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Background and Context
These Government & Elections resources will help students develop a thorough understanding and make connections between historical events, current conversations, and current policy proposals surrounding the issue. This section includes all of the context and content previously included in Close Up’s public policy chapters.
Current Issue Debates
Current Issue Debates are framed by a central question and followed by historical context, an overview of both sides of the topic, and discussion questions to facilitate deliberation in the classroom.
Available for Middle & High School
Available for Middle & High School
Available for Middle & High School
Available for Middle & High School
Available for Middle & High School
Videos from Policymakers
Brought to you by ASP HOMEROOM, through a collaboration between Close Up Foundation and A Starting Point, these supplemental videos are an introduction to policy areas that provide an opportunity for students to hear different perspectives directly from lawmakers.
State Representatives Jasmine Clark (D-GA) & Robert Dickey (R-GA) April 16, 2021
Congressman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) January 6, 2021
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) October 26, 2020
These ready-to-use Government & Elections lesson plans can be utilized in conjunction with any of our resources to enhance the quality of student discourse in the classroom. Our supplemental Civic Readiness Guide provides a recommended lesson plan sequence for using our Current Issues resources.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
Many American historians view the late 19th century in terms of technology and science, identifying the dynamism that helped drive the massive social changes of the period.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
American history is full of individuals agitating for change. However, between the end of the Civil War and World War I, writers and lecturers poured forth ideas for improving society from a particularly deep well.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
In 1880, the sultan of Turkey closed the Turkish diplomatic mission to the United States, believing it to be a waste of money on a second-rate nation.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
The 1920s were a golden era. The postwar economy grew and optimism reigned. F. Scott Fitzgerald—a great novelist of the period—captured the mood in his 1937 essay, “Early Success.”
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
The stock market crash of October 29, 1929, marked the beginning, though not the cause, of the Great Depression.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
Mired in the Great Depression of the 1930s, U.S. leaders were more concerned with issues at home than with those abroad.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
The 1950s were a time of prosperity and affluence unlike any ever seen in the United States.
Historical Perspective (ELA Unit) | August 19, 2021
The years between 1950 and 1975 were tumultuous times for American society.