Social Studies & Civics Resources

#IamABE is a 3-lesson, standards-aligned curriculum, developed at three different levels, geared towards Adult Basic Education students. Designed to be easily implemented in any classroom, lessons and materials are available at the beginning, intermediate, and Advanced/GED levels. Lessons range from understanding First Amendment rights, to voicing one's political opinions on social media. This project-based curriculum builds towards launching a social media campaign to elevate student voices.

A history lesson about a movement that brought change in accessibility law. This lesson can be split into two days, with day one being vocabulary, scaffolding, reading, and comprehension. Day two could be vocabulary extension, grammar, text review, and application to present day. 

When it comes to the information that we are reading, hearing, and passing along, it is no wonder that it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine its validity. To this end, it is more important than ever to incorporate information/media literacy instructional strategies and activities into the ABE classroom. Moreover, these strategies and activities are beneficial for all levels of students and can be delivered within all types of instruction. This adaptable lesson will help students become more critical readers and listeners in this age of mass information and, depending on class time, can be taught during one or multiple sessions. To be most effective, it should be taught after lessons/discussions about the First Amendment (especially freedom of speech and freedom of the press) and the role(s) of media in society.

This lesson teaches students how the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to establish the U.S. government. Students will learn about the three main Articles of the Constitution and how each one establishes the three branches of government. They will then learn the role of each branch of government and the significance of “Checks and Balances.”

A 2-3 hour long lesson (extensions built in) for beginning ESL students on differentiating types of law enforcement and understanding their rights in those interactions with an emphasis on Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In this module, students will read about exercising their 4th, 5th and 6th amendment rights during an encounter with ICE. Students will practice listening for specific phrases they can apply to interactions with ICE and practice using those phrases in role plays.

Part of a series of lesson plans from the ACLU of Maine, intended for high school students, about constitutional rights. After a teacher explains the 4th amendment (searches and seizures), students form a "Supreme Court" and debate an actual past SCOTUS case. The case deals with searching students' belongings, but could be used to explain protection against unlawful search more generally (i.e., stopped by officers on the street).

Description of this lesson: Executive orders can be one of those “mysteries” of the U.S. government. Every president has the power to issue these types of orders but what exactly are they? Are they like a law? Do they have an expiration date? These are just a few of the many questions that will be answered in this lesson. While it can be a complex topic, this adaptable lesson provides the “5Ws” of executive orders and also puts them into historical context. 

This reading lesson centers around a news article about how the 2025 U.S. federal layoffs impacted the National Park Service, the parks, and their employees.