Teacher Guides by Subject Government / Public Policy

The Alternative Fix
Using this guide, students can explore the popularity of alternative medicine, research the development of the Federal Drug Administration and examine how literature and media influence public policy. (Original airdate: Nov. 6, 2003)

Are We Safer?
In this set of classroom activities, students will examine post 9/11 surveillance tactics and evaluate whether this increased scrutiny has improved national security or restricted individual liberties. (Original airdate: Jan. 18, 2011)

Cheney's Law
This guide will help students understand the constitutional powers granted to Congress and the president in a time of national crisis. (Original Airdate, Oct. 16, 2007)

The Choice 2000
Using this dual biography of presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore, students will explore U.S. political history, voter turnout, political parties and the presidential selection process. (Original airdate: Oct. 2, 2000)

The Choice 2004
These teaching activities are designed to help students become more familiar with the candidates in the 2004 presidential contest and to explore the political cultures that shaped their careers and support their candidacies. (Original airdate: Oct. 12, 2004)

The Choice '96
Using this dual biography of presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, students will learn how to prepare for debates, and assess a candidate's fitness for public office. (Original airdate: Oct. 8, 1996)

College, Inc.
Analyze procedures used by policy makers to negotiate rules and deliberate about complex issues. (Original airdate: May. 4, 2010)

The Confessions
In this set of classroom activities, students will examine interrogation techniques used to pressure suspects to confess and consider why someone would deliver a false confession. (Original airdate: Nov. 9, 2010)

Death by Fire
This guide will help students understand the constitutional powers granted to Congress and the president in a time of national crisis. (Original Airdate, Oct. 19, 2010)

Drug Wars
This guide reexamines the 30-year history of U.S. drug policy. Students will compare the various approaches -- including treatment, education, prevention, prohibition and punishment -- and study the effects the war on drugs have had on issues of social justice and civil liberties. (Original airdates: Oct. 9 & 10, 2000)

Flying Cheap
Explore the airline industry’s common practice of outsourcing flights to regional carriers. (Original airdate: Feb. 9, 2010)

Hot Politics
Students will hold a Congressional Hearing on Global Warming and Climate Change. They will learn the issues surrounding global warming and the difficulty of finding a political solution. (Original Airdate: April 24, 2007)

The Insurgency
Using this guide, students will be exposed to arguments for and against the continued occupation of Iraq and will conduct a policy debate on exit strategies. (Original airdate: Feb. 21, 2006)

The Jesus Factor
Students will explore the intersection of faith and government by examining the First Amendment and the idea of "separation of church and state." (Original Airdate: April 29, 2004)

Justice for Sale
Students will explore the issue of judicial campaign financing through two lenses: the first reflecting the influence of campaign spending and the second reflecting the impact of special interests on judicial decisions. (Original airdate: Nov. 23, 1999)

Karl Rove -- The Architect
Students will use this profile of Karl Rove to explore the intersection of policy and political strategy for the purpose of marketing social security policy to select audiences. (Original airdate: April 12, 2006)

The Last Abortion Clinic
Students will look at the Supreme Court history that established abortion law and asses the appropriate role of federal and state government in deciding when and how to regulate the procedure. (Original airdate: Nov. 8, 2006)

News War
These writing activities will familiarize students with the First Amendment, the relationship of a free press to democracy, and the reasons for and against granting journalists the right to keep sources confidential. (Original Airdate: Feb. 13, 2007)

Obama’s Deal
Identify key steps in the legislative process where interested parties can have influence on the shape of a bill. (Original airdate: Apr. 13, 2010)

The O.J. Verdict
Using this guide, students will explore the role of race in the Simpson jury's verdict, and in the media and contemporary society. (Original airdate: Oct. 4, 2006)

The Other Drug War
This guide will help students consider the debate over prescription drug pricing, the government's role in regulating drug prices, concepts of media literacy and the role of these concepts in pharmaceutical advertising. (Original airdate: June 19, 2003)

Post Mortem
This guide will help students to examine the importance of competent death investigation, to analyze problems with the current system and to suggest solutions for improving the system. (Original airdate: April 26, 2011)

Sick Around the World
What lessons can the U.S. learn about health care from other countries? (Original airdate: April 15, 2008)

The Storm
Examining the federal, state, and local response to Hurricane Katrina. (Original airdate: Nov. 22, 2006)

The Tank Man
Using this guide, students will become familiar with what happened at Tiananmen Square in June 1989, as well as the overall social, economic and political reforms that China has undergone over the past thirty years, and the impact of censorship on the dissemination of information. (Original airdate: April 11, 2006)

Testing Our Schools (Parents' Guide)
This guide offers background on the controversy over standardized testing and the "Leave No Child Behind Act," as well as information on what these tests do and do not measure. (Original airdate: March 28, 2002)

Truth, War and Consequences
These teaching activities are designed to help students understand the roots of the current crisis in Iraq, the decision to go to war without United Nations support and the challenges facing post-war Iraq. Students will study the individuals and entities involved in the decision-making, and the possibility for a democratic Iraq. (Original airdate: Oct. 9, 2003)

The Vaccine War
Consider the balance between individual choice vs. the public good involved in the concerns over vaccination. (Original airdate: April 27, 2010)

Waco: The Inside Story
Using the standoff at the Branch Davidian compound to explore the fundamental questions surrounding the relationship between the federal government and its citizens, this guide is intended to make students aware of the tensions that can grow and the difficulties faced by each side in maintaining a democracy. (Original airdate: Oct. 17, 1995)

Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?
Using this guide, students will explore the character and motivations of President Kennedy's assassin. They will learn about how conspiracy theories are formed by thinking about a country's search for meaning behind a national trauma, and also examining how authors and filmmakers express "truth" using facts and/or fiction.