To Be Or Not To Be: American Response to the Cuban Missile Crisis

from SCORE H/SS!

http://rims.k12.ca.us/activity/tobeornot/

Description: Students simulate an Ex-Comm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council) meeting to brief President Kennedy about the high-flying U-2 American reconnaissance plane's discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba on October 15, 1962. Standards 11.9.3 and 12.7.8 civics

Author: Carol Krup, Poly High School

Lesson ID: 1107

Become a Special Agent for the FBI

http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/@Wmpv2OzYB_jKE/Pages/article.html?article@fbi

Description: What do FBI agents really do? In what areas of the law does the FBI have jurisdiction? How does someone become an FBI agent? This exercise will dispel popular misconceptions and help students understand how this governmental law enforcement agency really operates. Standard 12.7.8

Author: Social Studies School Service

Lesson ID: 125

Exploring Enumerated and Implied Powers

http://www.historyofsupremecourt.org/resources/lp_defines_enumerated.htm

Description: In the early Nineteenth century, the United States federal government struggled to define its powers. Under the Marshall Court, the doctrine of implied powers was established. Examine the Court's decisions that established implied powers. Discuss the Court's interpretation of Article 1 in McCullough v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden, as well as analyze the Constitution in order to understand the difference between enumerated and implied powers. Standards 12.5.3 12.7.4

Author: History of the Supreme Court

Lesson ID: 203

Gonzalez v. Oregon and Federalism

http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/instructional/resources/Lessons/Lessons_List.asp?action=showDetails&id=106&ref=showCatD&catId=6

Description: In 2001, former Attorney General John Ashcroft ruled that doctors prescribing certain drugs to terminally ill patients in Oregon were in violation of federal law. However, a January 17, 2006 decision by the Supreme Court let stand the Oregon law that allows for such prescriptions. In what situations does the federal government have the constitutional right to apply national regulations when they are in conflict with state laws? Standards 12.1.5, 12.7.1 and 12.7.4

Author: Teaching with the News, Bill of Rights Institute

Lesson ID: 1395

Legal Protection for Guantanamo Bay Detainees

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/VideoDetail.aspx?category=PG

Description: During this 7 minute C-Span clip, David Cynamon, an attorney representing Kuwaiti detainees held at the detention facility in Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, argues that habeas corpus should be applied in these cases and that independent hearings for detainees should occur. The Bush Administration, through military tribunals, has already designated these detainees as "enemy combatants." Discussion questions guide students to examine the issues in depth. Standards 12.1.3, 12.7.8, and 12.10

Author: C-SPAN Classroom

Lesson ID: 1519

Lyndon B. Johnson: 36th President

http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/lyndonbjohnson/

Description: Research one of the pieces of social legislation passed during the Johnson administration. Determine the following:What problem did the law address? Whom was it intended to help? When the law first went into effect and, subsequently, did it hurt anyone? Whom? How successful was the law in achieving its goals? How did the law succeed, or why did it fail? Is the law still in effect? Why or why not? If Lyndon Johnson were president today, would he be pressing for exactly the same law? Or would he take a different position on the topic, and if so, what position? Standards 11.10.6 and 12.7.8

Author: Discovery School

Lesson ID: 682

National Security - Federal and Local Government Roles

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/VideoDetail.aspx?video_id=54

Description: View this C-SPAN video clip of Asa Hutchinson discussing the federal and local government roles in national security, as well as the purpose for the Department of Homeland Security. Discuss the questions provided in order to gain greater understanding of the issue of homeland security. Standard 12.7.2

Author: C-SPAN

Lesson ID: 1539

President Bush Outlines a New Strategy for Iraq

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/VideoDetail.aspx?category=EB

Description: View a 6-minute C-SPAN clip from the White House as President George Bush outlines a new strategy for the war in Iraq, calling for increased troop levels and stating that the commitment of U.S. forces is not open-ended. Discuss the president's role as commander-in-chief and how foreign polici is set and amended. Standards 12.4.4 and 12.7.8

Author: C-SPAN Classroom

Lesson ID: 1522

Role of American Embassies

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/world/embassies_6-28.html

Description: Identify the services provided by U.S. embassies abroad and understand the role ambassadors and embassies play in carrying out U.S. foreign policy and protecting American interests. Standards 12.6.3 economics and 12.7.7 civics

Author: Lara Maupin, Jim Lehrer News Hour

Lesson ID: 915

Role of the Federal Courts in American Government

http://www.uscourts.gov/understand03/content_2_0.html

Description: Using Federalist No. 78 as a starting point, discuss the relationship between the judiciary and the other branches of government. Students determine if the relationship of the courts to other branches of government and the public has changed in recent years, Using nine "pieces of evidence" relating to different sections of the Constitution and various court cases.

Author: U.S. Courts

Lesson ID: 1314