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Searching online? Wikipedia is often a top result, but should you trust it? In this lesson, students learn about how Wikipedia works and the site’s processes for preventing…
In this lesson, students evaluate hypothetical candidates by establishing and applying their own criteria for selecting public officials.
Look into the ideas and writings of the Italian thinker and politician, Niccoló Machiavelli (1429-1527).
The Enlightenment was a period of time, starting around 1715, when people developed new ideas about human existence, including people's basic rights and the purpose of government.…
Introduce students to the ideas and writings of John Locke that influenced the likes of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers.
Meet the Baron de Montesquieu, one of the great thinkers of the 18th century. He spent a lot of time thinking about how governments should be created and maintained. These ideas…
Explore the ideas of Enlightenment thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His writings on natural and social freedom, the social contract, and democracy shaped the American system of…
We've heard a lot about the role the Founding Fathers played in the early United States, but what role did our Founding Mothers play? Discover the contributions of women in the…
"The First American", Benjamin Franklin, is the only Founding Father that signed all three major documents that founded the United States of America: the Declaration of…
Check out George Mason's role in the founding of the U.S. Even though he never served as a president and refused to sign the Constitution, Mason's work in Virginia and with the…
Review 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…
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, but he played many political roles throughout our nation’s history. His political life influenced the country in many…
This mini-lesson digs into the 41 year political career of James Madison. Considered the author of the U.S. Constitution, Madison was a prime architect in creating a strong…
Look at the debate, and eventual compromise, between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists that occured around the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
After ten years under the Articles of Confederation, Americans realized they needed something different. Explore the major debates that occurred at the convention, as well as the…
As a new country, the United States experienced a lot of growing pains. Discover some of the citizen-led rebellions that occurred in the nation's first decades, and how the…
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned “separate but equal” in public schools. Students learn about segregation and “equality under the…
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that said juvenile offenders have a right to due process. Students learn about 14th Amendment due process,…
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that interpreted the Commerce and Supremacy Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and affirmed the federal…
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that gave defendants in state criminal courts the right to a lawyer. Students learn about the 6th Amendment right…
Lesson Plan
