Educator Resources Educator Resources

This lesson has students examine the freedoms provided in the First Amendment through video-based resources and a choice board.

60-Second Civics is a daily podcast that provides a quick and convenient way for listeners to learn about our nation’s government, the Constitution, and our history. The podcast explores themes related to civics and government, the constitutional issues behind the headlines, and the people and ideas that formed our nation’s history and government. The daily podcast is accompanied by a quiz question.

Students are introduced to the 9/11 attacks and learn that the nation’s response created tension between the need for security and America’s tradition of liberty. They are then introduced to the Declaration of Independence and Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and learn that these documents describe fundamental values and principles that characterize the American political culture.

In this interactive episode, KidCitizen uses a historic panoramic map as an object for active inquiry to engage children in wondering about this representation of a place where people live. Students closely observe the geographic features, like rivers, shorelines, and farmland along with its plant life, animal life, and man-made structures. Students collect clues in the researcher journal and use them throughout the adventure. There are a number of pathways for inquiry. Students may apply their geographic and historical thinking strategies to wonder about movement of people or reflect on the unique qualities of the area that define it as a place.

Students explore the democratic ideals and practices of the ancient Greeks and search for evidence of them in the U.S. Constitution.

Inspired by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s famous words and life story, the Seat at the Table Project is a collaborative civic art and education project that encourages students to reflect on their own civics identity and agency as they consider bringing their own seat to the table of civic life. The lesson plan, resources, and companion digital exhibit guide teachers and student through participating the project.

This lesson introduces children to different ways young people have used the internet to work toward positive social change.

In this lesson, students consider the conflict over public memory of the Civil War in the United States as they investigate the 2015 controversy over the Confederate flag in South Carolina and then draw connections to the 2017 violence in Charlottesville.

This lesson invites students to explore how public monuments and memorials serve as a selective lens on the past that powerfully shapes our understanding of the present. In the lesson’s final activity, students become public historians as they design their own memorial to represent a historical idea, event, or person they deem worthy of commemoration.

Do Americans have shared ideals? What do they look like?​ Students investigate this question by closely examining words that express American ideals, selecting images from a provided deck that best illustrate their interpretation of the word, and them comparing their choices to others in their group.

What does it mean to be a good citizen? Students investigate this question by looking at the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance, which foreign-born people must take to become naturalized American citizens, and thinking deeply about what are or should be crucial requirements of citizenship. This lesson guides students to closely examine information, to ask probing questions, and to take part in complex discussions with classmates.

What would you do to support what you believe in? Through an interactive and movement-based activity, students investigate this question and examine how in many instances there are no black-or-white answers.

What does the right to vote mean to you? Through an interactive and movement-based activity, students investigate this question and examine how in many instances there are no black or white answers.

Learn how the American idea of government evolved from a revolutionary response to monarchy to that of a unified nation. Students will dig into the preambles and introductory text of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.

This lesson focuses on analyzing the style and substance of campaigns in both free media, such as the news and televised debates, and paid media, such as TV commercials.

Students learn about the duties and powers of the three branches of government, the amendment process, and the role of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

In 1898, the U.S. officially annexed Hawaii—but did Hawaiians support this? In this lesson, students read two newspaper articles, both hosted on the website Chronicling America, which make very different arguments about Hawaiians’ support for—or opposition to—annexation. Students focus on sourcing as they investigate the motivations and perspectives of both papers and why they make very different claims.

Argue real Supreme Court cases, and put your lawyering skills to the test.

Students explore the connection between art and activism by analyzing a painting about the Gold Rush from the Autry Museum. Students are also invited to participate in activism by creating their own painting.

Children often lack knowledge and skills necessary to interact with each other, especially when confronted with differences in mobility, hearing, sight, developmental skills or verbal skills.

Students will answer the question “How can you make change in your community?” during this activity.

In this lesson, students consider the impact of the poll tax as a barrier to voting by examining four primary sources.

What really happened at the Battle of Lexington? In this lesson, students practice sourcing, corroboration, and contextualization as they weigh competing accounts of who fired the first shots of the Revolutionary War.

In the decades following the Civil War, the US military clashed with Native Americans in the West. The Battle of Little Bighorn was one of the Native Americans’ most famous victories. In this lesson, students explore causes of the battle by comparing two primary documents with a textbook account.

Come face to face with challenges that George Washington confronted as commander in chief or president in four key scenarios in these 20 minute, first-person interactives.

This resource probes some of the complex issues arising from the history of Japanese incarceration during World War II and invites students to explore difficult questions about national identity, institutional racism, and the boundaries of US citizenship.

Go on a virtual field trip to the Museum of the American Revolution with Lauren Tarshis, author of the I Survived… books! You’ll go behind the scenes to meet a museum curator and a museum educator, to examine real and replica artifacts, and to learn stories of real people – including kids and teens – who lived during this dynamic time. This program is presented in partnership with Scholastic, Inc.

Do you like running things? Branches of Power lets you do something that no one else can: control all three branches of the U.S. government.

This lesson introduces students to the importance of building a constituency to support or oppose public policies, using the case study of the Montgomery Bus Boycott as an example. Students read primary documents related to the boycott and discuss how the documents illustrate strategic efforts by boycott leaders to build public support.