Journey Through History

To help students learn what is in the Bill of Rights and why it’s important, I have students work in groups and I tell them that they can only keep 5 of the 10 amendments.  In the left column of this worksheet, they must paraphrase what is in each amendment.  Then, they must discuss with their group and come to a consensus about which 5 they can keep and use the right column for their rationale.  Once groups have finished, I usually make a chart on the board with one column for each group and check off which amendments each group would keep.  Then, I lead a discussion about why each group made the choices they did.  It usually leads to some interesting debates.  In the end, the students come to the conclusion that I of course wanted them to all along—that they’re ALL important!

We do not learn to drive by reading about it alone, and “citizenship, like driving, is not a spectator sport” (The American Promise, 1998).  I follow this model when teaching Civics, giving students the opportunity to practice participation in government, in addition to learning about it in class.

Therefore, all of my students must write a letter to an elected official or a letter to the editor about an issue of their choice (and we mail them!).  They must also choose from a menu of interactive activities and complete one of them.  These include: visiting a government agency, attending a town meeting, completing a government-related job shadow, or conducting a government-related interview.

Feel free to adapt these documents for your purposes.  I’m sure I did at some point, and I don’t even remember from where I got the original ideas and materials, so thank you to anyone from whom I have borrowed.

An In-Depth Look at the Progressives

The Progressive Era lasted from roughly the 1890s to 1920. The Progressives were not a cohesive group with one strategy or even a single agenda. They simply wanted to improve society. However, their legacy and contributions are much debated. Read more »

The 1920s was an exciting time for many in America. Also called the Jazz Age, many exciting changes in American culture were taking place. The purpose of this Webquest is for you to get a flavor for the times. Enjoy! You will spend 50-55 minutes exploring at least one aspect of culture from the 1920s. Then, you will venture back to the classroom to create a magazine cover that focuses on the area you learned about and is representative of the times. Read more »