The California city of Rancho Cucamonga has been given the task of developing a 4-square-mile area into a productive venture. There is already freeway access and a cargo railroad line, but sewer lines and various other services must be added. This lesson plan stipulates that student teams, each representing a specific interest in the business…

In this lesson plan, students are assigned a member of the California Assembly to research and a political faction to represent. Students examine representative bills voted on by the California Assembly to determine if their member's voting record coincides with the views of their political faction. Ultimately, students must decide whether, and…

In this lesson plan, students role play members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States. Cabinet members must define and defend their highest priority programs for the coming fiscal year. Students must identify a pressing current issue before their particular Cabinet department and prepare an action plan, with possible alternative…

A major assignment for twelfth grade social science students at a California high school deals with the basic components of survival on one's own. Students must simulate moving out of their parents' home, finding a job, making major household and transportation purchases, buying on credit, investing money, buying insurance, and getting involved in…

This lesson asks 12th grade students to imagine that they are special assistants to the Undersecretary of Commerce for a foreign country who must answer a letter from a U.S. company planning to move its manufacturing operations overseas. The lesson also asks them to design a business brochure that will convince the company to come to their…

In this lesson plan, the city of Malibu (CA) is at the mercy of the weather phenomenon El Nino. The press secretary for the Mayor of Malibu recognizes an opportunity to turn this potential natural disaster into a re-election campaign. A task force will be assembled to protect the lives and property of the community. Students role play members of…

Describes a project in which students from 11 countries took part in an Arab-Israeli Conflict simulation-- an interactive communication simulation that immersed students in the complex dynamics of international reality. The project is a pilot program from the Region of Peel School Board, Ontario. Example of simulation is appended. (SLM)

Student activity pages, teacher background information, and lesson ideas for teaching about law in social studies classrooms are presented. Lessons in this unit further develop ideas presented in the eighth grade packet and can be used to supplement a course in government. Section I provides suggestions for using community resource persons.…

This guide is intended for use in teaching a course in construction planning and design. During the course, students learn how to use the project delivery process to design low-rise buildings and civil projects, simulate working in an architecture/engineering office that is organized into design teams, and use various management tools to monitor…