790 government-civics-us results | sort by:
return to subject listingCongress.org - C-Q Roll Call, Inc
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Consider placing this site on your class web page for students to use in researching political viewpoints, both in relation to upcoming elections and in ongoing political debate. It's a site for true politics junkies, but will be useful for those who are looking for concise information collected in a readable, easy-to-access format. Use the site during your study of the legislative branch and have groups follow congressional groups of individuals, creating a timeline of their activities using a tool such as Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here,You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The Supreme Court: Games - PBS
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
These lessons would be useful on an interactive whiteboard or projector along with a unit on the Supreme Court or the US judicial system. Students might also use them to to extend or enrich the topic on their own time, or when they have completed other classwork. They are well researched and informative, however, most students won't view them as "games" as they are labeled. Have cooperative learning groups investigate one specific topic and share their discoveries with the class. Challenge students to create a video using Powtoon, reviewed here, and it share using a site such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Project Vote Smart - Project Vote Smart
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as the basis of a homework or group assignment: students can write about the candidate they would support in an upcoming election referencing the information found on the site about each candidate's views on specific issues. Take it further and have them create a print ad for their candidate or an online "poster" using Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here. Alternatively, the site could be used on an interactive whiteboard as a springboard for a class-wide discussion. Be aware that the site uses a "grassroots" theme, and has a barely audible--and at times annoying--sound track of chirping birds. Turn down the sound if it bothers you.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Testmoz - testmoz.com
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Skills required: Be sure to remember the password for your tests, as well as the unique URL. It would be wise to copy/paste them into a document you keep somewhere for reference. Users are unable to access the tests without the URL. Be sure to not share this ahead of time. Items in Testmoz are not made public.Use where automatically graded tests are required, such as for formative assessments to check student understanding. Use as a "ticket out the door" to see what students know at the end of class. Be sure that this is the medium you want to use for testing. Be flexible with students who find it difficult to take online testing. Entering all the material ahead of time can be time consuming, so this may not be the best format for long tests. Use this quiz application to create study quizzes for review for students to complete as homework (or during class time). Have students rotate to create daily check quizzes for their peers (earning a grade for test-creation). Learning support students and others who need a little extra review might like to make quizzes to challenge each other or themselves. Have students who are preparing to give oral presentations in any subject prepare a short Testmoz for their peers to take at the end.
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Budget Simulator - Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
This would make a wonderful class team competition. Consider dividing the class into groups, or even pitting different sections of the same course against each other. Encourage the students not to breeze through the choices too quickly. The site might be useful for mature younger students if they have the attention span required to make careful and reasoned choices. Another option is to complete this activity as a class on an interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Guzzle - Lemonchick
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
This site is excellent for enrichment, research, or a current events class. Include it on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class. Have students try out this site on individual computers, or as a learning center. This site is ideal for an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have the students open the site and use the whiteboard tools to set up a class selected news offering for each day.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timelines: Sources from History - British Library
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
This site is excellent for research projects or to provide visual context to your curriculum in social studies, world cultures, world history, literature, art, or western heritage classes. Offer this set of timelines as a research source for history, social studies, and literature classes. Show students these timelines on an interactive whiteboard. Or have students research various topics on their own using this fabulous tool. Pique their interest by letting them browse to find out what else happened at the same time as events in the standard history curriculum -- then ask WHY. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create online posters displaying their findings using an online poster creator, such as Padlet (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National History Day - National History Day
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
From the tabs at the top of the page click Teacher Resources to find Lesson Plans, Webinars and Videos, and more. Students Resources helps students connect with the NEH Expert Series, gives helpful links for research, topics, and others. Whether you choose to hold a History Day event within your school or to compete against others, this site will get you started. Make this a permanent link on your class web page or share it with your gifted enrichment specialist for a curriculum connection to challenge any student. Extend student learning and challenge them to use a multimedia tool to present their research, Genially, reviewed here, is a good tool; it allows students a choice of multimedia products and they can insert maps, surveys, video, audio and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ask Philosophers - Ask Philosophers
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
If you're looking for meaty writing prompts, this site is full of interesting and open-ended questions. The questions might also serve as a good data base for a class learning debate. It may also be helpful for students to see that philosophers use formal rules of thinking in answering their questions; they don't just say what they "feel" is right. Understanding that moral and ethical decision making is based on a set of predetermined principles is a concept that many students struggle with. This site would be useful for teaching ethical decision making with students whose thinking has progressed to the point where they are able to think more abstractly and philosophically: a gifted class perhaps? Have a class wiki dedicated to philosophy and profound questions. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poll Everywhere - Poll everywhere
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Users must be able to determine the question and possible responses to generate the poll online. Practice creating your first poll even before creating a login. Enter the suggested question and possible responses to see how the codes are generated and displayed. Respondents text the code word to a specific number displayed on the screen. Be sure to check out the easy to use controls along the side of the screen.Ask a question. Voters choose from the responses and use the SMS code with their mobile phone to send their vote. Cast a vote also using Twitter or on the Internet. Click the gear icon next to the poll to change the size and color of various aspects of the poll. Use the panel along the side to view either a static or live chart, summary table, or response history. Be sure to click on the tab "Ways People Can Respond" to check not only SMS but other methods as well: Web Voting, Twitter, and Smartphone. Twitter uses @poll followed by a keyword to tabulate responses. Use the "Download as Slide" tab to choose the type of slide you would like to create. "Share and Publish" using Posterous, Twitter, or Blog/web page.
This tool does not show the individual votes of students. Though this tool can be used by students, it may be best used by a teacher.
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study by asking questions about the material. Discuss in groups why those in class would choose a particular answer to uncover misconceptions. Use for Daily quiz questions to gain knowledge of student understanding and a means of formative assessment.
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Thought Audio - thoughtaudio.com
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers as a reference. Suggest it to students as something they can use on their mp3 players. Share this link on your class website for students and parents to access at home. Learning support teachers may want to use selections from this site as alternatives to reading print literature selections. Play a story on your computer speakers as a listening activity in younger grades.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Argument Wars - iCivics Inc.
Grades
5 to 10In the Classroom
This site is a great way to review the amendments to the US Constitution. Using an interactive whiteboard or projector, complete one case as a whole group so students can see how the interactive should work. Use the provided handouts so students can take notes as they are working through the case. When it is time for students to work independently, make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Afterward, have a discussion or have students journal using the provided discussion questions. This site does not have a save feature, so students must complete the entire activity to see if they've won. For students who need more of a challenge, assign them to Gideon v. Wainwright. Students have to examine two arguments which makes it more challenging.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Do I Have a Right? - iCivics Inc.
Grades
5 to 10In the Classroom
This site is great way to review the amendments of the US Constitution. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Working in groups have a class competition to see who can win the most cases and achieve the most prestige points. Afterward, have a discussion about the process each group used to build their law firm. This site does not have a save feature so the teacher should set a duration for play. Built in help makes this site useful for students who might need some additional guidance. Use the final score printout to assign your students a grade.To fully involve students in their "law firm," have them create a firm logo and "shingle" using an online graphics tool such as Supalogo, reviewed here. Print the logos for classroom decorations or have students upload them to law firm pages on on your class wiki.
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Youth Leadership Initiative - Center for Politics - University of Virginia
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Use the site with an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work in cooperative groups and take part in the mock congress. They will develop critical thinking and collaboration skills as they research, draft, and pass original legislation. Use the downloadable campaign simulation software (free), and have your students role play and run a senatorial campaign. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Lincoln Log - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
This site will fit perfectly into any social studies or history class. Have students explore this site independently or in small groups. If used independently put the site on a classroom computer and use as a center. Create a class job for a student called Historian. They can check the website to see what was happening that day and report it to the class. Have students choose an event from the site, find an image of Lincoln and upload it to Blabberize, reviewed here. They can then have Lincoln "talk" about an important day of his life.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Debategraph - Thoughtgraph, Ltd.
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this resource to view various viewpoints and information about topics in the public eye. Use to create subtopics to be investigated in a class debate. Use the process to delve deeper into debates created by the class. Create visualizations using organizational software to help students follow through on all aspects of a debate topic. If you are having students log-in, rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Remembering 9/11 - CBS News
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a cooperative learning activity during a lesson or unit on the events of September 11th or as part of a broader discussion on international relations, terrorism, or the role of government in balancing personal liberties and national security. Create a graphic organizer to guide students through the site (or have them create their own in small groups), highlighting what's most important and the important facts and details. For help creating easy graphic organizers, try using Holt Interactive Graphic Organizer, reviewed here, or bubbl.us, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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While America Slept - The True Story of 9/11 - CBS News
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site on the interactive whiteboard or projector to show students the context of the day. During a class discussion, display the timeline on a projector or interactive whiteboard for students to see and navigate together. Read the details aloud, or have student volunteers take turns reading the events aloud. Make sure that between each event you provide some sort of explanation, i.e. who the people mentioned are and what the significance was of each action. Include this discussion as you study the role of government in the protection of its citizens and balancing individual liberties with national security. Assign students to create multimedia posters using marq, reviewed here, or an infographic using Visme, reviewed here, showing the conflicting roles of government.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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September 11 Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Include one or more of these sites as your observe September 11 in your classroom or make the link available on your class web site for students who ask about the events of this pivotal day. You will find many specific project or class activity ideas within the reviews themselves.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Quiznator - Quiznator
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Upload your test questions during the summer and feel free to add more as your school year progresses, but use this tool to save a bundle of time on test and quiz creation. Put your worksheet or activity sheet questions into the program and use the questions on quizzes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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