Unit VII: The Public Policy Debate Landmark Cases.Org Materials and lessons for many cases; Many of the lessons are directly tied to the core learning goals. http://www.landmarkcases.org/ Landmark Cases.Org Marbury v. Madison Political cartoon on separation of powers and checks & balances, as well as the other activities http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/cartoon.html Landmark Cases.Org: McCulloch v. Maryland, Be sure to check out the "Federalism Activity" and "Powers of the Federal Government." http://www.landmarkcases.org/mcculloch/home.html Landmark Cases.Org: Plessy v. Ferguson Take a close look at the "After the Case" activities as a means of exploring Plessy v. Ferguson. http://www.landmarkcases.org/plessy/home.html Landmark Cases.Org: Brown v Board of Education Be sure to check out the "After the Case" activities. http://www.landmarkcases.org/brown/home.html Landmark Cases.Org: Miranda v. Arizona Activities: "Should the Miranda Warnings be Required Police Procedure?" & "A Real World Case Study: Homicide" may be useful for this unit. http://www.landmarkcases.org/miranda/home.html Landmark Cases.Org:: Gideon v. Wainwright Political cartoon analysis, WebQuest, and activities http://www.landmarkcases.org/gideon/home.html Landmark Cases.Org: Tinker v. Des Moines The activities listed under "After the Case" may be especially useful in this unit. http://www.landmarkcases.org/tinker/home.html Landmark Cases.Org: New Jersey v. TLO "Should the Exclusionary Rule Apply to Searches...?" & the "After the Case" may be useful http://www.landmarkcases.org/newjersey/home.html Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: Separate but Equal Addresses how the NAACP fought the doctrine of separate but equal. Mentions more recent cases. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects /ftrials/conlaw/sepbutequal.htm Oyez, Oyez Brief abstracts of key Supreme Court cases, written opinions of the Court and biographies of justices. http://www.oyez.org/oyez/frontpage Govbenefits.gov Benefits, grants, and financial assistance offered by the federal government. http://www.govbenefits.gov/jsp/OtherResources.jsp Maryland Dept. of Human Resources Provides information about economic assistance programs in the state of Maryland. http://www.dhr.state.md.us/index.html The Almanac of Policy Issues: World Affairs and National Security Information on issues such as terrorism, defense spending, and U.S. Policy towards Iraq. http://www.policyalmanac.org/world/index.shtml The U.S. National Debt Clock Up to the minute data on the national debt and links to news articles on this topic. http://brillig.com/debt_clock/ Can you balance the national budget? "National Budget Simulation": try to achieve a balanced budget. http://www.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes /servlet/IWT4L1acs4 State and Local Revenue & Expenditures Answer: "Where does state / local revenue come from?" & "How do the governments spend it?" http://www.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes /servlet/IWT4L1acs3 National Geographic: Environment Recent news stories on the environment. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/ news/environment.html NASA's "How Can We Grow Smarter: Investigating Urban Sprawl and Land Cover Change in the Classroom" Satellite images may be useful in analyzing growth and urban sprawl. http://ltpwebx.gsfc.nasa.gov/ltp/temp/ growsmart/website/ Where Do We Grow From Here? A Teacher's Resource Guide on Growth and its Impacts in Maryland Lessons on growth and related issues. http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/smartgrowth/home.htm Governor's Office on Smart Growth Maryland's Smart Growth Initiative and what actions the state is taking. http://www.smartgrowth.state.md.us Land Use Competition Students work as an interest group to develop a land use plan & convince the community to adopt it. http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/land_competition/ Issues, Interests, and Lobbying By MCPS teachers, research a policy, role play an interest group, and attempt to influence Congress. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa /ninvest/nsllessons/lobby.html Executive Agencies Explore web sites of executive agencies, agencies' roles in making policy, & policy's impact on individuals. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa /ninvest/nsllessons/exec.html The FTC Has extensive information about the FTC. Be sure to check out the page "For Consumers." http://www.ftc.gov The FDA Contains a tour, an overview, and a list of products the FDA regulates. http://www.fda.gov The EPA Curriculum resources & activities on issues (air quality, waste/recycling, water pollution, etc.). http://www.epa.gov/teachers/ The FCC Links to headlines and consumer guide that describes their functions, organization, and powers. http://www.fcc.gov/ The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act Provides an easy to understand overview of the Clean Air Act. http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/peg_caa/pegcaain.html The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) Overview of this law. Under "Findings/Policy,": how state and federal govt are involved. http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/fwpca.html HUD's Fair Housing and Presidential Executive Orders Links to the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and other information related to fair housing. http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/FHLaws/index.cfm Time Online Edition Current events; "Nation" section has articles on U.S. public policy; Teachers Guide,cartoons, & more. http://www.time.com/time/ Time's "Cartoons of the Week" Includes a number of cartoons, many of which are related to domestic policy. http://www.time.com/time/cartoons/20030725/ USNews.com Online news source includes a weekly lesson plan, quiz, featured activity, and more. http://www.usnewsclassroom.com/ Civil Rights Law and History Justice Dept Home Page; info and links on civil rights laws. http://www.usdoj.gov/kidspage/crt/crtmenu.htm Educational Equity Case Study By MCPS teachers: primary source documents; explore the struggle of educational equity; strategies of groups, individuals, and agencies. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa /ninvest/nsllessons/equity.html National Center for Education Statistics This organization collects, collates, analyzes, and reports statistics on American education. http://nces.ed.gov/ Equality for All By MCPS teacher, students explore the question, "Does our society provide equal opportunity for all?" http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/ einsteinhs/del2.html The National Archives and Records Administration Teaching with Documents Document-based lesson; Civil Rights Act of 1964 & Equal Employment Opportunity Commission http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons /civil_rights_act/civil_rights_act.html How a Bill Becomes a Law: The Case of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 This lesson addresses how a bill becomes a law, using the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an example. http://www.congresslink.org/lessonplans/civrights.html Return to NSL Government Resources *Compiled by Stacy Dimmick. **Special thanks to Marty Creel, Nancy McCulloch, Daryl Schultz, Dave West, and Jennifer Davis for their contributions.

Return to SS Resources & Links NSL Government I: Principles and Structure of Systems II: Participation in the Political Process III: Functions and Powers VI: Attaining Justice and Protecting Rights V: The Economic Common Good VI: Foreign Policy Today VII: The Public Policy Debate General Resources Primary Source and Other Documents Data Sources Elementary: Kindergarten Grade One Grade Two Grade Three Grade Four Grade Five USDE Teaching American History Grant * Grades 4 and 5 Corps of Historical Discovery Middle School: Grade Six Grade Seven Grade Eight High School: U.S. History NSL Government Modern World History