience to climate change. The lesson and all the accompanying materials were reviewed and are suitable for teaching. POSITIVES: -Students engage in a mock Town Hall and learn how to build community while voicing community concerns. -Students practice listening skills and engage in discourse over an important issue. -Students learn to collaborate with different stakeholders and diverse voices, working together to find a solution that best fits a community. -Students practice using local research to support their ideas. -Students learn to write and present a proposal. -The lesson can be spread out over two to four days, with a full day for research, a full day for the Town Hall, a day for voting or decision-making, and a day for letter writing and sharing in the class. ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES: -Students should have an understanding of media literacy and best research practices. -Students should have a basic understanding of rhetorical structure and devices for persuasion in oral delivery techniques. -Teachers should review the general overview and agenda in the Town Hall Guide and make adjustments as needed. -You will need to make a copy of the Student Slideshow for each group of students and grant them editing rights before the lesson. Students will be writing in the Student Slideshow. DIFFERENTIATION: -Students with little experience in persuasive speaking could use some instruction on rhetorical methods and devices using these resources: -41 Rhetorical Devices That Will Make Your Words Memorable -How to Use Rhetoric to Get What You Want -PBS Literary Elements & Techniques: Imagery and Figurative Language. -Students could develop their research into a Community Action Project proposing policy to actual stakeholders. -Students could connect with local stream restoration projects or organizations as a hands-on learning experience. -Students could lead a school community education campaign to spread awareness of water-saving techniques.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
Washington’s initiative and referendum powers let regular people participate directly in lawmaking! This lesson presents the initiative and referendum powers as tools and shows students how to use them. Got a 1:1 classroom? Find fillable PDF versions of this lesson’s materials below. Register with iCivics (free) in order to download materials. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Explain the purpose and procedure of the initiative and referendum in Washington State Compare and contrast the initiative and referendum powers in Washington State Analyze and evaluate aspects of the initiative power and procedure
Material Type: Lesson
