Back to Standards Index: Common Core State Standards

Standards Index: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2:

Find lessons and videos that align with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2:

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.

Image from 1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party

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.
Image from 1924 Democratic Convention: Tension Over Immigration

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.
Image from 1964 Republican Convention: Chaos & Conservatism

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.
Image from 1968 Democratic National Convention: The Mess in Chicago

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.
Image from Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats

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.
Image from Labor Union Activism: Advocating for Worker Rights

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
Image from McCarthyism: Populism and the Press

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.
Image from Midterm Elections: 1966 Midterms Signal a Realignment, Shaping Today’s Parties

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.
Image from Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics

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.
Image from Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns

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.