The legislative branch has a lot to cover and is always taught first, meaning it can easily take time away from teaching the other two branches. But with a few... Read More

Once kids are in high school, there usually isn’t time or the need to spend a whole week solely doing relationship-building activities.  But you should still do something those first... Read More

Use these examples of civics activities and lesson ideas to bring real-life political engagement into your middle or high school Civics and Government class. ... 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