The president of the United States serves as the chief executive and commander of the armed forces, all defined in Article II of the Constitution as the executive branch. Join a group of middle schoolers on a tour of Washington, D.C. as they learn about the Constitution and what it means to be "We the People." The "We the People" videos are produced in collaboration with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Material Type: Lesson
These are Economics lessons and units from Teaching California, targeted for grade 12.
Material Type: Lesson, Unit of Study
Here you will find links to Economics resources for grades K-12, curated from Smithsonian Learning Lab, Council for Economic Education (CEE), Econ Lowdown, EconEdLink, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF).
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Interactive, Lesson, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Textbook
As Adam Smith said, everyone lives by exchanging. They exchange—buy and sell—to make themselves better off. Does the same principle apply to international trade? Do nations benefit from importing and exporting? The November 2016 issue of Page One Economics explains the basics of international trade and its importance to the economy.
Material Type: Lesson, Reading
These 10-15 minute videos from the 2022 Conference for Social Studies provide inspiration and practical ideas for improving teaching practice. Talks are organized into the following tracks: * Assessing Historical Thinking * Bringing Context to World Events * Crafting Inquiry * Literacy * Taking Informed Action These videos are free for online viewing.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
Human Geography: An open textbook for Advanced Placement is aligned to the 2015 College Board course articulation for AP Human Geography. The purpose of AP Human Geography is to introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth's surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
BlackPast.org provides free access to documents, transcripts, timelines, videos, and lesson suggestions. With over 6,000 pages of information, BlackPast.org is the single largest free and unrestricted resource on African American and African history on the Internet today. Through this knowledge, the site aims to promote greater understanding to generate constructive change in our society.This resource highlights teacher-developed lessons for using BlackPast.org in the classroom and links to different sections of the BlackPast.org website.
Material Type: Lesson, Primary Source, Reading
Holocaust education is history, literature, social studies, psychology, art, and so much more. By studying the Holocaust we learn the importance of speaking out against bigotry and indifference, promoting equity, and taking action. Studies show that Holocaust education both improves students' critical thinking skills and encourages "upstander" behavior: willingness to act upon civic awareness and confront hatred in all its forms. On this site you're going to find lessons that adhere to the requisite guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide, with options for in-person and remote instruction. Each Overview Lesson includes:Historical summarySurvivor video clipsDiscussion questionsCommon Core State Standards addressed in that lesson
Material Type: Primary Source, Teaching/Learning Strategy
The Cultivating Washington curriculum is intended to be a go-to resource for Washington state middle school educators seeking student-centered instructional materials that make learning about the history of the Pacific Northwest more relevant and meaningful for students.In addition, it is a resource for agricultural education teachers, parents, and community members interested in helping students discover the history and development of agriculture in the state of Washington.
Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Module, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Unit of Study
As part of Washington's Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Program, which strives to educate the public regarding the history and the lessons of the World War II exclusion, removal, and detention of persons of Japanese ancestry, KSPS Public Television and Eastern Washington educators Starla Fey, Leslie Heffernan, and Morgen Larsen have produced Injustice at Home: the Japanese American experience of the World War II Era. This educational resource--five educational videos and an inquiry-based unit of study--will help students understand Executive Order 9066 and the resulting internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the failure of political leadership to protect constitutional rights, the military experience of Japanese-Americans during WWII, and examples of discrimination and racial prejudice the Japanese-American community faced before, during and after WWII. In addition, students will analyze the short and long term emotional effects on those who are incarcerated, identify the challenges that people living outside of the exclusion zone faced, examine how some Japanese Americans showed their loyalty during the period of incarceration, and learn about brave individuals who stood up for Japanese Americans during this time.
Material Type: Lesson, Unit of Study
The goal of this inquiry is for students to gain an informed, critical perspective on the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West from 1915-1970. By investigating the movement, including the injustice of Jim Crow in the South, and the racism migrants continued to face in the North and West, students will examine how the migration changed the social fabric of the United States. Through taking a critical look at the documents, students should understand the extent to which this movement was “great,” and determine if the title Great Migration is fitting. Photo: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library (1168439), CC BY 4.0
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This IDM inquiry leads students through an investigation of the decision by the United States to use atomic weapons on Japan at the end of World War II. The compelling question “Was the Dropping of Atomic Weapons on Japan an Appropriate Use of Force?” asks students to identify and weigh evidence from multiple primary and secondary sources supplied as well as others found by the student.
Material Type: Lesson, Unit of Study
This inquiry by Ryan Theodoriches, Evergreen Public Schools, is based on the C3 Framework inquiry arc. The inquiry leads students through an investigation of the decision by the federal government of the United States to honor Christopher Columbus with a federal holiday as well as efforts to challenge the view that Columbus should be revered as a national hero.
Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Unit of Study
This online lesson provides perspectives from Native American community members, images, objects, and other sources to help students and teachers understand the efforts of Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest to protect and sustain salmon, water, and homelands. Scroll to begin an exploration of the Pacific Northwest history and cultures.
Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Unit of Study
This edition of The State We’re In: Washington is a civics/history textbook designed for elementary grades 3-5. It’s many colorful images, descriptive pictures and graphics not only enhance the text but demonstrate the ethnic and geographic diversity of our state. The book was produced by the League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund and authored by Jill Severn.
Material Type: Textbook
This inquiry by Karen Morley-Smith, Evergreen Public Schools, is based on the C3 Framework inquiry arc. Through shared reading, videos, articles, class discussions, reflections, and the study of natural rights and common good, students develop a rich understanding of the honey bee's role in the survival of life.
Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Unit of Study
Washington state has developed a set of civics assessments that are multi‐stepped tasks or projects aligned to specific state standards, which target skills and knowledge necessary for engaged, informed citizenship.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
This 2018 edition is the first to be released in a digital, fully-interactive format, designed to highlight facets of the Pacific Northwest landscape with novel approaches to data presentation. Where previous editions of the atlas were designed to ask and answer questions, this atlas serves as a platform for the geographically curious to explore the region, providing as many critical questions as it does critical answers. Beyond this page are maps of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Migration maps highlight human movement between the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the United States; a wildfire timeline chronicles the year-to-year spread of modern and historical fires; and the watershed guide abandons traditional political boundaries in favor of natural, hydrological borders. All data in the atlas were gathered from publically accessible sources, compiled using open-source software and coding libraries. This is an atlas designed to be open, responsive, and to satisfy the geographic curiosity of any and all interested.
Material Type: Data Set
In these short TED-style talks, Washington social studies educators share their thinking and experiences with colleagues in Washington state and around the world.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
This inquiry by Melissa M. Kunert, Evergreen Public Schools, is based on the C3 Framework inquiry arc. This inquiry provides an opportunity for students to analyze the constitution as it pertains to life today. Becoming a responsible citizen in society is an important role that also requires education about how our constitution was first written and that changes can always be made in our world
Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Unit of Study
