Curated OER
Living News: Classroom Materials
Young scholars explore controversial current events. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students research selected issues and examine the issues from different perspectives. Young scholars script and record news stories that feature their...
Curated OER
Get to Know Your Bill of Rights
Sixth graders research and examine the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America. They sequence events significant to this time period, read and discuss text, and in small groups prepare and present the...
Curated OER
The Founders’ Library: Thinking as a Founding Father
Students analyze the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. government lesson, students examine books, movies, and music that influence them today and then investigate writings that influenced the framers of the...
Curated OER
You Can Say That Again!
A discussion of the Supreme Court’s Opinion of Tinker v. Des Moines generates a discussion of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. Although the key elements of this lesson plan are based on a video that is not included, the...
School Improvement in Maryland
Supreme Court Case Overview I
As part of a study of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, class members examine four Supreme Court decisions—Gitlow v. New York, Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Griswold v. Connecticut—that incorporated the due...
Curated OER
Towards Separation of Church and State in Gloucester
Explore New England government in the 1700's with your class. They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
Curated OER
Governance And Civics: Grade 4
This PowerPoint provides elementary students with a basic overview of the structure and workings of the US Government. Students will be introduced to the 3 branches of Federal and State Government, the Bill of Rights, and Amendments 1,...
Judicial Learning Center
The Constitution
Supreme Court justices debate the meaning of the US Constitution, but we expect teachers to explain it to scholars with far less training and experience. A daunting task for sure, but it's not insurmountable with resources that simplify...
Curated OER
Reorganizing the Bill of Rights
Eighth graders, in groups, explore all 26 amendments and group them accordingly.
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents: U.S. Constitution Workshop
What does it mean to be American? Explore the constitution and what it really means to be a citizen here. First, learners of all ages will investigate different primary source documents. Then, they establish each document's...
Mrs. Hodges' Social Studies Classes
I Have Rights?!
Do young people have rights in the United States? Your pupils will not only learn the answer to this important question, but will also build vocabulary through cloze activities and gain a thorough introduction to the Bill of Rights.
Bill of Rights Institute
Celebrate Constitution Day
September 17 is a great day to focus on the US Constitution for on this day in 1787, the Constitution was signed. Through a series of activities, high schoolers get a chance to look closely at this famous document and the rights and...
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Making the Connection
Students examine the Bill of Rights. In this philanthropy instructional activity, students identify the responsibilities that accompany the 5 basic guaranteed rights in the Bill of Rights. Students interview a community member regarding...
Curated OER
The Rights of the Child
Students create a set of rights that promote safety and tolerance at the school site. For this Bill of Rights lesson, students read the U.N. Declaration on Rights of the Child. Student presenters lead a discussion of these rights and...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
How the First State Constitutions Helped Build the U.S. Constitution
Did you know that the United States Constitution was adopted after many state constitutions were already in place? Young scholars examine facts about the influence of states through an informative and interesting resource. Groups then...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Bill of Rights instructional activity, students research 12 possible amendments that were considered for the...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Curated OER
Legal Rights, the Charter, and Canada's Constitution
Students explore the issue of human rights in Canada and compare and contrast the Bill of Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They debate whether Canadians are giving up certain democratic rights in exchange for the greater good.
Curated OER
Bill of Rights Day
Fifth graders examine and identify the values and purposes of the Bill of Rights. They complete a class KWL chart, participate in a class jigsaw activity, write and illustrate a book about the first ten amendments, participate in a mock...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
In this Amendments to the Constitution learning exercise, students list the freedoms that each of the ten Bill of Rights guarantees. Students write ten short answers.
Curated OER
Our Constitutional Amendments
Learners analyze how the Bill of Rights affected people. For this U.S. History lesson, students research specific Amendments then prepare an oral report and visual presentation on one amendment to share with the class.
Curated OER
Building a Human Rights Document
Students identify the issue of basic human rights, examine the importance of the UDHR, and compare it to United States Bill of Rights. They create a definition of human rights as a class. Students are divided into groups of four and...
Curated OER
Inspiration for and Application of the Bill of Rights
Students examine individual rights. In this case law lesson, students discuss the from and function of the Bill of Rights prior to investigating several cases that deal with Constitutional rights. Students discuss the outcome of the...