Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
Topics: What is a citizen, what is a law, community helpers, simple description of voting
Prerequisites: None
iCivics
Topics: What a law is, what voting means, simple community decision-making simulations
Prerequisites: None
National Archives — Founding Documents
Topics: What the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are; viewing original documents
Prerequisites: Basic reading
The White House
Topics: What the President does, basic facts about the presidency
Prerequisites: None
USA.gov
Topics: What the federal government does, finding a government service
Prerequisites: Basic reading
Library of Congress — Classroom Materials
Topics: Picture-based primary sources with guided questions
Prerequisites: Basic reading/observation
Annenberg Classroom
Topics: Short videos on what the Constitution is and why it matters
Prerequisites: Basic reading/viewing comprehension
iCivics
Topics: Branches of government and checks and balances, how a bill becomes a law, federalism basics, the Bill of Rights
Prerequisites: Understands there are three branches of government
Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
Topics: Three branches and functions, state vs. federal roles, simplified lawmaking process, Constitution/elections/budget overview
Prerequisites: K-8 tier content; basic government vocabulary
Khan Academy — Government and Civics
Topics: Foundations of American democracy, branches of government, civil liberties and rights, political parties and interest groups
Prerequisites: Basic vocabulary (constitution, branch, amendment)
Annenberg Classroom
Topics: Glossary-based deep dives (federalism, judicial review, due process), video explainers on landmark cases
Prerequisites: Basic Constitution literacy
National Archives — Founding Documents
Topics: Article-by-article Constitution breakdown, the amendment process, comparing drafts and historical context
Prerequisites: Knows the three founding documents' general purpose
The White House
Topics: Structure of the Executive Office, role of the Cabinet, how executive orders work in plain terms
Prerequisites: Knows the President leads the executive branch
C-SPAN Classroom
Topics: Observing real floor debate and committee hearings, spotting procedural steps, media literacy around political speech
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of Congress's role
USA.gov — State Government Directory
Topics: Locating a state's official site, identifying the governor, comparing services across states
Prerequisites: Basic federalism concept (states have own governments)
USA.gov — Local Government Directory
Topics: Finding city/county government sites, forms of local government, local ordinances and meeting schedules
Prerequisites: Awareness that cities/towns have their own government
Congress.gov
Topics: Looking up bills by number/keyword, reading bill status, identifying your representatives/senators
Prerequisites: Conceptual understanding of how a bill becomes a law
Supreme Court of the United States
Topics: Finding case dockets, majority/concurring/dissenting opinions, structure of oral argument
Prerequisites: Understands judicial review and the Court's role
National Conference of State Legislatures
Topics: What a state legislature does, unicameral vs. bicameral legislatures, finding current session information
Prerequisites: Understands federalism and general legislative process
National League of Cities
Topics: How city councils and mayors work, basic municipal services, getting involved locally
Prerequisites: Local government basics
Congress.gov — Advanced Research
Topics: Reading full bill text and amendments, tracking committee markup and votes, Congressional Record research, appropriations and budget resolution analysis, legislative history research
Prerequisites: Legislative process fluency; legal/legislative vocabulary (markup, cloture, conference committee, rider)
Supreme Court — Legal-Level Study
Topics: Reading full opinions and legal citations, stare decisis and precedent, constitutional tests (strict scrutiny, rational basis), tracking circuit splits
Prerequisites: Legal reading comprehension; familiarity with legal terms (certiorari, precedent, remand, dissent); exposure to landmark cases
National Conference of State Legislatures — Comparative Policy
Topics: Comparative policy analysis across all 50 states, reading legislative tracking databases, model legislation and policy diffusion
Prerequisites: Research/data literacy; policy terminology familiarity
National Governors Association
Topics: Interstate compacts and multi-state initiatives, comparing gubernatorial power across states (veto authority, appointment powers)
Prerequisites: Comparative government analysis skills
ICMA
Topics: Council-manager government theory, municipal administration best practices, performance measurement and budgeting, public administration ethics
Prerequisites: Grounding in local government structure; interest in public administration
National League of Cities — Policy Research
Topics: Municipal policy research (housing, infrastructure, public safety), analyzing city budgets, intergovernmental relations
Prerequisites: Budget/policy literacy; understanding of intergovernmental funding
National Archives — Historical Research
Topics: Textual/historical analysis of Founding-era debates, primary-source research methods, tracing clause interpretation over time
Prerequisites: 18th-century English reading comfort; historical research skills
Library of Congress — Independent Research
Topics: Independent primary-source research, corroborating multiple documents, evidence-based argument construction
Prerequisites: Historical research methodology; source evaluation
Khan Academy — AP Government
Topics: AP-required Supreme Court case units, comparative political behavior (voting, public opinion, media), AP-style essay practice
Prerequisites: Full intermediate-tier completion; structured essay writing; basic statistics literacy
Annenberg Classroom — AP/Undergraduate
Topics: Analysis of constitutional debates and modern application, AP/undergraduate constitutional law study
Prerequisites: Legal vocabulary familiarity; prior landmark-case exposure
USA.gov
Topics: Government service lookup through advanced FOIA requests and federal statistics research (spans all bands)
Prerequisites: Varies by use — none for basic lookup, agency structure familiarity for advanced research