The First Amendment Academy is a hub for quick, engaging quizzes from Freedom Forum, which also provides educational resources through NewseumED. The quizzes test middle school and high school students’ knowledge with real-world scenarios, interactive activities and thought-provoking questions that make learning these five fundamental freedoms fun, fast and relevant.
Youth Action: Climate Guide
In this guide you can find out more about three key figures in the global youth climate change movement who inspire us all, and four youth organizations that are taking steps to ensure that you can still safely contribute to the fight during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The First Amendment
In this video, students will learn how the First Amendment safeguards key freedoms like speech, press, religion, assembly, and petitioning the government.
What Is Government?
Governments have been around for almost four thousand years. Throughout that time, they have shared the same central function: to lead and protect their people. Despite that similarity, governments do not all look or act the same way. This video explores what government is and to what extent your voice is heard by those in power.
Civic Engagement and How Students Can Get Involved
What rights and abilities do you have when it comes to advocating for issues you believe in? Use the lesson plan to discuss civic engagement and the role citizens play in making their voices heard.
How2Internet: Use Media Literacy Skills to Navigate the Misinformation Highway
Students will use media literacy skills to navigate through the perils of the land of online misinformation with the Teen Fact Checking Network, and then analyze their own social media platforms to see if they may be stuck in an echo chamber.
Decoding Media Bias
Students will examine where people in the U.S. get their news, how news selection amplifies one’s political views, and how media organizations decide to cover stories.
Reinventing American Democracy
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the challenges facing American democracy and then spur a conversation around suggestions for revitalizing civic engagement and strengthening democratic values.
Getting Started with Civil Discourse
This unit provides lesson plans to help teachers cultivate respectful and constructive discussions among students in the classroom, promoting critical thinking, empathy, and effective communication skills.
Cultivating Civil Discourse in Your Middle School Classroom
To help students state their ideas with strong reasoning while respecting others’ viewpoints, self‐regulate their own behavior, and develop metacognition of their own thought process.