United States Government
Branches of Government
United States Government Manual
Links to agencies of each branch.
The Three Branches of the United States Government
Poptential - Free curriculum that pairs pop culture media with engaging digital storytelling for effective dynamic learning in American History, World History, US Government, and Economics.
iCivics and Nickelodeon have released a series of twelve Schoolhouse Rock-type videos about how government is supposed to work. You can find them all here, and read about them at this NPR story.The iCivics site says you can download viewing guides,
U.S. Government Inquiry Kits Explore this collection of sixty inquiry kits that allows students to select a research topic of interest and evaluate various themed primary and secondary sources. From each branch of government to the United States' economic, domestic, and foreign policy goals, the inquiry kits examine social studies themes.. Go to U.S. Government Inquiry Kits
Readworks.org This website offers a wide range of lesson plans, comprehension units, and reading passages organized by skill and Lexile level.
iCivics offers a range of practical, dynamic, and standards-aligned resources tailored to the needs of classroom teachers. They have over 200 resources that are FREE and accessible to all.
Engaging Congress (iOS or Android mobile devices, or students can play on the web with WebGL.) (middle and High School) an interactive game that uses primary source documents to explore the workings of American government and the challenges it faces in contemporary society. The app-based game is available to middle school and high school government, history, language arts, and social studies programs as an engaging tool for teaching the basic tenets of representative government, using documents and materials from the Library of Congress and other sources. The game features five thematic stories: “Fair Is Not Always Equal,” about federalism; “Laws and Sausages,” about legislation; “Vote Early, Vote Often,” about voting rights and elections; “A Balancing Act,” about the federal budget; and “More Equal than Others,” about money and influence in politics. Animated videos introduce the stories, leading to student activities. The activities focus on primary sources such as the Constitution and Supreme Court decisions, as well as archival photographs, newspapers, illustrations, and political cartoons. A Teacher Toolbox provides learning materials linked to national standards for social studies, history, English/language arts, and civics. Engaging Congress is available as a free download for iOS or Android mobile devices, or students can play on the web with WebGL.
Digital Project-based Social Studies Curriculum Students of History offers a social studies curriculum that includes units with activities to help students in grades 7–10 understand key concepts in US history, world history, civics, and American government. The units are based on state and national social studies standards and include project-based learning (PBL), digital activities, primary sources, and more. Students can type directly on their pages, insert images, and drag and drop information for a variety of interactive activities. The curricula also include Interactive Notebooks, with graphic organizers, creative foldables, timelines, and more. In addition, each unit provides several primary source activities, secondary source readings, and worksheets for in-class activities or homework. The units also offer a variety of engaging projects in which students work together in groups or individually. These include history simulations and station activities to get students up and moving around the room. An in-depth Project-Based Learning packet includes everything teachers need to bring PBL assessments to any unit in their curriculum. Editable PowerPoints with Guided Notes are filled with images, and printable guided notes pages or graphic organizers help students to focus on key concepts. Teachers can sign up on the website to receive a free sample pack with more than 30 pages of resources.
KidCitizen interactive episodes, children explore civics and government concepts by investigating primary source photographs from the Library of Congress. They also connect what they find with their daily lives.
Engaging Congress Developed by the Indiana University Center on Representative Government Engaging Congress is a series of game-based learning activities that explores the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges that it faces in contemporary society. Primary source documents are used to examine the history and evolution of issues that confront Congress today.
PBS Kids Democracy Project -
The activities and lesson plans you see on the site have been designed with the following goals in mind: introducing the structure and duties of local, state and federal government; understanding how government affects our everyday lives, through laws, institutions and services provided in the community.
Reading Level: 3-6
Gerrymandering 101 Limit voting rights in 3 easy steps. (And how to teach your students about it.)
Gerrymandering Explained Video
iCivics offers a range of practical, dynamic, and standards-aligned resources tailored to the needs of classroom teachers. They have over 200 resources that are FREE and accessible to all.
Kids.gov is the official kids website for US government. It provides a number of key resources and materials designed specifically to attend to kids learning needs within a secure and safe place. Resources in Kids.gov comes from different sources including government agencies, schools, and educational organizations. All of these materials are arranged into four main audiences: Kids (Grades K-5), Teens (Grades 6-8), Teachers and Parents. Each audience tab is divided into educational subjects like Arts, Math, and History.
Congressional Moments is a free iPad app that features key Congressional activities that still affect our lives today. The app includes videos about six important areas. Those areas are the National Parks Service, Civil Rights, Child Labor, the Marshall Plan, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The videos are a nice part of the app, perhaps the best aspects of the app are the sections designed to help students learn to distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources.
Democracy in America
Free online videos (downloadable) with complimentary readings and Web resources introduces basic concepts of government, politics, and citizenship, including the essential role of politics in addressing the will of the people, and the need for citizens to participate in order to make democracy work.
Youtube site for The Center on Congress
Short videos that combine humor with information about how congress works from laws to lobbying.
Youtube site of the Library of Congress
Ben's Guide to US Government for Kids -
This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. And, just as GPO Access provides locator services to U.S. Government sites, Ben's Guide provides a similar service to U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids.
Reading Level: 3-6
Congress For Kids
Congress for Kids gives you access to interactive, fun-filled experiences designed to help you learn about the foundation of our federal government and how its actions affect you. Although designed for students in grades fourth through high school, other students, teachers, parents, and interested citizens will find helpful, engaging activities, too. Uncle Sam takes you on a tour through American history, the important documents and their creation, and the branches of government. Links to important government sites are also included.
Reading Level: 3-6
C-SPAN Classroom offers handy sets of videos that they call Bell Ringers. Bell Ringers are short videos about contemporary issues in government, politics, and business. Each Bell Ringer video is accompanied by a list of key vocabulary terms and a list of discussion questions to use in your classroom. The comparative government Bell Ringers are a recently released batch of videos that are appropriate for high school classrooms. Links to each of the six videos are included below.
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873 — American Memory includes documents from the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates, and the first two federal congresses. These documents record American history in the words of those who built our government. (Library of Congress)
Dirksen Congressional Center The goal of the Center is to support a greater public understanding of the U.S. Congress through archival, research, and educational programs. You can find a wide variety of resources as well as lessons.
FirstGov: Your Gateway to the Federal Government
Timely, needed government information and services and make them accessible anytime, anywhere, via your social media channel of choice. Really everything you need to know about the Feds in one place. And for lessons and resources for teachers, be sure to check out Kids.gov.
Civics and Government Lesson Plans – Library of Congress
What better place than the Library of Congress to find handy lessons and resources about the government?
Best of History Websites: Government A list of sites and resources designed specifically for the civics / government teacher
Government Related Lesson Plans
You can sort by grade level.
Congress in the Classroom Online
Free online workshops and thematic units.
Government and Public Policy
Teaching guides on government issues.
Legislative Simulation
Legislative Simulation, or LEGSIM, features a non-scripted environment for college-level students to experience the personalized politics of legislative activities.
University of Washington Center for American Politics and Public Policy, the site is a interactive visualization that allows you and your students to explore actual patterns of lawmaking in Congress. The graph provides a great way to get the big picture while providing opportunities to dig deeper. Compare the bills and resolutions introduced by Senators and Representatives and follow their progress from the beginning to the end of a two year Congress. Go back in time and compare / contrast different years, bi-partisan vs. partisan, parties, or House vs. Senate.
Start browsing through the tool and ideas for classroom use are gonna just start popping out at you:
(U.S. Attorneys' office) - Insiders view for children of the Federal Courtroom, learn what Judges and Federal Prosecutors do.
Justice for Kids & Youth
(Department of Justice) - Take a look inside our criminal justice system. Learn about crime prevention and internet safety.
Ask Your Lawmaker
Pose questions to specific Congress members and vote on other users' questions. Capitol News Connection journalists will track down the lawmakers, pose the most popular and best questions, and post the answers on the site as audio files. Students can actively contribute to the political discourse through their questions and votes while they learn about effective questions and tagging.
Redistricting Game
A fun game about gerrymandering that makes an important and complicated concept accessible to students. This site helps students understand exactly how their votes count. It includes links for activism and provides information about how gerrymandering works in your own state.
U.S. House of Representatives
Contains documents related to the legislative process.
Budget Hero
Play this fun, animated game to see how fiscal decisions we make today might affect our personal and national future. Control spending in defense, education, health care, the environment and other areas. Read about the pros and cons of your decisions.
Civics Renewal Network is a consortium of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations committed to strengthening civic life in the United States by increasing the quality of civics education in the nation’s schools and improving accessibility to high-quality, no-cost learning materials. On the organization’s website, teachers will find resources from these organizations, searchable by subject, grade, resource type, standards, and teaching strategy.
Supreme Court
How The World Votes is a super-impressive interactive from Al Jazeera. It compares tons of elements related to voting in countries around the world, including voting age and structure of the governing system. A small portion of all the info relates specifically to 2019 elections, but the vast majority of the site is not specific to this year.It would be a good companion site to Constitute, another resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
Which Voting System is Best? TEDed video
Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained video
Gerrymandering: How drawing jagged lines can impact an election The US is the only democracy thta does not have an independent committee to draw congressional districts.
Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions is a national initiative of the federal courts that brings high school and college students into federal courthouses for legal proceedings stemming from situations in which law-abiding young people can find themselves. These court hearings (not mock trials) are realistic simulations that showcase jury deliberations in which all students participate, using civil discourse skills.
What So Proudly We Hail This is a literary-based e-curriculum for history and civics.demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.Eagle Eye Citizen Eagle Eye Citizen engages middle and high school students in solving and creating interactive challenges on American history, civics, and government with Library of Congress primary sources in order to develop students' civic understanding and historical thinking skills.
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet
Search for information on the present congress. Activities and exhibits on important cases.
Online Debates
aMap is short for ‘argument map’. The idea’s very simple – to promote the art of arguing by mapping out complex debates in a simple visual format. This can be applied to the classroom by using their site to create student debates on various topics.
Mootup - Set up debate writing assignments within your class or across the school to teach CCSS-aligned argumentative writing using this website.
Debate Graph is a resource that students can use to evaluate the many arguments in hot-button global topics. By providing webbed diagrams of arguments students can see and explore the many facets of debate. To find a debate, visit the gallery of debates on Debate Graph. There are seven formats in which you can view the parts of a debate. If you want to create your own debate diagram or contribute to one that is already started register for free on Debate Graph. Rarely are debates a simple two-sided matter. Debate Graph provides students with a great tool for exploring the many facets of debates.
Share and reuse debates on and offline
Diffen is a nice resource for those times when you need a quick comparison of two things. Let's say you need a chart to highlight the differences between latitude and longitude, Diffen has that. Or perhaps you need a comparison of Medicare and Medicaid, Diffen has that too. If you can't find the comparison that you need, you can create your own on Diffen. Diffen is a community site. Anyone who registers on Diffen can contribute to the comparisons on the site. Comparisons are not limited to text. Images can be added to the comparison charts on Diffen. An embed code is available for each chart.
The Best Sites For Students To Create & Participate In Online Debates
Quibl is a Free Online Debate Platform For Discussing All Kinds Of Issues
NowComment - Turn any document into a class discussion with a commenting system that appears right next to the text.
Drafting Board online tool that helps students meet Common Core Standards for English Language Arts in History and the Social Studies. It engages students in a clear, step-by-step process of crafting a polished argumentative essay while providing teachers with tools to assess their students’ progress.
Google Moderator Students can post questions or comments to the moderated discussion. Once comments are posted, students can "vote" for the idea, or comment on a post. Comments can then be sorted based on the number of votes it received, and can be posted anonymously or require a Google account.
United States Government Manual
Links to agencies of each branch.
The Three Branches of the United States Government
Poptential - Free curriculum that pairs pop culture media with engaging digital storytelling for effective dynamic learning in American History, World History, US Government, and Economics.
iCivics and Nickelodeon have released a series of twelve Schoolhouse Rock-type videos about how government is supposed to work. You can find them all here, and read about them at this NPR story.The iCivics site says you can download viewing guides,
U.S. Government Inquiry Kits Explore this collection of sixty inquiry kits that allows students to select a research topic of interest and evaluate various themed primary and secondary sources. From each branch of government to the United States' economic, domestic, and foreign policy goals, the inquiry kits examine social studies themes.. Go to U.S. Government Inquiry Kits
Readworks.org This website offers a wide range of lesson plans, comprehension units, and reading passages organized by skill and Lexile level.
iCivics offers a range of practical, dynamic, and standards-aligned resources tailored to the needs of classroom teachers. They have over 200 resources that are FREE and accessible to all.
Engaging Congress (iOS or Android mobile devices, or students can play on the web with WebGL.) (middle and High School) an interactive game that uses primary source documents to explore the workings of American government and the challenges it faces in contemporary society. The app-based game is available to middle school and high school government, history, language arts, and social studies programs as an engaging tool for teaching the basic tenets of representative government, using documents and materials from the Library of Congress and other sources. The game features five thematic stories: “Fair Is Not Always Equal,” about federalism; “Laws and Sausages,” about legislation; “Vote Early, Vote Often,” about voting rights and elections; “A Balancing Act,” about the federal budget; and “More Equal than Others,” about money and influence in politics. Animated videos introduce the stories, leading to student activities. The activities focus on primary sources such as the Constitution and Supreme Court decisions, as well as archival photographs, newspapers, illustrations, and political cartoons. A Teacher Toolbox provides learning materials linked to national standards for social studies, history, English/language arts, and civics. Engaging Congress is available as a free download for iOS or Android mobile devices, or students can play on the web with WebGL.
Digital Project-based Social Studies Curriculum Students of History offers a social studies curriculum that includes units with activities to help students in grades 7–10 understand key concepts in US history, world history, civics, and American government. The units are based on state and national social studies standards and include project-based learning (PBL), digital activities, primary sources, and more. Students can type directly on their pages, insert images, and drag and drop information for a variety of interactive activities. The curricula also include Interactive Notebooks, with graphic organizers, creative foldables, timelines, and more. In addition, each unit provides several primary source activities, secondary source readings, and worksheets for in-class activities or homework. The units also offer a variety of engaging projects in which students work together in groups or individually. These include history simulations and station activities to get students up and moving around the room. An in-depth Project-Based Learning packet includes everything teachers need to bring PBL assessments to any unit in their curriculum. Editable PowerPoints with Guided Notes are filled with images, and printable guided notes pages or graphic organizers help students to focus on key concepts. Teachers can sign up on the website to receive a free sample pack with more than 30 pages of resources.
KidCitizen interactive episodes, children explore civics and government concepts by investigating primary source photographs from the Library of Congress. They also connect what they find with their daily lives.
Engaging Congress Developed by the Indiana University Center on Representative Government Engaging Congress is a series of game-based learning activities that explores the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges that it faces in contemporary society. Primary source documents are used to examine the history and evolution of issues that confront Congress today.
PBS Kids Democracy Project -
The activities and lesson plans you see on the site have been designed with the following goals in mind: introducing the structure and duties of local, state and federal government; understanding how government affects our everyday lives, through laws, institutions and services provided in the community.
Reading Level: 3-6
Gerrymandering 101 Limit voting rights in 3 easy steps. (And how to teach your students about it.)
Gerrymandering Explained Video
iCivics offers a range of practical, dynamic, and standards-aligned resources tailored to the needs of classroom teachers. They have over 200 resources that are FREE and accessible to all.
Kids.gov is the official kids website for US government. It provides a number of key resources and materials designed specifically to attend to kids learning needs within a secure and safe place. Resources in Kids.gov comes from different sources including government agencies, schools, and educational organizations. All of these materials are arranged into four main audiences: Kids (Grades K-5), Teens (Grades 6-8), Teachers and Parents. Each audience tab is divided into educational subjects like Arts, Math, and History.
Congressional Moments is a free iPad app that features key Congressional activities that still affect our lives today. The app includes videos about six important areas. Those areas are the National Parks Service, Civil Rights, Child Labor, the Marshall Plan, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The videos are a nice part of the app, perhaps the best aspects of the app are the sections designed to help students learn to distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources.
Democracy in America
Free online videos (downloadable) with complimentary readings and Web resources introduces basic concepts of government, politics, and citizenship, including the essential role of politics in addressing the will of the people, and the need for citizens to participate in order to make democracy work.
Youtube site for The Center on Congress
Short videos that combine humor with information about how congress works from laws to lobbying.
Youtube site of the Library of Congress
Ben's Guide to US Government for Kids -
This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. And, just as GPO Access provides locator services to U.S. Government sites, Ben's Guide provides a similar service to U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids.
Reading Level: 3-6
Congress For Kids
Congress for Kids gives you access to interactive, fun-filled experiences designed to help you learn about the foundation of our federal government and how its actions affect you. Although designed for students in grades fourth through high school, other students, teachers, parents, and interested citizens will find helpful, engaging activities, too. Uncle Sam takes you on a tour through American history, the important documents and their creation, and the branches of government. Links to important government sites are also included.
Reading Level: 3-6
C-SPAN Classroom offers handy sets of videos that they call Bell Ringers. Bell Ringers are short videos about contemporary issues in government, politics, and business. Each Bell Ringer video is accompanied by a list of key vocabulary terms and a list of discussion questions to use in your classroom. The comparative government Bell Ringers are a recently released batch of videos that are appropriate for high school classrooms. Links to each of the six videos are included below.
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873 — American Memory includes documents from the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates, and the first two federal congresses. These documents record American history in the words of those who built our government. (Library of Congress)
Dirksen Congressional Center The goal of the Center is to support a greater public understanding of the U.S. Congress through archival, research, and educational programs. You can find a wide variety of resources as well as lessons.
FirstGov: Your Gateway to the Federal Government
Timely, needed government information and services and make them accessible anytime, anywhere, via your social media channel of choice. Really everything you need to know about the Feds in one place. And for lessons and resources for teachers, be sure to check out Kids.gov.
Civics and Government Lesson Plans – Library of Congress
What better place than the Library of Congress to find handy lessons and resources about the government?
Best of History Websites: Government A list of sites and resources designed specifically for the civics / government teacher
Government Related Lesson Plans
You can sort by grade level.
Congress in the Classroom Online
Free online workshops and thematic units.
Government and Public Policy
Teaching guides on government issues.
Legislative Simulation
Legislative Simulation, or LEGSIM, features a non-scripted environment for college-level students to experience the personalized politics of legislative activities.
University of Washington Center for American Politics and Public Policy, the site is a interactive visualization that allows you and your students to explore actual patterns of lawmaking in Congress. The graph provides a great way to get the big picture while providing opportunities to dig deeper. Compare the bills and resolutions introduced by Senators and Representatives and follow their progress from the beginning to the end of a two year Congress. Go back in time and compare / contrast different years, bi-partisan vs. partisan, parties, or House vs. Senate.
Start browsing through the tool and ideas for classroom use are gonna just start popping out at you:
- Which video below depicts what many are calling the new “Do-Nothing Congress?”
- Which session passed the most legislation? Why did that session have such success?
- Why has the Don-Nothing Congress struggled to get laws passed? Do they not want laws to pass?
- What clues exist in these two videos that would help you put dates on each?
- What was the relationship between the president and Congress in each of the periods shown?
- What patterns can you detect in each video? What do the patterns tell us?
(U.S. Attorneys' office) - Insiders view for children of the Federal Courtroom, learn what Judges and Federal Prosecutors do.
Justice for Kids & Youth
(Department of Justice) - Take a look inside our criminal justice system. Learn about crime prevention and internet safety.
Ask Your Lawmaker
Pose questions to specific Congress members and vote on other users' questions. Capitol News Connection journalists will track down the lawmakers, pose the most popular and best questions, and post the answers on the site as audio files. Students can actively contribute to the political discourse through their questions and votes while they learn about effective questions and tagging.
Redistricting Game
A fun game about gerrymandering that makes an important and complicated concept accessible to students. This site helps students understand exactly how their votes count. It includes links for activism and provides information about how gerrymandering works in your own state.
U.S. House of Representatives
Contains documents related to the legislative process.
Budget Hero
Play this fun, animated game to see how fiscal decisions we make today might affect our personal and national future. Control spending in defense, education, health care, the environment and other areas. Read about the pros and cons of your decisions.
Civics Renewal Network is a consortium of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations committed to strengthening civic life in the United States by increasing the quality of civics education in the nation’s schools and improving accessibility to high-quality, no-cost learning materials. On the organization’s website, teachers will find resources from these organizations, searchable by subject, grade, resource type, standards, and teaching strategy.
Supreme Court
- US Supreme Court’s Contributions to the Nation’s Constitutional HeritageInHeritage, the Supreme Court Historical Society’s new website, offers educational resources on how the court works and landmark cases, such as Brown v. Board of Education (school segregation, equal protection), along with teaching strategies and a glossary of terminology. The site also presents documentaries, such as FDR and the Court-Packing Controversy, with accompanying lesson plans and historical documents for basic high school history and AP US history. Scripts of documentaries are provided for the hearing impaired.
- C-SPAN Classroom's collection of Supreme Court lesson plans is divided into four sections. Those four sections are The Process and Structure of the Judicial Branch, Judicial Interpretation, Supreme Court Cases, and History of the Supreme Court. All of the lesson plans follow the same structure of using video clips from C-SPAN's library to introduce and explain a concept or court case followed by a set of discussion questions for students to answer. www.freetech4teachers.com
- Supreme Court Cases That Have Shaped American Life video
- Multimedia Resources About the US Supreme Court PBS LearningMedia’s resources from the award-winning PBS series The Supreme Courtchart the Court’s unique evolution through archival footage, graphic techniques, and interviews with legal historians and experts. Together, they help unfold complex legal concepts and key Constitutional issues. Students can explore the personalities and beliefs of individual Supreme Court justices, as well as the dynamic social and political forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, legal precedent in the United States.
- Virtual Exploration of a Historic Student Rights Case Fifty years ago, the US Supreme Court ruled on a landmark student rights case, Tinker v. Des Moines. Teachers can use NewseumED’s resources to explore the importance of the court ruling, then and now. The case involved Mary Beth Tinker, her brother John, and Christopher Eckhardt, who had been punished for wearing black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam War. It remains the leading K–12 First Amendment decision—the baseline for which the vast majority of public student free-expression cases are examined.
- Realistic Courtroom Simulations Enrichment activities and resources dealing with the federal courts, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution bring realistic court experiences into the lives of high school students. These original, courtroom-ready and classroom-ready resources are the centerpiece of the federal courts’ national and local educational outreach to high school students and their teachers. The classroom and courtroom activities apply contemporary Supreme Court cases to today’s teen issues. The court simulations offer real-life experiences with judges and attorneys at local federal courthouses. All participants are involved in the courtroom action, most important, as jurors. The activities are supported by interactive web resources and multimedia tools, including videos and podcasts on court fundamentals. In addition, federal judges across the nation host in-court events for high school students and programs for teachers. To find a nearby federal court, educators can go to the online court locator or contact the National Outreach Manager at [email protected].
- Interactive Constitution
- You are able to search the Constitution and to find relevant passages and explanations. Discover how the Constitution relates to more than 300 topics, from civil rights to school prayer, including Supreme Court decisions. (National Constitution Center)
- Oyez : A Supreme Court WWW Resource
- Information about major constitutional cases heard and decided by the Supreme Court of the United States; includes RealAudio recordings
- In Argument Wars, you debate historical Supreme Court cases by advancing arguments and backing them up with supports.
How The World Votes is a super-impressive interactive from Al Jazeera. It compares tons of elements related to voting in countries around the world, including voting age and structure of the governing system. A small portion of all the info relates specifically to 2019 elections, but the vast majority of the site is not specific to this year.It would be a good companion site to Constitute, another resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
Which Voting System is Best? TEDed video
Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained video
Gerrymandering: How drawing jagged lines can impact an election The US is the only democracy thta does not have an independent committee to draw congressional districts.
Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions is a national initiative of the federal courts that brings high school and college students into federal courthouses for legal proceedings stemming from situations in which law-abiding young people can find themselves. These court hearings (not mock trials) are realistic simulations that showcase jury deliberations in which all students participate, using civil discourse skills.
What So Proudly We Hail This is a literary-based e-curriculum for history and civics.demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.Eagle Eye Citizen Eagle Eye Citizen engages middle and high school students in solving and creating interactive challenges on American history, civics, and government with Library of Congress primary sources in order to develop students' civic understanding and historical thinking skills.
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet
Search for information on the present congress. Activities and exhibits on important cases.
Online Debates
aMap is short for ‘argument map’. The idea’s very simple – to promote the art of arguing by mapping out complex debates in a simple visual format. This can be applied to the classroom by using their site to create student debates on various topics.
Mootup - Set up debate writing assignments within your class or across the school to teach CCSS-aligned argumentative writing using this website.
Debate Graph is a resource that students can use to evaluate the many arguments in hot-button global topics. By providing webbed diagrams of arguments students can see and explore the many facets of debate. To find a debate, visit the gallery of debates on Debate Graph. There are seven formats in which you can view the parts of a debate. If you want to create your own debate diagram or contribute to one that is already started register for free on Debate Graph. Rarely are debates a simple two-sided matter. Debate Graph provides students with a great tool for exploring the many facets of debates.
Share and reuse debates on and offline
Diffen is a nice resource for those times when you need a quick comparison of two things. Let's say you need a chart to highlight the differences between latitude and longitude, Diffen has that. Or perhaps you need a comparison of Medicare and Medicaid, Diffen has that too. If you can't find the comparison that you need, you can create your own on Diffen. Diffen is a community site. Anyone who registers on Diffen can contribute to the comparisons on the site. Comparisons are not limited to text. Images can be added to the comparison charts on Diffen. An embed code is available for each chart.
The Best Sites For Students To Create & Participate In Online Debates
Quibl is a Free Online Debate Platform For Discussing All Kinds Of Issues
NowComment - Turn any document into a class discussion with a commenting system that appears right next to the text.
Drafting Board online tool that helps students meet Common Core Standards for English Language Arts in History and the Social Studies. It engages students in a clear, step-by-step process of crafting a polished argumentative essay while providing teachers with tools to assess their students’ progress.
Google Moderator Students can post questions or comments to the moderated discussion. Once comments are posted, students can "vote" for the idea, or comment on a post. Comments can then be sorted based on the number of votes it received, and can be posted anonymously or require a Google account.
Constitution
rAnnenberg Classroom Resources Activites and lessons on the Constitution, legislation, and electoral process.
The Constitution Center's website is a great resources for U.S. History teachers that I learned about from Ken Halla. The Constitution Center's website features the U.S. Constitution divided into easily searchable sections. From the main pageyou can select and jump to a specific article or amendment. What I really like about the site is that you can choose an issue like privacy, civil rights, or health care and see how those issues are connected to the Constitution. The Constitution Center offers an extensive list of lesson plans for each of the Constitution's articles and amendments. Select an article or amendment then scroll to the bottom of the page to find the lesson plans. Alternatively, you can find all of the lesson plans listed here.
Curriculum on Issues Related to Presidential Powers and Voting Rights gr. 5 - 12 The LBJ Presidential Library provides freely downloadable curriculum resources for addressing the issues during Lyndon Johnson’s presidency. In the collection, teachers will find activities and accompanying primary source materials on civil rights, voting rights, elections, presidential powers, and more. For example, in the high school lesson “A Civil Rights Investigation: Mississippi Burning,” students investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers during the Freedom Summer of 1964, using telephone conversations, oral histories, and documents as evidence to solve the case. Another lesson, “Piecing Together History: The Voting Rights Act,” invites middle school and high school students to follow the journey for voting rights and evaluate primary sources to determine whether the Voting Rights Act was necessary. Teams gather evidence to support a stance on voting rights legislation and work toward completing a final, secret task. And in the lesson on “Presidential Powers,” students from elementary to high school learn that although the formal powers of the US president are outlined in Article II of the Constitution,
Constitution Project Use this tool to browse and compare constitutions from around the world.
Realistic Courtroom Simulations Enrichment activities and resources dealing with the federal courts, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution bring realistic court experiences into the lives of high school students. These original, courtroom-ready and classroom-ready resources are the centerpiece of the federal courts’ national and local educational outreach to high school students and their teachers. The classroom and courtroom activities apply contemporary Supreme Court cases to today’s teen issues. The court simulations offer real-life experiences with judges and attorneys at local federal courthouses. All participants are involved in the courtroom action, most important, as jurors. The activities are supported by interactive web resources and multimedia tools, including videos and podcasts on court fundamentals. In addition, federal judges across the nation host in-court events for high school students and programs for teachers. To find a nearby federal court, educators can go to the online court locator or contact the National Outreach Manager at [email protected].
Teaching the Constitution With Political Cartoons was a webinar hosted last fall by the National Archives' Docs Teach. It is still available to view for free. The webinar focuses on using Clifford K. Berryman cartoons from the U.S. Senate Collection in lessons designed to help students understand the nuanced aspects of the US Constitution. The webinar includes a good overview of how students should analyze political cartoons and guiding questions that you can give to your students. The last third of the webinar, around the 27 minute mark, is where the webinar transitions into demonstrating how to use the tools within DocsTeach.www.freetech4teachers.com
Electoral Decoder uses cartograms to show students the math of the Electoral College. In other words, it shows them that geographically large states like Wyoming have fewer Electoral votes than geographically smaller states with large populations. The Electoral Decoder also illustrates how a candidate can be the victor in the majority of states while losing the overall election. Finally, students can use the Electoral Decoder to identify voting patterns along geographic lines. For example, in 1860 Lincoln won the general election without being the victor in any of the southern states. Students can use the timeline slider on the Electoral Decoder to view the outcome of any and all Presidential Elections in the history of the United States. Below the cartogram and timeline for each election, students will find resources like videos to learn more about each election.
Interactive Constitution app for iOS and Android presents the full text of the US Constitution and features essays by leading scholars that detail areas of agreement and disagreement across a range of philosophical and legal perspectives. From the lower-right corner of the screen, users can access additional educational resources—such as lesson plans, videos, recordings of live debates, podcasts, and a Constitution Daily Blog.
Civil Liberty and Security Issues
25 Constitution Day Lesson Plans from C-SPAN Classroom
C-SPAN Classroom offers 25 lesson plans that were either designed for Constitution Day or can be used to meet the requirements of Constitution Day. All of the lesson plans incorporate short video clips addressing topics like enumerated and implied powers of Congress, interpretation of the Constitution, and checks and balances. You can find all of the lesson plans and additional resources in this Google Doc. www.freetech4teachers.com
Constitution Hall Pass is a series of videos mostly featuring scholars discussing elements of the Constitution and issues relating to it. There are also a few "discussion starter" videos that are intended to get students thinking about how the Constitution can have a direct impact on their lives. I know from experience that this Freedom of Expression video and accompanying questions will get high school students talking. www.freetech4teachers.com
DocsTeach is a National Archives website that all middle school and high school U.S. History teachers should have in their bookmarks. DocsTeach lets you build online activities based upon curated collections of primary source documents. DocsTeach also provides some pre-made activities that you can give to your students. DocsTeach has sixteen pre-made Constitution Day activities that you can use today. An additional 35 documents and artifacts about the Constitution can be found through a quick search on DocsTeach. www.freetech4teachers.com
Freseral Resources of Educatinal Excellence
Resources from federal agencies.
Google Database Explorer The Google Public Database Explorer is an online tool that can quickly provide access to large amounts of data in ways that are easy for you and students to understand. Perfect for using for instruction and for your kids as they solve authentic problems.
Preamble gr. 3- 5
Activities and Lesson plans
1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed by the First Amendment Center to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. The 1 for All website provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings.
Law for Kids is a site dedicated to teaching students about the law and how it affects them. It’s a highly interactive site with many sections. Read stories about kids’ problems, watch videos covering legal topics interesting to teens, find out about how delinquency proceedings are carried out, and access information about the U.S. Constitution and other documents important in our legal system.
Constitution Role Play: Whose "More Perfect Union"? and The Constitutional
Convention: Who Really Won? By Bill Bigelow. A role play on the issues involved with the framing of the Constitution.
Rethinking the U.S. Constitutional Convention: A Role Play
By Bob Peterson. A role play on the Constitutional Convention which brings to life the social forces active during and immediately following the American Revolution with focus on two key topics: suffrage and slavery. An elementary school adaptation of the Constitution Role Play by Bill Bigelow.
Online Hyperlinked Consitution -
A site which provides students with an easy-to-read version of the document in its entirety
Teaching with Documents: Constitution Day
The National Archives provides a series of activities dealing with the ratification of the Constitution
Congress for Kids: Constitution
This site provides information for students about the Federal Government, and, in this portion of the site, provides the history of the Constitution to the present day
National Constitution Center: Lesson Plans
A series of lesson plans, at all levels, which covers both historical and recent Constitutional issues
Constitutional Convention Grades 6-8
The Constitutional Conventions
Includes a day-by-day overview of the events and supporting material, an interactive map of historic Philadelphia, and extensive background information on each of the participants
Creating a Classroom Constitution
Debate on Ratification
Students research and role play one of the dlegates to the Constitutional Convention.
United States Constitution
Includes notes Washington wrote on his copy of the Constitution, his diary at the Constitutional Convention, an essay on Madison's role in the Constitutional Convention, Madison's notes on the debates, Jefferson's letter to Madison expressing his opinions on the new Constitution and his belief that a Bill of Rights was needed, and more. (Library of Congress)
Interactive Constitution
You are able to search the Constitution and to find relevant passages and explanations. Discover how the Constitution relates to more than 300 topics, from civil rights to school prayer, including Supreme Court decisions. (National Constitution Center)
The National Archives have been the caretakers for years. Start the celebration with their videos, lessons, resources, and highlights.
Don’t forget the Library of Congress.
15 fun facts about the Bill of Rights.
The NewseumEd folks have some great stuff on Freedom of the Press and other 1st Amendment rights.
The National Constitutional Center has a nice page with a few videos, some teaching ideas and a few other resources.
iCivics.org, a awesome program sponsored by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, has a great simulation called Do I Have A Right. The sim goes beyond the scope of the first 10 Amendments but your kids should be playing it anyway. iCivics also has a teacher page with some great resources.
Life Without the Bill of Rights? Have you ever imagined what life would be like without a Bill of Rights to protect our rights as American citizens? Explore the Life Without the Bill of Rights? Flash Activity to consider how life would change without some of our most cherished freedoms.
Madison's Notes are Missing Madison's Notes Are Missing gives you a chance to become a reporter and travel back in time to the Constitutional Convention. You will ask questions of the Founders and report your findings in a news story.
Constitution Resources
Features tools for learning about the U.S. Constitution. Meet the 55 delegates who gathered in Philadelphia in May 1787 to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. Learn what issues they faced. Discover the sources that inspired them. Read the essays printed in NYC papers urging ratification of their proposal. Explore a 200-year timeline showing the impact of their work, the Constitution, on our history. Search the Constitution and see explanations of 300 topics. (Department of Education)
Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention Broadsides
American Memory provides 274 documents related to Congress (1774 to 1788) and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Among the topics: the armed forces, foreign relations, Indians, land settlement, laws, money, and pirates. (Library of Congress)
In Congress Assembled: Continuity and Change in the Governing of the United States -- Lesson, Learning Page provides lesson plans on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, issues that confronted the first Congress, and broadsides from the Continental Congress calling for special days of thanksgiving and remembrance. (Library of Congress)
Constitute a resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
How The World Votes is an impressive interactive from Al Jazeera.It compares numerous elements related to voting in countries around the world, including voting age and structure of the governing system. A small portion of all the info relates specifically to 2019 elections, but the vast majority of the site is not specific to this year.It would be a good companion site to Constitute, another amazing resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
Case Maker is a free service designed for middle school social studies teachers and their students. Case Maker uses primary sources from the Library of Congress as the basis of activities in which students have to build a case in response to real civics scenarios. For example, the first cast that I tried was about anger toward immigrants. In that scenario students had to use evidence in the form of primary sources to support the claim that many of those who are angry toward immigrants come from families that were once immigrants themselves. . www.freetech4teachers.com
Let's Talk Politics is an Alexa app designed for reviewing and learning about U.S. government. Let's Talk Politics is an interactive game in which Alexa asks you questions about the U.S. political system and you speak your answers. The app provides explanations of the correct answers after you reply to each question. Unlike typical online games in which students pick a level to play, Let's Talk Politics adjusts the difficulty of t the game in response to how players are answering questions. Watch the following video to see a demonstration of Let's Talk Politics. . www.freetech4teachers.com
Centuries of Citizenship
A Constitutional Timeline is an interactive timeline of events marking more than 200 years of our constitutional history. These events tell the evolving story of our Constitution and the role it continues to play in our lives. See headlines, hear debates, explore maps and graphs. (National Constitution Center)
Constitutional Issues: Watergate and the Constitution
Examines Constitutional issues surrounding the resignation of President Nixon and looks at the specific question: Should the Watergate Special Prosecutor seek an indictment of the former President? (National Archives and Records Administration)
We the People...
Citizen and the Constitution helps elementary and secondary school students understand the history and principles of our constitutional government. The program focuses on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and fosters civic competence and responsibility. Upon completion of program, classes are encouraged to participate in simulated congressional hearings that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. (Center for Civic Education, supported by Department of Education)
James Madison Papers
American Memory includes 12,000 letters, notes, legislation, and other documents from the man considered the Father of the Constitution. These documents (1723-1836), including an autobiography, help illuminate Madison’s pivotal role in the Constitutional Convention as well as his nine years in the House of Representatives, his tenure as Secretary of State, and his two terms as our fourth President. Essays discuss Madison's life and his role at the Constitutional Convention. (Library of Congress)
Constitution Toolkit
Includes images of newspaper articles (1787), notes Washington and Jefferson wrote on drafts of the Constitution (1787-88), Jefferson’s chart of state votes (1788), Washington's diaries (1786-89), Hamilton's speech notes for proposing a plan of government, a Philadelphia map (1752), the "broadside" Bill of Rights (1791), and other artifacts. (Library of Congress)
Constitution of the U.S.
Recounts how the Constitution was created and ratified. Learn about the Bill of Rights. Read biographies of the Founding Fathers — the 55 delegates who gathered in Philadelphia (May 1787) to revise the Articles of Confederation but ended up drafting an entirely new plan of government. (National Archives and Records Administration)
19 Ways to Teach the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment is from The NY Times Learning Network.
Fight for the Right:100 Years of Women Voting is an interactive from The California Museum.
National Constitution Center includes lessons on the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, electoral process, executive branch, separation of powers, war making, freedom of speech, Founding Fathers, and suffrage. "Teaching with Current Events" features news stories related to the Constitution, discussion starters for current events, and differing perspectives by commentators and elected officials. (National Constitution Center)
The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation?
Lesson, Learning Page casts students in the role of politically active citizens in 1787, when the Federal Convention in Philadelphia presented the nation with a new model of government. Students, using primary documents from American Memory, produce a broadside in which they argue for or against replacing the Articles of Confederation with the new model — the Constitution. (Library of Congress)
James Madison: father of the Constitution
Justice Learning
A collaboration of NPR's Justice Talking show and The New York Times Learning Network. Contains activities on Constitutional and civic issues.
A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution
The experiences of Japanese Americans during WWII; decision-making and citizen action under the U.S. Constitution
Constitution Community
Lessons and activities that address constitutional issues
Enactment of a Law
Library of Congress site about the steps to enact a law in the U.S. Government.
Anatomy of a Murder
A trip through our nation's legal justice system by following along or participating in a fictional murder trial. Go to this site to find out how you can participate!
Reading Level: 7+
Law-4-Kids
Here is an introduction to questions you may have about our legal system.
Famous American Trials
This site details twelve famous American trials: Leopold & Loeb (1924), Scopes "Monkey" Trial (1925), Rosenbergs (1951), Amistad Trials (1839-1840), Bill Haywood Trial (1907), Salem Witchcraft Trials (1692), My Lai Courts Martial (1970), Scottsboro Trials (1931-1937), Dakota Conflict Trials (1862), Mississippi Burning Trial (1967), Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial (1969-70), and Johnson Impeachment Trial (1868).
Our Courts.
Planned especially for middle school students, the site engages visitors in online games that teach about legal decision-making, the role of various components of government, and the judicial system. Our Courts is about civics education--nicknamed cyber-civics by some participants. The interactive games and complementary lesson plans are well-scaffolded and segmented to allow teachers and students to proceed at a pace appropriate for the classroom and to allow for both interactivity and classroom discussion and reinforcement.
Immigrant Rights Through History
The United States of America was built by many generations of immigrants. What legal rights do you think America's first immigrants had? Should a United States resident be denied citizenship under any circumstances?
What So Proudly We Hail (WSPWH) provides free resources and lesson plans to language arts and social studies teachers, demonstrating how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civics education. For example, The Meaning of America, a ten-part curriculum, investigates what kinds of citizens are likely to emerge in a nation founded on individual rights, equality, and freedom of religion; and what virtues are required for a robust citizenry. The curriculum explores American character and identity through the use of imaginative fiction. It includes short stories by Jack London, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and Kurt Vonnegut. Accompanying the curriculum are discussion guides and video model conversations.
Law related trials.
Study consitutional issues through mock trial topics
Law Related Education
Mock trials, conflict resolution, teen courts, etc...
Case Program (Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government)
This is a large repository of case studies designed for teaching about how government works, how public policy is made, and how nonprofit organizations operate.
The Constitution Center's website is a great resources for U.S. History teachers that I learned about from Ken Halla. The Constitution Center's website features the U.S. Constitution divided into easily searchable sections. From the main pageyou can select and jump to a specific article or amendment. What I really like about the site is that you can choose an issue like privacy, civil rights, or health care and see how those issues are connected to the Constitution. The Constitution Center offers an extensive list of lesson plans for each of the Constitution's articles and amendments. Select an article or amendment then scroll to the bottom of the page to find the lesson plans. Alternatively, you can find all of the lesson plans listed here.
Curriculum on Issues Related to Presidential Powers and Voting Rights gr. 5 - 12 The LBJ Presidential Library provides freely downloadable curriculum resources for addressing the issues during Lyndon Johnson’s presidency. In the collection, teachers will find activities and accompanying primary source materials on civil rights, voting rights, elections, presidential powers, and more. For example, in the high school lesson “A Civil Rights Investigation: Mississippi Burning,” students investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers during the Freedom Summer of 1964, using telephone conversations, oral histories, and documents as evidence to solve the case. Another lesson, “Piecing Together History: The Voting Rights Act,” invites middle school and high school students to follow the journey for voting rights and evaluate primary sources to determine whether the Voting Rights Act was necessary. Teams gather evidence to support a stance on voting rights legislation and work toward completing a final, secret task. And in the lesson on “Presidential Powers,” students from elementary to high school learn that although the formal powers of the US president are outlined in Article II of the Constitution,
Constitution Project Use this tool to browse and compare constitutions from around the world.
Realistic Courtroom Simulations Enrichment activities and resources dealing with the federal courts, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution bring realistic court experiences into the lives of high school students. These original, courtroom-ready and classroom-ready resources are the centerpiece of the federal courts’ national and local educational outreach to high school students and their teachers. The classroom and courtroom activities apply contemporary Supreme Court cases to today’s teen issues. The court simulations offer real-life experiences with judges and attorneys at local federal courthouses. All participants are involved in the courtroom action, most important, as jurors. The activities are supported by interactive web resources and multimedia tools, including videos and podcasts on court fundamentals. In addition, federal judges across the nation host in-court events for high school students and programs for teachers. To find a nearby federal court, educators can go to the online court locator or contact the National Outreach Manager at [email protected].
Teaching the Constitution With Political Cartoons was a webinar hosted last fall by the National Archives' Docs Teach. It is still available to view for free. The webinar focuses on using Clifford K. Berryman cartoons from the U.S. Senate Collection in lessons designed to help students understand the nuanced aspects of the US Constitution. The webinar includes a good overview of how students should analyze political cartoons and guiding questions that you can give to your students. The last third of the webinar, around the 27 minute mark, is where the webinar transitions into demonstrating how to use the tools within DocsTeach.www.freetech4teachers.com
Electoral Decoder uses cartograms to show students the math of the Electoral College. In other words, it shows them that geographically large states like Wyoming have fewer Electoral votes than geographically smaller states with large populations. The Electoral Decoder also illustrates how a candidate can be the victor in the majority of states while losing the overall election. Finally, students can use the Electoral Decoder to identify voting patterns along geographic lines. For example, in 1860 Lincoln won the general election without being the victor in any of the southern states. Students can use the timeline slider on the Electoral Decoder to view the outcome of any and all Presidential Elections in the history of the United States. Below the cartogram and timeline for each election, students will find resources like videos to learn more about each election.
Interactive Constitution app for iOS and Android presents the full text of the US Constitution and features essays by leading scholars that detail areas of agreement and disagreement across a range of philosophical and legal perspectives. From the lower-right corner of the screen, users can access additional educational resources—such as lesson plans, videos, recordings of live debates, podcasts, and a Constitution Daily Blog.
Civil Liberty and Security Issues
25 Constitution Day Lesson Plans from C-SPAN Classroom
C-SPAN Classroom offers 25 lesson plans that were either designed for Constitution Day or can be used to meet the requirements of Constitution Day. All of the lesson plans incorporate short video clips addressing topics like enumerated and implied powers of Congress, interpretation of the Constitution, and checks and balances. You can find all of the lesson plans and additional resources in this Google Doc. www.freetech4teachers.com
Constitution Hall Pass is a series of videos mostly featuring scholars discussing elements of the Constitution and issues relating to it. There are also a few "discussion starter" videos that are intended to get students thinking about how the Constitution can have a direct impact on their lives. I know from experience that this Freedom of Expression video and accompanying questions will get high school students talking. www.freetech4teachers.com
DocsTeach is a National Archives website that all middle school and high school U.S. History teachers should have in their bookmarks. DocsTeach lets you build online activities based upon curated collections of primary source documents. DocsTeach also provides some pre-made activities that you can give to your students. DocsTeach has sixteen pre-made Constitution Day activities that you can use today. An additional 35 documents and artifacts about the Constitution can be found through a quick search on DocsTeach. www.freetech4teachers.com
Freseral Resources of Educatinal Excellence
Resources from federal agencies.
Google Database Explorer The Google Public Database Explorer is an online tool that can quickly provide access to large amounts of data in ways that are easy for you and students to understand. Perfect for using for instruction and for your kids as they solve authentic problems.
Preamble gr. 3- 5
Activities and Lesson plans
1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed by the First Amendment Center to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. The 1 for All website provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings.
Law for Kids is a site dedicated to teaching students about the law and how it affects them. It’s a highly interactive site with many sections. Read stories about kids’ problems, watch videos covering legal topics interesting to teens, find out about how delinquency proceedings are carried out, and access information about the U.S. Constitution and other documents important in our legal system.
Constitution Role Play: Whose "More Perfect Union"? and The Constitutional
Convention: Who Really Won? By Bill Bigelow. A role play on the issues involved with the framing of the Constitution.
Rethinking the U.S. Constitutional Convention: A Role Play
By Bob Peterson. A role play on the Constitutional Convention which brings to life the social forces active during and immediately following the American Revolution with focus on two key topics: suffrage and slavery. An elementary school adaptation of the Constitution Role Play by Bill Bigelow.
Online Hyperlinked Consitution -
A site which provides students with an easy-to-read version of the document in its entirety
Teaching with Documents: Constitution Day
The National Archives provides a series of activities dealing with the ratification of the Constitution
Congress for Kids: Constitution
This site provides information for students about the Federal Government, and, in this portion of the site, provides the history of the Constitution to the present day
National Constitution Center: Lesson Plans
A series of lesson plans, at all levels, which covers both historical and recent Constitutional issues
Constitutional Convention Grades 6-8
The Constitutional Conventions
Includes a day-by-day overview of the events and supporting material, an interactive map of historic Philadelphia, and extensive background information on each of the participants
Creating a Classroom Constitution
Debate on Ratification
Students research and role play one of the dlegates to the Constitutional Convention.
United States Constitution
Includes notes Washington wrote on his copy of the Constitution, his diary at the Constitutional Convention, an essay on Madison's role in the Constitutional Convention, Madison's notes on the debates, Jefferson's letter to Madison expressing his opinions on the new Constitution and his belief that a Bill of Rights was needed, and more. (Library of Congress)
Interactive Constitution
You are able to search the Constitution and to find relevant passages and explanations. Discover how the Constitution relates to more than 300 topics, from civil rights to school prayer, including Supreme Court decisions. (National Constitution Center)
The National Archives have been the caretakers for years. Start the celebration with their videos, lessons, resources, and highlights.
Don’t forget the Library of Congress.
15 fun facts about the Bill of Rights.
The NewseumEd folks have some great stuff on Freedom of the Press and other 1st Amendment rights.
The National Constitutional Center has a nice page with a few videos, some teaching ideas and a few other resources.
iCivics.org, a awesome program sponsored by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, has a great simulation called Do I Have A Right. The sim goes beyond the scope of the first 10 Amendments but your kids should be playing it anyway. iCivics also has a teacher page with some great resources.
Life Without the Bill of Rights? Have you ever imagined what life would be like without a Bill of Rights to protect our rights as American citizens? Explore the Life Without the Bill of Rights? Flash Activity to consider how life would change without some of our most cherished freedoms.
Madison's Notes are Missing Madison's Notes Are Missing gives you a chance to become a reporter and travel back in time to the Constitutional Convention. You will ask questions of the Founders and report your findings in a news story.
Constitution Resources
Features tools for learning about the U.S. Constitution. Meet the 55 delegates who gathered in Philadelphia in May 1787 to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. Learn what issues they faced. Discover the sources that inspired them. Read the essays printed in NYC papers urging ratification of their proposal. Explore a 200-year timeline showing the impact of their work, the Constitution, on our history. Search the Constitution and see explanations of 300 topics. (Department of Education)
Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention Broadsides
American Memory provides 274 documents related to Congress (1774 to 1788) and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Among the topics: the armed forces, foreign relations, Indians, land settlement, laws, money, and pirates. (Library of Congress)
In Congress Assembled: Continuity and Change in the Governing of the United States -- Lesson, Learning Page provides lesson plans on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, issues that confronted the first Congress, and broadsides from the Continental Congress calling for special days of thanksgiving and remembrance. (Library of Congress)
Constitute a resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
How The World Votes is an impressive interactive from Al Jazeera.It compares numerous elements related to voting in countries around the world, including voting age and structure of the governing system. A small portion of all the info relates specifically to 2019 elections, but the vast majority of the site is not specific to this year.It would be a good companion site to Constitute, another amazing resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
Case Maker is a free service designed for middle school social studies teachers and their students. Case Maker uses primary sources from the Library of Congress as the basis of activities in which students have to build a case in response to real civics scenarios. For example, the first cast that I tried was about anger toward immigrants. In that scenario students had to use evidence in the form of primary sources to support the claim that many of those who are angry toward immigrants come from families that were once immigrants themselves. . www.freetech4teachers.com
Let's Talk Politics is an Alexa app designed for reviewing and learning about U.S. government. Let's Talk Politics is an interactive game in which Alexa asks you questions about the U.S. political system and you speak your answers. The app provides explanations of the correct answers after you reply to each question. Unlike typical online games in which students pick a level to play, Let's Talk Politics adjusts the difficulty of t the game in response to how players are answering questions. Watch the following video to see a demonstration of Let's Talk Politics. . www.freetech4teachers.com
Centuries of Citizenship
A Constitutional Timeline is an interactive timeline of events marking more than 200 years of our constitutional history. These events tell the evolving story of our Constitution and the role it continues to play in our lives. See headlines, hear debates, explore maps and graphs. (National Constitution Center)
Constitutional Issues: Watergate and the Constitution
Examines Constitutional issues surrounding the resignation of President Nixon and looks at the specific question: Should the Watergate Special Prosecutor seek an indictment of the former President? (National Archives and Records Administration)
We the People...
Citizen and the Constitution helps elementary and secondary school students understand the history and principles of our constitutional government. The program focuses on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and fosters civic competence and responsibility. Upon completion of program, classes are encouraged to participate in simulated congressional hearings that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. (Center for Civic Education, supported by Department of Education)
James Madison Papers
American Memory includes 12,000 letters, notes, legislation, and other documents from the man considered the Father of the Constitution. These documents (1723-1836), including an autobiography, help illuminate Madison’s pivotal role in the Constitutional Convention as well as his nine years in the House of Representatives, his tenure as Secretary of State, and his two terms as our fourth President. Essays discuss Madison's life and his role at the Constitutional Convention. (Library of Congress)
Constitution Toolkit
Includes images of newspaper articles (1787), notes Washington and Jefferson wrote on drafts of the Constitution (1787-88), Jefferson’s chart of state votes (1788), Washington's diaries (1786-89), Hamilton's speech notes for proposing a plan of government, a Philadelphia map (1752), the "broadside" Bill of Rights (1791), and other artifacts. (Library of Congress)
Constitution of the U.S.
Recounts how the Constitution was created and ratified. Learn about the Bill of Rights. Read biographies of the Founding Fathers — the 55 delegates who gathered in Philadelphia (May 1787) to revise the Articles of Confederation but ended up drafting an entirely new plan of government. (National Archives and Records Administration)
19 Ways to Teach the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment is from The NY Times Learning Network.
Fight for the Right:100 Years of Women Voting is an interactive from The California Museum.
National Constitution Center includes lessons on the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, electoral process, executive branch, separation of powers, war making, freedom of speech, Founding Fathers, and suffrage. "Teaching with Current Events" features news stories related to the Constitution, discussion starters for current events, and differing perspectives by commentators and elected officials. (National Constitution Center)
The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation?
Lesson, Learning Page casts students in the role of politically active citizens in 1787, when the Federal Convention in Philadelphia presented the nation with a new model of government. Students, using primary documents from American Memory, produce a broadside in which they argue for or against replacing the Articles of Confederation with the new model — the Constitution. (Library of Congress)
James Madison: father of the Constitution
Justice Learning
A collaboration of NPR's Justice Talking show and The New York Times Learning Network. Contains activities on Constitutional and civic issues.
A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution
The experiences of Japanese Americans during WWII; decision-making and citizen action under the U.S. Constitution
Constitution Community
Lessons and activities that address constitutional issues
Enactment of a Law
Library of Congress site about the steps to enact a law in the U.S. Government.
Anatomy of a Murder
A trip through our nation's legal justice system by following along or participating in a fictional murder trial. Go to this site to find out how you can participate!
Reading Level: 7+
Law-4-Kids
Here is an introduction to questions you may have about our legal system.
Famous American Trials
This site details twelve famous American trials: Leopold & Loeb (1924), Scopes "Monkey" Trial (1925), Rosenbergs (1951), Amistad Trials (1839-1840), Bill Haywood Trial (1907), Salem Witchcraft Trials (1692), My Lai Courts Martial (1970), Scottsboro Trials (1931-1937), Dakota Conflict Trials (1862), Mississippi Burning Trial (1967), Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial (1969-70), and Johnson Impeachment Trial (1868).
Our Courts.
Planned especially for middle school students, the site engages visitors in online games that teach about legal decision-making, the role of various components of government, and the judicial system. Our Courts is about civics education--nicknamed cyber-civics by some participants. The interactive games and complementary lesson plans are well-scaffolded and segmented to allow teachers and students to proceed at a pace appropriate for the classroom and to allow for both interactivity and classroom discussion and reinforcement.
Immigrant Rights Through History
The United States of America was built by many generations of immigrants. What legal rights do you think America's first immigrants had? Should a United States resident be denied citizenship under any circumstances?
What So Proudly We Hail (WSPWH) provides free resources and lesson plans to language arts and social studies teachers, demonstrating how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civics education. For example, The Meaning of America, a ten-part curriculum, investigates what kinds of citizens are likely to emerge in a nation founded on individual rights, equality, and freedom of religion; and what virtues are required for a robust citizenry. The curriculum explores American character and identity through the use of imaginative fiction. It includes short stories by Jack London, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and Kurt Vonnegut. Accompanying the curriculum are discussion guides and video model conversations.
Law related trials.
Study consitutional issues through mock trial topics
Law Related Education
Mock trials, conflict resolution, teen courts, etc...
Case Program (Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government)
This is a large repository of case studies designed for teaching about how government works, how public policy is made, and how nonprofit organizations operate.
Civics
Civics Engagement Powerpoint download
We the Civic Kids
60 Second Civics has long been one of my go-to resources for lessons on U.S. civics and government. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast produced by the Center for Civic Education. Each 60 Second Civics episode offers a short lesson about US Civics. Along with each episode is a one question quiz about that day's episode. As of today there are 3,550 episodes. You can find 60 Second Civics on the Center for Civic Education's website, on Stitcher, or you can subscribe to it on iTunes. www.freetech4teachers. com
Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, envisions a world in which children learn to care about others and the common good, treat people well day to day, come to understand and seek fairness and justice, and do what is right even at times at a cost to themselves. See resources page
Protests are a U.S. tradition, leading the way for social change since the country's founding CBS video
How to be Civically Engaged When the term "civic engagement" is mentioned, what typically comes to mind? Is it voting? Or paying taxes? In this collection, explore the different (and interesting) ways you can become more civically engaged. Videos and lesson plans
Citizenship and Elementary Education- how do you teach that?
Democracy in America covers the civics knowledge and skills your students need to be effective citizens. Free online videos (downloadable) with complimentary readings and Web resources introduces basic concepts of government, politics, and citizenship, including the essential role of politics in addressing the will of the people, and the need for citizens to participate in order to make democracy work.Help students understand the role of the media in American civic life with program 10. Program 13 covers election basics, from nominating a candidate to the campaigning process.
“Best” lists related to race and racism, including The Best Explanations For Why You Shouldn’t Say “All Lives Matter” and New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominantly White Teachers To Reflect On How Race Influences Our Work.
Teaching Civics at All Grade Levels Has Taken on a Renewed Urgency
Center for Civics Education
Extensive educational resources
GovSpot Studying or teaching civics and government? This should be your first stop. GovSpot is a non-partisan portal designed to simplify the search for the best and most relevant government information online. A virtual resource center for U.S. citizens, students, educators, business people, government employees and anyone exploring the Web for government information, GovSpot.com makes it easy to find the best state and federal government Web sites and documents, facts and figures, news, political information and much more.
Teaching Democracy
Democray Lab is a program of developmentally sequenced online learning experiences for classroom and co-curricular use. The centerpiece of Democracy Lab is its course-based forums, through which college and high school students engage in small-group, deliberative dialogue about timely public issues with peers from many schools around the country.
The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries
Learning for Justice Educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy. Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioner,. to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants. The program emphasizes social justice and anti-bias.
BallotVox
Explore political views through popular blog posts, videos, pictures, and podcasts created and submitted by regular people—user-generated content about the candidates and issues based on local perspectives. Via e-mail, students can submit links to media they find or create to BallotVox moderators, who decide which submissions to post.
Get My Vote
Explore and post audio, video and/or text commentaries regarding personal political convictions and what it takes for candidates to earn users' votes. Users can rate, review and discuss submissions. Moderators and users monitor content for appropriateness. National Public Radio shows will utilize the commentaries. This offers a great opportunity for students to make their voices heard
Rap Video on Why Voting Matters
Eagle Eye Citizen Citizen engages middle and high school students in solving and creating interactive challenges on American history, civics, and government with Library of Congress primary sources in order to develop students' civic understanding and historical thinking skills.
Teaching Civics website – a place with over 800 lesson plans. They also have some handy ed resources.
Strategies for Making a Difference from the newly revised edition of Holocaust and Human Behavior, to challenge your students to do just this. Help them think through small steps they can take to bring about positive change in their community.
Resources Sharing The History Of Teens Organizing For Justice
Level Up Village partners students from developing nations with students in the US to learn about design and engineering, and in the process, they learn about global collaboration.
Does Science Education Need A Civic Engagement Makeover?
Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Curriculum
Volunteer Match
Strategies for teaching civic engagement To teach students how to evaluate the success of social justice movements, ninth-grade teacher Matthew Colley recommends allowing students to develop the criteria they need to make critical assessments. In this blog post, he outlines how he also has used historical case studies from the civil rights movement with his students.
Six Proven Strategies for Effective Civic Learning
Guide for Responding to Hate The Southern Poverty Law Center offers a freely downloadable guide that sets out 10 principles with actionable ideas for fighting hate at the community level
How Can We Best Facilitate Conversations Around Controversial Topics?
Yes, Race and Politics Belong in the Classroom: Ten tips for teachers to engage students in difficult conversations
Empatico helps teachers in different countries connect their classrooms and encourage an appreciation of different perspectives. Free for users, this new platform features standards-aligned lessons suitable for children aged 8–10. The lessons are like miniprojects. They start with an entry event that partner teachers facilitate separately to spark inquiry and activate their students’ prior knowledge. Lesson plans scaffold the videoconference with tips to encourage perspective taking and empathy building, and then wrap up with guided reflection activities in each classroom. The platform also includes a suite of technology tools. Once teachers sign up, Empatico handles matchmaking.
Generation Citizen
One and All Initiative
Civic Youth
Readworks.org This website offers a wide range of lesson plans, comprehension units, and reading passages organized by skill and Lexile level.
The latest batch of articles added to ReadWorks covers topics in social studies. The articles and lesson plans for K-5 primarily deal with topics in U.S. History and civics.
60 Second Civics is one of my favorite resources for lessons on U.S. civics and government. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast produced by the Center for Civic Education. Each 60 Second Civics episode offers a short lesson about US Civics. Along with each episode is a one question quiz about that day's episode.
Lynching In America. Google has supported the development of a brand-new site created by the Equal Justice Initiative. It includes multi-media resources and maps, along with discussions on how it relates to criminal justice today.
Civics and Government Lesson Plans – Library of Congress
What better place than the Library of Congress to find handy lessons and resources about the government?
Our Courts: 21st Century Civics
Our Courts is an interactive online resource supported by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The site's interactive learning activities can provide students with opportunities to understand the importance of civic participation.
Center for Civics Education - Make sure you explore the podcasts, slideshows, and videos. Not to be missed is the 60 second civic education podcast series.
World Food Programme
Get involved in fighting hunger worldwide
The Wonderment is a global community that promotes awareness and action as youth explore the world around them. Young people submit their ideas for community-improvement projects to the site, and with each submission a “Wondermeter” rises higher. Once the Wondermeter reaches the top, an outside donor will fund the latest user-chosen project—for example, a water-sanitation project in a developing country. Through the site, youth can take their compassion and caring for others and crowdsource community-improvement projects around the world.
TakingITGlobal
An online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities. It's the world's most popular online community for young people interested in making a difference,
iEARN
helps to link schools through international projects
We Can Change
You can get ideas for projects, Thjere is a contest, but you can use the resources without entering.
Game: Ayiti: The Cost of Life
Players manage life for a virtual family of five in rural Haiti. The object of the game is to make spending decisions--saving money vs. throwing a party vs. buying food--that keep the family healthy. (For more civics sites click here) Classroom support materials for Ayiti - developed by UNICEF
Quest Atlantis
Students collaborate with students all over the world in a 3D environment helping the council of the virtual world, Atlantis, solve problems impacting its water, air, health, and animal life. Ages 9 -14
Turf Mutt
Saving the planet one yard at a time.
We Are What We Do's Action Tracker is a list of simple actions that anyone can do to make the world a better place. The Action Tracker offers suggestions for improving the environment, making someone else's day better, or improving your personal health. You can check in on the Action Tracker to mark your behaviors. A classroom section that includes many resources for implementing the Action Tracker in your classroom. The classroom section includes videos, downloadable charts, and worksheets for classroom use.
What So Proudly We Hail (WSPWH) provides free resources and lesson plans to language arts and social studies teachers, demonstrating how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civics education. For example, The Meaning of America, a ten-part curriculum, investigates what kinds of citizens are likely to emerge in a nation founded on individual rights, equality, and freedom of religion; and what virtues are required for a robust citizenry. The curriculum explores American character and identity through the use of imaginative fiction. It includes short stories by Jack London, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and Kurt Vonnegut. Accompanying the curriculum are discussion guides and video model conversations.
CyberSchoolBus at the UN
Curriculum for Peace Education, Poverty, Human Rights, World Hunger, Indigenous People, Rights at Work, Ethnic Discrimination, Racial Discrimination. Also an opportunity for students to design and build an "ideal" city in all its complexity.
School Service
How to Bring Service Learning to your School
The Giraffe Heroes Project is an organization that, according to its Web site, is for "people who have the courage to stick their necks out for the common good."
The Skills for Action program is offered by Lions Quest, an initiative of the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
Barbara Lewis's books engaging, such as The Kid's Guide to Social Action, The Kid's Guide to Service Projects, and What Do You Stand For?
Vote Smart
National Alliance for Civics Education
Civnet
Roots and Shoots – Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) global youth-led community action program, comprised of thousands of young people as they connect knowledge and service with the real world.
ePals – Another wonderful site allowing students to collaborate across the globe. Check out the amazing possibilities. It provides ways for teachers to connect with other teachers and decide on projects their students can do together.
Learning for Justice Educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy. Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioner,. to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants. The program emphasizes social justice and anti-bias.
Edutopia Resources for Building Community Partnerships – Learn how schools can benefit from the support and expertise of local businesses, organizations, and individuals, and discover strategies for fostering successful business and community partnerships
Skype in the Classroom - You will enjoy this free community that offers live transformative educational experiences for students including Virtual Field Trips, talks from Guest Speakers, classroom to classroom connections, and live collaboration projects.
Projects By Jen - This a wonderful site that has been successfully encouraging teachers since 1999 to use online projects in their PreK-6 classrooms.
To Global Projects - This organization id made possible through the support of the Longview Foundation, iEARN-USA has compiled an online Teachers’ Guide to Global, Collaborative Teaching and Learning.
Online Collaboration Curricula - Explore this awesome collection of ideas that students can collaborate on using the internet. You may need to find that partner classroom.
Journey North is one of North America’s premiere citizen science projects for children and the general public. The project has broad participation, with over 60,000 registered sites in the US, Canada, and Mexico — including families, teachers, schools, nature centers, professional scientists and novices.
Biblionasium - Explore this site that is the fun, reading-focused social network for kids in elementary and middle school. The site emphasis is to connect kids in an encouraging community of friends, family and their educators, Biblionasium excites, engages and encourages a love of the written word. Kids can log their reading, play games, complete reading challenges and earn rewards. Requires parents to sign children up.
We the Civic Kids
60 Second Civics has long been one of my go-to resources for lessons on U.S. civics and government. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast produced by the Center for Civic Education. Each 60 Second Civics episode offers a short lesson about US Civics. Along with each episode is a one question quiz about that day's episode. As of today there are 3,550 episodes. You can find 60 Second Civics on the Center for Civic Education's website, on Stitcher, or you can subscribe to it on iTunes. www.freetech4teachers. com
Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, envisions a world in which children learn to care about others and the common good, treat people well day to day, come to understand and seek fairness and justice, and do what is right even at times at a cost to themselves. See resources page
Protests are a U.S. tradition, leading the way for social change since the country's founding CBS video
How to be Civically Engaged When the term "civic engagement" is mentioned, what typically comes to mind? Is it voting? Or paying taxes? In this collection, explore the different (and interesting) ways you can become more civically engaged. Videos and lesson plans
Citizenship and Elementary Education- how do you teach that?
Democracy in America covers the civics knowledge and skills your students need to be effective citizens. Free online videos (downloadable) with complimentary readings and Web resources introduces basic concepts of government, politics, and citizenship, including the essential role of politics in addressing the will of the people, and the need for citizens to participate in order to make democracy work.Help students understand the role of the media in American civic life with program 10. Program 13 covers election basics, from nominating a candidate to the campaigning process.
“Best” lists related to race and racism, including The Best Explanations For Why You Shouldn’t Say “All Lives Matter” and New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominantly White Teachers To Reflect On How Race Influences Our Work.
Teaching Civics at All Grade Levels Has Taken on a Renewed Urgency
Center for Civics Education
Extensive educational resources
GovSpot Studying or teaching civics and government? This should be your first stop. GovSpot is a non-partisan portal designed to simplify the search for the best and most relevant government information online. A virtual resource center for U.S. citizens, students, educators, business people, government employees and anyone exploring the Web for government information, GovSpot.com makes it easy to find the best state and federal government Web sites and documents, facts and figures, news, political information and much more.
Teaching Democracy
Democray Lab is a program of developmentally sequenced online learning experiences for classroom and co-curricular use. The centerpiece of Democracy Lab is its course-based forums, through which college and high school students engage in small-group, deliberative dialogue about timely public issues with peers from many schools around the country.
The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries
Learning for Justice Educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy. Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioner,. to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants. The program emphasizes social justice and anti-bias.
BallotVox
Explore political views through popular blog posts, videos, pictures, and podcasts created and submitted by regular people—user-generated content about the candidates and issues based on local perspectives. Via e-mail, students can submit links to media they find or create to BallotVox moderators, who decide which submissions to post.
Get My Vote
Explore and post audio, video and/or text commentaries regarding personal political convictions and what it takes for candidates to earn users' votes. Users can rate, review and discuss submissions. Moderators and users monitor content for appropriateness. National Public Radio shows will utilize the commentaries. This offers a great opportunity for students to make their voices heard
Rap Video on Why Voting Matters
Eagle Eye Citizen Citizen engages middle and high school students in solving and creating interactive challenges on American history, civics, and government with Library of Congress primary sources in order to develop students' civic understanding and historical thinking skills.
Teaching Civics website – a place with over 800 lesson plans. They also have some handy ed resources.
Strategies for Making a Difference from the newly revised edition of Holocaust and Human Behavior, to challenge your students to do just this. Help them think through small steps they can take to bring about positive change in their community.
Resources Sharing The History Of Teens Organizing For Justice
Level Up Village partners students from developing nations with students in the US to learn about design and engineering, and in the process, they learn about global collaboration.
Does Science Education Need A Civic Engagement Makeover?
Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Curriculum
Volunteer Match
Strategies for teaching civic engagement To teach students how to evaluate the success of social justice movements, ninth-grade teacher Matthew Colley recommends allowing students to develop the criteria they need to make critical assessments. In this blog post, he outlines how he also has used historical case studies from the civil rights movement with his students.
Six Proven Strategies for Effective Civic Learning
Guide for Responding to Hate The Southern Poverty Law Center offers a freely downloadable guide that sets out 10 principles with actionable ideas for fighting hate at the community level
How Can We Best Facilitate Conversations Around Controversial Topics?
Yes, Race and Politics Belong in the Classroom: Ten tips for teachers to engage students in difficult conversations
Empatico helps teachers in different countries connect their classrooms and encourage an appreciation of different perspectives. Free for users, this new platform features standards-aligned lessons suitable for children aged 8–10. The lessons are like miniprojects. They start with an entry event that partner teachers facilitate separately to spark inquiry and activate their students’ prior knowledge. Lesson plans scaffold the videoconference with tips to encourage perspective taking and empathy building, and then wrap up with guided reflection activities in each classroom. The platform also includes a suite of technology tools. Once teachers sign up, Empatico handles matchmaking.
Generation Citizen
One and All Initiative
Civic Youth
Readworks.org This website offers a wide range of lesson plans, comprehension units, and reading passages organized by skill and Lexile level.
The latest batch of articles added to ReadWorks covers topics in social studies. The articles and lesson plans for K-5 primarily deal with topics in U.S. History and civics.
60 Second Civics is one of my favorite resources for lessons on U.S. civics and government. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast produced by the Center for Civic Education. Each 60 Second Civics episode offers a short lesson about US Civics. Along with each episode is a one question quiz about that day's episode.
Lynching In America. Google has supported the development of a brand-new site created by the Equal Justice Initiative. It includes multi-media resources and maps, along with discussions on how it relates to criminal justice today.
Civics and Government Lesson Plans – Library of Congress
What better place than the Library of Congress to find handy lessons and resources about the government?
Our Courts: 21st Century Civics
Our Courts is an interactive online resource supported by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The site's interactive learning activities can provide students with opportunities to understand the importance of civic participation.
Center for Civics Education - Make sure you explore the podcasts, slideshows, and videos. Not to be missed is the 60 second civic education podcast series.
World Food Programme
Get involved in fighting hunger worldwide
The Wonderment is a global community that promotes awareness and action as youth explore the world around them. Young people submit their ideas for community-improvement projects to the site, and with each submission a “Wondermeter” rises higher. Once the Wondermeter reaches the top, an outside donor will fund the latest user-chosen project—for example, a water-sanitation project in a developing country. Through the site, youth can take their compassion and caring for others and crowdsource community-improvement projects around the world.
TakingITGlobal
An online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities. It's the world's most popular online community for young people interested in making a difference,
iEARN
helps to link schools through international projects
We Can Change
You can get ideas for projects, Thjere is a contest, but you can use the resources without entering.
Game: Ayiti: The Cost of Life
Players manage life for a virtual family of five in rural Haiti. The object of the game is to make spending decisions--saving money vs. throwing a party vs. buying food--that keep the family healthy. (For more civics sites click here) Classroom support materials for Ayiti - developed by UNICEF
Quest Atlantis
Students collaborate with students all over the world in a 3D environment helping the council of the virtual world, Atlantis, solve problems impacting its water, air, health, and animal life. Ages 9 -14
Turf Mutt
Saving the planet one yard at a time.
We Are What We Do's Action Tracker is a list of simple actions that anyone can do to make the world a better place. The Action Tracker offers suggestions for improving the environment, making someone else's day better, or improving your personal health. You can check in on the Action Tracker to mark your behaviors. A classroom section that includes many resources for implementing the Action Tracker in your classroom. The classroom section includes videos, downloadable charts, and worksheets for classroom use.
What So Proudly We Hail (WSPWH) provides free resources and lesson plans to language arts and social studies teachers, demonstrating how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civics education. For example, The Meaning of America, a ten-part curriculum, investigates what kinds of citizens are likely to emerge in a nation founded on individual rights, equality, and freedom of religion; and what virtues are required for a robust citizenry. The curriculum explores American character and identity through the use of imaginative fiction. It includes short stories by Jack London, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and Kurt Vonnegut. Accompanying the curriculum are discussion guides and video model conversations.
CyberSchoolBus at the UN
Curriculum for Peace Education, Poverty, Human Rights, World Hunger, Indigenous People, Rights at Work, Ethnic Discrimination, Racial Discrimination. Also an opportunity for students to design and build an "ideal" city in all its complexity.
School Service
How to Bring Service Learning to your School
The Giraffe Heroes Project is an organization that, according to its Web site, is for "people who have the courage to stick their necks out for the common good."
The Skills for Action program is offered by Lions Quest, an initiative of the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
Barbara Lewis's books engaging, such as The Kid's Guide to Social Action, The Kid's Guide to Service Projects, and What Do You Stand For?
Vote Smart
National Alliance for Civics Education
Civnet
Roots and Shoots – Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) global youth-led community action program, comprised of thousands of young people as they connect knowledge and service with the real world.
ePals – Another wonderful site allowing students to collaborate across the globe. Check out the amazing possibilities. It provides ways for teachers to connect with other teachers and decide on projects their students can do together.
Learning for Justice Educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy. Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioner,. to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants. The program emphasizes social justice and anti-bias.
Edutopia Resources for Building Community Partnerships – Learn how schools can benefit from the support and expertise of local businesses, organizations, and individuals, and discover strategies for fostering successful business and community partnerships
Skype in the Classroom - You will enjoy this free community that offers live transformative educational experiences for students including Virtual Field Trips, talks from Guest Speakers, classroom to classroom connections, and live collaboration projects.
Projects By Jen - This a wonderful site that has been successfully encouraging teachers since 1999 to use online projects in their PreK-6 classrooms.
To Global Projects - This organization id made possible through the support of the Longview Foundation, iEARN-USA has compiled an online Teachers’ Guide to Global, Collaborative Teaching and Learning.
Online Collaboration Curricula - Explore this awesome collection of ideas that students can collaborate on using the internet. You may need to find that partner classroom.
Journey North is one of North America’s premiere citizen science projects for children and the general public. The project has broad participation, with over 60,000 registered sites in the US, Canada, and Mexico — including families, teachers, schools, nature centers, professional scientists and novices.
Biblionasium - Explore this site that is the fun, reading-focused social network for kids in elementary and middle school. The site emphasis is to connect kids in an encouraging community of friends, family and their educators, Biblionasium excites, engages and encourages a love of the written word. Kids can log their reading, play games, complete reading challenges and earn rewards. Requires parents to sign children up.
International Resources for Civics Education
Oxfam's Cool Planet for Teachers 6-12
Oxfam's Teacher Resource site contains a wealth of information about global issues and human rights. There are lesson plans on fair trade, social justice, sustainability, and a new unit on global music. Given the nature of the issues explored, there is a special teacher's guide to teaching controversial issues. The link to "Mapping our World" takes you to a great interactive look at the world and the impact of maps on our view of the world.
Empatico helps teachers in different countries connect their classrooms and encourage an appreciation of different perspectives. Free for users, this new platform features standards-aligned lessons suitable for children aged 8–10. The lessons are like miniprojects. They start with an entry event that partner teachers facilitate separately to spark inquiry and activate their students’ prior knowledge. Lesson plans scaffold the videoconference with tips to encourage perspective taking and empathy building, and then wrap up with guided reflection activities in each classroom. The platform also includes a suite of technology tools. Once teachers sign up, Empatico handles matchmaking.
Global Problem Solvers is designed to introduce middle-to-high-school students to social innovation with a particular focus on how they can use technology to create effective solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. The series of videos, engaging characters, and teacher resources provide students with a basic set of problem-solving tools for turning their visions for change into a practicable reality. So you get a handy little tool perfect for starting conversations around civic engagement and turning those conversations into actual plans.
How The World Votes is a super-impressive interactive from Al Jazeera. It compares tons of elements related to voting in countries around the world, including voting age and structure of the governing system. A small portion of all the info relates specifically to 2019 elections, but the vast majority of the site is not specific to this year.It would be a good companion site to Constitute, another resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries
Justice Learning
A collaboration of NPR's Justice Talking show and The New York Times Learning Network. Contains activities on Constitutional and civic issues.
Strategies for Making a Difference from the newly revised edition of Holocaust and Human Behavior, to challenge your students to do just this. Help them think through small steps they can take to bring about positive change in their community.
Choices Education Program: Curriculum Resources (Brown University)
Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University provides curricular resources, professional development workshops and special projects, CHOICES engages secondary level students in international issues and contributes to a renewal of civic engagement among young people in the United States.
Flat Connections - Flat connected learning is where all learners have freedom to communicate across borders rather than up or down – with no hierarchy. There may be a small cost for portions.Teachers' Guide
The Wonderment is a global community that promotes awareness and action as youth explore the world around them. Young people submit their ideas for community-improvement projects to the site, and with each submission a “Wondermeter” rises higher. Once the Wondermeter reaches the top, an outside donor will fund the latest user-chosen project—for example, a water-sanitation project in a developing country. Through the site, youth can take their compassion and caring for others and crowdsource community-improvement projects around the world.
QUADBlogging - QuadBlogging was born in 2011 and since its conception, over 500,000 students from over 65 countries have taken part. The concept is simple, once signed up, you will be allocated a Quad containing 4 classes including yours. Each Quad will have a Quad Co-ordinator attached to it. Once contact is made between the four teachers
Global Learners Project - The Project includes several topics and activity suggestions to create engaging and interactive class to class connections. Each topic includes at least one activity that requires little to no prep, while other activities take students deeper into learning. Use this for ideas, you will still have to find a school to connect with.
Kids Go Global - Green Fairs, theatre about global issues, water audits, wetland protection and lots more. Share your projects with others. See what the rest of the world is doing. There may be some cost to some projects.
Teaching Democracy
Democray Lab is a program of developmentally sequenced online learning experiences for classroom and co-curricular use. The centerpiece of Democracy Lab is its course-based forums, through which college and high school students engage in small-group, deliberative dialogue about timely public issues with peers from many schools around the country.
American Village Curriculum
Resources to promote citizenship and thr founding of America
Teens, Crime and Community
Resources of service learning, community involvement and diversity.
Art In All Of Us - The objective of the AiA Pen Pal Program is to promote creative and artistic communication among children worldwide. They have setup a network of schools around the world, through which schools are paired and exchange informative artworks on their own country and culture.
Kids and Teens Action without Borders
This site presents thoughtful and inspiring ways for kids to take an active role in improving the community around them. Click on the "Take a Lead" link for practical ways to turn your ideas into reality. Plenty of real-life examples are provided, but some creative brainstorming in your classroom is a must. Dozens of lesson plans, covering everything from environmental issues to economics and human rights are provided in the "For Teachers" section.
Conflict Management Simulations
Students will gain greater insight into the dynamics of peacemaking, and will be better able to raise pertinent questions and concerns. The simulations included here enable participants to practice the skills of conflict management, and to test policy options to determine the preferred response to a given set of circumstances.
The Global Read Aloud - The project was created in 2010 and had a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with more than 4,000,000 students having participated. This is a project that usually starts in October.
Youth Noise
Youth Noise is an online community for youth social and political activism, with opportunities to learn, share ideas and take action.
Care2
A social network website to help connect activists from around the world. It has a membership of over 9 million people. It connects individuals, organizations and responsible businesses making an impact.
Kiva
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.
Idealist
A project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporter
Change.org
Keep posted and connected to social change causes worldwide.
Do Something
Programs for teens to become active for social change causes
Fahamu
Its mission is the strengthening of social justice and hjuman rights movements
VolunteerSpot
Online application that lets volunteers and volunteer organizers connect, share and organize. No more paper and clipboards, phone chains or reply all emails, VolunteerSpot provides volunteer coordinators with a place to post project and needs and allow volunteers to sign up for open spots, send messages and help. Email calendar reminders are sent out to volunteers automatically and people can see when one event or task is filled up
Alltop
Slavery (recent, top news posts from top resources on slavery)
Pambazuka News
a Pan- African news resource for social justice
Tolerance.org
A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center - group/resources "dedicated to reducing prejudice"
Witness
a global video channel for user-generated, human rights videos
Eye to Eye with Child Labour
shares photographs and multimedia of child labour situations
25 Days to Make a Difference
story of Laura, who developed an charity project in memory of her grandfather
Wiser Earth
social network for sustainability and services for various issues
Radical Math
resource for integrating social and economic justice issues into the math curriculum
zyOzy
project for activating youth against extreme poverty)
Darfur Awareness (classroom project)
Oxfam's Teacher Resource site contains a wealth of information about global issues and human rights. There are lesson plans on fair trade, social justice, sustainability, and a new unit on global music. Given the nature of the issues explored, there is a special teacher's guide to teaching controversial issues. The link to "Mapping our World" takes you to a great interactive look at the world and the impact of maps on our view of the world.
Empatico helps teachers in different countries connect their classrooms and encourage an appreciation of different perspectives. Free for users, this new platform features standards-aligned lessons suitable for children aged 8–10. The lessons are like miniprojects. They start with an entry event that partner teachers facilitate separately to spark inquiry and activate their students’ prior knowledge. Lesson plans scaffold the videoconference with tips to encourage perspective taking and empathy building, and then wrap up with guided reflection activities in each classroom. The platform also includes a suite of technology tools. Once teachers sign up, Empatico handles matchmaking.
Global Problem Solvers is designed to introduce middle-to-high-school students to social innovation with a particular focus on how they can use technology to create effective solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. The series of videos, engaging characters, and teacher resources provide students with a basic set of problem-solving tools for turning their visions for change into a practicable reality. So you get a handy little tool perfect for starting conversations around civic engagement and turning those conversations into actual plans.
How The World Votes is a super-impressive interactive from Al Jazeera. It compares tons of elements related to voting in countries around the world, including voting age and structure of the governing system. A small portion of all the info relates specifically to 2019 elections, but the vast majority of the site is not specific to this year.It would be a good companion site to Constitute, another resource that allows you to compare different constitutions used by countries around the world.
The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries
Justice Learning
A collaboration of NPR's Justice Talking show and The New York Times Learning Network. Contains activities on Constitutional and civic issues.
Strategies for Making a Difference from the newly revised edition of Holocaust and Human Behavior, to challenge your students to do just this. Help them think through small steps they can take to bring about positive change in their community.
Choices Education Program: Curriculum Resources (Brown University)
Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University provides curricular resources, professional development workshops and special projects, CHOICES engages secondary level students in international issues and contributes to a renewal of civic engagement among young people in the United States.
Flat Connections - Flat connected learning is where all learners have freedom to communicate across borders rather than up or down – with no hierarchy. There may be a small cost for portions.Teachers' Guide
The Wonderment is a global community that promotes awareness and action as youth explore the world around them. Young people submit their ideas for community-improvement projects to the site, and with each submission a “Wondermeter” rises higher. Once the Wondermeter reaches the top, an outside donor will fund the latest user-chosen project—for example, a water-sanitation project in a developing country. Through the site, youth can take their compassion and caring for others and crowdsource community-improvement projects around the world.
QUADBlogging - QuadBlogging was born in 2011 and since its conception, over 500,000 students from over 65 countries have taken part. The concept is simple, once signed up, you will be allocated a Quad containing 4 classes including yours. Each Quad will have a Quad Co-ordinator attached to it. Once contact is made between the four teachers
Global Learners Project - The Project includes several topics and activity suggestions to create engaging and interactive class to class connections. Each topic includes at least one activity that requires little to no prep, while other activities take students deeper into learning. Use this for ideas, you will still have to find a school to connect with.
Kids Go Global - Green Fairs, theatre about global issues, water audits, wetland protection and lots more. Share your projects with others. See what the rest of the world is doing. There may be some cost to some projects.
Teaching Democracy
Democray Lab is a program of developmentally sequenced online learning experiences for classroom and co-curricular use. The centerpiece of Democracy Lab is its course-based forums, through which college and high school students engage in small-group, deliberative dialogue about timely public issues with peers from many schools around the country.
American Village Curriculum
Resources to promote citizenship and thr founding of America
Teens, Crime and Community
Resources of service learning, community involvement and diversity.
Art In All Of Us - The objective of the AiA Pen Pal Program is to promote creative and artistic communication among children worldwide. They have setup a network of schools around the world, through which schools are paired and exchange informative artworks on their own country and culture.
Kids and Teens Action without Borders
This site presents thoughtful and inspiring ways for kids to take an active role in improving the community around them. Click on the "Take a Lead" link for practical ways to turn your ideas into reality. Plenty of real-life examples are provided, but some creative brainstorming in your classroom is a must. Dozens of lesson plans, covering everything from environmental issues to economics and human rights are provided in the "For Teachers" section.
Conflict Management Simulations
Students will gain greater insight into the dynamics of peacemaking, and will be better able to raise pertinent questions and concerns. The simulations included here enable participants to practice the skills of conflict management, and to test policy options to determine the preferred response to a given set of circumstances.
The Global Read Aloud - The project was created in 2010 and had a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with more than 4,000,000 students having participated. This is a project that usually starts in October.
Youth Noise
Youth Noise is an online community for youth social and political activism, with opportunities to learn, share ideas and take action.
Care2
A social network website to help connect activists from around the world. It has a membership of over 9 million people. It connects individuals, organizations and responsible businesses making an impact.
Kiva
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.
Idealist
A project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporter
Change.org
Keep posted and connected to social change causes worldwide.
Do Something
Programs for teens to become active for social change causes
Fahamu
Its mission is the strengthening of social justice and hjuman rights movements
VolunteerSpot
Online application that lets volunteers and volunteer organizers connect, share and organize. No more paper and clipboards, phone chains or reply all emails, VolunteerSpot provides volunteer coordinators with a place to post project and needs and allow volunteers to sign up for open spots, send messages and help. Email calendar reminders are sent out to volunteers automatically and people can see when one event or task is filled up
Alltop
Slavery (recent, top news posts from top resources on slavery)
Pambazuka News
a Pan- African news resource for social justice
Tolerance.org
A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center - group/resources "dedicated to reducing prejudice"
Witness
a global video channel for user-generated, human rights videos
Eye to Eye with Child Labour
shares photographs and multimedia of child labour situations
25 Days to Make a Difference
story of Laura, who developed an charity project in memory of her grandfather
Wiser Earth
social network for sustainability and services for various issues
Radical Math
resource for integrating social and economic justice issues into the math curriculum
zyOzy
project for activating youth against extreme poverty)
Darfur Awareness (classroom project)
Online Games and Simulations
Create Your Own Game Tools
iCivics is a site for learning about Civics through Game Based Learning. iCivics has an educational portal that allows educators to create and manage student accounts. Also, teachers can create assignments such as games/webquests and track student performance w/ detailed reports. Finally, a educator can create a forum or message board to engage students in online discussions and send out class announcements.
Legislative Simulation
Legislative Simulation, or LEGSIM, features a non-scripted environment for college-level students to experience the personalized politics of legislative activities.
Power Politics 3
USA Presidential Campaign Simulato
Engaging Congress
Engaging Congress is a series of game-based learning activities that explores the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges that it faces in contemporary society. Primary source documents are used to examine the history and evolution of issues that confront Congress today.
The ReDistricting Game is designed to educate, engage, and empower students around the issue of political redistricting. The game provides a basic introduction to the redistricting system, allows players to explore the ways in which abuses can undermine the system, and provides information about reform initiatives, including a playable version of the Tanner Reform Bill to demonstrate the ways in which the system might be made more consistent with tenets of good governance. In addition, the website for the game provides a wealth of information about redistricting in every state, along with hands-on opportunities for civic engagement and political action.
Model Diplomacy Students become foreign policy experts in this real-world simulationThis impressive program has ready-to-use and expert-vetted content that'll help advanced students engage meaningfully with foreign policy issues and processes.
Playing History is a collection of 128 games related to topics in US and World History as well as civics and geography. There are games on the court system and arguing notable cases.Playing History is a collection of 128 games related to topics in US and World History as well as civics and geography. There are games on the court system and arguing notable cases.
Realistic Courtroom SimulationsEnrichment activities and resources dealing with the federal courts, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution bring realistic court experiences into the lives of high school students. These original, courtroom-ready and classroom-ready resources are the centerpiece of the federal courts’ national and local educational outreach to high school students and their teachers. The classroom and courtroom activities apply contemporary Supreme Court cases to today’s teen issues. The court simulations offer real-life experiences with judges and attorneys at local federal courthouses. All participants are involved in the courtroom action, most important, as jurors. The activities are supported by interactive web resources and multimedia tools, including videos and podcasts on court fundamentals. In addition, federal judges across the nation host in-court events for high school students and programs for teachers. To find a nearby federal court, educators can go to the online court locator or contact the National Outreach Manager at [email protected].
Game to “Vaccinate” Students Against Disinformation Researchers have developed an online game to “vaccinate” people against fake news—by showing them how to become a fake news mogul. In the game, called Bad News, players use misleading tactics to build their own fake news empire. The game is free to play in any browser and on any device and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Players start as anonymous Twitter users who go professional by starting their own news site, and gradually become a fake news tycoon. On the way, players learn how the techniques of disinformation can be used to suit a purpose.
LegSim A virtual legislature populated by your students that emphasizes non-scripted, personalized politics in a 24/7 learning environment designed for history and government classes
Sustainaville An Ethical Game Sustainable-community sim teaches kids to help and conserve.( android )
USA Simulator! Experience yourself as a politician - earn money, evade taxes and exceed authority! Develop your country, extend the sphere of influence and lead the country to the world domination!
Simulations for Negotiating Solutions to Global Challenges
The United States Diplomacy Center’s education programs immerse students in the world of American diplomacy and the critical work of the United States Department of State. At the heart of the center’s education programs is Discover Diplomacy, a free diplomacy simulationsprogram that allows students and teachers to experience what it is like to be a diplomat while grappling with complex foreign affairs topics.
“The Waiting Game” Simulates The Challenges Facing Someone Seeking Asylum In The U.S.
The Redistricting Game The game introduces the redistricting system, explores potential abuses, and offers info about reform.
Spent is an online game designed to teach players about the challenges of living on minimum wage (or slightly higher) employment. Players begin by selecting a job which will provide the wages they have to survive on for a month. Then throughout the game players are confronted with challenges that they have to handle by making an "either or" choice. After each choice the player's account balance is adjusted. In addition to the change in the player's balance sheet, each choice is followed by an explanation of consequence of the choice made.
The Living Wage Calculator The purpose of the Living Wage Calculator is to provide a snapshot of what it actually costs to survive in counties and cities in the United States. The Living Wage Calculator shows the differences between minimum wages and minimum living wages for each county and some cities in the U.S. The calculator accounts for eight different household scenarios from single adult to two adults and three children living in the same household.
Political Games games include refugees, peace making, child soldiers, middle east and more.
Law Craft (gr 6-12) You pick an issue that’s important to you and your constituents and take it all the way through the law-making process.
Civics: Activate (gr 6-12) Campaign for an issue of your choice.
Budget Heros balance the federal budget simulation
Sunnylands Civics Games. The interactive games are about learning the Constitution. They are for for middle school or lower high school levels
Democracy is a government simulation game that was first developed by Positech Games in 2005, with a sequel released in December 2007 and a cracythird game in 2013. The player plays as if they are the president or prime minister of a democratic government. The player must introduce and alter policies in seven areas - tax, economy, welfare, foreign policy, transport, law and order and public services. Each policy has an effect on the happiness of various voter groups, as well as affecting factors such as crime and air quality. The player has to deal with "situations", which are typically problems such as petrol protests or homelessness, and also has to make decisions on dilemmas that arise each turn.
Thinking About Integration and Segregation In this resource, use a computer model to investigate how people tend to cluster into groups of similar people.
Mission US Grade 5 - Year 9
Mission US is an interactive adventure game designed to improve the understanding of American history. The first game in a planned series, Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?” explores the reasons for Revolution through the eyes of both Loyalists and Patriots in 1770 Boston. This website provides information and materials to support the use of Mission 1 in your classroom.
Resources: Mission US Classroom Guide - http://www.mission-us.org/pages/classroom-guide
Mission 2 Flight for Freedom players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky. As they navigate her escape and journey to Ohio, they discover that life in the “free” North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act brings disaster. Will Lucy ever truly be free?
Mission 3A Cheyenne Odyssey, the third interactive game in the Mission US series of digital role-playing games created to engage middle school students in the exploration of United States history. The game engages students as they take on the role of a 12-year-old Northern Cheyenne boy in the 1860s. As they play A Cheyenne Odyssey, students gain insight and understanding of westward expansion and its impact on America’s native peoples, the economy, the landscape and the environment.
Mission U.S. Depression. has created some excellent interactives and some bad ones. Their newest one is on the Depression.
Mission U.S. City of Immigrants players navigate New York’s Lower East Side as Lena, a young Jewish immigrant from Russia. Trying to save money to bring her parents to America, she works long hours in a factory for little money. Should she go on strike to protest conditions, and risk losing her job?
Allies and Aliens: A Mission in Critical Thinking
In Allies and Aliens students become agents on an intergalactic mission for earth. As students interact with alien characters and visit websites on the “Galactic Web”, they come across varying degrees of prejudice and discrimination. These interactions help students to understand how such
Who Am I? A History Mystery is a fun and challenging activity from the Smithsonian's The Price of Freedom online exhibit. Who Am I? presents players with six historical characters that they have to identify using the text and image clues provided. To solve the mystery players have to match the visual artifacts to each character.
Sorting Out Notions About Race
"What is race?" teacher Jill Spain asked her sixth-graders at the beginning of their Holocaust unit. Not surprisingly, they found it hard to answer the question, and Spain saw that she needed to change course. "I flipped on my Smart Board and brought up the section called 'Sorting People'. It provides photos of 20 people. The objective is to look at them and sort them into racial categories. ... All 22 of my students were confident that they could complete this task with ease. What happened next was both shocking and powerful."
September 12th: A Toy World: The rules are simple: you can choose to shoot rockets at terrorists, or not. But be warned, missing civilians is virtually impossible. The purpose of this newsgame is to visually prove that the U.S. War on Terror is destined to failure, as every civilian killed results in dozens of terrorists created. It has been shown all over the world as a teaching tool against violence.
PeaceMaker is a serious game where you play as either government officials from Palestine, or Israel. Then, you make the discussions that decides whether your country fails or prospers.
iCivics is a site for learning about Civics through Game Based Learning. iCivics has an educational portal that allows educators to create and manage student accounts. Also, teachers can create assignments such as games/webquests and track student performance w/ detailed reports. Finally, a educator can create a forum or message board to engage students in online discussions and send out class announcements.
Legislative Simulation
Legislative Simulation, or LEGSIM, features a non-scripted environment for college-level students to experience the personalized politics of legislative activities.
Power Politics 3
USA Presidential Campaign Simulato
Engaging Congress
Engaging Congress is a series of game-based learning activities that explores the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges that it faces in contemporary society. Primary source documents are used to examine the history and evolution of issues that confront Congress today.
The ReDistricting Game is designed to educate, engage, and empower students around the issue of political redistricting. The game provides a basic introduction to the redistricting system, allows players to explore the ways in which abuses can undermine the system, and provides information about reform initiatives, including a playable version of the Tanner Reform Bill to demonstrate the ways in which the system might be made more consistent with tenets of good governance. In addition, the website for the game provides a wealth of information about redistricting in every state, along with hands-on opportunities for civic engagement and political action.
Model Diplomacy Students become foreign policy experts in this real-world simulationThis impressive program has ready-to-use and expert-vetted content that'll help advanced students engage meaningfully with foreign policy issues and processes.
Playing History is a collection of 128 games related to topics in US and World History as well as civics and geography. There are games on the court system and arguing notable cases.Playing History is a collection of 128 games related to topics in US and World History as well as civics and geography. There are games on the court system and arguing notable cases.
Realistic Courtroom SimulationsEnrichment activities and resources dealing with the federal courts, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution bring realistic court experiences into the lives of high school students. These original, courtroom-ready and classroom-ready resources are the centerpiece of the federal courts’ national and local educational outreach to high school students and their teachers. The classroom and courtroom activities apply contemporary Supreme Court cases to today’s teen issues. The court simulations offer real-life experiences with judges and attorneys at local federal courthouses. All participants are involved in the courtroom action, most important, as jurors. The activities are supported by interactive web resources and multimedia tools, including videos and podcasts on court fundamentals. In addition, federal judges across the nation host in-court events for high school students and programs for teachers. To find a nearby federal court, educators can go to the online court locator or contact the National Outreach Manager at [email protected].
Game to “Vaccinate” Students Against Disinformation Researchers have developed an online game to “vaccinate” people against fake news—by showing them how to become a fake news mogul. In the game, called Bad News, players use misleading tactics to build their own fake news empire. The game is free to play in any browser and on any device and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Players start as anonymous Twitter users who go professional by starting their own news site, and gradually become a fake news tycoon. On the way, players learn how the techniques of disinformation can be used to suit a purpose.
LegSim A virtual legislature populated by your students that emphasizes non-scripted, personalized politics in a 24/7 learning environment designed for history and government classes
Sustainaville An Ethical Game Sustainable-community sim teaches kids to help and conserve.( android )
USA Simulator! Experience yourself as a politician - earn money, evade taxes and exceed authority! Develop your country, extend the sphere of influence and lead the country to the world domination!
Simulations for Negotiating Solutions to Global Challenges
The United States Diplomacy Center’s education programs immerse students in the world of American diplomacy and the critical work of the United States Department of State. At the heart of the center’s education programs is Discover Diplomacy, a free diplomacy simulationsprogram that allows students and teachers to experience what it is like to be a diplomat while grappling with complex foreign affairs topics.
“The Waiting Game” Simulates The Challenges Facing Someone Seeking Asylum In The U.S.
The Redistricting Game The game introduces the redistricting system, explores potential abuses, and offers info about reform.
Spent is an online game designed to teach players about the challenges of living on minimum wage (or slightly higher) employment. Players begin by selecting a job which will provide the wages they have to survive on for a month. Then throughout the game players are confronted with challenges that they have to handle by making an "either or" choice. After each choice the player's account balance is adjusted. In addition to the change in the player's balance sheet, each choice is followed by an explanation of consequence of the choice made.
The Living Wage Calculator The purpose of the Living Wage Calculator is to provide a snapshot of what it actually costs to survive in counties and cities in the United States. The Living Wage Calculator shows the differences between minimum wages and minimum living wages for each county and some cities in the U.S. The calculator accounts for eight different household scenarios from single adult to two adults and three children living in the same household.
Political Games games include refugees, peace making, child soldiers, middle east and more.
Law Craft (gr 6-12) You pick an issue that’s important to you and your constituents and take it all the way through the law-making process.
Civics: Activate (gr 6-12) Campaign for an issue of your choice.
Budget Heros balance the federal budget simulation
Sunnylands Civics Games. The interactive games are about learning the Constitution. They are for for middle school or lower high school levels
Democracy is a government simulation game that was first developed by Positech Games in 2005, with a sequel released in December 2007 and a cracythird game in 2013. The player plays as if they are the president or prime minister of a democratic government. The player must introduce and alter policies in seven areas - tax, economy, welfare, foreign policy, transport, law and order and public services. Each policy has an effect on the happiness of various voter groups, as well as affecting factors such as crime and air quality. The player has to deal with "situations", which are typically problems such as petrol protests or homelessness, and also has to make decisions on dilemmas that arise each turn.
Thinking About Integration and Segregation In this resource, use a computer model to investigate how people tend to cluster into groups of similar people.
Mission US Grade 5 - Year 9
Mission US is an interactive adventure game designed to improve the understanding of American history. The first game in a planned series, Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?” explores the reasons for Revolution through the eyes of both Loyalists and Patriots in 1770 Boston. This website provides information and materials to support the use of Mission 1 in your classroom.
Resources: Mission US Classroom Guide - http://www.mission-us.org/pages/classroom-guide
Mission 2 Flight for Freedom players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky. As they navigate her escape and journey to Ohio, they discover that life in the “free” North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act brings disaster. Will Lucy ever truly be free?
Mission 3A Cheyenne Odyssey, the third interactive game in the Mission US series of digital role-playing games created to engage middle school students in the exploration of United States history. The game engages students as they take on the role of a 12-year-old Northern Cheyenne boy in the 1860s. As they play A Cheyenne Odyssey, students gain insight and understanding of westward expansion and its impact on America’s native peoples, the economy, the landscape and the environment.
Mission U.S. Depression. has created some excellent interactives and some bad ones. Their newest one is on the Depression.
Mission U.S. City of Immigrants players navigate New York’s Lower East Side as Lena, a young Jewish immigrant from Russia. Trying to save money to bring her parents to America, she works long hours in a factory for little money. Should she go on strike to protest conditions, and risk losing her job?
Allies and Aliens: A Mission in Critical Thinking
In Allies and Aliens students become agents on an intergalactic mission for earth. As students interact with alien characters and visit websites on the “Galactic Web”, they come across varying degrees of prejudice and discrimination. These interactions help students to understand how such
Who Am I? A History Mystery is a fun and challenging activity from the Smithsonian's The Price of Freedom online exhibit. Who Am I? presents players with six historical characters that they have to identify using the text and image clues provided. To solve the mystery players have to match the visual artifacts to each character.
Sorting Out Notions About Race
"What is race?" teacher Jill Spain asked her sixth-graders at the beginning of their Holocaust unit. Not surprisingly, they found it hard to answer the question, and Spain saw that she needed to change course. "I flipped on my Smart Board and brought up the section called 'Sorting People'. It provides photos of 20 people. The objective is to look at them and sort them into racial categories. ... All 22 of my students were confident that they could complete this task with ease. What happened next was both shocking and powerful."
September 12th: A Toy World: The rules are simple: you can choose to shoot rockets at terrorists, or not. But be warned, missing civilians is virtually impossible. The purpose of this newsgame is to visually prove that the U.S. War on Terror is destined to failure, as every civilian killed results in dozens of terrorists created. It has been shown all over the world as a teaching tool against violence.
PeaceMaker is a serious game where you play as either government officials from Palestine, or Israel. Then, you make the discussions that decides whether your country fails or prospers.
Videos
The Constitution: That Delicate Balance
Free online videos: "A video instructional series on the American Constitution for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 13 one-hour video programs and coordinated books."
Rap Video on why voting matters
Ethical Issue Videos by Michael Sandel, a Harvard professor who writes and talks about ethical dilemmas. Harvard recently posted a series of short animated videos he uses in his online courses, and they’re fabulous!
You can see and access the entire playlist here.
Glean - Ever feel overwhelmed by all the educational videos online? Aided by a team of teachers, this service chooses and catalogs the best videos.
60 Second Civics is one of my favorite resources for lessons on U.S. civics and government. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast produced by the Center for Civic Education. Each 60 Second Civics episode offers a short lesson about US Civics. Along with each episode is a one question quiz about that day's episode.
C-SPAN Classroom the Bell Ringer category of activities are short videos about contemporary issues in government, politics, and business. Each Bell Ringer video is accompanied by a list of key vocabulary terms and a list of discussion questions to use in your classroom.
Free online videos: "A video instructional series on the American Constitution for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 13 one-hour video programs and coordinated books."
Rap Video on why voting matters
Ethical Issue Videos by Michael Sandel, a Harvard professor who writes and talks about ethical dilemmas. Harvard recently posted a series of short animated videos he uses in his online courses, and they’re fabulous!
You can see and access the entire playlist here.
Glean - Ever feel overwhelmed by all the educational videos online? Aided by a team of teachers, this service chooses and catalogs the best videos.
60 Second Civics is one of my favorite resources for lessons on U.S. civics and government. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast produced by the Center for Civic Education. Each 60 Second Civics episode offers a short lesson about US Civics. Along with each episode is a one question quiz about that day's episode.
C-SPAN Classroom the Bell Ringer category of activities are short videos about contemporary issues in government, politics, and business. Each Bell Ringer video is accompanied by a list of key vocabulary terms and a list of discussion questions to use in your classroom.
Apps
My Congress a portal to detailed information about your elected U.S. Congressional officials. Track their news, video and Twitter feeds. Look up their official Open Congress profile or contact them directly. MyCongress helps you get in touch with your government.
Let's Talk Politics is an Alexa app designed for reviewing and learning about U.S. government. Let's Talk Politics is an interactive game in which Alexa asks you questions about the U.S. political system and you speak your answers. The app provides explanations of the correct answers after you reply to each question. Unlike typical online games in which students pick a level to play, Let's Talk Politics adjusts the difficulty of t the game in response to how players are answering questions. Watch the following video to see a demonstration of Let's Talk Politics. . www.freetech4teachers.com
Congressional Moments Congressional Moments explores key legislation that still impacts our lives today, including child labor, civil rights, the SEC, the National Park Service, the Marshall Plan and women's suffrage. Learn about the difference between primary and secondary sources by taking the interactive quiz.
Pocket Law Firm Vindicate the Constitution! Decide if potential clients have a right, match them with the right lawyer, and win the case. The more clients you serve and the more cases you win, the faster your law firm grows! This is the most popular game ever made by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics program.
Stats of the Union This is a way to visualize and compare demographic data from across the U.S. Examine and compare birth/death rates, incomes, and more.
Sustainaville An Ethical Game Sustainable-community sim teaches kids to help and conserve.( android )
Let's Talk Politics is an Alexa app designed for reviewing and learning about U.S. government. Let's Talk Politics is an interactive game in which Alexa asks you questions about the U.S. political system and you speak your answers. The app provides explanations of the correct answers after you reply to each question. Unlike typical online games in which students pick a level to play, Let's Talk Politics adjusts the difficulty of t the game in response to how players are answering questions. Watch the following video to see a demonstration of Let's Talk Politics. . www.freetech4teachers.com
Congressional Moments Congressional Moments explores key legislation that still impacts our lives today, including child labor, civil rights, the SEC, the National Park Service, the Marshall Plan and women's suffrage. Learn about the difference between primary and secondary sources by taking the interactive quiz.
Pocket Law Firm Vindicate the Constitution! Decide if potential clients have a right, match them with the right lawyer, and win the case. The more clients you serve and the more cases you win, the faster your law firm grows! This is the most popular game ever made by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics program.
Stats of the Union This is a way to visualize and compare demographic data from across the U.S. Examine and compare birth/death rates, incomes, and more.
Sustainaville An Ethical Game Sustainable-community sim teaches kids to help and conserve.( android )