Curated OER
We the People Lesson 2
Students compare the Federalists and Anti-Federalists visions for the U.S. government. In this government lesson, students conduct research on Federalists and Anti-Federalists figures. Students use their findings to help them write...
Curated OER
The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said
Students list some ideas proposed and debated during the Constitutional Convention, and discuss the important issues requiring compromise during the Constitutional Convention.
Curated OER
Interview With the Signers of the Constitution
Students work in small groups to develop three questions that a newspaper reporter assigned to cover the signing of the Constitution might have asked each of the following signers of the Constitution: George Washington, Benjamin...
Curated OER
First Things First: Using the Newspaper to Teach the Freedoms of the First Amendment
Students use the newspaper as a tool to make connections about what the five freedoms guarantee in the First Amendment. For this first amendment lesson plan, students analyze events in the newspaper to form conclusions about the freedoms...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, lesson activities, and ideas...
Curated OER
Celebrate the Constitution
Students explore the process of writing our Constitution through an interactive program. They are to put themselves in the place of the statesmen and predict how they felt at the time. They compare the founding fathers.
Curated OER
Twelve Angry Men: Trial by Jury as a Right and as a Political Institution
Students explore the constitutional guarantee of the right to trial by jury. In this U. S. Constitution instructional activity, students read or view Twelve Angry Men and respond to discussion questions regarding the jury. Students...
C-SPAN
Presidential Birth Requirement
Every president of the United States must be a natural-born citizen, but the definition of natural-born is not as straightforward as it seems. Secondary scholars examine two points of view surrounding the constitutional requirement and...
Curated OER
It's Your Right: A Civil Rights Brochure
Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Refugees: International Law and U.S. Policy
Discover the ways America has opened its borders to international refugees, and the ways other countries have been more or less welcoming, with an informational passage about United States and international policies on refugees. After...
Curated OER
American Focus on World Constitutions
High schoolers describe demographic, economic, political and geographic features of the U.S., summarize events leading to the creation of the Constitution and describe the process of amending the Constitution.
Curated OER
Constitution
Ninth graders simulate a U.S. Supreme Court hearing concerning a First Amendment case about school prayer by participating in a hearing.
Curated OER
Reflections on Judicial Power - Part I
Students research the Constitutional provision for the Judicial branch of government. They examine different U.S. founder's positions on the relative strength of the judicial branch and act as a review court for Marbury vs. Madison.
Curated OER
Covenants, Compacts, Constitutions and By-Laws... Written Documents that Guide Governing
Third graders discuss documents in our government. In this government lesson, 3rd graders look up vocabulary words and illustrate them. They examine a historical document to discuss and answer questions.
Curated OER
We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
Curated OER
Presidential Powers
Students study and discuss the section of the Constitution that refers to the executive branch. They write a new section or clause describing a new duty for the president of the United States. Students define the word power and proposal.
Center for Civic Education
What Does Returning to Fundamental Principles Mean?
Looking for materials for your Constitution Day and Citizenship Day lessons? Then check out this packet of activities that not only gets your class members thinking critically about the fundamental principles at the heart of American...
PBS
Lessons in Leadership, Roosevelt Style
It's easy to criticize those in power until you're sitting at their desk, faced with the same decisions. A history lesson plan prompts secondary learners to research the Roosevelt presidencies through the lens of leadership and...
Teaching Tolerance
Parallels Between Mass Incarceration and Jim Crow
Is history repeating itself? A riveting lesson examines the parallels between mass incarceration in the U.S. and the Jim Crow Laws of the past. Academics review Jim Crow Laws and compare them to mass incarcerations of African Americans....
Curated OER
A Nation Counts
Students explore the functions of the U.S. Census. In this civics lesson plan, students understand the origins of the census and its role in U.S. history, recognize the political importance of apportionment based purely on population,...
Curated OER
The Three Branches of Government
Sixth graders discover details about the 3 branches of government. In this primary source analysis lesson plan, 6th graders examine documents and images from the Library of Congress to investigate the structure of the U.S. government.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin and the Long Struggle for Independence
Students explore U.S. history by reading biographical material in class. In this Benjamin Franklin instructional activity, students identify the life of Franklin and the events that led him to become one of America's first heroes....
Curated OER
US Constitution
Think about the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence with your budding historians. They analyze the importance of historical documents by examining several famous documents, and then they complete activities that check...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers
Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...