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Primary
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: Additional Amendments

For Students 9th - 10th
The Constitution contains within itself the process of changing it. The amendment process is described in Article 5. Amendments can be proposed in Congress when 2/3rd of both Houses agree. The states can play a role in proposing changes...
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Primary
Bill of Rights Institute

The Bill of Rights Institute: The Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Written by James Madison in response to calls from several states for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties, the Bill of Rights lists specific...
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Article on the history and purpose of the Bill of Rights which spelled out specific protections in the first 10 amendments of the Constitution.
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1754 1800: The Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution guarantee citizens' essential freedoms and rights.
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Graphic
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: Illustrated Bill of Rights

For Students 3rd - 8th
For elementary students, an easy to understand illustrated explanation of the Bill of Rights is offered.
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eBook
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Rcfp: The Ethics of Recording Conversations [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
This cleverly designed article contains the laws concerning taping and recording conversation in regard to privacy rights. From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
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Activity
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: George Mason the Virginia Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
The Virginia Bill of Rights was the framework for the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. Some of Mason's actual phrasing appear in the first ten amendments passed fifteen years later. He is credited for authoring the first American...
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The Purpose of the Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Text of the first ten amendments of the Constitution found in the Bill of Rights.
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: No Bill of Rights, No Deal

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In the debate over the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was a deal-breaker. In this instructional activity, learners learn why the federalists thought the Constitution didn't need a bill of rights and why the anti-federalists refused to...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: A 3 Minute Guide to the Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief video that summarizes the first ten amendments to the Constitution. [3:36] Followed by a quiz and a list of additional resources to explore.
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Activity
University of Missouri

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: Marsh v Chambers, u.s. Supreme Court

For Students 9th - 10th
Chief Justice Burger's majority opinion in the case of MARSH vs. CHAMBERS, 463 U.S. 783 (1983). The case dealt with whether an opening prayer in the Nebraska Legislature violated the First Amendment.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Foreign War and Domestic Freedom: (Civil Liberties Lesson Plan)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan that directs pupils to review the concept of civil liberties and to examine examples from American history wherein rights were restricted. They will investigate key arguments between those who seek to restrict liberties and...
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: United States Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article from Wikipedia gives some background history to the creation of the Bill of Rights and contains a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form.
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Website
Scholastic

Scholastic: Explaining the Bill of Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the need for a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution. Find out what each of the first ten amendments means.
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Website
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The Battle Lost and Won: The Nineteenth Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
After the "Susan B. Anthony" amendment was passed by the Senate, suffragists stepped up in order to persuade the states to ratify it. Read how Texas suffragist Jane Y. McCallum was part of that cause and about the opposition she faced...
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Activity
University of Missouri

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: Griswold vs. Connecticut

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains in-depth information about the Griswold vs. Connecticut case, concerning the right to use contraception, and its impact.
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Activity
Harvard University

Harvard Law: Freedom of Speech and Anonymous Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Cyber Harvard Law offers summaries of three different Supreme Court cases which address the limits of free speech. Includes interactive opinion, multiple-choice questions. Links to the written opinions of the Court for...
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Activity
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: Jurisdiction of Federal Courts

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes the jurisdiction of the Federal Court system. The site breaks the court's jurisdiction into three main areas of institutional conflict: Federal Restraint of State Courts by Injunctions, Habeas Corpus: Scope of the...
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Article
Other

University of Arkansas: The Ordeal of Religious Test Oaths in Pennsylvania

For Students 9th - 10th
An argumentative essay on the underlying premise of political theory which deals with religious test oaths.
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Boston Public Schools Capstone Project

For Students Pre-K - 1st
The (Boston Public Schools) Capstone Project is an opportunity for students to engage in rigorous project-based learning. It is an opportunity for our students to develop skills to be life, career, and college-ready in a culturally...
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Handout
This Nation

This nation.com: Amendments to the u.s. Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides the text of all the amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The first ten are the Bill of Rights.
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Interactive
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies

Mocomi: The Bill of Rights

For Students 2nd - 8th
Learn about the Bill of Rights and when it was added to the Constitution.Provides a list of the ten Amendments.
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Handout
Stephen Byrne

History for Kids: Bill of Rights

For Students 1st - 6th
History for Kids reference page provides an overview of the Bill of Rights, outlining each of the ten amendments, and teaching about the history and principles of the U.S. Consitution and first ten amendments.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Schenck v. United States

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry summarizes the landmark Supreme Court case of Schenck v. United States, which pitted the right of free speech against the 1917 Espionage Act.