Browse political science simulations available as Printed Packets, in the Online Classroom, or both.
This simulation contains six periods. The first four periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 1: American Government and Civic Engagement. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
6 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 10: Interest Groups and Lobbying. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 11: Congress. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 12: The Presidency. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 13: The Courts. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 14: State and Local Government. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains seven periods. The first five periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
7 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 16: Domestic Policy. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains seven periods. The first five period contains all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 3: Foreign Policy. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and graded quiz which has multiple choice only questions.
7 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 2: The Constitution and Its Origins. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 3: American Federalism. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains seven periods. The first five periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 4: Civil Liberties. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
7 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 5: Civil Rights. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains seven periods. The first five periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 6: The Politics of Public Opinion. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
7 periods
This simulation contains eight periods. The first six periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 7: Voting and Elections. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
8 periods
This simulation contains seven periods. The first five periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 8: The Media. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
7 periods
This simulation contains seven periods. The first five periods contain all sections of OpenStax's American Government 4e (AG4e) Chapter 9: Political Parties. And the last periods contain the chapter's key terms and an auto-graded quiz.
7 periods
In this simulation, students will learn about the federal agencies and their regulations. First, students will be randomly assigned a Federal Agency and they are tasked with visiting the agency's website to share what they found interesting. Next, students read a recent regulation issued by their federal agency and share what they found interesting, confusing, and how it directly or indirectly affects their current or future occupation. Then, students will do a deep dive of the Code of Federal Regulations that is primarily affected by the recent regulation and share what they find intriguing. Finally, students will explore the process of offering a Public Comment or reviewing past Public Comments on the regulation.
4 periods
In this simulation, students will learn about the Supreme Court and lower courts. Then, students will be randomly assigned a Supreme Court case from a recent term. They are tasked with reviewing the facts of the case and the questions presented and share what they found interesting. Additionally, students listen to the oral argument of the case and share what they found interesting, confusing, and how it affects their interest in the legal profession. Next, students will review an amicus brief related to their case and share what they found interesting. Finally, students are presented the Opinion of the Court and asked to share what they found interesting about it.
5 periods
This four-period simulation guides students through the political geography, watershed hydrology, international and national laws, and conflict and cooperation on the Tijuana River, a natural resource shared by the United States and Mexico. In the first period, students learn about the political geography of the Tijuana River as a common pool resource. During the second period, students get a detailed introduction to the watershed hydrology of the Tijuana River watershed to understand how the natural environment and human-made water infrastructure interact. In the third period, students explore the international and national laws related to the river. And in the final period, students try to balance the conflict and cooperation the river necessitates between the United States and Mexico.
4 periods
In the early morning of Saturday, January 3, 2026, United States President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. armed forces and law enforcement to conduct an operation in the country of Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife. This simulation guides students through four periods: 1) Executive Branch's Intelligence and Military Capabilities before Operation. 2) Executive-Legislative Branch Interactions Immediately Following Operation. 3) The structural interaction between the Executive and Legislative branches in the domain of foreign policy. 4) Process of constructing foreign policy strategies for the short-term or long-term from the perspective of the Legislative Branch.
4 periods
This simulation guides students through the process of analyzing a peer-review journal article, an essential skill for all students. First, students learn about the anatomy of a journal article and details how to analyze an article. Then, they complete a Comprehension Quiz and Research Design Quiz before proceeding to their assigned article. There is an optional discussion board for students to discuss their article. Finally, students annotate and upload their journal article and then submit a reflection to the instructor. Note: The instructor assigns students open access/Creative Commons licensed peer-reviewed journal articles published in the American Political Science Review.
9 periods
This simulation assigns students a President to learn about and share what they find interesting about the individual. Next, students review an assigned Executive Order of their assigned president. Then they explain one intended consequence and one unintended consequence of their assigned EO. Finally, students recommend whether the executive branch should implement the EO aggressively or passively and explain the political, economic, and social costs and benefits of this approach.
4 periods
In this simulation, students are assigned a U.S. Senator, use a spatial model, and asked to share what they find interesting about the Senator. Next, students are tasked with explaining their reaction to a congressional bill sponsored by their Senator. Then students need to analyze the political, economic, and social costs and benefits of the bill and explain tradeoffs. Finally, students need to describe how best to gain support for the bill from fellow Senators, the President, and general public. Final period is a roll call vote on a war powers resolution and class discussion.
5 periods