NBA player Jason Collins recently became the first openly gay athete in a major American team sport. In this activity, students read some of Collins' coming out statement, discuss it, and then consider their views on the impact coming out can have, both personally and for society.  

President Obama's recent proposal to cut Social Security's cost-of-living increases is part of a major national debate, but one that many students know little about. In this activity, students find out about Social Security  by interviewing a senior family member or friend about it, and through reading and small and large-group discussion. 

This lesson is designed to get students to think critically about hot-button issues such as the "fiscal cliff," "sequestration," and the ongoing debate about the US budget. Two student readings examine the general debate about the budget and the human impact of budget cuts and sequestration. Questions for discussion follow each reading.

This activity uses a 6-minute video about wealth inequality that has gone viral on the internet with small-group activities to help students explore what they think U.S. wealth distribution currently is, what they think it should be, what it actually is, and what they might do about it.  (For a non-video lesson addressing the same data, see our lesson Wealth & Taxes: What's Fair?)