This study investigated an approach to teaching students to evaluate online information in the context of a high school history class. Over the course of a semester, I collaborated with a teacher to teach and refine a series of eight lessons focused on "civic online reasoning." We aimed to use students' historical reading as a bridge to…

This article shares a critical content analysis of 36 highly rated curricular units found on the website TeachersPayTeachers.com (TpT) focused on the teaching of American symbols. Lessons and curricular resources focused on American symbols, such as the United States Flag, Statue of Liberty, and Liberty Bell, remain prominent in the elementary…

Learn how to design history lessons that foster students' knowledge, skills, and dispositions for civic engagement. Each section of this practical resource introduces a key element of civic engagement, such as defending the rights of others, advocating for change, taking action when problems are observed, compromising to promote reform, and…

The purpose of this article is to empower those interested in teaching students powerful and engaging social studies. Through the lens of Supreme Court simulations, this article provides educators with a viable, classroom-tested lesson plan to bring Problem-Based Learning into their classrooms. The specific aim of the lesson is to provide students…

Amador Valley High School, in Pleasanton, California, uses two unique approaches to teaching Advanced Placement Government and Politics. AP Government consists of six units: Constitutional Underpinnings; Political Behavior and Political Beliefs; Mass Media, Interest Groups, and Political Parties; Institutions of Government; Civil Liberties and…

Each week, U.S. government classes at the authors' school eagerly organize and participate in moot courts. When they began a search for a Supreme Court case study on substantive due process, they found that the only appropriate brief on the StreetLaw website--a treasure trove of student-accessible court case summaries--"Lawrence v.…

In spite of the fact that public schools were established to prepare students for citizenship, the alignment of teaching practice with this goal is poor. In part, this is because the knowledge base about the efficacy of curricular and pedagogical approaches in supporting specific civic outcomes is limited, as is our knowledge about the extent to…

This comprehensive, reader-friendly text demonstrates how personal connections can be incorporated into social studies education while meeting standards of the National Council for the Social Studies. Praised for its wealth of strategies that go beyond social studies content teaching--including classroom strategies, pedagogical techniques,…

There is no part of the education given in the schools of a democracy like this one that is of more importance to society and State than that which has to do with social and civic relations. The purpose of the lessons contained in this bulletin is to enable teachers of children in the elementary grades in city schools to make a good practical…

Sample lesson plans integrating law related questions into the daily curriculum of all grade levels and using involvment and inquiry oriented methods are presented. (Author/DE)

This is the teacher's guide that accompanies the textbook prepared for teaching civics at the third grade level in Vietnam. The guide presents a teaching method that deals with each lesson in three basic steps: (1) preparation, including defining principal themes and selecting teaching materials; (2) class discussions, including introductory…

The teacher's handbook provides goals, objectives, and teaching strategies helpful to elementary teachers in supplementing existing law-related curriculum materials in the social studies classroom. Intended as a means of actively involving students in a study of law, the first section presents 17 lesson plans for use in grades K-2. Topics include…

The teacher's handbook provides goals, objectives, and teaching strategies helpful to secondary teachers in supplementing existing law-related curriculum materials in the social studies classroom. Intended as a means of actively involving students in a study of law, the first section presents 19 lesson plans and selected student resources for use…

This book revolves around the idea that making personal connections with the material to be learned is what creates powerful learning experiences, demonstrating how personal connections can be incorporated into social studies education while meeting the National Council for the Social Studies' (NCSS) thematic, pedagogical, and disciplinary…

This description of the plan of civic education in the Indianapolis elementary schools has been prepared because of a growing, general interest in the subject, and because of the numerous inquiries as to existing methods of organized elementary civic training. The Indianapolis teachers and school authorities would be the last to claim that they…