Curated OER
Supreme Court Newspaper
Students examine the purpose and responsibilities of the Supreme Court and its justices. In groups, they research a specific case and identify how the Supreme Court affects their lives. Using the information they find, they create a...
Curated OER
Interest Groups in South Carolina Government
Students create an outline and short class presentation about an assigned interest group by conducting research using the Internet and interest group contacts. They evaluate the role of an assigned interest group in the South Carolina...
Curated OER
Who Are My Local Representatives? Can I Influence Their Vote?
Students find out who their national, state, and local representatives are and write and mail a letter to one of them. The letter should be persuasive and should attempt to influence their representative's vote on a given issue.
Curated OER
Stepping Inside the Flowchart: How Does a Bill Become a Law?
Students explore the steps a bill must pass through to become a law and create a flow chart that maps the complexities of the process. They research the committees that are involved in a bill that relates to energy policy and the...
Education World
A Walk Through The 20th Century
Students review the people, places, and events of a particular decade of the 20th Century. They write a report about that decade and create a booth of memorabilia, music, dress, pictures and other artifacts representing the time period.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Ratifying the Constitution
Ratifying the Constitution was no simple task. Using primary sources, such as classic writings from the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, young scholars examine the arguments for and against the Constitution. They then decide: Would they...
Curated OER
The Illustrated Bill of Rights
Students shoot Bill of Rights videos. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students film digital segment that illustrate the meaning of the first 10 amendments. Students integrate the video clips into PowerPoint presentations.
Curated OER
The Supreme Court
Students examine the Fourteenth Amendment. In this Supreme Court lesson, students define due process and equal protection as they analyze the impact of the amendment and the Supreme Court on workers' rights in the early 20th century....
Curated OER
The Panama Canal Treaties: How Treaties Are Ratified
Students gain an understanding of how the executive and legislative branches, influenced by popular opinion, work toward the ratification of a treaty. They examine the influences and impact of lobbying and special interests in the...
Curated OER
It's All About Justice
Students examine a specific environmental concern to their local community. In groups, they explore how the justice system would deal with the problem by participating in a treasure hunt. They review the meaning of federal and state...
Curated OER
A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION: A SIMULATION
Students discuss two computerized options to change the current U.S. government. In this Constitutional Convention lesson, students write a statement advocating for one of the choices and participate in a mock modern Constitutional...
Curated OER
Federalist 47
Students will analyze and evaluate political propaganda. In this instructional activity on the Federalist movement, students will examine the Federalist papers and analyze the Anti-Federalist argument mage against constitutional...
Heritage Foundation
Voting and the Constitution
How difficult was it for everyone to get voting rights? Understanding voting rights and the fight to get them for everyone in the United States can be tricky for some learners. However, they are clarified after engaging in the...
Curated OER
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Twelfth graders explore desegregation as it occurred at various stages in United States history. They specifically chronicle the role of South Carolina in the desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education.
Curated OER
How Michigan Law Affects You
Students examine how the laws in Michigan affect their lives. They use primary source documents to analyze the state's history. They discuss laws pertaining to women as well.
Curated OER
I 695 (The 30$ License Tabs Initiative)
High schoolers research the bill I 695 issue. They discuss the topic before they research the issue of I 695. Students discuss how new laws are always being created and the differences in opinion about these laws. They see how this...
Curated OER
Telegram from Senator Joseph McCarthy to President Harry S. Truman
Students research the McCarthy hearings to determine the following: time frame of hearings, how they were broadcast, how the press reacted, and how the American people reacted in light of the Korean Conflict and the Cold War.
Curated OER
THE FEDERAL CONFIRMATION PROCESS: CHOOSING THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB
Students analyze the process whereby presidential appointees are confirmed.
Bill of Rights Institute
Celebrate Constitution Day
September 17 is a great day to focus on the US Constitution for on this day in 1787, the Constitution was signed. Through a series of activities, high schoolers get a chance to look closely at this famous document and the rights and...
Curated OER
Lincoln's Spot Resolutions
Learners take a closer look at historical relations between the United States and Mexico. In this Texas annexation lesson, students examine primary documents authored by Zachary Taylor, James Polk, and Abraham Lincoln to consider why the...
Curated OER
The Role of the Judiciary in a System of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
Pupils review concepts shown to them in a telecast on the role of the judiciary in a system of separation of powers. After reading an article, they work together in groups to complete a chart on checks and balances. They also discuss...
Curated OER
What are the Qualifications to be President of the United States?
High schoolers research the qualifications necessary to be the president of the United States. They create a want-ad for this position using what they have learned about the qualifications.
Curated OER
American Democracy
Twelfth graders represent a specific interest in the business community and must present a plan that benefit the community and present the least amount of danger to the community. They must convince the city fathers that their venture is...
Curated OER
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Young scholars examine the impeachment proceedings of Andrew Johnson. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on the details of Andrew Johnson's impeachment and Reconstruction. Young...