Curated OER
Government and Politics
After a class lesson the U.S. Constitution and its amendments, students can apply their knowledge to this activity. Several questions prompt students to add missing key terms, such as the year the Constitution was written and the number...
Curated OER
Citizen Juries: Zacarias Moussaoui - May 1, 2006
Young scholars consider deliberations by juries. For this citizen jury lesson, students complete readings regarding the constitutional right to a trial by jury as well as on the civic responsibility to serve on a jury.
Curated OER
War Making: Executive and Legislative Powers
Students examine Constitution and what it says about war-making power, contrast roles and responsibilities of executive and legislative branches of government when it comes to making war, become familiar with important 20th and 21st...
Curated OER
Launching the New U.S. Navy
Students analyze the U.S. Constitution for references to the creation and management of the U.S. Navy. They discuss their research and complete a worksheet and then research how the current Navy is organized.
Curated OER
The Taliban Meets the Bill of Rights
Students contrast the Taliban and the Constitution. They read through "What the Taliban Banned" and identify "rights." They determine if rights in the United States are in danger and if the Taliban violate the first ten amendments to...
Curated OER
Supreme Court June 2010 Decisions Wrap-Up
Students consider constitutional rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students complete an activity guide that requires students to examine Bill of Rights-related cases of 2010. Students respond to discussion questions pertaining to...
Curated OER
The Alien and Sedition Acts
Students discover the conflicts that arose between the political parties over issues of foreign policy and economics. Using the Internet, they research the Alien and Sedition Acts and how they relate to the U.S. Constitution. They...
Curated OER
The Election Is in the House: The Denouement
Students research the US Presidential election of 1824. They explain why the election of 1824 was decided in the House of Representatives. They summarize relevant portions of the Constitution on presidential election procedures.
Bill of Rights Institute
Preserving the Bill of Rights
Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Dramatic and Theatrical Aspects in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”: A Common Core Exemplar
“So I’m going to have a copy of this play put in the cornerstone and the people a thousand years from now’ll know a few simple facts about us.” Our Town is used as the text in a Common Core exemplar that examines the dramatic and...
Curated OER
What Is the Role of the President in the American Constitutional Government?
Students read about the role of the president. In this US government lesson, students read about the role of the president as stated in the US Constitution. Students examine issues of presidential power and identify various checks and...
Curated OER
Comparing the 1945 Vietnam Declaration of Independence and Constitution of 1992 with the United States Declaration of Independence and Constitution
High schoolers compare and contrast the Vietnamese and American plans for government. In this government systems lesson plan, students analyze and compare excerpts of the 1945 Vietnam Declaration of Independence, the Vietnam Constitution...
Curated OER
We Are the Government
Students read primary documents to find the motivations of the founding fathers of the United States. In this primary documents lesson, students discuss the meaning of the Preamble to the Constitution, read parts of the Constitution...
Curated OER
Dekanawidah- A Forgotten Founding Father
Students compare plans for government. In this early American history lesson, students compare and contrast the U.S. Constitution with the Iroquois Constitution. Students identify cultural features, government functions, and citizenship...
Curated OER
Dred Scott and the Constitution
Students investigate the outcome of the Dred Scott case. In this human rights lesson, students read Justice Taney's decision about property rights and citizenship. Students write essays about the outcome of the case and President...
Curated OER
Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time
Eighth graders study the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In this US History activity, 8th graders read excerpts from the Brown v. Board of education decision. Students investigate one of three...
Curated OER
Symbolic Speech
Ninth graders consider the right of freedom of speech as it is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. They receive background information for the US Supreme Court, the Bill of Rights, and free speech. They discuss a series of actual cases...
Curated OER
Post-1865: Effects of the War
An engaging lesson plan focuses on the impact of the war and Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction had on the United States. Historians analyze primary documents, such as Constitutional Amendments and newspaper experts. They also participate...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Unauthorized Immigration and the US Economy
As part of a study of immigration and the U.S. economy, class members assume the role of newspaper editors to determine which submitted letters to print on their paper's editorial page to present a balanced view of the debate.
Curated OER
US & Iroquois Constitution Parallels
Eighth graders identify and compare the stated purposes of the Iroquois and US Constitutions, and their roles as living documents.
Curated OER
The Constitution and The Bill of Rights
Studnets learn about The Constitution and The Bill of Rights through a series on Internet pages that include such things as the framers, court cases and games.
Curated OER
Trade Between The US and Japan
Students engage in a lesson that involves the trade relationship between the US and Japan. They research to find the history and facts concerning the current trends.
Curated OER
Racial Discrimination and the Death Penalty
Available on RTF file. Students study race and its relationship to the death penalty. Students also review court cases and constitutional amendments related to racial discrimination.
Project Tahoe
Individual Rights vs. The Greater Good Within the Scope of War
When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...