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Voting laws vary by state. Where do your state's laws fit on the wide spectrum of election laws across the country?
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…
What do state governments do? In this overview lesson, students learn about state government structure, functions, lawmaking, and relationship with local government. Got a 1:1…
In case of emergency, declare it! Help your students understand what it means when a state of emergency is declared with this printable infographic.
The debate over slavery ultimately helped drive the United States into civil war, but before it did, there were decades of careful balance between slaves states and free states. In…
In this lesson, students discover the roles and responsibilities of a governor. Through a reading and board game, students identify the source of a governor's power and how that…
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…
Discover the four features of a sovereign state. Graphic organizers and mini-quizzes help reinforce the information, while students create a fictional country to apply what they've…
If you’ve seen one constitution, have you seen them all? Compare and contrast the provisions of the U.S. Constitution alongside the state constitutions of Florida and Virginia.…
Covering everything from referendums to recalls, this lesson takes students to the voting booth and explains what is on a ballot.
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that determined the government acted constitutionally when it detained people of Japanese ancestry inside…
From the basics about slavery to the attitudes that defended it and the efforts of those who wanted to see it abolished, in this lesson students learn about this dark part of…
Starting a brand new nation was a tough job for America’s first presidents—and it didn’t help that many Americans were wary of the new central government. In this lesson, students…
What ocean is off the east coast? Who is our southern neighbor? What are the U.S. territories? Can you draw the Rocky Mountains on a map? In this lesson, students answer these…
How did women win the right to vote? Explore how the women’s suffrage movement spread across the United States beginning in the late 1800s.
Students learn about the landmark case McCulloch v. Maryland, in which the Supreme Court clarified what kinds of actions Congress can take under the “necessary and proper” clause.…
The Civil War and Reconstruction Era brought about the end of slavery and the expansion of civil rights to African Americans through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Compare…
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.…
"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…
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…
Lesson Plan
