This handout can be used as part of our Preparing for Environmental Pathways lesson or as an independent activity in your classroom. Students will watch the video linked within and answer questions to deepen their understanding of the climate crisis.
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.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Students will explore how a bill becomes a law by following each step of the legislative process, including committee review, voting in Congress, and the President’s role in approving or vetoing legislation.
Elections and Voting: An Overview
Students will explore the Constitutional amendments that deal with elections, the qualifications for voting, and protections offered to voters. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, explains the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth amendments, the history of voting in America, Supreme Court cases, and measures that ensure voters can vote without discrimination based on property ownership, race, sex, and age. Created by National Constitution Center.
Why Have Civil Dialogue?
What is civil dialogue and why is it important? Drawing on the writings of Supreme Court Justices Louis Brandeis and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, explains the central role civil dialogue has played in American democracy throughout history and today.
Created by National Constitution Center.
How Did the Cold War Stay Cold?
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union amassed tens of thousands of nuclear weapons—enough firepower to annihilate each other many times over. In this video, learn how rivalries between the world’s superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, avoided turning into nuclear war.
What Kinds of Governments Exist?
How governments interpret, prioritize, and grapple with pillars of modern society—for instance, security, freedom, and prosperity—determines the kinds of policies they enact. In this multimedia resource, explore the differences between democracies and autocracies, communism and capitalism, and right and left leaning ideologies.
What Is the National Security Council?
The National Security Council is a group of top advisors tasked with providing guidance on foreign policy matters and implementing the president’s decisions. Learn how the president’s advisors protect U.S. national security and help with foreign policy decision-making and coordination across the executive branch.
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.