Lesson Plans
Our ready-to-use, high-quality lessons are rooted in the inquiry-based curriculum model. Inquiry is a learning process that engages students by making real-world connections through discovery, exploration, and high-level questioning. Inquiry encourages students to engage in problem-solving and experiential learning.
At the heart of the Center’s inquiry approach is the recognition that inquiry is the primary mode of instruction in the civic education classroom and drives the most equitable practices. Civic education is not confined to the pages of a curriculum. It unfolds in dynamic spaces where students drive the questions. They investigate constitutional history, experience democratic principles firsthand, and engage in civil dialogue. They channel their new knowledge, skills, and dispositions toward informed engagement with their world.
Civics Inquiry Lessons
Our Civics Inquiry Lessons follow a 5E model as educators facilitate student-centered learning through activities that ask the young scholars to engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Each lesson aligns with our We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum, the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies, and the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap.
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Compelling Question: Should I believe everything I see and hear online?
Grade Band: 4-8
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Compelling Question: Has Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream been fulfilled?
Grade Band: 4-8
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Compelling Question: Can democracy survive without a peaceful transition of power?
Grade Band: 9-12
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Compelling Question: Do we need a constitutional amendment to protect voting?
Grade Band: 6-8
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Compelling Question: Do we need a constitutional amendment to protect voting?
Grade Band: 9-12
Civics Inquiries in Foundations of Democracy
This collection of four elementary inquiry-based lessons that explore the constitutional principles of authority, justice, privacy, and responsibility. Designed using the 5E instructional model, each lesson engages students in meaningful civic inquiry while incorporating primary source images from the Library of Congress. Developed with support from a Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) grant, these lessons help students build foundational civic understanding through the analysis of authentic historical resources.
Elevating Unheard Perspectives
Indigenous and rural communities are often underrepresented in curriculum, making it difficult for students to see themselves reflected in what they learn. Educators in these communities often lack access to high-quality resources that honor their students' identities and allow them to build civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
All classrooms can benefit from elevating perspectives from rural and Indigenous communities.
The Center has built a curriculum for middle school educators and students, particularly those in rural and Indigenous communities, to practice skills of civil discourse. The materials comprise three modules that include lesson plans, resources, and support for authentic assessment and reflection. To see the curriculum in action, watch the videos to the right.
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Compelling Question: Has the United States made good on its promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all?
Grade Band: 6-8
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Compelling Question: Can a community preserve its culture while embracing modernization?
Grade Band: 6-8
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Civic Inquiries for We the People
This collection of nine secondary inquiry-based lessons aligned with our We the People curriculum. Designed to strengthen students' critical thinking skills, these lessons engage learners through investigations, civic conversations and experiential learning. Developed through an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program, the lessons support students in exploring constitutional principles, developing civic knowledge and skills, and preparing for informed participation in our constitutional democracy.
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Compelling Question: Were the colonists justified in rebelling against British rule?
Grade Band: 6-8
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Compelling Question: Should Congress regulate social media for teens?
Grade Band: 9-12
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Compelling Question: How much power should states have in a united nation?
Grade Band: 9-12
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Compelling Question: Does low voter turnout in the United States signal a problem with democracy?
Grade Band: 9-12
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Compelling Question: Does historical context change how we understand an issue’s importance today?
Grade Band: 5-12
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Compelling Question: Does the use of effective questioning lead to deeper understanding than prepared testimony alone?
Grade Band: 5-12
Project Citizen: Media Literacy
To empower elementary and middle school students for effective and responsible civic engagement, the Center for Civic Education and its partners developed a new set of lessons and teacher resources that integrate media literacy with hands-on engagement in public policy. These lessons are aligned with our Project Citizen curriculum.
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Compelling Question: Can I effectively create and share information?
Grade Band: 4-8
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Civil Discourse: An American Legacy Toolkit
The Civil Discourse Toolkit is designed for adult learners. College professors, in particular, will benefit from this resource as they work to instill civic values in their students, reinforce Constitutional principles, and encourage the dispositions essential to democratic participation and civil discourse. Individual learners, looking to deepen their own knowledge, will also find many uses for the toolkit.
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Compelling Question: Do our constitutional principles still matter today?
Grade Band: College-Adult
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Compelling Question: Should we be worried about political parties and factions today?
Grade Band: College-Adult
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Compelling Question: Can civil discourse lead to the recognition of rights?
Grade Band: College-Adult
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Compelling Question: Was Brown v. Board of Education successful?
Grade Band: College-Adult
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Compelling Question: What does it mean to be an American citizen?
Grade Band: College-Adult