This deliberation will have students view short video clips and news articles to analyze the effect of fake news on traditional media outlets, the reasons and incentives for purveyors of “fake news,” and provide students with resources to strengthen their media literacy skills. Students will use this information to develop strategies to identify “fake news” and improve their news literacy.
Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16?
Using this resource, students will view short C-SPAN video clips exploring the background and different arguments surrounding the question over the current voting age. This deliberation has students learn about the history of lowering the voting age and explore the question: Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
The Powers of the President
In this lesson, students will view video clips to learn about the powers of the president and how they have grown and been used throughout our history. Students will use these video clips to respond to a writing prompt about the balance of powers between the three branches.
Marbury v. Madison
In this lesson, students will view video clips explaining the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison. Students will analyze the significance of the case, the precedent it set and its legacy.
The Purposes of Government
This lesson has students learn about the purposes of government specified in the preamble of the Constitution. Students will use C-SPAN video clips to define what is meant by “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.” As practice, students will apply their knowledge of these purposes by viewing real-life examples of government actions and identifying the relevant purpose of government. This lesson works well in classrooms with one-to-one devices and can be adapted to flipped classrooms.
The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Constitution
In this lesson, students will use C-SPAN video clips to examine the founding principles that emerged from the Constitutional Convention as well as hear about some of the people who participated. Students will use this information to analyze the role the compromise played in the creation of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention
In this lesson, students will use C-SPAN video clips to examine the founding principles that emerged from the Constitutional Convention as well as hear about some of the people who participated. Students will use this information to analyze the role the compromise played in the creation of the Constitution.
Checks and Balances
This lesson explore the principle of checks and balances by providing video clips with examples and explanations. As they view these real-world examples, students will complete a graphic organizer and use it to evaluate how effective our system of checks and balances is at limiting government.
The Bill of Rights in Modern Times
In this lesson, students will learn about the individual rights that are included in the Bill of Rights and current issues relating to them. Students will use C-SPAN Classroom’s Constitution Clips to explore what each of these rights mean and determine how these rights apply to current events in America. This lesson works well with classes with one-to-one devices or in flipped classrooms.
Enumerated and Implied Powers of Congress
This lesson has students learn about the concepts of enumerated and implied powers of Congress and explore real life examples of these powers. Students will use C-SPAN’s Constitution Clips resources to summarize the specific enumerated powers and identify the additional powers of Congress implied by them. This lesson works well in classes with one-to-one devices or could be adapted to fit a flipped classroom.