Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Close Up provides non-partisan civics resources for high schools and middle schools, including podcasts, videos, lesson plans aligned to Common Core Standards, Discussion Issues, and more. The content covers a broad range of topics, including campaigns and elections, coronavirus, and social issues. Use the filters found on the resource page to choose items by topic or type of resource. Some materials on the site are for purchase; use the checkbox to narrow resources to only free items.

tag(s): civil rights (194), congress (39), constitution (87), elections (80), environment (240)

Find virtual and classroom activities for voting and campaigning for all grade levels at GrowingVoters.org. Begin your selection by scrolling down the page and choosing from the different grade levels bands beginning with elementary school on up through college-level assignments and exercises. The activities include a variety of learning experiences, such as creating E-trading cards and producing candidate commercials. Click on any activity to view the PDF file that includes the objectives, procedures, and rubrics for evaluation. Many activities also include the incorporation of technology by suggesting resources.

tag(s): elections (80), electoral college (22), journalism (72), politics (113)

Case Maker is a collection of 20 civics challenges for middle school students. Share individual challenges with students using the provided Challenge Code. Once students access the challenge, the site offers tools for adding annotations and creating case folders. Once complete, students use information as a reference for other assignments or share their work using the site's presentation mode feature. Use your free Case Maker account to modify text and associated primary sources within challenges and follow student progress. Be sure to watch the introductory videos for teachers and students.

tag(s): black history (123), civil rights (194), constitution (87), democracy (19), elections (80), freedom of speech (13), immigrants (33), immigration (64), inquiry (24), media literacy (102), politics (113), racism (76), Research (83), world war 2 (149)

Develop civic understanding and historical thinking skills through interactive challenges found on Eagle Eye Citizen. These activities, geared toward middle and high school students, teach about American History using primary sources from the Library of Congress. The Solve link provides challenge puzzles to learn about historical events, the big picture, and sorting information into categories. Use the Teach link to find ideas for lessons and units based on this site's components, assessment ideas, and quick activities for use at any time. This link also includes several rubrics for use with the Challenge activities.

tag(s): branches of government (62), civil rights (194), congress (39), elections (80), immigrants (33), inquiry (24), presidents (121), primary sources (115), Research (83), womens suffrage (44)

Don't shy away from teaching about the elections because of all the nastiness and confusion. Instead get help from NewseumEd's latest Collection: Decoding Elections: Process, Persuasion & Participation. Study the historical conditions and circumstances of controversial political campaigns to gain an understanding of today's campaign tactics and messages. Go back as far as the 1880s to learn about mudslinging and nasty accusations in the election and where and when nasty ads got their start. This NewseumEd Collection approaches understanding by using primary sources and case studies (use the drop down menu for Education Collection). The case studies start at the very beginning of an election and go right through to the end. They all include lesson plans with an issue summary, debate question, tools for organizing evidence for the discussions, election essentials, primary sources, guiding questions, and an extension activity. Optional resources for some of the case studies include NewseumEd's Pinterest pages (links provided with those Case Studies). To get started there are a few helpful interactives to go with this Collection: the Political Personality Quiz, Candidate Match, and Predict the Election. Registration with NewseumEd is necessary to access all sources, but is entirely free.

tag(s): democracy (19), elections (80), presidents (121), primary sources (115)

Many students (and adults) don't fully understand the role of the Electoral College in presidential elections. Does Your Vote Count? is a YouTube video providing a clear explanation of the Electoral College and how it works as part of the election process. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable.

tag(s): elections (80), electoral college (22)

Make the presidential election process personal. Run for U.S. president by playing this free interactive online game which is best played on a computer using most current browsers. In this lively, colorful simulation, students will experience being part of a campaign, including creating a candidate avatar, selecting either Democratic or Republican issues, participating in debates and developing a media campaign. Choose your level to start: elementary, middle, or high school and complete the easy-to-follow tasks which do involve some reading, especially the debates section. The "Campaign Manager" will lead you through the process ending with your final probability of winning. Loading the game may take a few moments. Sound begins immediately, but may be toggled off. Online assistance is available by clicking the Help button (a ?) in the top right corner at each step of the game. Also, the Back button in the top left corner allows easy do-overs of sections. Students may play without registering, but will access more content, compete with others and earn badges after logging in. You can have separate accounts for students and teachers, but must have email addresses. An automatic username is generated when registering. The easy to use Extension Pack for Teachers provides more activities and assessments. Registered teachers can message students and create classes to give students a virtual class code to join without needing an email. If students register, they can check their My iCivics accounts to see points and message members of their groups which can be controlled by the teacher.

tag(s): elections (80), presidents (121)

Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization dedicated to getting young people out to vote. Their home page includes information for voters across the country about voter registration, where to vote, and election information. Other links direct you to contact information for local and national elected officials. Are you registered to vote? It's easy to find out through Rock the Vote, enter your address and date of birth and find out your registration status.

tag(s): elections (80), politics (113)

Stay up to date with current elections and learn about the electoral process with this all-inclusive site from PBS Learning. View a short video to explore the constitution and how the government gets its power from its citizens. Launch the Electoral Decoder to explore 58 past presidential elections. Another feature is Let's Talk About KQED Youth Media Challenge, where middle and high school students share their ideas on issues that matter to them. Be sure to scroll down the page to explore other election categories like Voting Rights, The Party System, a Current Issues and Debate toolkit, and more.

tag(s): debate (37), elections (80), electoral college (22), presidents (121), speech (66)

Two friends with opposing political views created I Side With as a resource for engaging in political discussion and learning about different points of view. Take the online quiz to learn which candidate aligns with your beliefs the most. Explore the many polls on the site to view results from across the country. Break down information from the polls into additional information such as by state, city, party affiliation, ethnicity, and income.

tag(s): elections (80), politics (113), polls and surveys (46)

This YouTube channel offers over 300 videos for U.S. and World History, current events, political science, and American Government. Click the Index link to easily find one of the categories. Other videos teach test-taking and essay writing skills. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): china (62), classroom management (128), constitution (87), elections (80), foreign policy (12), politics (113), presidents (121), russia (33)

Learn all about U.S. political campaigns and party conventions. Five main sections explain it all: History, Campaign Finance, Nominations, Policy, and Media. Within each section are videos and articles about the current state of affairs as well as past practices. Each section offers lesson plans suitable for high school use. The sections also offer short review quizzes that provide instant feedback. Scroll through each section in order or choose from portions with links at the top of the section. Though the videos say "this user is blocked," there are transcripts and articles to read, and you can still take the quizzes.

tag(s): elections (80), electoral college (22)