This lesson gives students an opportunity to practice the click restraint strategy introduced in the Click Restraint Level 1 Lesson. This lesson includes Teacher and Student materials.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This lesson introduces click restraint, a strategy that helps students resist the urge to click on the first search result they receive in a search engine. Students learn to scan the results they receive to make an informed choice about which result to choose first. Teacher materials, Student materials, and Presentation slides are included in this lesson.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This lesson is an introduction to a strategy that helps students evaluate where web baed information come from and whether it is trustworthy. Lateral Reading is a strategy for investigating a website or post by going outside the site to determine who is behind a website and its information and deciding if it can be trusted. Teacher and Student materials are included in this lesson.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This is Lesson Three in the Introduction to the Civic Online Reasoning method of evaluating online resources. Students will be introduced to the important of verifying and supporting information with multiple information sources. This lesson is to be taught after Who's Behind the Information Saturday School and What's the Evidence lessons. Students will use the fictional scenario and resources to support claims and evidence presented in the information sources. Teacher and Student materials are included in this lesson.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This is Lesson Two in the Introduction to the Civic Online Reasoning method of evaluating online resources. Students will practice anaylzing evidence to be able to evaluate online information. This lesson is to be taught after Who's Behind the Information Saturday School lesson. Students will use the fictional scenario and resources to analyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the information source and the evidence itself. Teacher and Student materials are included in this lesson.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This is Lesson One in the Introduction to the Civic Online Reasoning method of evaluating online resources. Students will practice examining three sources around a fictional scenario, mandatory Saturday school, in this lesson to determine who is behind the information and how their motivation could affect their information. Teacher and Student materials are included in this lesson.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
Overview: This simulation game has students follow a bill through the three branches of government. It begins with the Executive Branch creating an agenda and then proposing a bill based on that agenda. The bill then goes to the Legislative Branch where hearings are held, deliberation about the bill occurs, and then a vote occurs. If passed, the Bill goes back to the Executive Branch for review. Finally, the Judicial Branch will determine if the law is constitutional. Instructor Notes: Teachers can assign this content to their students through their iCivics account and then Clicking the Assign button on this activity. Teachers will then have the option to add a Class into iCivics OR Sync a roster from Google Classroom. This will allow teachers to see student's responses. There are also Downloadable Resources available to support this learning activity.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This WebQuest has students explore the three branches of the United States government and how they provide a system of checks and balances in decision making. Students will learn about the state of the union address, how bills become law, the President's power to veto, and the Supreme Court's role in the law process. Instructor Notes: Teachers can assign this content to their students through their iCivics account and then Clicking the Assign button on this activity. Teachers will then have the option to add a Class into iCivics OR Sync a roster from Google Classroom. This will allow teachers to see student's responses. There are also Downloadable Resources available to support this learning activity.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
This WebQuest has students explore the definition of the role of the President, what tasks are part of the job, the departments and cabinet that support the President, and their role in passing and carrying out laws. . Instructor Notes: Teachers can assign this content to their students through their iCivics account and then Clicking the Assign button on this activity. Teachers will then have the option to add a Class into iCivics OR Sync a roster from Google Classroom. This will allow teachers to see student's responses. There are also Downloadable Resources available to support this learning activity.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Learning Task, Lesson
Overview: This simulation game has students be the President for a day. In that role, they will be challenged with creating an agenda, making decisions about bills, delegating bills to the appropriate department so they can become laws, handling international diplomacy situations, and commanding the military. Instructor Notes: Teachers can assign this content to their students through their iCivics account and then Clicking the Assign button on this activity. Teachers will then have the option to add a Class into iCivics OR Sync a roster from Google Classroom. This will allow teachers to see student's responses. There are also Downloadable Resources available to support this learning activity.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Simulation
In this series of lessons, first students will read and reflect on the Constitution regarding issues of security and liberty. Next, they will participate in a Reflective Conversation in which students will discuss the issues of security and liberty. Finally, they will expand the conversation to a larger community of peers outside of their school.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
Many Americans do not fully understand the history and text of the First Amendment, even if the rights enshrined within are used every day. While many Americans, like much of the founding generation, can agree that freedom of the press should be protected, there are disagreements over when, why, and how freedom of the press may be limited. This lesson encourages students to examine their own assumptions and to deepen their understanding of the currently accepted interpretation of freedom of the press under the First Amendment
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This is a video learning module that teaches about citizenship and the 14th amendment. The module goals are: define citizenship as stated in the Fourteenth Amendment, describe the process of becoming a naturalized citizen, and to evaluate the impact of the naturalization process on society, government or the political process.
Material Type: Assessment, Learning Task, Module
This infographic and supporting resources assist educators and students to contact local government and advocacy groups to advance civic engagement in and out of the classroom. It provides background information on why civic engagement is a good idea, what it looks like in the classroom, and links to community development, university partners, and statewide Chambers of Commerce. Special thanks to Jim Renzelmann at the Sheboygan Area School District for his help on this work!
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reference Material
This lesson, which includes a pre-lesson and post-lesson, provides students with first-hand experience about how the three branches of the United States government work together through separation of powers and a system of checks and balances.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan
This ‘Tournament of Presidents’ activity gives students an opportunity to evaluate the presidents using a "bracket style" competition. Students will examine individual leadership characteristics that are key to the success of the chief executive. Students will utilize C-SPAN Presidential resources with special emphasis on the C-SPAN's 2021 Historians Survey of President Leadership.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy
4 Service-Learning Project Ideas to Promote Civic Engagement from Population Education These are service learning, not volunteer projects that students can construct that focus on their community and contemporary events.
Material Type: Assessment, Learning Task
These supporting resources assist educators and students to contact local government and advocacy groups to advance civic engagement in and out of the classroom. It provides background information on why civic engagement is a good idea, what it looks like in the classroom, and links to community development, university partners, and statewide Chambers of Commerce. Special thanks to Jim Renzelmann at the Sheboygan Area School District for his help on this work.
Material Type: Reference Material
The First Amendment holds some of our biggest rights as American citizens. Nick reviews them for us! TRANSCRIPT "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America." Our constitution sounds pretty good to me. Nothing to change there, right? Wrong. Even the founding fathers knew they couldn't make a perfect guide for running the country. Enter amendments. An amendment is any improvements, revisions, or corrections to the Constitution. There are currently 20-plus amendments to the Constitution, but I want to focus on the first one. It provides some of our most important rights. The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." So within the First Amendment, we've got these five protected rights. Freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assembly, and the right to petition the government. Let's take a look at these a little closer. Freedom of religion was super important to the founding fathers. It's one of the reasons they came to America in the first place. They wanted to escape other countries where they were forced to follow a specific religion. Because of the First Amendment you can now practice any religion or no religion at all. The freedom of speech and assembly can be grouped together. They basically mean we can express our own opinions. We're allowed to speak out and get together in groups to express our ideas. Of course, there are some exceptions. For example, you can't tell lies about people, or they could try to sue you for it. That idea of telling the truth leads me to the next protection which is super important for folks who work in the news like me, the freedom of the press. It means journalists are allowed to report on what's going on without fear that the government might get upset and stop them from doing their work. In some countries without the freedom of the press like China, journalists are only allowed to report what the government wants. As you can imagine, if the government makes a mistake or isn't treating people fairly, they aren't going to want the news to tell people about it. Finally the right to petition the government empowers citizens to address their leaders directly if they're concerned about actions or issues. You may have heard about people writing their Senators, governor's or other politicians to share their opinions or express concern. The First Amendment aimed to set Americans apart from other countries and governments that impose stiff rules and regulations over their citizens or punish them for speaking out. It's all about letting our country stay by the people and for the people. As the country grows and changes so do the needs of the Constitution. It's not stuck in the 1700s. It's a living, breathing part of our democracy.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Other
In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students learn about the three branches of the United States government. Students explore the powers that the Constitution assigns to each branch—legislative, executive, and judicial—and how the three branches work together. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan
