Welcome to the ISA Curriculum Guide! This guide will help you teach your students about American government by turning your classroom into an exciting game.
Students will choose roles like candidates, strategists, and leaders. They’ll learn through activities such as mock elections, debates, and creating laws — making teaching civics fun and engaging for everyone.
How the Curriculum Works
The school year is split into two parts. In the first part, students learn how elections work by forming political parties and running campaigns. In the second part, they learn how the government creates laws and solves problems. Here’s how it looks:
Fall Semester: Learning, Parties, and Elections
- Weeks 1–2: Getting Started
- Explain the ISA game and set up student profiles.
- Students choose roles like candidate or strategist and learn how to play.
- Weeks 3–7: Learning and Practice
- Students learn how elections and political campaigns work.
- They create pretend party platforms, campaign ads, and take quizzes.
- Milestone: By Week 7, students unlock new activities by earning points.
- Weeks 8–10: Forming Parties
- Students join or form political parties.
- Parties create their platforms and recruit members.
- Milestone: By Week 10, everyone must join a party.
- Weeks 11–14: Campaigns and Debates
- Students run for office, debate, and campaign.
- Activities include mock interviews and practice elections.
- The teacher helps by moderating debates and giving advice.
- Weeks 15–16: Elections
- Week 15 is for primary elections.
- Week 16 is for general elections, where students vote for their leaders.
- Milestone: By Week 16, elected students start their leadership roles.
Spring Semester: Leadership and Laws
- Weeks 17–20: Leadership Training
- New leaders learn how to govern.
- Activities include leadership training and creating new ideas for laws or projects.
- Milestone: Leaders present their first ideas by Week 20.
- Weeks 21–26: Making Laws
- Weeks 21–23: Students work together to write proposals for new laws.
- Weeks 24–26: Students debate the proposals with teacher guidance.
- Milestone: By Week 26, all groups submit their laws for voting.
- Weeks 27–28: Voting and Governance
- Students vote on the proposed laws and see the results.
- They reflect on how their choices compare to real-world situations.
End-of-Year Activities
- Weeks 29–32: Advanced Challenges
- Optional activities like solving mock crises or forming coalitions.
- Students practice more advanced skills.
- Weeks 33–36: Reflection and Wrap-Up
- Students discuss what they learned and share their experiences.
- Teachers help students reflect and complete final projects.
Key Milestones Recap
- Week 2: Students finish orientation and profiles.
- Week 7: Students complete the learning modules.
- Week 10: Every student joins a political party.
- Week 16: Elections finish and leadership roles begin.
- Week 20: Leaders share their first project or policy.
- Week 26: All laws are submitted and debated.
- Week 28: Students finish voting on laws.
Helpful Tips for Teachers
- Plan and Adapt:
This curriculum is flexible. Adjust activities and timing to best fit your class. Clear planning can help you easily lead each activity. - Support and Guidance:
Your role is important. Guide students through debates and activities. Give helpful feedback and encourage respectful discussions. - Assessment and Reflection:
Use quizzes and activities to check student progress regularly. At each milestone, ask students to think about what they’ve learned. - Real-World Connections:
Connect the game to current events in the news. This helps students see why civics matters in their daily lives. - Extra Resources:
Visit our website for more resources, lesson plans, and ideas to make your teaching easier.