Handed out your syllabus and completed a few icebreakers. Now what? Building a larger theme and relevant inquiry is crucial in the first week of your U.S. History or Civics class. These 6 tried-and-true activities will start your year strong and set you up to make meaningful real-world and personal connections throughout the year! So many ways to use these activities, including: Complete a few in your US History class and a few others in your American Government or Civics class Try out a few to kick off this semester, and save a few to try next semester Tuck a few of these away as emergency sub-plans Student materials come in both print PDF and editable Google files. Greatness is starting with the big picture in mind. Before diving into the 13 colonies or 3 branches of government, pique your students' curiosity and connect to larger themes of America so that you can return and “rehook” to these big ideas throughout the year. 6 Included Activities: Concept Definitions (US/Civics) dive into the nuanced meaning of concepts like "democracy" and "American dream," asking students for their perspectives Citizenship Speed Dating activity (Civics) analyze and reflect on various quotes on citizenship, challenging students to form their own ideas President Obama's 50th Anniversary of Selma Address analysis (US) hear, watch, and annotate an impassioned argument about our American values and who really founded it U.S. Naturalization Test (Civics) really see how “citizenship ready” your students are and discuss what sort of questions belong on the test American Values analysis (US) consider how current-day America upholds and also struggles to uphold its core founding values; then identify these values in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution Preamble GREAT Goal and Action Plan activity (US/Civics) conduct values self-inventory and develop a personal goal for the year, tying to previous activities Teacher Supports Also Included: Detailed Overview & Daily Lesson Plans with step-by-step teacher directions Answer Keys for all applicable activities Editable Google files version of all student materials These activities are perfect for bringing real impact to your U.S. History or Civics classes without throwing out everything you already have! Create a Thematic & Inquiry-Centered Course with this Kit Pick from the 14 included course-long inquiry questions that are each tied to the included activities Open your class by challenging students to chew on your chosen question; post the question everywhere--on your syllabus, whiteboard, and LMS homepage Complete 2-3 included activities which require students to brainstorm and pull from their incoming knowledge, consider new ideas, then begin forming a deeper understanding they will build on all year Build a "progressive" bulletin board or wall timeline with the question or central concepts to add to as you progress through your units Return to inquiry question and central concepts as you introduce each unit, during end-of-unit review, for your final project, and as you wrap up the semester or year What Other Teachers are Saying ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this activity for giving me an idea of my kids interest level and gave them an idea of my expectations without me having to actually read them to them. I love the getting to know my students in such a relaxed manner. - Connie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great resources to start a course in Government on. Fun activities that got the kids up and moving, and talking about important concepts/values. Highly recommended! - Jeff ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This includes different activities that I used at different times of the year. This was helpful in the beginning of the year as we were introducing the Founding Docs and the ideas of what the US is all about. Thanks! - Amy Thinking about going thematic inquiry? Check out these full-course bundles! U.S. History Whole Course Bundle Civics Whole Course Bundle This listing is for one license for regular, non-commercial classroom use by a single teacher only. Commercial use like online teaching (ex. Outschool) or sharing with other teachers (ex. shared drive, in a Facebook group, in a professional development training) is strictly prohibited. By purchasing a license to this resource, you have access to all future updates at no cost, available under “My Purchases." Multiple and transferable licenses are available for purchase. PDF files are uneditable, other files have editing abilities, unless otherwise stated. All files are protected under federal copyright laws. To request a complete terms of use prior to purchase or if you have any questions about this resource, please leave a question below under Product Q&A.
