Top:/Social Studies/Government & Civics

About Government - Explore the diversity of Web-based information about the federal government through the AboutGovernment portal site. It links users to more than 250 sites

American Epic. provides access to many well-done digital stories (with audio) providing examples of civic participation and information about democratic values.  These stories include Core Democratic Values, You Be The Judge, and Compromising For The Public Good.
Balancing Three Branches at Once: - Using primary source documents, your students can see clear demonstrations of how one branch of our government can check another.

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities.
Bill of Rights... scroll down the page to: Learn the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.

The Center for Civic Education is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational corporation dedicated to fostering the development of informed, responsible participation in civic life by citizens committed to values and principles fundamental to American constitutional democracy. They have lesson plans for teachers ...

Civic Participation is part of a larger group of excellent Interactive Learning Modules about public life in the United States.  The Civic Participation site includes well-done audio visuals that have text with audio support covering various strategies for resolving community problems.
Congress for Kids - designed for students in grades fourth through high school,Using appealing, full-color illustrations, and engaging activities, this site will extend your learning in the basics about the American federal government.
CongressLink - provides information about the U.S. Congress -- how it works, its members and leaders, and the public policies it produces. The site also hosts lesson plans and reference and historical materials related to congressional topics.
Constitutional Amendments...Learn about the 17 amendments to the Constitution that have been added after the Bill of Rights.
Constitutionfacts.com - the entire text of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence - and much more! You’ll find interesting insights into the men who wrote the Constitution, how it was created, and how the Supreme Court has interpreted it.

Constitutional Sources Project, commonly known as ConSource. We seek to create and maintain the only complete, reliable, easy-to-use and fully searchable online database of original source materials for the United States Constitution.

Elections in the Classroom...Playing this game will lend insight into the often difficult but intriguing process of running for the office of the President of the United States. Pick your party and create a platform and then try everything you can to beat your opponent. This is a fun way to learn the campaign process.
Justice Learning - an innovative, issue-based approach for engaging high school students in informed political discourse. The web site uses audio from the Justice Talking radio show and articles from The New York Times to teach students about reasoned debate...

Learn About Congress is a site sponsored by Indiana University ...   It has several videos and animations designed to show how the United States Congress works (or,at least, how it’s supposed to work).
Library of Congress: Thomas - Thomas is a website containing Federal Laws, Bills, documents, the Congressional Record, and votes of the House and Senate.
National Archives and Records Administration - The National Archives is a public trust on which our democracy depends. We enable people to inspect for themselves the record of what government has done. We enable officials and agencies to review their actions and help citizens hold them accountable.

Online Citizenship Class...History...Government...N-400 Forms and the Interview ...100 Questions

Open Congress ...track specific bills, view the most popular bills, view "This Week in Congress," track specific issues, and even use social-networking tools like blogs, etc. The site also allows users to track their representatives via RSS feeds and other tools, which would make a great project for a social studies class.
The American Constitution - The Roots of the Constitution: Magna Carta, 1215, Mayflower Compact; November 11, 1620, Fundamental Orders of January 14, 1639, Fundamental Agreement, or Original Constitution of the Colony of New Haven, June 4, 1639, Agreement of the Settlers at Exeter
The Federalist Papers : No. 48 - These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other From the New York Packet. Friday, February 1, 1788. MADISON
THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT - Interactive Teaching Unit Grades 5 - 8