Constitutional Rights Foundation
The War of 1812: America’s First Declared War
Free Trade and Sailor's Rights! Pupils dive into America's first declared war, the War of 1812. They analyze the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison through diary entries and historical reasoning. To conclude the lesson, they use their...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating About Immigration The DREAM Act
Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration legislation,...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conducting a Panel Discussion and Civil Conversation
The final lesson in an 11-session study of immigration asks class members to engage in either a panel discussion or a civil conversation of the controversial legal and policy issues they have investigated as part of the unit.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Arizona v. United States — States and Immigration Law
As part of a study of immigration law, class members read a summary of the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. They then examine a series of examples and acting as federal court judges, must determine if the scenarios meet the...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Options for Affecting Public Policy
Letter-writing, e-mail and telephone campaigns, petitions, marches, meetings, with lawmakers. Options for influencing elected representatives are the focus of resource that details how to craft each of these approaches to influencing...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Federal Policy and Immigration
How is federal policy established? To gain insight into this complex and often messy process, class members read an article that uses information on attempts to establish public policy in immigration to illustrate the role proposed...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Issues of Unauthorized Immigration
Unauthorized immigration is a complex and hotly debated topic. Class members read an article that examines the issues that motivate unauthorized immigration. Teams then assume the role of special interest groups and present their stand...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Naturalized Citizens and the Presidency
Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution takes center stage in a lesson plan that asks class members to assume the role of state senators, debate a resolution to amend the U. S. Constitution to permit naturalized citizens to run...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Driver’s Licenses And Unauthorized Immigrants
Should driver's licenses be granted to unauthorized immigrants? That is the question class members grapple with in a lesson that asks them to first read a fact sheet that details the arguments for and against licensing unauthorized...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Immigration Enforcement Raids
Class groups take on the role of advisors to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Policy & Planning of ICE. Their charge is to prepare a report for the secretary on the effectiveness of enforcement actions of the ICE in stemming...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Guest-Worker Program
The U.S. Guest-Worker Program and the H-2A visa are the focus of a social studies activity. First, class members assume the role of advisors who must present the president with four proposals that would amend the visas given to...
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.
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
History of Immigration From the 1850s to the Present
The Statue of Liberty may embrace the huddled masses of the world, but has American society always joined in? After young historians read a passage about the history of American immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
What Should the US Do About North Korea's Nuclear Weapons?
North Korea, a shadowy nation distrustful of America, is working on a nuclear weapons program. What should the United States do? The question has plagued American presidents for years, but now young scholars get to make their...
![Constitutional Rights Foundation: Saved From the Gallows: The Trial of Leopold and Loeb [Pdf] Article](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Constitutional Rights Foundation: Saved From the Gallows: The Trial of Leopold and Loeb [Pdf] Article")
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Saved From the Gallows: The Trial of Leopold and Loeb [Pdf]
Referred to as "the crime of the century," Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were tried and convicted of the murder of a fourteen year old in Chicago in the early twentieth century. This Bill of Rights in Action features the story of the...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Bill of Rights in Action: The Lincoln Douglss Debates [Pdf]
Article and activity offering students problem-based learning by examining conflict, past and present, that call in to question our Constitutional Rights. Questions for writing and discussion as well as small group learning activity.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Sam Houston: A Study of Leadership [Pdf]
Article and learning activity on Sam Houston. Includes questions for discussion and small group activity.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Bill of Rights in Action: Puritan Ma: Theocracy or Democracy? [Pdf]
Resource study of the Bill of Rights examines governance by looking at three cases in history for comparison to analyze the concepts of theocracy and democracy in governing. Includes questions for discussion and small group activity.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: How the First State Constitution Helped Build the u.s. Constitution [Pdf]
Article describes how the written constitutions adopted by each of the 13 colonies were the seeds of the U.S. Constitution including the Bill of Rights. Includes questions for discussion and small group activity.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Rachel Carson and the Environmental Movement [Pdf]
Article with questions for discussion and group activity in which students explore the ideas brought forth by Rachel Carson in her book, Silent Spring.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: The War of 1812: America's First Declared War [Pdf]
Article discusses the War of 1812 as America's first declared war and what that meant for the future of the U.S. Includes questions for discussion and small group activity.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: The Cold War: How Did It Start? How Did It End? [Pdf]
Article discussing 45 years of the Cold War between Russia and the U.S. Questions for discussion and small group activity.