This 11-minute video and accompanying lesson plans explore the ways reapportionment and redistricting affect how and by whom the people are represented. Students will examine interactive resources to explore how changing district lines can affect the balance of partisan power, and evaluate criteria for drawing district lines. They will experiment with interactive maps to see both historic and contemporary changes to the balance of power among states, and discover who has power within those states to redraw the lines. These activities ask students to examine primary sources, pose questions for investigation and gather additional narratives.

This lesson is not under an open license; however it is provided free for educational services.

Jennifer Connell was called the “Worst Aunt Ever” on Twitter after she sued her cousin’s son over a broken wrist. The story, full of misinformation and inaccuracies, went viral. This video and accompanying lesson plan helps students learn how to fact-check a sensational story using a technique called lateral reading.

This lesson is not under an open license; however it is provided free for educational services.

This 10-minute video shows students why the U.S. Supreme Court authorized the use of cross-town busing to accelerate school desegregation, and how that decision affected communities and students in the American South. The video is useful for any lesson exploring the implementation phase of the civil rights movement. It clarifies why landmark decisions like Brown v. Board of Education often required additional efforts to achieve integration. The video also brings the topic of busing into modern times by showing how the integration achieved through busing has recently unraveled, and how the rise of racially homogenous schools poses new challenges for policy makers.

This lesson is not under an open license; however it is provided free for educational services.

This lesson allows students to listen to a podcast and check out different links to learn more about political parties, how and why they developed, along with learning key vocabulary terms. There are several options within the lesson, including working with a partner, creating a word cloud, reading an article, watching documentary clips and a clip from the musical Hamilton, and completing a graphic organizer. It also includes information and materials where students can learn more about the major presidential elections of 1800, 1824 and 1860.

This five-minute video introduces students to the findings of the Kerner commission, a panel of experts President Lyndon Johnson convened to make policy recommendations following the protests, violence and disorder that occurred in over 150 cities in 1967. The commission recommended a series of sweeping changes, including reforms in policing tactics and efforts to reduce urban poverty. But Johnson largely ignored the findings of the study. Useful in helping students make connections between the 1960s and today, the video sets up an engaging class discussion on race, poverty and policing.

Content Advisory: This video includes footage of police violence. This resource contains additional material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

The increasing scarcity of drinking water has captured the world’s attention and driven scientists and conservationists to find solutions. This ten-minute video and accompanying lesson has students examine how the country of Namibia has tapped an unlikely source of water to combat shortages and experiment with water filtration materials and strategies.

This lesson is not under an open license; however it is provided free for educational services.