7 TED-Ed Lessons for Constitution Day
Tomorrow is Constitution Day in the United States. As I shared last week, C-SPAN and DocsTeach have lots of free lesson plans and online activities. TED-Ed also has a bunch of lessons that are appropriate for Constitution Day. The Making of the American Constitution. Why is the US Constitution So Hard to Amend? Why Wasn’t […]
Federal Land vs. State Land
As I write this What is Federal Land? is the #49 trending video on YouTube. It’s nice to see an educational video trending that high on YouTube. The video was produced by CGP Grey who has produced some other fantastic educational videos over the years. Through What is Federal Land? viewers can learn how land in […]
Let’s Talk Politics – An Alexa Game for Learning About U.S. Civics
Let’s Talk Politics is a new Alexa app designed for reviewing and learning about U.S. government. Let’s Talk Politics is an interactive game in which Alexa asks you questions about the U.S. political system and you speak your answers. The app provides explanations of the correct answers after you reply to each question. Unlike typical […]
Classroom Deliberations – Lesson Plans on Current Issues in U.S. Politics
C-SPAN Classroom Deliberations is a good resource for teachers of U.S. history or civics. On the site you will find 34 lesson plans centered around issues currently debated in Congress and in U.S. political discourse in general. A few of the latest lesson plans deal with Electoral College reform, third party candidate participation in Presidential […]
A Lesson on the First U.S. Presidential Election
In my previous post I shared a video from Keith Hughes in which he explains the origins of the Electoral College. It’s a great explanation of the original arguments for and against the creation of the Electoral College which has chosen every President beginning with George Washington. Keith offers a lesson about that first election. In three […]
5 Videos to Help Students Understand the Electoral College
A new President of the United States will be chosen tomorrow, kind of. The popular vote which in most states determines how the electors in the Electoral College will vote in December. If that sentence baffles your students, they could benefit from one of the following short video explanations of the Electoral College. This TED-Ed […]
Watch & Share Reactions to Presidential Debates Since 1960
Watch the Debates is a PBS NewsHour website that offers videos of the Presidential debate of 1960 and every debate from 1976 forward. The site also includes videos of some debates between candidates for Vice President including the 1988 debate in which Lloyd Bentson famously quipped to Dan Quayle, “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” Watch […]
50 for 50 Writing Contest for Students
Middle school and high school social studies teachers in the U.S. who are looking for a writing project to start the year, should take a look at PBS Election Central’s 50 for 50 writing contest. The contest asks students to draft open letters to Presidential candidates. The letters should include ideas and suggestions on what […]
How Does the Electoral College Work? – And Election Outcomes Explained
The United States will choose a new president this year. Students often ask why the process is not as simple just having everyone show up to vote on a given day in November, counting the votes, and declaring a winner. Here are some resources to help students understand the process of choosing a new President […]