|
Name |
 |
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Baron de Montesquieu
Students will analyze and then apply Baron de Montesquieu's
theories on separation of powers, equality under the law,
and republican government to the political cartoons "King
Andrew the First" by Wietenkampf and "I Want My Seat Back"
by Bill Mauldin.
|
High School |
Foundations of American Government
|
 |
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Biases in Polling Questions
Students will explore biases in polling questions based on
the wording of questions and the size and make-up of survey
samples. To apply the concepts learned in this unit refer to
the lesson, "Student-Conducted Poll."
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Blackstone Providing a Bedrock for Our Rights
Students will apply their knowledge of Sir William
Blackstone's theories on "rule of law" to a contemporary
photograph entitled, Border Guard Defection.
|
High School |
Foundations of American Government
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Campaign Advertising
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to
political advertisements and help them understand how those
advertisements influence the issues and candidates in
campaigns.
|
High School |
The Political Process
A More Perfect Union
Civic Education Skills
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Corresponding with Congressional Leaders
The student will develop the skills needed for informed
participation in public affairs by communicating with public
officials. This lesson may be used on its own or as a part
of YLI's e-Congress, an internet-based legislative
simulation.
|
High School |
Congress and the Legislative Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Democracy Corps Training
Democracy Corps training helps students build leadership
skills as they promote civic education through a variety of
community mentoring projects.
|
High School |
A Call to Action
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Demographics
This lesson introduces students to demographic information
and asks them to explore how these statistics impact a
political campaign strategy. This lesson will also prepare
students to play YLI's interactive CD Rom, "A More Perfect
Union."
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
Civic Education Skills
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Drafting Congressional Legislation
The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand
the process members of the U.S. Congress follow when
drafting legislation. An emphasis will be placed on
proposing innovative solutions to national issues. This
lesson may be used on its own or in conjunction with YLI's
e-Congress, an internet-based legislative simulation.
|
High School |
Congress and the Legislative Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Drawing The Line
Students will understand that changes in population and
resulting reapportionment have a political effect on
legislative membership at the national, state and local
levels.
|
High School |
The Political Process
Congress and the Legislative Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Ethical Questions
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the
kinds of ethical problems they could encounter during a
political campaign and to give them hands-on experience in
addressing those situations.
|
High School |
The Political Process
A More Perfect Union
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Expanding the Ideological Spectrum
This lesson gives students a more sophisticated
understanding of distinctions in political ideology through
the creation of an ideological grid. This lesson may be used
as a follow-up lesson to the YLI "Political Ideology
Survey."
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Fight For Your Right
The least likely group of voters is people age 18-20. This
lesson seeks to change that by demonstrating to students
both the power and importance of the right to vote through
the history of the 26th Amendment. It will also examine the
ability of interest groups to make meaningful change in the
American system of government.
|
High School |
The Constitution
A Call to Action
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Formation of an Ideological Spectrum
The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with a
more sophisticated understanding of distinctions in
political ideology through the creation of simplified,
dichotomized charts.
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
History of Scandals and Negative Campaigns
This lesson illustrates that scandal and negative
campaigning have always been associated with politics and
allows students to compare contemporary media coverage with
historical examples.
|
High School |
The Political Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Identifying Agents of Political Socialization
This lesson will assist students in identifying the various
influences on their own personal political ideology.
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Influences on the Legislative Process
Students will understand the role that outside influences
such as political action committees (PACs), presidential
vetoes, and the media play in the legislative process. They
will be challenged to respond to unpredictable outside
influences and explain how recommendations from these
sources will impact their legislative decisions. This lesson
may be used on its own or as a part of YLI's e-Congress.
|
High School |
Congress and the Legislative Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Political Campaign Roles
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the
key members of a political campaign and the role each plays
in making a campaign successful. It may be used on its own
or to prepare students to play the campaign simulation
CD-Rom, A More Perfect Union.
|
High School |
The Political Process
A More Perfect Union
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Political Cartoon Analysis
The purpose of this lesson is to assist students in
evaluating the role of the media in American politics by
teaching them how to analyze political cartoons, political
advertisements, and historical/political pictures.
|
High School |
Civic Education Skills
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Political Ideology Survey
Students will understand the meanings of political
ideological terms, such as liberal and conservative, and
develop a sense of their personal beliefs by analyzing
responses to a series of questions.
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Primaries and Caucuses
The student will understand how political parties nominate
candidates for a national office and then evaluate the
system as they participate in a primary and caucus
simulation.
|
High School |
The Political Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Public Opinion Polls
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to
public opinion polls and the role they play in building a
strategy for political campaigns.
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
A More Perfect Union
Civic Education Skills
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Researching the Amendments
This lesson builds on the information learned in "The Bill
of Rights" by examining all of the amendments to the
Constitution. Students will work cooperatively in pairs to
research a specific amendment and create a presentation for
the class. Presentations will include conflicts addressed by
the amendment, changes its passage created, and how those
changes impact us now. The lesson concludes with a written
evaluation of the most significant amendment for today's
society and an oral presentation relating selected
amendments to contemporary literature and art.
|
High School |
The Constitution
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Right On Rousseau!
Students will apply their interpretations of Rousseau's
theories on inalienable rights and consent of the governed
to contemporary paintings and photographs.
|
High School |
Foundations of American Government
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Significance of Individuals to a Movement
The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate to students
that social and political movements, as large as they often
seem, cannot take place without the leadership and example
of individual participation. The overhead provided will use
the examples of Frederick Douglass, Mohandas Gandhi, Cesar
Chavez and Rosa Parks to illustrate this point.
|
High School |
A Call to Action
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Technology and Political Campaigns
The purpose of this lesson is to study and analyze the
growth of political campaign web pages and their
significance as a link between the candidates and the
voters.
|
High School |
The Political Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
The Bill of Rights
This lesson complements "Researching the Amendments" and
should be used as an introduction to the amendment process.
Students will develop a greater understanding of the
amendment process and the reasons why the founders of the
Constitution created a procedure for introducing and
adopting amendments. They will connect each of the
amendments in the Bill of Rights to an image and demonstrate
their understanding of the concept of change through a case
study analysis of several amendments in the Bill of Rights.
|
High School |
The Constitution
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
The Key to John Locke
Students will apply their interpretations of John Locke's
theories on limited government, inalienable rights, and the
consent of the governed to contemporary paintings and
photographs from artists including Norman Rockwell and Dave
Cutler.
|
High School |
Foundations of American Government
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
The Power to Persuade
The purpose of this lesson is to help students develop
public speaking skills. Students will be asked to analyze
the content of their bills, prepare oral presentations, and
make modifications based on peer and teacher feedback.
Completed student-authored legislation is a pre-requisite of
this lesson. This lesson may be used in conjunction with
YLI's e-Congress, an internet-based legislative simulation.
|
High School |
Civic Education Skills
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
The Presidential Nominating Process
Students will analyze the presidential nominating process by
comparing the existing nominating system with current
proposals for reform including the Delaware Plan and the
Regional Lottery System.
|
High School |
The Political Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
The Primary Documents Detective Game
The students will apply their knowledge of the principles of
government and law by analyzing how leading European
political thinkers contributed to the Virginia Constitution,
the Declaration of Independence, and the United States
Constitution. (This lesson builds on information students
studied in A Key to John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Right on
Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu).
|
High School |
Foundations of American Government
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
The Significance of One Vote
The purpose of this exercise is to stress the importance of
one vote in the political process and to encourage civic
participation.
|
High School |
The Political Process
A Call to Action
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Thomas Hobbes
Students will apply their interpretations of Thomas Hobbes'
theories on limited government, the state of nature, and the
state of war to historic photographs.
|
High School |
Foundations of American Government
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Voices of Activists Amending the Constitution
Students will examine the writings of activists involved in
suffrage movements to learn how their persuasive arguments
impacted public policy. Students will also demonstrate
knowledge of the role of personal character in practicing
patriotism, participating in the political process, and
keeping informed about current issues.
|
High School |
The Constitution
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Voter Registration Drive
The Youth Leadership Initiative, in conjunction with the
Freedom's Answer Project (www.freedomsanswer.net) is
encouraging young people across the United States to
participate in a national voter registration drive. Through
this project, students will organize a voter registration
drive in their community. This process will help them
understand voting requirements in their state as well as the
value of participating in elections.
|
High School |
A Call to Action
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
What is the Democracy Corps?
This form provides an introduction to the mission of YLI's
Democracy Corps.
|
High School |
A Call to Action
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Who's Voting?
The students will analyze voter turnout by examining a
variety of charts and graphs and comparing the demographic
differences between voting populations. Using this
information, the students will then determine ways of
increasing voter turnout.
|
High School |
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Special Interest Groups and Political Action Committees: Influences on the Political Process
Students will understand the role that political action committees (PACs) play in the legislative process.
They will examine legislation and determine strategies that PACs use to support their goals. Students will be
involved in attempting to influence the legislative process through financial support of candidates. This lesson
can be used on its own or as a part of YLI.s e-Congress.
|
High School |
Congress and the Legislative Process
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Grade |
|
Unit(s) |
Ethical Questions
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the kinds of ethical problems they could encounter
during a political campaign and to give them hands-on experience in addressing those situations.
|
High School |
The Political Process
|
|
|
