n addition to providing a task that relates to other disciplines (history, civics, current events, etc.), this task is intended to demonstrate that a graph can summarize a distribution as well as provide useful information about specific observations.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
There are three separate lessons on the branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. We recommend teaching these lessons in that particular order, as some content builds on the previous lesson. Covers civics test items 13, 37, 38, 39, and 40.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this unit, students will analyze how climate change affects migration around the world and the policies that could be effective in addressing the issue. To start, students will investigate what motivates people to move in general. Then students will read “The Great Climate Migration” by Abrahm Lustgarten and Meridith Kohut, where they will be introduced to how climate change may affect migration in the future. Students will then investigate how climate change is impacting migration by reading and presenting about specific scenarios around the globe. Finally, students will begin to research how policy can address climate migration to avoid disastrous outcomes in the future.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This 3-activity sequence addresses the question: "To what extent should coastal communities build or rebuild?" The activity uses social science and geoscience data to prepare an evidence-based response to the question, in targeted US coastal communities.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this lesson, students explore the ways that decisions by local government affect their lives. They’ll review research and data about a few recent local elections to push back against the myth that a single vote doesn’t count. They’ll learn how laws in their state encourage or suppress voter engagement. And in an extension activity, eligible students learn how to register to vote.
Material Type: Lesson
The topic of Gerrymandering can be a difficult one to teach and get students to understand. This lesson includes several options, along with additional resources and information for the new teacher or a teacher who like many Americans may have trouble grasping and explaining gerrymandering and congressional redistricting. The lesson options include having students engage in a Debate and/or activity where they draw or redraw the boundaries of a state or congressional district.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy
How has the citizenship status and voting rights of indigenous people changed over time in the United States? Created by Kimberly Kutz.
Material Type: Lesson
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the origin of the United States government. In this inquiry the students will analyze why the colonists fought for independence against Britain and formed the government we have today. Resource created by Christina Adkins, Nebraska City Public Schools, as part of the Nebraska ESUCC Social Studies Special Projects 2023 - Inquiry Design Model (IDM).
Material Type: Unit of Study
Considering the question, What is citizenship? Created by Kimberly Kutz.
Material Type: Lesson
The original draft of the Bill of Rights had twelve amendments, not ten! What were those unadopted amendments? In this video, Kim discusses the unadopted amendments with scholar Fergus Bordewich.
Material Type: Lesson
Evolution of political parties in picking candidates and voter mobilization.
Material Type: Lesson
An overview of the incumbency advantage phenomenon.
Material Type: Lesson
A close reading of the beginnings of the Declaration of Independence to identify ideas of natural rights, social contract, limited government and popular sovereignty in the text.
Material Type: Lesson
Learn how the Preamble to the US Constitution reflects the democratic ideals of the Framers.
Material Type: Lesson
Democracy means "rule by the people," but what general forms does it take? Here we describe participatory democracies, pluralist democracies, and elite democracies and think about some of their potential benefits and negatives.
Material Type: Lesson
The Preamble is the introduction to the US Constitution, but it's so much more than that. In this video, Sal discusses the Preamble with Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center.
Material Type: Lesson
Ideas of natural rights, social contract, popular sovereignty, limited government and republicanism and their influence on the foundation of the United States of America.
Material Type: Lesson
In 1957, Little Rock African Americans made their city the most significant test case for the United States Supreme Court’s 1954 and 1955 Brown v. Board of Education rulings.
Material Type: Lesson
In this lesson, students learn about the expansion and restriction of voting rights in the United States, examine court rulings, discuss voter disengagement, and explore a voting rights timeline. Students will also learn how to register to vote.
Material Type: Lesson
A deep dive into Marbury v. Madison, a Supreme Court case decided in 1803 that established the principle of judicial review. In this video, Kim discusses the case with scholars Michael Klarman and Kevin Walsh.
Material Type: Lesson
