In this two-day lesson plan, students examine the struggle for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement and a current study that finds that American schools are reverting to segregation. On the first day, students examine the notion of ‘separate but equal’ by reading about the Brown v. Board of Education decision and by researching different events, legislation and organizations that influenced desegregation. On the second day, students assess ways in which race relations have and have not changed since this historic decision, examine the recent ‘resegregation’ study, and propose suggestions for addressing the school segregation issue to local, state or national leaders.

In this lesson, students examine Rockefeller's oil monopoly and the response from the United States government to that and other monopolies. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students will research other highly successful American business people and report back to the class on how they made their fortune, what they did with it, and why.

In this lesson, students will: 1. Interpret and analyze presidential campaign commercials. 2. Evaluate bias in presidential campaign commercials and differentiate between fact and opinion. 3. Identify visual and language propaganda techniques utilized in presidential campaign commercials. 4. Evaluate factors that lead to effective campaign commercials. 5. Work effectively within small groups and individually in analyzing these commercials. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the political process at the local, state, and national levels of government by analyzing campaigns for elective office, with emphasis on the role of the media.

With this lesson, students explain how saving is linked to overall wealth, describe how saving and investing are different, understand fundamentals of saving such as reasons for saving, how much to save, and strategies to enable savings, and acknowledge the role of delayed gratification in saving.

For this activity, students create a spreadsheet to determine how much money Allen Iverson would have today if he had saved a small percentage of his salary every season and invested it in an index fund of the S&P 500.

Students learn how to recognize a scam, how to protect themselves against being scammed, and what to do if they have been scammed.

For this activity, students define the opportunity cost of a decision as the most valued discarded option and analyze trade-offs involved in making spending decisions.

In this lesson, students analyze how education in America affects its youth and the nation by assessing a variety of ways in which American courts and communities are dealing with the unanimous Supreme Court ruling to end ‘separate but equal’ education.

In this lesson, students review the history of providing and/or denying asylum to refugees seeking to enter the United States. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students adopt the role of the Board of Immigration Appeals and work collaboratively to review a case study to decide whether the involved individual qualifies for asylum.

In this lesson, students identify important criteria to consider when selecting a checking account, make a systematic and informed decision by gathering, evaluating, and comparing information, and prepare to open a checking account.

In this lesson, students compare different savings vehicles such as a savings account, CD, and money market account. Students also identify important criteria to consider when selecting a savings account and make a systematic and informed decision by gathering, evaluating, and comparing information.

For this activity, students conduct research to find a savings account that would be the best for them.

In this lesson, students examine historical and current examples of separation of church and state. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students discuss laws and governments acts concerning church and state. Then, students will write a persuasive letter to one of the historical figures mentioned in the reading who differs with their position on separating church and state.

In this lesson, students review the Supreme Court case: Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, and how this case focused on the establishment cause of the First Amendment. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students will participate in a Moot Court and re-create this case.

In this lesson, students review economic trends from 1980 to the present. Students define and compare Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per capita with Gross National Product (GNP) and GNP per capita.

This resource informs students of Frederick Douglas' speech on the Dred Scott decision.

For this activity, students select stocks that they know about and see what they can discover about the stocks as they track them over 3-5 days. Students respond to questions about the stocks they've selected.

For this activity, students learn about the term 'random walk' and list stocks (from a newspaper) in a table. Students calculate the return from investing $10,000 in each of the six stocks.

In this lesson, students consider if the negative trend in political advertising has an effect on democracy. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students evaluate ads for federal, state, and local candidates. Then they will collaborate in small groups to write a 30-second script for a political candidate and perform it before the class.