StudentCam 2026 Documentary Competition Theme Announced: "America's 250th Anniversary!"
Using this graphic organizer, students will browse C-SPAN.org and identify what they believe to be the top public affairs story of the day. They'll fill out the chart and share their findings with the class.
Graphic Organizer: Top Public Affairs Story of the Day (Google Doc)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health (2022) (2 Clips)
Lesson: Abortion Debate in Today’s United States (10 Clips & Slides)
Historical Context
Lesson: Landmark Supreme Court Case: Roe v Wade (8 Clips)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: What is DACA? (3:57)
Clip: Campaign 2024 and Proposed Mass Deportation of Undocumented Immigrants (3:40)
Lesson: The Asylum Application Process (6 Clips)
Lesson: Refugees & National Security (6 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: Reduction to Refugee Admissions (7: 13)
Background Information
Clip: U.S. Economic Outlook for 2024 (5:14)
Bell Ringer: What are recessions and how can governments respond? (3:10)
Bell Ringer: Impacts of Monopolization (3:15)
Bell Ringer: Costs and Benefits of Regulations (2 Clips)
Deliberation: Should the federal government bail out state and local governments facing budget shortfalls? (9 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: Milton Friedman on Inflation (6:11)
Bell Ringer: The Sherman Anti-Trust Act (2:41)
Bell Ringer: Comparing the Gilded Age to Today (4:43)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: Educational Policy and the Every Student Succeeds Act (5:33)
Deliberation: Should the government provide free college for students? (10 Clips)
Deliberation: Should There Be Increased School Choice? (13 Clips)
Historical Context
Lesson: The GI Bill (8 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (2 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: The Raise the Wage Act (5:39)
Bell Ringer: The Impact of Technology on the Workforce (6:51)
Bell Ringer: Calculating Unemployment And Job Numbers (1:33)
Lesson: Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Raised? (5 Clips)
Deliberation: Should the federal minimum wage be raised? (13 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: Working Class in America (3 Clips)
Lesson: The New Deal (6 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: Environment and Offshore Drilling (10:00)
Clip: Nuclear Energy Usage (1:22)
Clip: Clean Energy School Buses (7:42)
Clip: Hearing on Gas Stove Regulation Proposals (4:08)
Clip: Fusion Energy Breakthrough (3:33)
Bell Ringer: Costs and Benefits of Regulations (2 Clips)
Historical Context
On This Day: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (6 Clips)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: Costs and Benefits of Regulations (2 Clips)
Deliberation: Should the federal government implement the Green New Deal? (12 Clips)
Deliberation: What Role Should the Federal Government Play in Conservation? (10 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: Burning Rivers and Environmental Squalor (2 Clips)
Clip: The United States and the Paris Climate Accord (4:39)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: U.S. Foreign Policy and Interventionism vs. Isolationism (6:33)
Bell Ringer: Arms Sales and Transfers (5:05)
Lesson: The War in Ukraine (8 Clips)
Deliberation: What is the best approach to US foreign policy in the 21st century? (11 Clips)
Historical Context
Clip: 75 Years of NATO (3:12)
Bell Ringer: Isolationists in World War II (11:42)
Background Information
Clip: The Latest U.S. Crime Trends (6:13)
Bell Ringer: The Role of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (2:32)
Deliberation: How Should the Issue of Gun Violence be Addressed in the United States? (20 Clips)
Historical Context
Lesson: D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Cases (6 Clips)
Clip: History of the NRA & Gun Legislation (3:56)
Lesson: Congress Investigates - Organized Crime (14 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: Differences between Medicare for All and the Public Option (3:02)
Bell Ringer: Health Insurance and the "Free-Rider" Problem (2:14)
Deliberation: Should the federal government fund a single-payer health care system for everyone? (12 Clips)
Historical Context
Lesson: The History of Federal Entitlement Programs in the U.S. (7 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Medicare and Medicaid Acts of 1965 (5:41)
Background Information
Clip: The Equality Act and LGBTQ Discrimination (5:24)
Clip: Arguments in the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case (6:18)
Bell Ringer: 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023) (2 Clips)
Lesson: Landmark LGBT Supreme Court Cases (9 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: The Impact of the Stonewall Riots (3 Clips)
Bell Ringer: The Lavender Scare (3:25)
Lesson: Don't Ask, Don't Tell (8 Clips)
Bell Ringer: AIDS Protest at the FDA (2 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: Policing Policy Priorities and Challenges (4:17)
Clip: Police Data Transparency (7:35)
Clip: Peniel Joseph on the Significance of the George Floyd Protests (4:40)
Clip: Congressional Democrats Introduce Police Reform Legislation (2:37)
Clip: IACP President Steven Casstevens on Police Reforms (3:09)
Deliberation: Should Law Enforcement Utilize Civil Asset Forfeiture? (8 Clips)
Deliberation: Should qualified immunity for law enforcement officials be eliminated? (11 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: The Kerner Report (4:32)
Bell Ringer: The Origins of the Black Lives Matter Movement (3:05)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: Data Protection and Privacy Policies (4:40)
Bell Ringer: U.S. Government Information Collection and Surveillance (3 Clips)
Clip: Data Privacy Laws in the United States (3:00)
Clip: Moderation of Content by Online Platforms (4:42)
Deliberation: Should social media companies be responsible for removing content on their platforms? (7 Clips)
Deliberation: Should big tech companies be broken up? (9 Clips)
Deliberation: What type of policy should the federal government enact to protect data privacy? (10 Clips)
Background Information
Bell Ringer: Financial Literacy - Student Loan Debt (7:49)
Clip: Student Loans and Efforts to Ease Student Debt (8:53)
Lesson: Should the government forgive federal student loan debt? (6 Clips)
Deliberation: Should Student Loans Be Forgiven? (11 Clips)
Deliberation: Is a College Degree Still Worth the Investment? (12 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: Taxation and Economic Classes (3:54)
Clip: Tax Policy and the 2024 Tax Filing Season (5:40)
Bell Ringer: How the Federal Government Spends Your Taxes (2:43)
Bell Ringer: Marginal Tax Rates (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: Wealth Taxes and How They Work (2 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: Trickle-Down Economics (2 Clips)
Lesson: 16th Amendment and Income Taxes (8 Clips)
Lesson: The Whiskey Rebellion (13 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: An Explanation of the Proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (3:35)
Bell Ringer: Chinese Economy, Trade, and the Impact on the U.S. (4:48)
Lesson: Trade Policy: Tariffs and Free Trade (9 Clips)
Lesson: Replacing NAFTA: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) (8 Clips)
Lesson: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (9 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and the Great Depression (2:06)
Lesson: The History of Tariffs in the United States (8 Clips)
Background Information
Clip: Immigration Policy at the U.S. Southern Border (10:04)
Bell Ringer: History of Border Security in pre-20th century America (6:17)
Deliberation: What should the United States do to address issues along the U.S.-Mexico border? (12 Clips)
Historical Context
Bell Ringer: 20th Century US Immigration Law: The Bracero Program (1:24)
Lesson: Immigration Act of 1924 Legacy (6 Clips)