Teachers | iCivics

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Lesson Plan

The Sovereign State

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 learned.
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Lesson Plan

Who Rules?

Students learn about the different forms of government that exist, including democracy, autocracy, oligarchy, and others. They compare and contrast these types of government, and they look at real-…
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Lesson Plan

Civic Action and Change

Students learn the basic steps of civic action and what it takes to make change, following the "I AM" model (Inform, Act, Maintain). Along the way, they explore the change-making examples of four key…
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Lesson Plan

Columbus to the Colonies

From the time Columbus first set foot in the New World, Europeans were fascinated with this new land. Learn about the “Three Gs” that drove them here—gold, God, and glory—and find out how these…
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Lesson Plan

Slave States, Free States

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 this lesson,…
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Lesson Plan

This Land is Your Land

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 questions and more as…
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Lesson Plan

Do I Have a Right? Extension Pack

Make your students’ gameplay more meaningful by using our constitutional rights activity and assessment set designed specifically for Do I Have a Right?. We included tips and practice that help make…
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Lesson Plan

Governing Washington Communities

Local government has lots of layers, and Washington's is no different. In this lesson, students learn the structure and function of local government in Washington and how they can “harness the power…
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Lesson Plan

Initiative & Referendum (WA)

Washington’s initiative and referendum powers let regular people participate directly in lawmaking! This lesson presents the initiative and referendum powers as tools and shows students how to use…
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Lesson Plan

Mini-lesson: Judicial Activism & Restraint (HS)

Learn about the judicial philosophies of activism and restraint. In the second half of the lesson, students learn about opinion journalsim and explore criteria through which they can evaluate news-…
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Lesson Plan

Immigration Nation Extension Pack

Make your students’ gameplay more meaningful by using our immigration lesson plan designed specifically for Immigration Nation. This easy-to-use Extension Pack helps you give context and purpose to…
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Lesson Plan

NewsFeed Defenders Extension Pack

Make your students’ game play more meaningful with activities designed specifically for NewsFeed Defenders. This easy-to-use resource set means deeper learning for students and best practices around…
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Lesson Plan

Race to Ratify Extension Pack

Make your students’ gameplay more meaningful by using our activity and assessment set designed specifically for Race to Ratify. This easy-to-use Extension Pack helps you give context and purpose to…
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Lesson Plan

Citizen Me

Students learn that they are citizens at many levels of society — home, school, city, state, and nation — and create a graphic organizer that diagrams citizen rights and responsibilities at these…
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Lesson Plan

The Global You

In this global citizenship lesson plan, students play international detective as they read accounts of international pollution issues. Students also complete an activity tracing ocean currents and…
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Lesson Plan

Taxation

This lesson teaches the basics of taxes: what they are, who pays them, what kinds exist, and what they’re used for. Students learn how people’s income is taxed, how much revenue taxes generate, and…
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Lesson Plan

The Great State

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 classroom? Download…
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Lesson Plan

Banks, Credit & the Economy

This lesson presents a crash course in the relationship between money, banks, and lending in our economy. Students first learn the basics about money and banks. Then they then learn about banks’ role…
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Lesson Plan

Government & the Economy

This lesson uses the topic of cell phone service to illustrate how government and the economy are related. Students learn the difference between market, command, and mixed economies. Building on the…
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Lesson Plan

Government Spending

This lesson tackles a variety of topics related to government spending, including the federal budget, mandatory versus discretionary spending, and government debt. Students learn the difference…
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