Teachers | iCivics

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Oregon Treaty (1845)

With the Oregon Treaty, the United States added what today is the Pacific Northwest. In this mini-lesson, students learn how it happened, what tensions were involved, and how Native Americans were…
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Lesson Plan

Annexation of Texas (1845)

The United States annexed Texas after years of debate. In this mini-lesson, students learn about Texas’ independence from Mexico, the role of slavery in delaying Texas’ admission, and how President…
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Lesson Plan

Mexican Cession (1848)

The Mexican-American War ended with Mexico giving up a million acres of land to the United States. In this lesson, students learn about Americans’ drive to expand west, tensions between the U.S. and…
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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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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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Lesson Plan

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

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

Six Roles of the President (Infographic)

From Commander-in-Chief to Chief Executive—keep track of the many roles of the president with this printable infographic for your classroom!Love this infographic? Explore all of our free election…
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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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Lesson Plan

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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Lesson Plan

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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Lesson Plan

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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Lesson Plan

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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Lesson Plan

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

Lesson 3: Bias

Strip the fear out of bias by showing students how to notice the word choices and framing that show up when bias is present in a news story. Students learn about methods journalists use to produce…
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