Using discussion questions and a poster-creating activity, learners explore how the framework of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights help create safe communities. After listening to a song about the preamble and reading the Bill of...

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...

Using the Constitutional Convention as a model, learners create their own governments. Other activities to explore the American Constitution include creating posters to help explain the Bill of Rights. 

Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American...

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution takes center stage in a lesson 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 for...

Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...

Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to...

Each of the 27 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were adopted within specific economic, political, social or cultural, and international contexts. As part of their Constitution Day/Week studies, seniors investigate these factors for...

Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...

In September we celebrate Constitution Day. Begin the celebration with a grand conversation about the US Constitution. Follow up the in-depth discussion with a learning game in which scholars match terms to images such as...

Young historians explore the meaning of the Preamble to the US Constitution in this upper-elementary social studies instructional activity. Working with partners or in small groups, children discuss the purpose of government before...

Class groups investigate the economic and political implications of a country's policies on genetically modified foods, craft a position paper detailing that policy, and share their findings with the class. Armed with this...

Students examine the ratification process. In this U.S. Constitution lesson plan, students discuss the ratification process and read a play based on the process. Students debate the ratification process and determine whether they...

Engage your class while learning about the US Constitution with this fun primary grade social studies activity. After viewing a picture of the US Constitution, young learners piece together a US flag using stars and...

School House Rock's "Preamble" launches a study of the Preamble of the US Constitution and the relevance of this 200 year-old document today.

Introduce young historians to the US Constitution with this upper-elementary social studies lesson plan. Beginning with a general discussion about the role of government in society, students go on to work in small...

Though the Statue of Liberty welcomes political refugees to her shores, the welcoming sentiment has not always been reflected in the American citizenry. High schoolers read about the regrettable period in United States history...

Who gets to come to the United States? Examine cases of individuals seeking asylum with an informative reading passage that includes examples, statistics, and representations of public opinion regarding asylum. Groups then go on to...

Who should be able to vote? As part of a study of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, class members examine primary source document that reveal the reasons the authors gave to support their positions on this question and their assumptions in...

High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...

The struggles of Sam McCulloch, a free black man, to be recognized as a citizen entitled to own land in Texas are the focus of research project that ask groups to examine a series of primary source documents and piece together...

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...

"How did the slavery system undermine the United States' democratic principles?" This question launches a study of how the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, and Article IV,...