Teachers | iCivics

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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

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

In this map-based lesson, students learn the historic importance of the Mississippi River and why the U.S. was determined to maintain access. They find out how the United States acquired the land…
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Lesson Plan

Step One: We've Got Issues

In the first of nine steps, students explore two county issues you have chosen. They vote to decide which issue the class will focus on for its “County Solutions” project.This resource was created…
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Lesson Plan

Step Two: The News and You

Having chosen an issue for the project, students analyze two news articles about the issue. They apply the “5W + H” method in order to learn how to gather information from a news article. Using what…
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Lesson Plan

Step Three: Who You Gonna Call?

To begin thinking about possible solutions for the issue they read about in Step Two, students learn about the difference between individual, group, and government action. They analyze examples, then…
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Lesson Plan

Step Four: Working With Websites

To increase their knowledge about both the chosen issue and the three types of actors they studied in Step Three, students examine three websites of governmental and non-governmental organizations…
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Lesson Plan

Step Five: All About Public Policy

Having built a foundation of knowledge about the chosen issue in Steps One through Four, students now learn the term “public policy.” Students identify government action and regulation as the two…
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Lesson Plan

Step Six: Real World Policies

Building on the concepts of public policy, government action, and regulation from Step Five, students analyze real-world examples of government actions and regulations. Students get a taste of the…
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Lesson Plan

Step Seven: Brainstorm a-Brewin'

Armed with knowledge about the chosen issue and about how public policy works from Steps One through Six, students brainstorm a public policy solution for the issue the class has been studying.…
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Step Eight: Positions, Please!

Students summarize their research and their proposed solution in one coherent document that describes what the issue is, what’s being done, and how the proposed public policy will help solve the…
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Lesson Plan

Step Nine: Action Campaign

Now that the research is done and students have articulated a proposed public policy solution for the chosen issue, they learn how to gather support. Students learn 12 different campaign and…
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Lesson Plan

County Solutions - MS Overview

This document will assist you in selecting community issues and preparing to use County Solutions with your students. The Public Policy flow chart is helpful in showing the ‘bigger picture’ and is…
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Lesson Plan

The Public Sphere

Public sphere, public agenda, public opinion, public policy… What’s the difference? Students discover the relationships among these concepts and how they influence the issues we all discuss and care…
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Lesson Plan

The Role of Media

What is the media? What does it do? Students examine the types and roles of the media by taking on the role of newsmaker and agenda setter. iCivics en español! Student and class materials for this…
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Lesson Plan

Interest Groups

The role of interest groups in politics and government is a hot topic in the media today. This lesson uses the battle over school lunch ingredients to illustrate how interest groups and lobbying…
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Lesson Plan

Propaganda: What's the Message?

Examine the seven forms of propaganda found in advertising and politics. Discover the persuasive methods behind the messaging we see every day and gain skills to effectively identify and counter them…
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Lesson Plan

Political Debate Guide

Use this activity to help your students view any political debate — local to national, historical to live broadcast. Preview candidates, issues, expectations, and details about the location and…
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Lesson Plan

Candidate Report Card

Help your class apply their candidate evaluation skills with this election season activity. Students will select the issues and qualities they care about, then research candidates running for the…
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Lesson Plan

Election Results Tracker

Our Election Results Tracker activity helps students monitor the election results with a map and Electoral College vote counter.Got a 1:1 classroom? Download fillable PDF versions of this lesson's…
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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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