By analyzing various primary and secondary sources, students will determine how citizen activism among the disabled community led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. After reviewing ADA provisions that improved access to public facilities and the workplace, students will identify continued areas of need for people with disabilities and develop public service announcements that promote personal responsibility for maintaining accessibility

The Blackwell Family Papers span the years 1759-1960, with the bulk of the material dating from 1845 to 1890. Consisting of approximately 29,000 items (58,002 images), most of which were digitized from 76 reels of microfilm, the collection predominantly represents two generations of the Blackwell family and twenty individual family members. Nearly two centuries of the family’s daily lives are documented in correspondence, diaries, speeches, and other papers, exemplifying the family’s long commitment to social reform movements, such as abolition; women’s rights, including the right to equal education; women’s suffrage; and temperance.

This lesson looks at Bush v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 election. First, students read about and discuss the Supreme Court case of Bush v. Gore. Then in small groups, students role play Supreme Court justices and apply Bush v. Gore to hypothetical election cases.

This is a featured conversation from Future Hindsight, a podcast with a simple premise: civic participation is essential to a functioning democracy. So how do we do it? In this episode, host Mila Atmos speaks with Sung Yeon Choimorrow, the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, about Asian American stereotypes, changing the narrative about who Asian-Americans are, and activating Asian communities to take civic action.

Constitution 101 is a 15 unit curriculum that provides students with a basic understanding of the Constitution’s text, history, structure, and caselaw. Using multiple primary source documents students will study the historical and philosophical foundations of America’s founding principles from a range of diverse voices The curriculum guides students to think like constitutional lawyers—cultivating the skills necessary to analyze all sides of constitutional questions. Each unit contains detailed materials for classroom teachers, as well as opportunities for guided discovery and practice and tools to check for understanding.

This lesson uses the example of the 2008 contested Senate election between Al Franken and Norm Coleman in Minnesota to discuss contested elections, counting votes, and recount laws. Looks at recount laws in your own state.

The National Park Service has created a K-12 curriculum that focuses on scaffolded lessons that focus on Martin Luther King’s advocacy, the March on Washington and other leaders of the Civil Rights movement.

Democracy in America is a unique 15-part course for high school teachers to provide a deeper understanding of the principles and workings of American democracy. By combining compelling video stories of individuals interacting with American government, theoretical discussions of the meaning of democracy, and problem-solving, hands-on exercises, the course gives life to the workings of American democracy.

In preparation for the upcoming midterms, we talk about lies. This is the true story of the fake world created in disinformation campaigns. The voting populace spreads it like there's no tomorrow, without ever knowing what's real. We tell you what it is and how to avoid it. Our guests today are Samantha Lai of the Brookings Institute and Peter Adams of the News Literacy Project.

Support your students to embrace the larger questions featured in American Creed that ask:

What ideals unite us as a nation?
Where does a nation’s identity come from?
These lesson plans bring together teaching strategies, videos, and activities that will help you explore themes such as common ideals and national identity.

Voting for the right person to represent us in government to make policies we feel are the right ones is an important decision! In this lesson, students will consider important qualities when choosing a representative. Using a variety of sources, students will evaluate strengths of supporting evidence to answer the question, "What qualities are important in an elected representative?"

Know your candidates and causes, find your polling place, have a plan! There are plenty of small steps you can take to be ready for the midterm election. But if you want to know what they're about and why they matter? Look and listen no further. Keith Hughes (with some help from Cheryl Cook-Kallio and Dan Cassino) tells us the five things you need to know about midterms.

In this activity, students will analyze documents pertaining to the woman suffrage movement as it intensified following passage of the 15th Amendment that guaranteed the right to vote for African American males. Documents were chosen to call attention to the struggle’s length, the movement’s techniques, and the variety of arguments for and against giving women the vote.

Students watch a video in which teens reflect on the concept of fake news, and then discuss their own experiences with misinformation.

Website Description:
In this federalism lesson plan, students learn where the federal government gets its power and that government power in the United States is split between states and the federal government. They learn about express and implied powers, distinguish between federal powers and those reserved to the states (as well as shared powers), and contrast the federalist system of government with other choices the Founders might have made. We suggest teaching our lesson "State Power: Got a Reservation? back-to-back with this lesson.

Student Learning objectives
Students will be able to...
*Define federalism and explain the division of power between states and the federal government.
*Identify expressed, implied, reserved, and concurrent powers.
*Explain the significance of the Supremacy Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause.
*Describe the ongoing tension between federal and state power.
*Compare and contrast federal, confederal, and unitary forms of government.
*Identify the strengths and weaknesses of federalism.

This mini-lesson looks at the variety of roles that George Washington played in America's early years. From commanding the Continental Army, to presiding over the Constitutional Convention, to setting the standard for the American presidency, Washington led the way.

High school teachers and students will be able to learn how a student can work as a poll worker during an election. 

This lesson features the history of political polling in the United States going back to the 19th century and the development and use of polling since then.

The methods in which candidates, political parties and interest groups promote their positions and policies have evolved since the first television campaign ads aired. In this lesson, students will view videos of historical presidential campaign advertisements and analyze the features found within each to determine the overall effectiveness.

Voting in America is not always straightforward, nor is its impact always clear. In this episode, we give you the basic tools to vote on Election Day, including tips for avoiding the roadblocks.

And for those of you on the fence about exercising that enfranchisement, a word to the wise: your vote matters.