Students find out how the checks and balances of the three branches of government work. Through the process of creating a healthy school lunch menu, students role-play each branch's responsibility in the law-making process. They then compare the simulation activity to a real-life example of a bill that became law. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Simulate the roles of each of the three branches of government. *Identify the main role and function of each of the three branches. *Compare the simulation to a real-life example of a bill that became law. *Compare and contrast the simulation activity to the real-life interaction of the three branches.

In this activity students compare an excerpt of a WPA interview with an ex-slave with a more famous statement by Frederick Douglass to arrive at their own interpretations of slave resistance. This lesson is designed to work with the film Doing As They Can, but parts of it can be completed without the film.

In this activity, students analyze documents to arrange events on a timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline and documents will help students understand the intersection of social movements and constitutional change. This activity can be modified by reducing the number of documents. An optional Smartboard Notebook file is included to facilitate the activity.

In this activity students explore how Progressive Era reforms did not apply universally, but rather varied depending on issues like race and class. Students watch the 30-minute filmHeaven Will Protect the Working Girland read an article that explains tensions among immigrants and African Americans in the Progressive Era.

This step is the culmination of the County Solutions unit. Students learn how to design and deliver an effective slide presentation to gather support for their issue, and then they follow planning guides to create a 5-minute presentation targeted to a specific stakeholder audience. Finally, they deliver their presentations to the class.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Make a multimedia presentation to gather support for their issue *Tailor a presentation to a targeted audience *Create and deliver an effective slide presentation

Do your students breeze through internet search results, easily weeding out irrelevant results and finding exactly what they need? No? This step offers a detailed look at how to search for and find reliable, relevant information on the internet. Students practice going through a set of sample search results, then use a guided process to compile a list of possible information sources about their issue.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Make sense of internet search results and find relevant results *Determine whether a source is reliable *Broaden or narrow their search strings in order to get more relevant results *Appropriately use social media to find information *Take quick, preliminary notes on possibly relevant sources

In this step, students read and annotate the sources they identified in Step 2. The lesson discusses investigative reading and offers strategies for staying organized when faced with a large amount of information from different sources. Students choose an organization and note-taking method that will work for them and compile as much information as they can about their issue, organized by sub-topic.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Find relevant information in source material *Annotate sources and note helpful information *Organize information in a way that will be useful later

No issue exists in a vacuum, so in this step, students examine the factors that contribute to the circumstances surrounding their issue. By looking at laws, regulations, policies, attitudes, and root causes--in addition to the effect of money, politics, and factors unique to the individual issue--students get a deeper understanding of their issue and its interplay with the world.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify factors that affect their issue *Find relationships among those factors and see how they affect each other *Analyze the factors to understand the context in which their issue exists *Determine which factors are more or less susceptible to change

In this step, students figure out who's got a stake in their issue. They learn what stakeholders are and how to identify them, as well as why the power of numbers is important and how to leverage support from other groups. A series of guided activities helps students identify possible stakeholders for their issue.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify people and groups who may have an interest in their issue *Analyze the kinds of interests that may be affected by their issue *Recognize stakeholders that may have interests opposed to the student's goal for the issue

Armed with information and a deep understanding of their issue, students shift into action mode in this step by writing an action plan for "moving the needle" on their issue. They learn how to write an objective, identify action steps, and anticipate challenges and necessary resources. A "Move-the-Needle Toolbox" gives them a list of resources for communicating and gathering support.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Articulate an objective for their issue *Identify action steps required to achieve the objective *List needs and potential challenges for each action step *Create a written action plan

To get support for an issue, you have to be able to talk about it-and in this step, students learn how to do that effectively. By developing and practicing both an elevator speech and a set of talking points, students come away prepared to persuade.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Draft an "elevator speech" about their issue *Develop talking points to support their issue *Adapt their elevator speech and talking points to various situations

Students summarize their research and their proposed solution in one coherent document that describes what the issue is, what's being done, and how the proposed public policy will help solve the problem.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Summarize the problem and the research they have completed in earlier steps. *Describe their proposed solution using a 5W + H graphic organizer. *Analyze the benefits/limitations or the roles of various actors in the proposed regulation or action. *Predict the long-term effect of the proposed solution.

Having built a foundation of knowledge about the chosen issue in Steps One through Four, students now learn the term "public policy." Students identify government action and regulation as the two main ways the government works to solve problems. They analyze examples and evaluate the situations in which action and regulation are appropriate.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Define public policy. *Identify action and regulation as two types of public policy. *Distinguish between examples of actions and regulations. *Match government agencies with examples of actions they carry out. *Evaluate the restrictions and benefits of hypothetical regulations.

To increase their knowledge about both the chosen issue and the three types of actors they studied in Step Three, students examine three websites of governmental and non-governmental organizations that are involved with the chosen issue. They apply the "5W + H"method in order to learn how to navigate and gather information from a website. At the same time, they record and analyze new information about the class's chosen issue.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Describe six basic parts of an organizational or governmental website. *Collect information about the class public policy issue from internet resources. *Identify groups and individuals who are addressing the issue the class has selected.

Now that the research is done and students have articulated a proposed public policy solution for the chosen issue, they learn how to gather support. Students learn 12 different campaign and publicity strategies, then apply what they've learned by creating publicity materials to promote the class' public policy solution. This lesson may be done as a fictional exercise or to kick off a real-life campaign.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify a variety of strategies for building public awareness and support. *Evaluate the best strategies to use for different objectives. *Create components of an action campaign for the solution the class chose.

In the first of nine steps, students explore two county issues you have chosen. They vote to decide which issue the class will focus on for its "County Solutions"project.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Read articles about two county issues. *Collect information from the articles. *Analyze why the issues are significant. *Identify personal connections to the issues. *Select one issue to tackle for the County Solutions project.

Armed with knowledge about the chosen issue and about how public policy works from Steps One through Six, students brainstorm a public policy solution for the issue the class has been studying. Students use a "Thinking CAPS" method of organized brainstorming.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Work in a group to brainstorm solutions for the class problem. *Evaluate potential effectiveness of ideas the class has brainstormed. *Evaluate the ideas for cost and simplicity.

Building on the concepts of public policy, government action, and regulation from Step Five, students analyze real-world examples of government actions and regulations. Students get a taste of the wide variety of public policies that exist, and they learn how to evaluate a public policy idea for benefits and limitations.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Analyze examples of government actions and regulations using 5W+H. *Explain how the real-life actions involve the government, groups, and individuals. *Explain how both limit freedom and offer benefits. *Evaluate each example for how far it can go to actually address the issue. *Decide whether action or regulation is a better fit for the class issue.

To begin thinking about possible solutions for the issue they read about in Step Two, students learn about the difference between individual, group, and government action. They analyze examples, then apply what they've learned by suggesting ways each type of actor could address the class's chosen issue.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Compare the roles and effectiveness of three types of actors (individuals, groups, and the government). *Suggest solutions for hypothetical county problems. *Generate a list of actions the three types of actors could take to help address the class problem or issue.

Having chosen an issue for the project, students analyze two news articles about the issue. They apply the "5W + H"method in order to learn how to gather information from a news article. Using what they learn, they describe the current state of the chosen issue.
This resource was created with support from the National Association of Counties. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Read news articles to understand the problem the class has selected. *Analyze the articles using 5W+H (who, what, when, where, why, and how). *Summarize the problem.