How to Start Your Middle or High School Student Council
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!…
9 Things Great Student Council Advisors Do
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?”…
7 Essentials for How to Write A Student Council Constitution
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…
Teaching Ideas for How A Bill Becomes a Law
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.…
5 Fun & Engaging Judicial Branch Lessons Ideas
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…
Teaching Landmark Supreme Court Cases Effectively
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…
My Favorite Activities to Teach the Expressed Powers of Congress
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…
Fun Activities to Teach Different Types of Government
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,…
5 Ways to Use Political Cartoons in Your Civics Class
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…
Lesson Ideas for Using Political Cartoons to Teach Civics
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…
