My daughter just started a government class that a local dad is teaching. He is very engaging, and the class is full of about 28 kids, because everyone loves his classes! That doesn't answer your question, but I wanted to mention that the book he is using this year is a little hardback volume titled "American Government 101". It's a nutshell of the facts, as near as I can tell, presented very engagingly.
He also insists that every student watch the DVD "A More Perfect Union". He even buys copies for each family, if they don't already have it from an older child taking his class! Good video.
Beyond that, I know he engages them with current topics, and creates work pages that they go through each week together, and each student is sent home with dinner table discussion topics that they are supposed to sit down and discuss with parents.
None of this probably helps you.... but if I were doing this on my own, I would likely do this little book and have my student do a multitude of note booking activities, based on what they are learning from the book, their insights from the movie, and current political events. Find another 'spine' to assign additional reading from, (or research other books and DVDs) and request a couple of papers on topics of their choice. More work on mom's part, but I think in the long run they will remember the important stuff? Just my 2 cents...
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