Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students analyze the Preamble of the Constitution and identify the historical context that led to its wording. They, in groups, interpret phrases from the Preamble, examine relevant court cases and create illustrations for their portion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Preamble to the Constitution: What is Good Government?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify what a good government should provide for its citizens, and link their ideas to those of the founding founders by analyzing the Preamble to the Constitution. They create a mural depicting their understanding of the...
Lesson Plan
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Judicial Branch of California

Our Government Today…What A System!

For Teachers 5th Standards
A group of citizens in North Canada has decided to leave their country, and they are asking for help in setting up an American-style democracy. Using a carefully structured activity, pupils lay out the principles in the American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Are Our Common Values?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students make a poster. In this values instructional activity, students read the Preamble to the Constitution and discuss the core democratic values that are found there and in the Declaration of Independence. Students are each...
Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Benjamin Franklin, Elder Statesman

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Ben Franklin was the only American to sign The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. An interesting resource explores his role in the latter by comparing the US...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding the United States Constitution

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discuss the United States Preamble and Constitution. In this United States government lesson, students discuss the differences between rights and privileges and construct a chart that lists some of our rights as citizens....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We the People

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners examine both the Preamble of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They work in small groups to connect the two documents and analyze how the documents are important to their lives today. They create a poster that visually...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Pride

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders learn the responsibility of citizenship and learn facts about a state they choose to research.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create Your Own Constitution

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the processes, purpose and components of a good and just constitution. They focus on the Constitution of the United States of America. Students discuss the purpose of a constitution and reasons why the Constitution...
Activity
Curated OER

Human Rights Arts Project and Research Paper

For Teachers 10th
Students examine human rights abuses in thirty countries, specifically explore abuses in Dominican Republic's Trujillo regime, research one country with significant human rights abuses, use Preamble to U.S. Constitution as measure of...
Lesson Plan
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Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read a rewritten version of the Declaration of Independence, create a set of pictures illustrating the Preamble of the Constitution and create a version of the Declaration of Independence in the form of a song, a poem,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living News: Classroom Materials

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore controversial current events. In this Bill of Rights lesson plan, students research selected issues and examine the issues from different perspectives. Students script and record news stories that feature their findings.
Lesson Plan
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Preserving Democracy

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars read excerpts of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. Using the documents, they identify the ideas of how the government should be run. In groups, they develop a skit that encourages people to be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropy in History Lesson 1: We the People Hall of Fame

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils examine the lives of people who contributed to the common good, and democracy. They investigate grievances that lead to the call for American independence and look at the costs that are incurred as a result of personal acts of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We the People

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students show how the meaning of the Preamble is reflected in current American culture. They collect images and/or sounds from media sources that represent, symbolize, or explain each phrase in the Preamble and create a media...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unit Plan Template

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Use this U.S. History unit plan as a template for creating your own! Simply download the resource and edit the text fields with your own customized unit plan. This is a great jumping-off step, especially for newer teachers.