This site challenges visitors to test their knowledge about inaugurations and presidential history with a 10 question quiz.

Introduction to theories of syntax underlying work currently being done within the lexical-functional and government-binding frameworks. Organized into three interrelated parts, each focused upon a particular area of concern: phrase structure; the lexicon; and principles and parameters. Grammatical rules and processes constitute a focus of attention throughout the course that serve to reveal both modular structure of grammar and interaction of grammatical components. This course is concerned with the concepts and principles which have been of central significance in the recent development of syntactic theory, with special focus on the "Government and Binding" (GB) / "Principles and Parameters" (P&P) / "Minimalist Program" (MP) approach. It is the first of a series of two courses (24.951 is taught during the Fall and 24.952 is taught in the Spring). This course deals mostly with phrase structure, argument structure and its syntactic expression, including "A-movement". Though other issues (e.g. wh-movement, antecedent-contained deletion, extraposition) may be mentioned during the semester, the course will not systematically investigate these topics in class until 24.952. The goal of the course is to understand why certain problems have been treated in certain ways. Thus, on many occasions a variety of approaches will be discussed, and the (recent) historical development of these approaches are emphasized.

Frameworks and Models for Technology and Policy students explore perspectives in the policy process -- agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises for Technology and Policy students include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership. This course explores perspectives in the policy process - agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership.

This class introduces students to innovative as well as classic approaches to studying U.S. government. The writing assignments will help you explore, through a variety of lenses, statis and change in the American political system over the last three decades. In the end each student will have a solid grounding in our national political institutions and processes, sharper reading and writing skills, and insight into approaching politics critically and analytically.

This unit explores the role of the school management team (SMT) in managing a strategy for the school to identify and support vulnerable learners holistically. This strategy will involve teachers at the level of the classroom and will examine a simple system for referring vulnerable learners to the appropriate services for help.

Website Description:
Teach your students about democracy with examples from the very beginning! In this lesson, students learn about Athens’s direct democracy and Rome’s republic. Students explore how these governments took shape and key features of their structure, and then try their hands at comparing and contrasting each to U.S. government today.

Student Learning Objectives:
* Describe democracy in Athens and Rome
* Differentiate between democracy and other forms of government
* Identify characteristics of direct and representative democracy
* Compare and contrast democracy in Athens and Rome to the U.S. government today
* Analyze arguments against democracy

Website description: What keeps government from having too much power? Students learn about the limited power of government in this lesson, which outlines five basic limits on government. They analyze the true story of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, in which many of those limits disappeared, and they evaluate fictional cases of governments with limits missing. The concepts in this lesson prepare students to understand why the U.S. Constitution is structured the way it is.

Medieval and early modern Russia stood at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. In this course we will examine some of the native developments and foreign influences which most affected the course of Russian history. Particular topics include the rise of the Kievan State, the Mongol Yoke, the rise of Muscovy, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, relations with Western Europe. How did foreigners perceive Russia? How did those living in the Russian lands perceive foreigners? What social relations were developing between nobility and peasantry, town and country, women and men? What were the relations of each of these groups to the state? How did state formation come about in Kievan and Muscovite Russia? What were the political, religious, economic, and social factors affecting relations between state and society? In examining these questions we will consider a variety of sources including contemporary accounts (both domestic and foreign), legal and political documents, historical monographs and interpretive essays.

In this module, you will examine the form of government established by the American Revolution and the Constitution, and its key ideas—including natural rights, popular sovereignty, and the rule of law. By examining the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, you will learn how these two documents set the foundation for American democracy.

Students will learn about elections and voting. They register to vote, learn about the candidates, create campaign posters, and head to the polls. Then they tally the results and declare a winner!

In this lesson, students will be introduced to five different strategies that Native nations used to protect their land and sovereignty during the American Revolution. Students will be reminded about the key ideas of the American Revolution and learn a little bit about how the Americans talked about Native people in the Declaration of Independence. They will also learn that both the British and the Americans tried to court Native nations to join their side during the war. Students will then be introduced to five different strategies used by different Native nations.
This lesson is part of a unit that includes the following lessons:
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 2: WHAT CAN DIFFERENT MAPS TELL US ABOUT NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND NATIVE LAND?
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 3: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1)?
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 4: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (2)?

This lesson on the Bill of Rights is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core-based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, demonstrating their understanding through visual and oral presentations. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.
Lesson #1
Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by the first five amendments of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

Lesson #2
Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by amendments 6–10 of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

Lesson #3
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the Bill of Rights by drawing an illustration depicting one of the amendments and citing a direct quote from the amendment as a caption. This caption will serve as direct evidence for the accurate interpretation of the text. The students will then present their drawing in the form of a short oral presentation to the class. The teacher may allow students to substitute a computer-based drawing or graphics alternative to an actual hand-drawn illustration.

During the last fifteen years, nations across the globe embarked on a historic transformation away from centrally planned economies to market-oriented ones. However, in the common pursuit for economic growth, these transition economies implemented widely different reform strategies with mixed results. With over a decade of empirical evidence now available, this new course examines this phenomenon that has pushed the discourse in a number of disciplines, requiring us to reconsider fundamental issues such as: - the proper relationship between business, government, and the public interest; - the possible synergies and tensions between economic growth and equity; and - how economic transition has reshaped cities. The premise of the course is that the primary issue in transition involves institution-building and re-building in different contexts.

This course will examine public opinion and assess its place in the American political system. The course will emphasize both how citizens' thinking about politics is shaped and the role of public opinion in political campaigns, elections, and government.

In this lesson, students will understand some of the struggles and prejudices Native Americans faced
in 19th-century Wisconsin. They will also be able to articulate the various concerns expressed in 19th-century
petitions as they relate to the Native American relationship with white Colonizers.

Note: Primary source materials such as petitions, letters, and diaries capture history as it happened, and
many customs, terms, social mores, and attitudes that are considered offensive now were
commonplace at the time. Please read through the primary source material before assigning it to
your class.

Students define the rule of law and then role play to discover what life would be without it. Analysis between the rule of law and founding documents will illustrate the factors and how they affect daily life.

This segment from American Experience: Simple Justice documents Dr. Kenneth Clark's doll test, which became important social science evidence in the Brown case.

This lesson module ntroduces students to the basics of laws and regulations, including types of law, levels of laws, and the important functions of law, namely maintaining order, resolving disputes, and enacting social change. It also teaches students where laws and regulations come from, what they do, and which ones are especially relevant and important to young people today. The lesson module contains a student narrative, discussion guide, individual and group activities, and a posttest with descriptive key.

Website Description:
Students discover that states have their own governments and powers separate from the federal government. They learn what those powers are, how they’re different from the federal government’s powers, and that state governments also give power to smaller, local governments. Students critique a set of fictional state laws, create a story involving state powers, and look at some differences between state and local power.
We recommend teaching our lesson The "Federal" in Federalism right before this lesson.
(Please note: This lesson replaces our old "On the Level" lesson plan. The Venn diagram activity from On the Level can be found in The "Federal" in Federalism.)

Student Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to…
*Explain the source and nature of state and local governmental power.
*Distinguish reserved powers from federal powers.
*Identify types of powers that are held at the state or local level.
*Examine the differences between statewide laws and local ordinances/laws.
*Explain the duties of various local officials.

This site focuses on the complex system of election rules by examining the vote tally of the 1824 Presidential election, in which the winning candidate, John Quincy Adams, received fewer popular votes than the runner-up, Andrew Jackson.