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...

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...

Why did the Founders make it so challenging to amend the US Constitution? To gain an understanding of why the process is so difficult, class members engage in a Constitutional Convention simulation. Groups draft, propose, and debate...

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...

Young scholars investigate the document of the Constitution as part of a national day of recognition. The lesson plan uses many different activities to dissect the national document to increase student awareness of how the Constitution...

Students analyze the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. government lesson plan, students examine books, movies, and music that influence them today and then investigate writings that influenced the framers of the...

Explore what the home front during WWII was like for Japanese-Americans. Learners use a worksheet and the Internet to guide their research as they consider the constitutionality of Japanese Internment. They work in pairs to create an...

Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This lesson plan on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution in an...

What's the right way to teach young historians about the Bill of Rights? Many an instructor has asked this question when pondering lesson plans over the US Constitution. The Constitution and Rights is a nifty resource that provides a...

Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...

Is there a correlation between a country's wealth and the extent of its ecological footprint? What exactly constitutes an ecological footprint, and how does one country stack up against the rest? This is a unique lesson to incorporate...

Times change; behaviors that were once considered acceptable can be seen in a very different light. Middle schoolers revisit the legacy of George Washington in a three-day lesson plan that uses primary sources to reveal Washington as a...

The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...

Students consider how the U.S. Constitution affects their daily lives. They use picture books to take part in a Constitution Scavenger Hunt. They draw a picture showing one way their life might be different if the Constitution had not...

Young scholars examine the constitutions structure, content, and underlying philosophy by skimming through as a class then breaking into groups to focus on separate articles. To reinforce learning they individually analyze constitutional...

The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The lesson explains what the Bill of Rights is and how it applies to everyday life, like freedom of speech or the right to a jury trial. Young historians complete hands-on...

What's the best way to make sense of the Constitution?  A helpful lesson contains both the text of Article III and annotation of each of its sections, breaking it down into easy-to-understand parts. It also includes links to a...

So many US Constitution clauses, so little time. The 17th installment in a 20-part series teaches pupils about the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. Learning through activities such as group work, connecting to current events, and...

Students brainstorm their rights as Americans. In this The Constitution Lives! lesson, students discern the difference between rights and rules by completing a worksheet. Students consider the differences between types of constitutional...

Second graders study the Constitution. They examine the meaning and fundamentals of the Preamble of The Constitution of USA. They assess the importance of having a Supreme Law that states the rights and obligations of the citizens. They...

Learners describe the contents of the First Amendment while telling about an example of speech that is protected by the Constitution and that which is not. They attempt to apply the First Amendment to situations that could occur in their...

Marbury v. Madison is arguably the most important landmark case in the history of the Supreme Court. A fact-filled lesson provides background information about the case and two others related to the concept of judicial review. Scholars...

How do Supreme Court justices determine which cases to consider? What happens when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case?  The lesson explores important questions and others in the field of criminology. It focuses on the...

The women working for equal rights in the early 20th century weren't a part of one large group; rather, they were members of dozens of small groups focused on social reform. Explore the ways groups in the Progressive Era like National...