Heritage Foundation
Congress's Territorial Powers, Implied Powers, Citizenship, and the Bureaucracy
An informative resource gives scholars a look into why the US Constitution placed certain federal powers over that of the state. A variety of activities about constitutional clauses helps to create meaningful learning.
School Improvement in Maryland
Dividing the Powers of Government
Who does what? To develop an understanding of the balance of power between the US federal and state governments, class members research responsibilities in terms of legal systems, security issues, economic activities, lawmaking, and...
Heritage Foundation
Crime and Punishment
You wouldn't give someone a 10-day timeout for eating a piece of candy. The US government, too, does not believe in unreasonable punishment. A variety of exercises exploring the clauses of the US Constitution prompts class members to...
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas About Government Are Included in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Young historians explore the meaning of the Preamble to the US Constitution in this upper-elementary social studies lesson. Working with partners or in small groups, children discuss the purpose of government before reading and analyzing...
Council for Economic Education
The Role of Government: The Federal Government and Fiscal Policy
Give learners a crash course in balancing the books on the United States federal government level with an economics and government resource. Class members engage in a warm-up discussion and brainstorming session before answering...
Annenberg Foundation
Electoral Politics
You won't just get a lesson when you click on this resource. As you click on the related resources located to the left of the screen, you'll find, a professional development video, teacher/student notes, lesson plan, and related...
Social Studies School Service
“Duck and Cover” (Civil Defense)
Bert the Turtle models for viewers the 1950s Civil Defense Duck and Cover strategy that was supposed to protect citizens from a nuclear blast. After viewing the video, watchers are asked to consider the motivations of the producers of...
Curated OER
How was the Constitution Used to Organize the New Government?
How did the United States Congress determine how the new president and vice president would be named when the nation was first established? Who would provide money for the government, and how would the executive branch be organized?
Center for Civic Education
Citizenship Schools and Civic Education During the Civil Rights Movement and in the Present
Your young historians will discover the importance that citizenship education has played in the social progress of the United States as they learn about early efforts to discourage African Americans from voting in the 1960s.
Advocates for Human Rights
Civic Engagement and U.S. Immigration Policy
To conclude their study of immigration and human rights, class members create a civic engagement project centered on an issue of immigration and designed to influence US immigration policy. They examine examples of attempts to...
PBS
Constitution Day
Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, learners go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...
School Improvement in Maryland
Socio-Economic Goals of the Government
Equity. Increased productivity. Price stability. Environmental protection. Decreased poverty. Governments establish socio-economic goals and then must design and fund programs to address these goals. Groups investigate various...
Curated OER
Landmark Supreme Court Cases And The Constitution
Have an engaging class discussion on the Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution, and the Supreme Court. Learners examine multiple aspects of the Marbury v. Madison case and the impact that case had on the judicial system in the U.S. Web...
Curated OER
The Causes and Course of the First World War
Use this twelve-day lesson plan to teach about the causes and courses of WWI. Each day scholars attend lectures, complete creative activities, and hold round table discussions on what they've learned. Web links and resources are...
Smithsonian Institution
Racism and Removal: Japanese Incarceration During World War II
During World War II people saw how far the government's control would go, but it was at the expense of its citizens. The resource brings the conditions of Japanese American internment camps to light using primary documents. Scholars...
City University of New York
Presidential Elections and the Electoral College
To understand the controversy surrounding the US 2000 presidential election, class members investigate the rationale behind the Electoral Collage, the intimidation involved in the election of 1876, and the 2004 American League...
Curated OER
ONE VOTE
In order to understand the political process and the importance of voting, pupils will construct a class time line. They will group up and research a specific era, creating a time line of political events where one vote made a...
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas Are in the Preamble to the Constitution?
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, learners go on to work in small...
Center for Civic Education
Constitution Day Rap
Engage your class while learning about the US Constitution with this fun primary grade social studies lesson. After viewing a picture of the US Constitution, young learners piece together a US flag using stars and...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's 1901 Constitution
"We, the People of the State of Alabama. . ." Did you know that the Alabama State Constitution has 357,157 words while the US Constitution has only 4,400? And that it has 798 amendments while the US Constitution has...
Heritage Foundation
Exercising Judicial Power
We should all do more exercising, but should the judicial branch as well? High schoolers develop their understanding of what powers the judicial branch carries because of the US Constitution, as well as where their limits lie in the...
Curated OER
Citizenship
Fifth graders read the preamble of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions. They discuss vocabulary definitions surrounding the concept of citizenship. They discuss and write about the rights and responsibilities of citizens and apply their...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Winner-Take-All: The Two-Party System
Two's company, three's a crowd. High school historians learn about the Electoral College, a two-party, winner-take-all voting system in the United States. The lesson explains the pros and cons of the two-party system, roadblocks for...
National Humanities Center
Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...