Presents a lesson designed for secondary economics classes. Students role play adults in selected occupations, create personal budgets, and make investment and savings decisions. Student directions and questions are included. (CFR)

The life of James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," and his role in U.S. history are discussed in this guide to an educational program designed to acquaint students with Madison prior to a class field trip to his home, Montpelier. An essay on Madison and the Constitution is included, as well as a vocabulary list, a historic…

This document describes a classroom learning activity that brings together role playing, learning about the Middle Ages, and working for rewards. In the course of the activity, entitled "Knights of the Round Table," students advance by completing assignments and amassing points. Players move upwards through the beginning or…

This grade 12 lesson provides students with an understanding of real world investing and of the effects of day to day decisions on their financial futures. The lesson is based on a fictitious situation in which a financial management consultant (the student) must help a new widow with young children put her finances in order after her husband's…

The "philosophes" of the Enlightenment Period were a group of free (different) thinkers who offered commentary on societal issues. Often, they were like one of today's social commentators suggesting reforms for the political system. Since the United States during the era of the Revolutionary War was seeking reform of what they considered…

Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes encountered the Aztecs in 1519 and conquered them in 1521, claiming their empire for Spain. He then destroyed the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan and rebuilt a Spanish city in its ruins. In this lesson plan, it is the year 1527 and an Independent Counsel has been chosen by the College of Cardinals of the Catholic…

In this lesson, student teams research one of the species of early humans. Teams will create presentations that include information on physical traits, habitat, era, means of survival, culture, and relationship to modern humans. Students are provided with background information, detailed instructions, on-line resources, and reflection questions.…

This eighth grade lesson plan asks students to work in groups of four. They must: (1) decide whether to join the Union Army or the Confederate Army; (2) decide under which General they will serve and in which battles they will fight; and (3) once this decision has been made, assign the following roles for team or group members: photographer,…

In this lesson plan, students are assigned a member of the California Assembly to research and a political faction to represent. Students examine representative bills voted on by the California Assembly to determine if their member's voting record coincides with the views of their political faction. Ultimately, students must decide whether, and…

This document includes a student text and a teacher resource book. The student booklet provides an overview of the history of the Indian subcontinent, focuses on key events leading up to partition, and explores the origins of the conflict in Kashmir. It notes that to understand the conflict in Kashmir, people must examine the period of British…

In this lesson plan, each student must decide which political party he/she will join or whether to register as an independent. Each student will be part of a group analyzing one current political party and presenting to the class this party's solutions for the problems confronting the United States today. The political parties for analysis are:…

Maintains that, because definitions of justice are elusive, students should study the differences between the traditional Western concept of justice and the more recent Critical Legal Studies view. Presents a secondary-level lesson comparing these two conceptualizations of justice. (CFR)

This publication is designed to introduce students and teachers to the Model United Nations experience. The Model United Nations is a simulation of the United Nations (U.N.) system in which students assume the roles of ambassadors to the U.N. and debate the current issues on the U.N.'s agenda. This guide is organized into three chapters. The first…

Children living in a democratic society deserve rich and powerful citizenship lessons. These lessons are of particular importance for children of low socio-economic and culturally diverse backgrounds whose families may feel disenfranchised from citizenship participation because of their education levels, language capabilities or cultural…

During the post-war period of the 1940s and early 1950s, there was a surge in consumer demand for goods and services in the United States and throughout the world. As a result, an evolution of U.S. companies into international corporations occurred. This teaching unit, one in a series of eight, reviews the international operations of the Procter…