The Mayor is a sitcom on ABC featuring a young man who runs for mayor to promote his rap career and ends up winning. Then, he’s faced with the task of governing. The show is surprisingly good at illustrating key concepts in civics and government, and it’s worth watching some of it with your students […]
I know, I’m a couple weeks late. The Mayor, a new comedy on ABC, debuted two weeks ago on October 3. When I first started seeing ads for the show, I wondered, “Is this going to be good for teaching civics?” The premise is that a young, undiscovered rapper decides to run for Mayor as […]
If you want to teach a controversial issue, the hardest part is putting together balanced set of resources. That’s the great thing about C-SPAN’s Classroom Deliberations – they do the hard work for you. C-SPAN’s Classroom Deliberations are in depth lesson plans centered around current, controversial issues in public policy. They bring together resources from […]
Wag the Dog is an interesting movie that explores the relationship of media and politics. In the film, a spindoctor fabricates a war and creates all kinds of distractions to help his candidate win re-election as President. Wag the Dog is a strange movie, in that the plot is outlandish but also realistic enough. If […]
Gerrymandering is a critical concept in civics and government, and as a social studies teacher you may be looking for a gerrymandering game to help teach it. It’s a simple concept to define. It’s the process by which a group of political officials manipulate the drawing of an election map in a way that benefits […]
Project Citizen is a project-based learning program created by the Center for Civic Education. It teaches students about public policy. It does so by leading them through the process of researching a problem and developing a proposal for the government to address that problem. The program is based on a textbook developed by the Center for […]
Show Me a Hero is an HBO mini-series that follows the conflict over segregation in affordable housing in Yonkers. It chronicles the rise and fall of Nick Wasicsko as he tries to successfully navigate the racial politics of his divided city. It’s from the creator of The Wire, David Simon, and it meets the high expectations […]
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a classic movie about American government and politics. At the opening of the movie, a U.S. Senator dies. His replacement is a naive examplar of a citizen from the midwest, Jeff Smith. When Mr. Smith gets to Washington, he realizes that things aren’t quite as rosy and perfect as […]
Did you know that you can take your class on a free field trip to the New Jersey State House (aka the State Capitol)? More specifically, the Eagleton Institute of Politics partners with the Office of Legislative Services and the New Jersey Legislature to offer grants (in the amount of $300) for your trip to […]
Today’s Friday, the first Friday of the year for me. Oftentimes, I like to take some time at the end of the week to break up the routine of class and talk about discuss some current events with my students. To do that, I’ve got a go to, free resource: CNN10. What Is CNN10? CNN10 […]