Students will explore the various ways they can ensure their voices are heard regarding issues they care about. To help students appreciate their own value, intelligence, and potential as political actors (Anyon, 2005, p. 179) students will role play different ways of taking political action and reflect on ways to more effectively lobby for change.

This resource briefly introduces the institutions of the Athenian democracy during the late 5th century BCE through the end of the racial democracy in the late 4th century.

In this lesson students examine the concept of “citizen” from a definitional perspective of what a citizen is and from the perspective of how citizenship is conferred in the United States. Students discuss the rights and responsibilities of citizens and non-citizens and review the changing history of citizenship from colonial times to the present.

Have you ever stopped to think about why we have certain policies, laws and regulations? For instance, why is the driving age 16 or the drinking age 21? Why are there nutrition labels on all food packages? Why in Michigan, do you have to go to school until you are 18? Do you believe the United States should spend $601 billion dollars in 2016 on our national defense? Do you agree with how the United States handles issues with immigration? Do you even know how immigration issues and situations are handled? These are all examples of public policy.

In this lesson, students consider the need for citizens to be engaged in government and the need for civic education. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students will role play school board members deciding whether to adopt the six promising approaches (listed in the reading) for classes in the school district.

This lesson provides a comparative review of the United States Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the constitutions of Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal; historical context; connections with current events; and the opportunity to take and defend a position on which right or rights are most important.

In this lesson, students will look at the distinction between citizens and noncitizens (aliens) and the process by which aliens may become citizens. This lesson will help define a citizen of the United States and a non-citizen alien of the United States.

Narrated by Bowdoin College Government Professor Andrew Rudalevige, "Founding Principles" provides an introductory overview and basic understanding to American government, but one that is crucial to building citizen-leaders, promoting civic engagement, and working toward the common good.
Chapter Fifteen reviews the important aspects of the American system of government and encourages viewers to use their knowledge to get involved in their own political world.

Narrated by Bowdoin College Government Professor Andrew Rudalevige, "Founding Principles" provides an introductory overview and basic understanding to American government, but one that is crucial to building citizen-leaders, promoting civic engagement, and working toward the common good.
Chapter Fourteen discusses the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote and to be free from unjust discrimination.

Narrated by Bowdoin College Government Professor Andrew Rudalevige, "Founding Principles" provides an introductory overview and basic understanding to American government, but one that is crucial to building citizen-leaders, promoting civic engagement, and working toward the common good.
Chapter Six discusses public opinion and how it affects politics and governmental policy, as well as how data is gathered.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students research and investigate the world by looking at revolutions around the world and governments created as a result. In this 2 day lesson, students will look at revolutions in other parts of the world and compare and contrast them to the American Revolution. Students will examine causes of the French Revolution and will compare the types of governments that were overthrown and the new governments that were created to replace the old. Students will compare and contrast the Declaration of Independence (U.S.) and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (France). Students will also create presentations depicting other revolutions around the world and how similar/different they are to the American Revolution and the French Revolution. This lesson was developed by Dorothy Kerby as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

This two-day lesson centers around a project that is designed to help students demonstrate knowledge of the key concepts and issues that they learned in this unit of study. They will be comparing and contrasting laws passed in the United States and South Africa regarding segregation and apartheid, respectively.This lesson was developed by Carolin Bethea-Brown as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

The purpose of this lesson is to help students gain a much deeper understanding of apartheid through a teacher facilitated presentation that gives students the opportunity to read, write, hear, and discuss key concepts and issues related to apartheid. In this lesson, students will start to identify important similarities between South Africa and the United States. To assist them in this process, questions are embedded throughout the presentation. In addition, numerous visuals are provided with guided questions that will help students further develop their observation, critical thinking, and discussion skills. I, Caroline Bethea-Brown, am the owner of all the visuals used in this presentation.This lesson was developed by Caroline Bethea-Brown as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

This lesson is designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the strict segregation laws passed by the apartheid government in South Africa. It will help them understand the roots of apartheid, as well as how apartheid laws were passed and enforced. The knowledge they gain will serve as a basis of comparison with the strict segregation laws passed in the United States since the adoption of the 14th Amendment. To gain the knowledge they need to make this comparison, students will conduct an independent inquiry of the permanent exhibition at the Apartheid Museum website using a WebQuest.This lesson was developed by Caroline Bethea-Brown as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

In this two-day lesson, students will analyze the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as laws passed at the state and federal levels that were used to systematically deny African Americans of their constitutional rights. Throughout the lesson students will draw comparisons between laws made in the United States with laws made by the apartheid government of South Africa.This lesson was developed by Caroline Bethea-Brown as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

This lesson is to be conducted over a two-day (90 minute block schedule) period. The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the role the federal government played in overturning laws that systematically undermined the 14th and 15th Amendments. During this process students will gain a better understanding of federalism, checks and balances, and judicial review. In addition, they will have the opportunity to compare and contrast laws passed in the United States with laws passed by the South Africa's apartheid government.This lesson was developed by Caroline Bethea-Brown as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

In this lesson plan, students gain an understanding of similarities and differences between totalitarianism and democracy as it pertains to WWII.

In this lesson, students will analyze the unprecedented protests surrounding the 2009 Iranian presidential elections and the role technology played in the dissemination of information and in planning the protests themselves. Through reading, a Power Point presentation, discussion, examination of various mediums such as political cartoons, photographs, and a graphic novel, students will gain an understanding of Iran's political history, its current governmental realities, and the historical significance of the 2009 protest movement.

This presentation is intended for use with the lesson plan "Iran's 2009 Voter Uprising." In this lesson, students will analyze the unprecedented protests surrounding the 2009 Iranian presidential elections and the role technology played in the dissemination of information and in planning the protests themselves. Through reading, a Power Point presentation, discussion, examination of various mediums such as political cartoons, photographs, and a graphic novel, students will gain an understanding of Iran's political history, its current governmental realities, and the historical significance of the 2009 protest movement.

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.