Back to Standards Index: National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework

Standards Index: D2.Civ.1.9-12.

Find lessons and videos that align with standards

Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of local, state, tribal, national, and international civic and political institutions.

Image from Hurricane Katrina and Disaster Response – Mini Lesson
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Hurricane Katrina and Disaster Response – Mini Lesson

Students will learn about Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, examining the effects a major hurricane can have on communities.
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Why the Supreme Court Endorsed, Then Limited Affirmative Action

Students will examine contemporary and historical Supreme Court cases dealing with affirmative action.
Image from Brown v. Board of Ed and Busing Promised Integration. Why Are Schools Still Segregated?
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Brown v. Board of Ed and Busing Promised Integration. Why Are Schools Still Segregated?

Students will learn why much of the school integration achieved through cross-town busing has unraveled over the last few decades.
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Health Risks of Vaping

Students will learn that like cigarette manufacturers decades ago, e-cigarette makers have pitched their products as fun and safe. But nobody knows what the risks of vaping are.
Image from Midterm Elections: 1966 Midterms Signal a Realignment, Shaping Today’s Parties
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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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Ecology: The Yellowstone Wildfires of 1988

Students will learn how the Yellowstone fires of 1988 created a national controversy that challenged long-held assumptions about the role that fires should play in forestry policy.
Image from Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics
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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.
Image from Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago - Mini Lesson
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Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago - Mini Lesson

Students will learn about how as deportations of unauthorized immigrants rose under President Donald Trump, some churches and cities declared themselves sanctuaries and shielded migrants from immigration enforcement.
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How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees

Students will examine the question of what obligation countries have to refugees. As Afghan and Ukrainian migrants settle in the U.S., this video asks whether refugee resettlement is better now than it was for the Vietnamese 50 years ago.
Image from The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
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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.
Image from McCarthyism: Populism and the Press
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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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Vincent Chin and Asian American Civil Rights

Students will learn about the case that set the precedent for racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans being prosecuted as hate crimes.
Image from How a 1944 Supreme Court Ruling on Internment Camps Led to a Reckoning
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How a 1944 Supreme Court Ruling on Internment Camps Led to a Reckoning

Students will learn how the U.S. government imprisoned 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most American citizens, during World War II and the lasting impact of a related Supreme Court ruling.
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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.
Image from Unprepared: Lessons From Two Massive Oil Spills
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Unprepared: Lessons From Two Massive Oil Spills

Students will learn about the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills, as well as examining the long-term effects on ecosystems and coastal communities.
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Immigration in the 1990s: Proposition 187

Students will learn about the anti-immigration movement in California in the 1990s, and why it is relevant today.