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Election Day is coming, are you prepared to vote?
Running a county is a lot of work! Manage things well, and try to get re-elected.
Introduce students to the basic structure and function of state legislatures, as well as the variety in those structures. Students will learn to identify elements of their own…
Dive into the structure and functions of the state executive branch! Students learn about the most common executive offices, their officials, and how the state executive branches…
How do states make laws? Students track the state lawmaking process as they learn about the people, organizations, and official efforts that help a bill become a law.
States have their own governments, but what powers do they have, and where does that power come from? In this lesson, students will explore the nature of state power as…
Even before the Constitution was ratified, the relationship between state and federal power was unclear. Students will learn the source of that tension and why this tug-of-war has…
State governments play many roles. Go beyond basic state government structure to examine how states use their police powers and taxation systems to further state goals, act as…
Compare and contrast the U.S. and Ohio constitutions in this hands-on lesson using excerpts from both documents. Dig into how they structure the government, address individual…
View excerpts from Ohio's original 1802 state constitution and the major changes made in the 1851 version as students learn about the history of Ohio's constitution in this unique…
The United States has 3,069 county governments acting as a bridge between state governments and the people. This lesson covers the diversity in county government structure, duties,…
What's the closest form of government to the American people? Why municipal government, of course! In this lesson, students will explore the varied functions and structures of…
As sovereign nations, American Indian and Alaska Native tribes develop and manage their own governments. This lesson examines the varied structures and functions of tribal…
Kick off this project-based unit by asking students to examine what it means to make change in the world. Students think about why people are motivated to advocate for change, what…
Do your students breeze through internet search results, easily weeding out irrelevant results and finding exactly what they need? No? This step offers a detailed look at how to…
In this step, students read and annotate the sources they identified in Step 2. The lesson discusses investigative reading and offers strategies for staying organized when faced…
No issue exists in a vacuum, so in this step, students examine the factors that contribute to the circumstances surrounding their issue to gain a deeper understanding of the issue…
In this step, students figure out who’s got a stake in their issue. They learn what stakeholders are and how to identify them, as well as why the power of numbers is important and…
Armed with information and a deep understanding of their issue, students shift into action mode in this step by writing an action plan for “moving the needle” on their issue.
Students take a “step” back in Step 7 and identify gaps in their information: What pieces of the puzzle are still missing? What information is important to have before going on? To…
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