GRADE LEVEL: High School What is the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
What was Frederick Douglass’s Argument for Why Black Men Should Have the Right to Vote?
During the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, large questions loomed about the futures of four million formerly enslaved people. The 15th Amendment, one of three crucial amendments passed in the immediate wake of the Civil War, was essential to securing voting rights for African-American men. One…
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Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is “Hashtag Activism”?
In What Ways Does “Hashtag Activism” Help and Hinder Social Movements?
#MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #IceBucketChallenge, #ThisIsOurLane and so many other hashtags are appearing on Twitter and various social media sites. With every hashtag posted, webs of content are created and individual voices are connected. For some people, their activism begins and ends with the use of a hashtag. For others…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School Which Form of Government Has the Most Power?
What are the Differences in Power Between Each Form of Government?
Which Form of Government Has the Most Power to Address Equity and Social Justice Issues?
Aside from the separation of powers at the federal level, the U.S. Constitution also describes the power relationships between state and federal governments, how that power will be distributed, and the relationships between the…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What are Human Rights?
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
In 1946, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, with hopes of preventing future atrocities, an international committee with varied legal and cultural backgrounds began to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was proclaimed by the new United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This document contains 30 Articles that set a standard…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School How Has the Media Responded to My Social Justice Issue?
Our current world offers a seemingly endless stream of media, from news stories to blog posts, Instagram feeds to social media memes, and more. Some media from news sites is fact-based straight reporting or opinion pieces advocating a particular point of view. Other pieces are thought provoking nonfiction informing us about our own communities, or places on the other side of the world. In…
GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Speaking & Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Social Awareness, Responsible Decision-Making Covid Pandemic
Covid-19, an infectious disease that was first identified in Wuhan, China, quickly began spreading worldwide early in 2020. In March 2020, it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Across the globe, researchers worked tirelessly to develop vaccines that would provide immunity against the…
Civics Lessons
GRADE LEVEL: High School What are Anti-immigrant Bias (Xenophobia), Nativism and Nationalism?
What are Historical and Current Immigration Policies?
How Do Anti-immigrant Sentiments Impact Immigration Policy?
Immigration is a recurring topic in the current events cycle, and has been throughout this nation’s history. While immigration has been a central feature of America’s growth, it has also been a divisive topic, with differing views…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is an Amendment?
How Does the Constitution Affect People Other than the Founding Fathers and Who They Represented at the Time?
Should the Constitution be Easier to Amend?
Imagine! The United States of America is still referencing the same Constitution that was written on September 17, 1787. What did the Constitution do for people who were not wealthy, white and male? What freedoms were left out from the original document?…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What are Ways to Enter the United States with Documentation?
What are the Experiences of those with Green Cards?
Against the backdrop of the recent refugee crisis and the overall increase in immigration, people have asked how one enters the United States with documentation. One way is to apply for a Green Card which leads to formal naturalization and citizenship in the United States if the application is approved. Gaining Green…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is an Algorithm?
How are Algorithms Being Used in Our Daily Lives?
How Could Biased Algorithms Impact Political Institutions?
Algorithms are quickly replacing human judgment in many aspects of our lives. Algorithms started out as a way of making predictions, decisions and recommendations about products and entertainment by online service providers such as Amazon, Spotify, Google, Netflix and Facebook.
Today,…
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
On November 7, 2020, it was announced that Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris won the 2020 Presidential election. Biden won with the most votes ever cast for a U.S. Presidential…
GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Social Awareness, Responsible Decision-Making Recommendations on Slavery Reparations
In September 2020, California passed a bill to establish a task force to study and make recommendations on slavery reparations. The bill (AB 3121) is the first of its kind in any state. While California is the first state to pass such legislation, the issue of reparations has a long history in…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is a Government?
What are Different Forms of Government?
What is My Relationship to Government?
Governments, and the act of governing, have been part of human society for thousands of years. Governments have shifted and changed in the way they represent, operate and control, but one thing remains the same: they are created to organize groups of people and provide structure and accountability. Understanding the concept of…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School How Do I Write a Bill?
When a change in the law is desired, whether at the community, state, or national level, people need to understand the processes of making that desired change, a bill, into a law. Submitting a bill for consideration by the legislature involves writing, revising and sharing bills with a focus on passing them in a Senate hearing.
About the Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students will brainstorm to identify changes they…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What Were the Multiple Perspectives of the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court Based on During the Repeal of DOMA?
According to the Supreme Court Decision, Who Has the Right to Marry?
What Assurances Do We Have that the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are Able to Be Non-partisan and Avoid Bias When Deciding a Case?
The Judicial branch of the U.S. government is headed by the Supreme Court. This court analyzes and judges cases…
Echoes & Reflections
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening This unit introduces students to the Holocaust by providing a vocabulary for studying the Holocaust and establishing a rationale for the importance of learning about instances of mass atrocity and genocide. Students explore the value of examining different types of source material when studying the Holocaust, with a special emphasis on visual…
GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language The Origins of the Electoral College
The Electoral College, the process by which Presidential races are ultimately decided, is the subject of ongoing debate and controversy. The Electoral College always decides the outcome of the Presidential election, but five times in our history and two times in the last five elections, the Electoral College selected a president who did not win the majority…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School What is the Difference Between a Bill and a Law?
What Bills Have Had Significant Impact on People in the United States?
Why Do Some Bills Pass into Law and Others Do Not?
In 1976, Schoolhouse Rock! released “I’m Just a Bill,” an animated video with a catchy tune that educated students around the U.S. about bills. Since then, music has changed, graphics in videos have changed but the actual process of becoming…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School How Do Lobbyists Impact the Democratic Process?
What are Effective Ways of Lobbying?
How Might I Lobby for My Bill?
“Lobbying” is an effort by individuals and groups to influence government decisions and actions, and specifically the writing of laws. Lobbying can take different forms including writing letters, making phone calls to legislators and meeting with people in the administration. As student activism in…
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language Using Bitmoji to Build a Virtual Backdrop
As soon as teachers received the news that many schools would start the 2020-21 school year in virtual spaces, educators across the country began creating “bitmoji classrooms” to share with their students. These virtual classrooms, created on a Google or PowerPoint slide, enable teachers and others to design and…