This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The fight was a protracted one, lasting over 70 years, and it did not result in equity for diverse women. Voting and citizenship came to women of color differently depending on region, class, race, and ethnicity. For example,…

Metanarratives--stories that are told and retold over time, so that they become the story--have proven instrumental in cultivating conceptions of the Founders as invariably honest, brave, and ethical. A prime example is the tale of George Washington confessing that he chopped down the cherry tree. While this narrative crafted an image of…

Although civic education has experienced a significant revitalization during the past two decades, America's high schools are not adequately preparing young people for self-governance and civic participation. While an estimated 90 percent of American high school students take a Civics or American Government course, a majority of graduates are…

Reflecting on the mediascape since the 2016 elections, it's tempting to think that "fake news" is strictly a twenty-first century phenomenon--designed by webmasters as clickbait for shadowy networks seeking power and profit. This article will explore some ways in which teachers can use the analytical tools of news literacy to unearth the…

This article describes a discussion activity centered on a topic of interest to students, and how it helped teach seventh graders the rules of civic dialogue while engaging students with a range of academic abilities. The protocol asks students to closely read the text or texts given to them, take a position, write their position out in a short…

The Uncle Tom's Cabin inquiry illustrates the Inquiry Design Model structure as students examine Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel to explore how words can affect public opinion.

NCSS Executive Director Susan Griffin was chair of the Task Force of Professional Organizations that worked with the Social Studies Assessment, Curriculum, and Instruction Collaborative (SSACI) of the Council of Chief State School Officers to initiate and guide the development of the "College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social…

Reading U.S. Supreme Court opinions can be intimidating. Yet, in the digital age, it has never been easier to access them. The average opinion is about 4,750 words, and is one of approximately 75 issued by the Court each year. It might be reassuring to know that opinions contain similar parts and tend to follow a similar format. There are also…

One of the most persistent and controversial issues facing the global community is climate change. With the creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol (1997), the global community established some common ground on how to address this issue. However, the last several climate summits have failed…

As the 2012 presidential election approaches, controversy grows over recent statewide legislative initiatives that impose stricter identification requirements on voters. These new voter identification laws--especially those that require voters to produce a government-issued photo ID--are the subject of intense debates. During 2011, seven states…

In early July, the country of Sudan, wracked by civil war since the 1980s, officially split into two separate nations, Sudan and South Sudan. Six months earlier, over a seven-day period, the people in southern Sudan had voted in a national referendum on whether to secede from the North. The voters had two choices: "Separation" or…

On September 17, 2013 (Constitution Day), the C3 Framework was released under the title "The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History." The C3 Project Director and lead writer was NCSS member Kathy Swan, who is…

Eleanor Roosevelt's support of African American rights was one of the highlights of her activities as first lady. Her fearless advocacy for justice pulled her into political controversies that were unprecedented for the wife of a president. The first lady's initiatives in support of the rights of African Americans offer students an excellent…

History has placed the stamp of approval on the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the top-secret history of the Vietnam War. If WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange is another Daniel Ellsberg, then it is possible the website's disclosures will be viewed over time as similarly in the public interest. A classroom discussion on the release of…

The Supreme Court's preview is presented in this article. During the 2006-07 Supreme Court term, it was the 5-4 decisions that garnered the most attention. Twenty-four of the term's 72 cases were decided by this narrowest of margins--the highest percentage of 5-4 opinions in a decade--even as the share of unanimous opinions fell "below levels seen…