The best curriculum for teaching the history and principles of the U.S. Here is a host of interactive government curriculum that engages students in problem solving, group work, research, and exploration of major themes. I recommend the following project-based experiential curriculum to address each of those standards individually. Most state standards also include learning about state and local government, citizen participation in government, foreign policy, and the government's role in the economy. Constitution and the operation of our federal government. Most state civics standards are weighted heavily toward learning about the history and principles of the U.S. These programs have strong content but also require a level of activity that is absent in the traditional textbook approach to civic education. The programs I recommend below all actively involve students in collaborative learning, research, public speaking, deliberation, and other skills that good citizens must have. This is what I have done over 10 years teaching high school government, while my class set of Magruder's American Government textbooks stays mostly on the shelf. One approach to curriculum adoption is to use the leading experiential programs to create your own curriculum, rather than use a textbook as its centerpiece.