Students gain an understanding of the evolving presence of political parties in the history of the United States, as well as the role of third parties in the political process. Students work in groups to apply what they have learned by designing a tombstone for a historical (or rather "dead") US political party.

Students will learn about the North Carolina Fund, a series of experimental programs developed by Governor Sanford's administration to address these challenges. Students will explore the North Carolina's Fund's components and its challenges and successes within the context of segregation and the fight for civil rights.

Students explore voting laws in North Carolina and weigh the pros and cons of bills like VIVA. Based on class discussion and evidence they collect throughout the lesson, students make an informed decision regarding their opinion about North Carolina's election law.

In this lesson, students will receive an introduction/overview of the US Constitution through reading, an optional Power Point presentation and class discussion. Focusing on the underlying principles of the US Constitution, students will create public service announcements on the Constitution, its relevance, and the principle assigned to their group. In presenting their PSAs to classmates, students will review and learn additional details regarding how the US Constitution defines the framework and organization of our national government.

In this lesson, students gain a basic understanding of the Vietnam War with a special focus on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. After assessing student prior knowledge of the Vietnam War using a word web, students examine basic information about the Vietnam War through a jigsaw reading.  An illustrated timeline activity and discussion are used to assess student learning of reading.  Students learn about the controversy surrounding the creation of the Vietnam Memorial Wall through a “Reader’s Theatre” activity.  The lesson culminates with students creating their own Vietnam Memorial for a class competition.

This lesson provides various activities to analyze election results and voter demographic, as well as ways for students to share and offer their own commentary on the election process and results post-election throughout the school and community.

In this lesson, students will explore language as it relates to American Indians, particularly by focusing on the Cherokees’ movement to revitalize the Cherokee language. Through interactive reading, audio/visual clip exploration and partner and class discussions, students will gain an understanding and appreciation of how language is an intrinsic part of the Cherokee culture, and why it is so important to many Cherokees that their native language is both learned and spoken today. Students will finish the lesson with a group project in which they imagine working for the Cherokee Preservation and Education Program, whose mission is the revitalization of the Cherokee language. Students will work in groups to develop a 10-point plan for the revitalization of the Cherokee language, and then they will comparetheir ideas to the actual revitalization plan being implemented by the Eastern Band of Cherokee in western North Carolina.

In this activity, students will select one person listed from the American Revolutionary War Era whom they will research then create a visual of the person and present knowledge gained about the historical figure to the class.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the office of President by discussing the qualifications necessary for serving in the office, as well as the roles and powers of the President as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution. Students will exercise these roles and powers themselves by assuming the position of President of the United States of America.

Students explore the rule of law in American democracy and its impact on every individual. Through class discussion and role play, student gain an understanding of what the rule of law means in terms of American government, the functions laws play in our society, and the role all citizens and community members, from a student to the President, play in adhering to and upholding the rule of law.

In this lesson, students will employ their detective skills to examine the life, ideals, and actions of John Brown, one of historyʹs most controversial abolitionists. Reviewing primary source documents regarding Brown’s actions throughout the 1850s, students will work with partners in an inquiry activity to learn about the righteous crusade Brown waged against slavery, based in religious faith yet often carried out with violence.  Applying critical thinking skills to the “evidence” presented regarding Brown, students will make a “detective’s” determination regarding Brown’s character and the justifiability of his actions.

In this lesson, students evaluate the actions of various citizens during the Civil Rights Movement and how their actions brought about changes for society (then and now) through the examination of poetry, biographies, speeches, photographs, historical events, and civil rights philosophies.

In this lesson, students will explore runaway ads from the 1700s, gain an understanding of the individual lives affected by slavery during the 1700s as well as the skills and characteristics possessed by such individuals. The PowerPoint can be found at http://civics.sites.unc.edu/files/2012/05/SlaveRunawaysPPT.pdf .

In this selection of activities, students will continue to have questions about terrorism as our world is ever-changing. Of course, combatting terrorism is hard and uncertain, and this issue has become extremely politicized. We need to focus on terrorism rather than Muslims in general, and remember that terrorism is not a clash of civilizations between "the East" and "the West," but between the vast majority of humanity and the extremist few.

Students will explore how various black entrepreneurs thrived in Durham's downtown, so much so that Durham's Parrish Street was soon known as Black Wall Street. Students will gain a sense of the challenges overcome and successes experienced by the various black entrepreneurs and businesses on Black Wall Street.

Students gain an understanding of how the focus of supply and demand influence prices in a market economy.

In this lesson, students examine how various government policies, such as rationing and limited wage increases,impacted Americans’ daily lives during World War II. By examining various government agencies and their war time policies, students will gain insight into how and why the government encroached upon people’s daily lives during the War. Students will apply what they have learned throughout the lesson by creating their own World War II advertising campaign informing Americans how they can contribute to the war effort.

Students learn about the Supreme Court of North Carolina and its relevance to every North Carolinian. Students examine the historical decision made by Supreme Court of North Carolina justices in State v. Mann. Then, students will take on the roles of justices on the Supreme Court of North Carolina to make a decision regarding the facts in the important Supreme Court of North Carolina case: State v. Will.

Students learn about the impact of World War II on the Netherlands and Jews. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the realities experienced by individual lives throughout this tumultuous period and create an award and speech to honor Holocaust survivors living in North Carolina.

In this lesson, students will examine America's Indian removal policies, including the events leading up to the passage of Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act and the effect this had on Native Americans. Through class discussion, an interactive Power Point presentation, and the examination of primary source documents from the 1830s, students will gain an understanding of the political strategies, perspectives, culture clashes, and historical consequences of this time period. Additionally, students will explore the impact of forced removal during the Trail of Tears through art examination, art creation, and creative writing.