Erin
Erin is a National Board Certified high school social studies teacher who builds her courses on inquiry and project-based learning. She started Let’s Cultivate Greatness as a passion project to help other teachers create empowered, articulate young adults who are equipped to shape the future. She is based in Washington State.
Perhaps your school doesn’t have a student council, and you’ve been tasked to create one. Or you have an existing program, but it needs a massive overhaul. Either way, welcome!... Read More
The first question I had when the double role of student council advisor and leadership teacher was dropped on me was, “What even does a student council advisor actually do?”... Read More
Drafting your constitution is one of the first must-do tasks of creating a student council. You absolutely need one. If your council already exists but doesn’t have one, or the... Read More
There’s no teaching civics and government without a lesson on how a bill becomes a law, but it’s one that’s often left to verbalizing the steps and displaying a flowchart.... Read More
The judicial branch has always been my favorite of the three branches to teach, perhaps because it’s the most skimmed-over and underappreciated. Even almost 250 years later, it still hasn’t fully shaken... Read More
Your Civil Liberties or Judicial Branch unit isn’t complete without spending a few days teaching about landmark Supreme Court cases. However, many cases have this distinction, so deciding which ones to include can be... Read More
There are so many expressed powers of Congress listed in the Constitution it can be overwhelming to cover them all without feeling like you’re rattling off a never-ending list. And... Read More
Teaching the different forms of government seems easy enough – go over some definitions and provide examples, then quiz your students. But that’s not creating any real meaning for them,... Read More
Political cartoons are the perfect basis for so many civics activities and topics, regardless of ability level. I think it’s because they are inherently not boring—they’re visual (not reading!), cover content through... Read More
I can’t imagine teaching civics and government without political cartoons—they are essential to the subject. They make the best entry point for introducing concepts and diving deeper into diverse viewpoints on political... Read More