In this lesson, students begin by discussing the meaning of “common good” and the impact of this concept on rights and responsibilities in the lives of US citizens. They then examine the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the US Constitution, focusing on how amendments over time have focused on the common good and have responded to current issues and problems. Finally, the students apply their understanding of common good and individual rights and responsibilities to the proposal of a new amendment to the US Constitution. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

This lesson precedes students’ exploration of the US Constitution and gives them a foundation for their study of it. Students begin by discussing some trivia related to the Constitution and then, through Jigsaw grouping, read and summarize three documents that share basic principles with it. Once they have shared and discussed the connections among the three documents, they consider how democratic ideals are addressed in the documents, the Constitution, and everyday life. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

This is a unit based on the MC3 curriculum already created in the state of Michigan.  I've taken the unit and added some extra online components and used some materials from Teacherspayteachers.com to create activities to further engage the students.

This lesson begins with a concept development task (Taba) designed to elicit ideas about systems. The students then apply this thinking to the structure of the US government as they learn about the 3 branches of government and the system of checks and balances. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

North Carolina's state capitol rises majestically on Union Square in downtown Raleigh, a city specifically created in 1792 to serve as North Carolina's permanent capital. Built between 1833-40, the granite building is one of the finest and best preserved examples of civic Greek Revival architecture in the United States. Relatively small in comparison to many other state capitols, this impressive structure has stood as a symbol of pride to North Carolinians for more than 150 years.

Topics: This lesson could be used in American history courses in units on the early National period, North Carolina state history, or early 19th-century politics and government.

Time period: Early 19th century

During a study of the US Constitution and after students have already read the Constitution, students explore the philosophical underpinnings of it and decide which of the different influences on it ultimately had the biggest impact on the Founding Fathers’ thinking. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

Understand the influences on the development, structure, and function of government in the U.S.

The last core strand of social studies is the one we will be focusing on mostly this year...history! Your studies will be focusing mainly on American history. It is often said that history is written by the victors. Historians must look at everything they can to come to conclusions about what happened in the past. Historians become writers, teachers, public speakers, and public servants in many ways. The following section explains the work of historians and details about their studies.

You have learned that there are different areas of social studies and different kinds of social scientists. You learned that geographers study geography and economists study economics. This chapter is about civics, another important area of social studies. Civics is the study of government and the role people play in government. But who studies civics??? Civicsers? Civicsists? It’s a little more complicated this time. Political scientists study civics! Politics is just another name for government. But wait, what is government? Government is a system that people use to provide order and make decisions. It is also a system for distributing power like the power to make laws and the power to enforce laws. It is also a system for regulating the conduct of people, or how people
behave.