The war with Iran. Banned Books Week. Digital privacy debates. Presidential powers. They’re very different issues, but each raises some version of the same question: Who gets to decide?

We’ve compiled four ready-to-teach resources from SITC.org that put students in the decision-maker's chair, and make them defend their call.

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Who Has the Power to Wage War?

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Did the president have the authority to order the attack and subsequent war with Iran, or did that authority belong to Congress?

Both Sides: War with Iran? puts that constitutional question at the center of the debate. Both Sides: War with Iran Revisited returns to the issue after later U.S. airstrikes: Was the threat imminent? Were the strikes justified? Did the executive branch have the constitutional authority to act?

Together, the two pairings give your students a chance to explore the debate and compare the competing arguments.

Both Sides: War with Iran?

Both Sides: War with Iran Revisited

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Who Controls the Bookshelf?

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Looking for a great classroom activity for Banned Books Week? Our latest blog post, Banned Books Week: Who Gets to Choose?, gives you a practical way to move the conversation beyond individual titles and into the process behind book challenges.

Use the post to explore questions such as: Who selects books for a school library? What happens when a parent challenges one? And how is required reading different from a book sitting on the library shelf?

Our ready-to-use activity lets you put students in the decision-making role, asking them to create a policy for handling book challenges.

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Who Should See What We See?

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Digital IDs promise convenience and security. They also raise questions about privacy, free expression, personal autonomy, and who controls the information tied to them.

Use Digital IDs—Should You Worry? to examine how government-issued digital IDs could connect personal data, online speech, and everyday activity in a centralized system. The video gives you a way to discuss how that information might be used, how power could expand, and what digital IDs could mean for individual liberty.

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How Much Power Is Too Much?

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Encourage your students to continue exploring “Who Gets to Decide?” through our student contests’ Presidential Powers and Digital Privacy topics.

For our essay and video contests, students will examine a topic, weigh the evidence and competing arguments, and form and support an opinion of their own.

The AI Challenge takes a different approach, asking students to question an AI chatbot, challenge its answers, check its sources, and reflect on how the conversation shaped their thinking.

You can also choose from two other contest topics: Fraud in Government Programs and Interest in Democratic Socialism / Communism.

The AI Challenge wraps up January 18, while the essay and video contests stay open through March 12, giving you flexibility to fit them into your schedule.