About Teaching 250
Teaching250 is a collaborative project bringing together established national civic education organizations and classroom teachers to develop high-quality, nonpartisan instructional resources in advance of America’s 250th anniversary. This initiative was made possible through a 2025 Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics Award—an annual recognition for Civics Renewal Network members from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
Supported by this award, educators worked alongside partners from the Civics Renewal Network to create inquiry-based lessons that help students explore America’s founding principles through primary sources and engaging classroom activities.
To learn more about the organizations that contributed resources to Teaching250, please explore our Civics Renewal Network partners. Each lesson page also includes links to partner organizations where you can find additional classroom materials and resources.
Featured Lesson Plans
Power of One
This lesson explores ways in which people can engage in civic renewal beyond voting. Students will analyze a photo of a protest, and then read and analyze case studies about kids making a difference through non-voting civic renewal initiatives. As part of their case study analysis, students will learn and apply the definitions of “top down” and “bottom up” approaches to civic action. As tweens and young teens are legally unable to vote, the ultimate goal of this lesson is to showcase inspiring examples of civic renewal that did not involve the power of voting.
From Grievance to Government
In this lesson students investigate how colonial grievances expressed in the Declaration of Independence influenced protections later included in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Through primary source analysis and station activities, students examine specific grievances and connect them to constitutional protections designed to prevent abuses of government power. Students synthesize their learning by creating a one-page visual demonstrating how the experiences of the colonists helped shape a government designed to protect individual rights.
Beyond the Text
In this lesson, students investigate how the Supreme Court expands, limits, and redefines individual rights over time by analyzing landmark constitutional cases. Through a collaborative gallery walk and peer presentations, students compare legal precedents and construct an evidence-based argument on whether the Court should protect rights not explicitly written in the Constitution.