Classroom Resources. This lesson explores the debate about whether public schools, which typically close on major Christian and Jewish holidays, should also shutter for important celebrations in other faiths. This debate is relevant in many cities, districts and states. The activities ask students to think critically about the question and identify multiple points of view before forming their own opinions and proposing possible solutions and/or compromises.
This lesson is based on the following news stories: “Should public schools close for Muslim holidays?” — published in the Christian Science Monitor before a recent Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, one of the biggest holidays of the year for Muslims, and “New York City Adds 2 Muslim Holy Days to Public School Calendar,” published in the New York Times after officials in New York City announced school would be closed to mark two Muslim holidays. The White House. The White House – Google Cultural Institute.
Teach the First Amendment | 1 for All. Help Tomorrow’s Citizens Find Their Voice. Teach the First Amendment. The most basic liberties guaranteed to Americans — embodied in the 45 words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — assure Americans a government that is responsible to its citizens and responsive to their wishes. These 45 words are as alive and important today as they were more than 200 years ago. These liberties are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican — they are the basis for our representative democratic form of government. We know from studies beginning in 1997 by the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, and from studies commissioned by the Knight Foundation and others, that few adult Americans or high school students can name the individual five freedoms that make up the First Amendment.
Amy Trenkle teaches 8th grade U.S. history at Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Washington, D.C. New Lesson Plan View Classroom Guide Elementary & Middle School What’s It All About? View Lesson Plan U.S. Home - Supreme Court of the United States. Democracy Day. Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System. National Student Mock Election « National Student Mock Election.
National Archives and Records Administration. Judges, Courts, and the Law, Educating about the Judiciary. iCivics | Free Lesson Plans and Games for Learning Civics. C-SPAN Classroom | Free Primary Source Materials For Social Studies Teachers. Congress.gov | Library of Congress. Congress for Kids - Interactive, Fun-filled Experiences About the Federal Government.
Center for Civic Education Home. Center for Action Civics - Democracy is a Verb. Bill of Rights Institute: Home. Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids.