Browse lesson plans

1869: A report on schools in North Carolina

In this lesson, students look at a report on the status of education in North Carolina in 1869 and discuss the reasons given then for why the Governor and Legislature should support educating North Carolina's children. They are provided an opportunity to compare and contrast the 1869 document against their own ideas about the civic duty to attend school through age sixteen and its relative value to the state and the country.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Victoria Schaefer.

The Bill of Rights and the U.S. Supreme Court

In this lesson, students work in groups and individually to understand how the Constitution/Bill of Rights is a living document and how Supreme Court decisions protect the rights of all Americans.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 Social Studies)

By Grace Wasserman.

Canning for country and community

In this lesson plan, students will use primary source documents to evaluate the technological challenges of food preservation in the 30s and 40s, compare food preservation in the first half of the twentieth century with today, and consider the political role of food in the community.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Melissa Thibault.

The Declaration of Independence

In Where English and history meet: A collaboration guide, page 5

In this interdisciplinary lesson, students will examine the role of the Declaration of Independence in the development of the American Revolution and as part of the American identity. They will also analyze the argumentative structure and write their own declaration.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Karen Cobb Carroll, Ph.D., NBCT.

Resources on the web

Balancing three branches at once: Our system of checks and balances

This page contains four EDSITEment lessons in which students use primary source documents to investigate how the three branches of the American government can check each other. By the end of these lessons, not only will students be able to name the three... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

C-SPAN Classroom Resources

Lesson plans include video clips, discussion questions, and booknotes for selected units. Some plans, such as the Checks and Balances lesson plan, contain a Fun Fact, Capitol Question (with link to the answer), Learn More, and Review Quiz, in addition to... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: C-SPAN

The First Amendment: What's fair in a free country?

Balancing rights and responsibilities is difficult, even for the Supreme Court. This lesson demonstrates to students that freedom of speech is an ongoing process. After completing the lessons in this unit from the National Endowment for the Humanities... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

A president's home and the president's house

In this lesson, the third in the EDSITEment curriculum unit titled “From the White House of Yesterday to the White House of Today,” students take virtual tours of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia, and the White House. They compare... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment