Educator Resources Educator Resources

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.

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

This lesson looks at the intersection between constitutional principles and the struggle for equality during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

A curated collection of documents, documents-based resources and programs, lesson plans, and discussion questions related to the Civil Rights Movements of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Intended for teachers who are eager to get started using original documents, but are unsure of where to start.

A documents-based exploration of Reconstruction in the American South, with guiding essay questions, documents representing different and often conflicting views on the same issue, and full audio recordings of all documents.

Suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment marked an important moment in the progression of women’s participation in our democracy and civic life. The 2019 National Youth Summit looked at woman suffrage as an example of how groups with limited political power have and continue to shape our democracy using strategies and tools, like the vote and public protest, to give voice to issues and galvanize fellow Americans into communal movements for change.

This deliberative discussion guide engages students in a conversation about the difficult choices citizens had to weigh during the Civil Rights movement. By examining multiple approaches from the movement, students will better understand the diversity of views within the Civil Rights Movement and understand the challenges of civic engagement.

Some historians have characterized Progressive reformers as generous and helpful. Others describe the reformers as condescending elitists who tried to force immigrants to accept Christianity and American identities. In this structured academic controversy, students read documents written by reformers and by an immigrant to investigate American attitudes during the Progressive Era.

The 2020 National Youth Summit was centered on the case study of Claudette Colvin—a 15-year-old Black student in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Colvin refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus and testified in the legal case that brought an end to segregated busing in Montgomery. Check out videos, lesson plans and primary resources from this event.

African American women played a significant and sometimes overlooked role in the struggle to gain the vote. This Learning Resource is a collaboration between New American History and Retro Report, producers of “How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote,” on PBS.

This lesson explores how individuals lay claim to a nation’s laws and ideals to assert their own rights and freedoms, and in doing so, nurture democracy in the societies where they live.

Lesson 6 of a collection of lessons written for Black History Month using the power of non-violence as a theme. The lesson continues the theme of nonviolence by exploring ways in which music helped advance the civil rights movement.

Lesson 1 of a collection of lessons written for Black History Month using the power of non-violence as a theme. This lesson introduces students to the Children’s March, also commonly referred to as the Children’s Crusade, which took place in Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1963.