Curated OER
The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?
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...
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Preamble to the Constitution: What is Good Government?
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...
Judicial Branch of California
Our Government Today…What A System!
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...
Curated OER
What Are Our Common Values?
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...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin, Elder Statesman
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...
Curated OER
Understanding the United States Constitution
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....
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We the People
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...
Curated OER
United States Pride
Third graders learn the responsibility of citizenship and learn facts about a state they choose to research.
Curated OER
Create Your Own Constitution
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...
Curated OER
Human Rights Arts Project and Research Paper
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...
Curated OER
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
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,...
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Living News: Classroom Materials
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.
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Preserving Democracy
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...
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Philanthropy in History Lesson 1: We the People Hall of Fame
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...
Curated OER
We the People
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...
Curated OER
Unit Plan Template
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.