602 government-civics-us results | sort by:

The National Map - United States Department of the Interior
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): agriculture (47), climate (82), environment (247), geology (61), maps (218)
In the Classroom
Have your students work in cooperative learning groups to investigate the "dynamic maps". Assign each group a topic to explore (there are 7). Have the students research the information using the maps and then report their findings to the class, perhaps displaying examples on a projector or interactive whiteboard. In teaching any of the related subjects, using a projector to share a map will make the content more "real," such as displaying the butterfly layer in the map maker so students can see how the butterfly population their home state compares with other locations.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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World News - WN Network
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): news (229)
In the Classroom
Share this site with your school's foreign language teachers. Have students do comparisons between English and foreign language versions of the news. If you teach writing, you can find controversial topics as writing prompts for persuasive writing among the articles, as well, and have students find facts to support their positions. Make this site available from your teacher web page for current events assignments. Reading teachers will want to use the articles on an interactive whiteboard to teach main idea and summarizing: highlight key words to use in a main idea or summary sentence you write together below the article.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NOVA--World in the Balance - PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): demographics (13), environment (247), population (51)
In the Classroom
Several excellent interactives might make a strong visual impact if used on an interactive whiteboard. There is an interactive quiz that might be a good discussion starter, and matching "game" that shows demographic trends in four contrasting countries: the US, Japan, Kenya and India. These interactives give impact to discussions of the global economy, world wide environmental changes and the balance of power between "developing" and "developed" countries. Put the population counter up on a projector as student enter the room to activate prior knowledge or provide an anticipatory set.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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When the Personal Becomes Presidential - New York Times Learning Network
Grades
6 to 12The lesson plan starts with the familiar "read the story and discuss" format, but there are a number of good essential questions and extension activities provided that could be tailored into a strong classroom plan. The lesson plans have cross-curricular suggestions, and are tied to standards.
tag(s): elections (82), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Be sure help your weaker readers and ELL students by sharing the listed vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them.Use this lesson to discuss current events in politics (which changes daily). Have students discuss and debate the current issues. Have the students write a wiki about a current event in politics (for example, Governor Palin being the first woman VP on the GOP ticket).
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Iraq - BBC
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): iraq (26)
In the Classroom
If you do current events study or have students with family members in Iraq, be sure to include this site as a link from your teacher web page. As the 2008 U.S. elections approach, you may want to begin a "current events" collection of resources for students to use to develop better understanding of election issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fourth of July - Teacher Resources - TeacherVision
Grades
2 to 8In the Classroom
Get an interactive whiteboard and test your students' knowledge of Independence Day with the online quizzes. There are so many choices for observing July 4th, with any grade level, that you can't go wrong! It's a bonus that some activities will lend themselves to small group work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spy Kids - CIA
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): branches of government (65)
In the Classroom
Include this site when studying the three branches of government as a concrete example of one thing the Executive Branch does. Students could explore it on a "scavenger hunt" to learn answers to questions you pose, or the whole class could visit on a projector to learn about what the CIA does. If you ask students to research different government agancies, this would be a great reference site for them to use. When reading the "Who We Are and What We Do" article try using Read Ahead, reviewed here, as a guided reading activity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsHour Extra Lesson Plan: Immigration Reform - PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): immigration (68), migration (45)
In the Classroom
The essential questions (labeled "My Point of View, parts 2-3") are a nice guide for helping students see this issue from multiple backgrounds.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Awesome Stories - Awesome Stories Internet Productions
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): dinosaurs (43), disasters (37), literature (222), movies (54), space (218)
In the Classroom
This is a great jumping off point for beginning researchers. You will find a wonderful compilation of photographs and other realia about the topics. Teach comprehension skills by using the first four chapters and asking students to predict or write aht they think would come next. Bring up the stories on an interactive whiteboard to highlight important terms and access the links that help students build connections to content. Maybe let students select the next topic to help engage reluctant readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Dave Leip
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use some of the interactive maps on a projector or interactive whiteboard or enter into the discussion boards as a class with ONE shared posting and watch the responses as a group. Share this link on your class website for students and parents to use at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsHour Extra Lesson Plan: Checks and Balances in Supreme Court Nominations - PBS
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): supreme court (27)
In the Classroom
There is a really nice "balance of powers" exercise that goes way beyond a simple discussion of the Supreme Court. Students look at all three branches of government and determine which branch has power in a variety of contemporary situations. This lesson plan is good as a stand-alone, but also provides a lot of jumping off places for further discussion and adaptation. Use a projector, as the plan suggests, to share the short video clips, available in several formats.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Inconvenient Truth: Take Action - Inconvenient Truth
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): energy (131), environment (247), ozone (7)
In the Classroom
Warn your students not to venture into the portion of the site where they are "purchasing" contributions to i=offset their CO2 emissions. Instead, ask them to figure out which of their behaviors causes the worst pollution. Have them do a family survey at home to calculate what the family can do.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Dimming the Sun - NOVA/WGBH
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): climate (82), climate change (94), earth (184), earth day (60), pollution (52), sun (71)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a starting point for your discussion of global warming and environmental issues or as a research source for student projects. The interactive timeline would display well on a projector or interactive whiteboard to give students the "big picture" they so rarely have on their own.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How Art Made the World - PBS/KCET
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): images (260), propaganda (8)
In the Classroom
These articles and lessons would be great interdisciplinary "idea banks" for classes in art, world cultures, or government.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Our Stories: The Long, Long Battle for ANWR - Natural Resources Defense Council
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): arctic (40)
In the Classroom
Try having students compare information on this site with other web sites about the ANWR. How do these sites differ in their presentation?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Grading on a Curve - New York Times
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): foreign policy (13), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Though a bit outdated for a current events class, this would be a great lesson in a US government class looking at the Presidency of George H.W. Bush. Save this lesson as a favorite on your desktop to allow for easy retrieval later on - though be sure to look closely at the lesson and make sure that students have learned enough of the contextual information to be able to make sense of the article. For differentiation, peruse the article before-hand, creating a list of words that students may have trouble with or may not be familiar with. Create a follow-along for the article, defining those words selected to help students as they read. This will allow lower achieving readers to be able to process the information more efficiently and with more comprehension.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New Sense, Inc. vs. Fish Till U Drop - EconEdLink
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): natural resources (37), resources (84)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free set of lesson plans about economics of topics in everyday life. Be sure to save the site as a favorite on your classroom computer to allow for easy retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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John Roberts Nominated as Chief Justice - NPR
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): senate (10), supreme court (27)
In the Classroom
Though there have been judges nominated and appointed more recently than Roberts, this site provides some excellent information that makes it a great resource for a lesson on judicial nominations. Use this site as a hands-on activity after a class discussion or lecture on the topic. Have cooperative learning groups explore the site with the intentions of showing how Roberts moved through the processes to become a judge. Have students create graphic organizers or concept maps demonstrating the process. Use a tool such as bubbl.us (reviewed here) to create and share the concept maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Watergate Revisited - Washington Post
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Have students explore the site with the intentions of creating a summary of the most important events. Have cooperative learning groups create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Students can write the book from the perspective of Nixon or Deep throat...a great way to introduce the topic in a non-lecture format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History Explorer - Smithsonian
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): agriculture (47), american revolution (82), famous people (19), japan (57), japanese (47), jazz (16), lincoln (66), politics (118)
In the Classroom
Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. There is enough information in "exhibit" details to provide a starting point for students trying to decide what to base a research project on. Recommend the site to students who are having difficulty picking a project subject.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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