Teachers | iCivics

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William Blackstone: Mini-Lesson

Discover how William Blackstone and his Commentaries on the Laws of England influenced America’s founders, founding documents, and legal system.
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Lesson Plan

The Federalist Debate (HS)

Discover the debate that surrounded the Constitution before it became the law of the land. Excerpts from Federalist 84 and Anti-Federalist 46 offer insight into both sides of the debate while…
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Constitutional Principles (HS)

View the Constitution from the perspective of its foundational principles. Consider the Founders' intentions and the Constitution itself as you discover how the constitutional principles are critical…
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Lesson Plan

No Bill of Rights, No Deal (HS)

Jump into the big debate over the Bill of Rights, and see how the Federalists and Anti-Federalists battled over the fate of the U.S. Constitution. Where did the idea come from? How did they decided…
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Lesson Plan

Comparing Constitutions: Ohio (HS)

Compare and contrast the U.S. and Ohio constitutions in this hands-on lesson using excerpts from both documents. Dig into how they structure the government, address individual rights, outline the…
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Lesson Plan

History of Ohio's Constitution (HS)

View excerpts from Ohio's original 1802 state constitution and the major changes made in the 1851 version as students learn about the history of Ohio's constitution in this unique before and after…
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Lesson Plan

Mini-Lesson: The First 100 Days

Even presidents have to worry about making the grade! Discover the history behind the “First 100 Days” and its impact on the American presidency with this new lesson plan that includes extension…
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Lesson Plan

Step 1: Change the World?

Kick off this project-based unit by asking students to examine what it means to make change in the world. Students think about why people are motivated to advocate for change, what kinds of issues…
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Step 2: Find What You Need

Do your students breeze through internet search results, easily weeding out irrelevant results and finding exactly what they need? No? This step offers a detailed look at how to search for and find…
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Step 3: Become an Expert

In this step, students read and annotate the sources they identified in Step 2. The lesson discusses investigative reading and offers strategies for staying organized when faced with a large amount…
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Step 4: Consider the Context

No issue exists in a vacuum, so in this step, students examine the factors that contribute to the circumstances surrounding their issue to gain a deeper understanding of the issue and its interplay…
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Step 5: Identify Your Stakeholders

In this step, students figure out who’s got a stake in their issue. They learn what stakeholders are and how to identify them, as well as why the power of numbers is important and how to leverage…
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Step 6: Plan Your Attack

Armed with information and a deep understanding of their issue, students shift into action mode in this step by writing an action plan for “moving the needle” on their issue.
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Lesson Plan

Step 7: Fill the Holes

Students take a “step” back in Step 7 and identify gaps in their information: What pieces of the puzzle are still missing? What information is important to have before going on? To fill those holes,…
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Step 8: Talk It Up

To get support for an issue, you have to be able to talk about it—and in this step, students learn how to do that effectively. By developing and practicing both an elevator speech and a set of…
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Step 9: Grab People’s Attention

In this step, students get creative by developing “swag” to promote their cause. They learn principles of effective attention-grabbing that they apply to their own swag designs, including how to…
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Step 10: Make Your Pitch

In the culminating lesson, students learn how to design and deliver an effective slide presentation to gather support for their issue, create a 5-minute presentation targeted to a specific…
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Lesson Plan

Comparing Constitutions (WA)

How does Washington’s state constitution compare and contrast with the U.S. Constitution? Look no further for the answer! Guide your class through some basic similarities and differences as well as…
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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

Washington's Water

Water rights are a big deal for many reasons. In this lesson, students learn where water comes from, what water rights are, and how a variety of competing interests factor into managing water…
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