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
It Makes Sense! Common, That Is!
Students will trace the establishment of Republicanism in history using the primary sources including the Mayflower Compact, Common Sense, Declaration Of Independence, Articles Of Confederation, Constitution.
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.
Pursuit of Happiness
In this lesson, students will investigate how Americans conceptualized the ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ at various points in history and how this relates to government action and their own individual civic virtue. Students watch a short video, examine excerpts from primary sources, and reflect on their own understanding of happiness through debate, dialogue, and writing. By the end of the lesson, students will evaluate whether it is more important to have a government of laws or a culture of individual civic virtue in order to promote the “pursuit of happiness.”