In this activity, students read an article and answer a series of questions. The article explains the debate about increasing the minimum wage and discusses whether other approaches may be more effective in helping alleviate poverty.
In this lesson, students focus on issues of police discipline. First, in a reading and discussion, students learn about the processes many police departments use to investigate citizen complaints about misconduct and for disciplining officers. Then, in a simulation activity, students take the role of members of a police board of rights to make decisions about a hypothetical case.
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 read primary and secondary source documents about the Supreme Court case Reynolds v. United States and the first amendment freedom of religion. Students then answer analysis questions about the case. There is a teacher answer key included in the lesson.
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 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 research recent US Supreme Court cases and analyze their impact on rights of citizens.
In this lesson, students will explore themes of First Amendment rights and the freedom to read, while also gaining an actiTo Ban or Not to Ban the Invisible Man: A School Board Simulationve understanding of the roles of School Board members and the responsibilities of active community members, by participating in a School Board simulation where they grapple with the same choice: whether or not to ban Invisible Man.
Students explore and compare how the Constitution has granted and/or limited Presidential actions during times of crisis. Beginning with background information regarding the parts of the Constitution related to Executive Power/Privilege, students gain context regarding how American democracy defines, grants, and limits presidential powers. In groups, students then examine a scenario describing an incident in American history during which a President had to respond during a time of crisis. After analyzing the crisis and determining whether the President's response was appropriate and Constitutional, students present their scenario to classmates.
In this Teaching with the News lesson, students explore current issues in the Middle East and their relation to U.S. policy by interpreting political cartoons. There is an extension activity at the end of the lesson for advanced students.
In this lesson, students review the history of immigration quotas in the United States and the issue of how to assist Jewish refugees in the time of WWII. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students role play a meeting between President Roosevelt and members of his cabinet where they will review 5 proposals concerning the issue of aid to Jews during the war.
In this activity, students read and discuss race and representation in United States government. Students work in small groups to analyze the 'minority-majority' voting districts that were created in North Carolina and Georgia.
In this activity, students will look at images from 1919 to explore the nature of the "Red Scare" of the World War I era, and think about it the context of current attitudes toward civil liberties since the September 11th attacks.