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Standards Index: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2:
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Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
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Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter
Students will examine the nomination and confirmation process for Supreme Court Justices and learn why the judges often reveal so little.
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Midterm Elections: 1966 Midterms Signal a Realignment, Shaping Today’s Parties
Students will learn how Southern voters, once loyal to the Democratic Party, elected Republican candidates in 1966 as the two parties began to sort themselves into distinctly partisan camps.
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Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics
Students will learn how the midterm elections, often a referendum on the sitting president’s agenda, can set the stage for future policy debates.
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1924 Democratic Convention: Tension Over Immigration
Students will learn how the 1924 Democratic National Convention became a raucous battleground over the influence of the Ku Klux Klan.
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1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party
Students will learn how former President Theodore Roosevelt used the newly created direct primary system to challenge incumbent President William Howard Taft for the Republican Party’s nomination in 1912.
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The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
Students will learn about the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota and examine political decision-making as it relates to public works projects.
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1968 Democratic National Convention: The Mess in Chicago
Students will learn how internal tensions over Vietnam and the cultural changes of the 1960s led to violence and chaos at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
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McCarthyism: Populism and the Press
Students will learn how Joseph McCarthy rode to power on a wave of anti-communist fears, and how television contributed to both his rise and fall.
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Harvesting the Rain
Students will explore the issue of water sustainability by examining the distribution of fresh water on Earth and using a physical model to simulate the implementation of rainwater harvesting practices.
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Labor Union Activism: Advocating for Worker Rights
Students compare and contrast the rise of union membership in the 1930s with the union movement of the early 2020s
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1964 Republican Convention: Chaos & Conservatism
Students will learn how Senator Barry Goldwater’s nomination in 1964 led to a disastrous Republican convention and a Democratic landslide in November, but not without giving birth to the conservative movement that has come to dominate today’s Republican Party.
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The Indian Child Welfare Act
Students will learn about how for generations, Native American children were removed from their homes and placed with white families. A recent Supreme Court ruling affirms the rights of Native families and tribes, giving them preference in adoption and foster care.
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Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation
Students will examine primary and secondary sources related to voter intimidation to determine how integrity of elections can be ensured.
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Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns
Students will learn about the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and how decades later, lawmakers and the American public continue a debate over gun control.
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Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats
Students will learn how the issue of slavery caused a split in the Democratic Party that led to the Civil War and paved the way for 50 years of Republican dominance in national politics.