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...

Did you know that lawmakers have proposed more than 5,000 bills to amend the US Constitution in Congress? Your class learns intriguing facts about the process of choosing amendments. A variety of activities including before and after...

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...

No matter what subject you're teaching, you'll find some fun and innovative ideas for using newspapers in your classroom with a helpful resource. Based on Getting the Most Out of Teaching with Newspapers by Rebecca Olien, the series of...

In an online engaging and animated game, pupils role play as lawyers charged with protecting rights found in amendments to the United States Constitution. As they choose appropriate amendments to match the right that has been violated,...

What functions do laws serve in our society? Your learners will be guided through several interactive activities to address this question, and to consider the impact of rule of law in American society.

In an engaging activity on universal and unalienable rights, learners work in groups to establish a democratic nation and determine what principles they want to protect to ensure a democratic society. They conduct a "rights auction" in...

High schoolers focus on the 14th Amendment of the Bill of Rights to decide whether or not racism denies citizens of their rights under the amendment. They watch a movie, Every Two Seconds and complete a worksheet (included in the plan)...

What are the categories today, Alex? The US Constitution, legislative branch, executive branch, Bill of Rights, and the judicial branch! Quiz your class with a fun interactive game that includes 50 different questions! It's just like the...

Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...

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 They analyze the importance of historical documents by examining several famous documents, and then they complete activities that check...

Students work in collaborative groups to research an amendment of the Bill of Rights. They then design and present a skit that demonstrates and communicates the core values and concepts of the amendment to the class.

The cherished rights included in the first ten amendments to the Constitution almost didn't happen! Pupils tour via video a National Archives exhibit on the Bill of Rights, as well as listen to how a modern judge applies them. Once...

What is freedom, and why is it so important to Americans? Using a graphic organizer, scholars make connections between the United States Bill of Rights and a speech about freedom by Franklin D. Roosevelt. As a culminating activity,...

The Civil War ended slavery, but what was the status of the newly freed people? Renowned historian Eric Foner explains how the Fourteenth Amendment—written to answer this question—created a foundation for the rights of all citizens. The...

What does equal protection under the law mean? This right is given to Americans thanks to the Fourteenth Amendment, although historical events and Supreme Court cases have led to its refinement over the years. A video resource traces the...

How has the American Bill of Rights influenced the rest of the world? An interactive web activity helps individuals see the similarities between countries' bills of rights. A text-to-text tool compares the American Bill of Rights to...

While the Revolution is perhaps the most famous revolt in American history, do scholars know about Shays' Rebellion? The outcome of the uprising led to the current Constitution. A video resource traces the history of and how the Bill of...

Protecting basic liberties was at the heart of the American Revolution. However, it wasn't until after the Constitutional Convention that the Founding Fathers added a list of rights guaranteed to the people, now our most important legal...

While the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution to preserve liberty, not everyone was on board. The dissenters refused to sign on unless the Constitutional Convention added a Bill of Rights. Viewers explore these important civil...

What exactly did the framers have in mind when they wrote the Second and Fourth Amendments? What is a reasonable expectation to privacy in modern America? What weapons should Americans be allowed to own and use? Scholars consider these...

How do the state and federal governments relate to each other? The Constitution has a lot to say about that! Using an interactive online tool, pupils explore the Tenth Amendment. They apply their knowledge to political cartoons and news...

Where did the cherished ideals enshrined in the Bill of Rights originate? While history gives the Founding Fathers much of the credit, laws in colonial America influenced the Bill of Rights. An interactive web-based activity allows...

Do citizens need protection from the federal government? Scholars investigate why the framers of the Constitution created the first 10 amendments and what these amendments mean to citizens of the United States more than 200 years later....