John Meeks

The Seventh Grade Florida Civics Practice EOC is specifically designed to prepare your student for the End of Course exam. This slide show covers questions that are connected to the benchmarks that your student must master in order to not only make the grade but be eligible for promotion to high school. Teachers and parents can use this resource to help their children study. Over 100 questions and answers are included!

Make the grade on the Florida Middle School Civics End of Course exam. These benchmark-based activities (with answer keys) are designed to teach or reinforce basic concepts in Middle School Civics and/or Law Studies. Perfect for school or home practice

Learn about the Virginia Declaration of Rights in this primary source activity for civics and law studies classes.

This might be the only glossary that you need for Civics and Law Studies. Based directly on Florida's middle school civics standards, this Excel file is a convenient way for students to practice their civics vocabulary skills. With nearly 400 terms, this glossary can help you MAKE THE GRADE in Civics and Law Studies.

Standard-based PowerPoint lessons on SS.7.C.3.3: Illustrate the structure and function (three branches of government established in Articles I, II, and III with corresponding powers) of government in the United States as established in the Constitution. (Three PowerPoints are included - Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government)

Connect social studies with music! Your students can curate musical playlists that connect with their understanding of social studies in the middle school or high school classroom. Use this activity to foster an environment of creativity in the classroom for rigor and academic achievement today!

It can be a challenge for educators, especially in the field of social studies, to infuse more rigor into their curriculum. This research-based slide show is designed to help educators to best serve students with higher level thinking and lessons.

Local government curriculum for civics and law studies is here! It's easy to find material for teaching about the federal government and it gets challenging finding state government lessons. Local government? That is where we scratch our heads the most. Here is new material that can help you teach local government in Duval County middle school civics and law studies classes. It is a work in progress, though, so please feel free to share your constructive input with the author. These lesson

Take learning about the lawmaking process higher on the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) chart. With this activity, students will apply what they know about the lawmaking process to various scenarios. A word bank is available to help students.

Communication is essential to building solidarity in the teachers union. Building representatives and shop stewards connect members with their local union and the labor movement at large through regular meetings or other communication. Learn more about building stronger lines of communication with your members with help from a building representative with nearly 20 years of experience in the union.

PowerPoint Quiz: Describe how English policies and responses to colonial concerns led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

Duval County Middle School Law Studies and Civics classes can make the grade with this lesson that covers Civics Benchmark Standard SS.7.C.2.12: Develop a plan to resolve a state or local problem by researching public policy alternatives, identifying appropriate government agencies to address the issue, and determining a course of action.

These RAFT writing activities help teachers incorporate rigor into their civics activities. Each RAFT activity is based on Florida Civics benchmarks for middle school students.

Art is not a luxury, it is an integral part of teaching social studies from a humanities angle. I have created these simple activities to promote art in the classroom and to afford students the chance to be creative as well as incorporating higher level thinking skills in the classroom.

This activity is designed to help students differentiate between delegated, concurrent, and reserved powers. It is helpful for reviewing the lesson as taught earlier. It is also helpful as remediation.

Standard-based PowerPoint lesson on SS.7.C.1.2: Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" had on colonists' views of government.

Differentiate between domestic and foreign policy with this bell ringer activity. It is useful for either a warm up activity or for targeted remediation.

What are the obligations and responsibilities of citizenship? Middle school law studies and civics teachers in Duval County, Florida will benefit from this material that directly complements their current lessons and curriculum.

How do we amend the U.S. Constitution? This practice activity helps your students make the grade in civics and government classes.

Know the basic differences between civil and criminal law with the Sources and Types of Law Bellringer Activity.