I may have stumbled into a way to 1. inspire students to ask more questions 2. encourage close reading of a primary source 3. save time Back story: Around 10 years ago I watched my student teacher try a strategy …
MLK’s Letter From a Birmingham Jail is a true classic, both for its historical significance and unapologetic endorsement of non-violent civil disobedience. It actually made the list of required readings for the AP government/politics course, a list that includes Federalist Paper …
Essential Questions are great tools to organize courses and units. Regardless of how we end up using them, sooner or later reality demands that students find some answers! And here’s where the real work begins. Consider the challenge this way: to answer …
The “Federalist Paper 51” is a great entry point for analyzing the theme of power and how our government is set up to put a check on it. Throughout the study of this text and theme I would hearken back …
In another post we had Einstein assisting MLK to teach the Letter From a Birmingham Jail. For this post we’re using a MLK quote to teach the Articles of Confederation, another required document in the AP government and politics …
The next school year will start and, if you’re like me, you have no idea what it’s going to look like. But let’s imagine… You’re finished with the rules and procedures and expectations for the year. You’re ready to set …
It seems paradoxical but it’s not. Children’s stories capture our imagination, make us wonder, and reveal the inherent mysteries of life in the simplest and most profound ways. They can also motivate teachers and students of all grade levels and subjects …
When I first came across this video from the online knowledge forum Big Think, I really didn’t know what to expect. Looking at the subtitle “Start Breaking Some Rules” I was a little apprehensive since I’ve always thought encouraging adolescents to break rules …
Here’s what I have so far… Does our system of government succeed or fail in preventing the abuse of power? Do interest groups frustrate or promote democratic ideals? Is popular sovereignty a reality or an illusion? Are the media …
I’m teaching William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies and I’m interested in the theme of power and how it can be abused over time. I start off with the John Adams conversation to explore ideas of power and trust …
Before getting students to understand the basic jobs within different roles in government (president, governor, mayor, judge etc…), I would start off with the Erik Erikson conversation on interdependence. This way, students would gain an appreciation for how people within …
The March from Selma to Montgomery was one of the seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, due in large part to its successful use of civil disobedience as a form of protest. The Henry David Thoreau …
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