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...

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...

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...

Learners get the chance to act as representatives to the Constitution Convention, and must decide whether or not to recommend your state ratify the new framework. After examining the Constitution line-by-line, they consider their...

“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...

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...

The "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" law requires schools receiving any federal funding to provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution. The lesson plans, materials, videos, questions, and activities...

Three activities focus on the need to have rules. Young historians are first challenged to suggest rules for their classroom and then to create their own constitution that balances the need for freedoms and protections. The third...

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.

Are learners heavy sighing at the idea of reading a primary source, written in a language that is difficult to understand and in cursive? Look no further, because the resource breaks down the Declaration of Independence in an...

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...

Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer...

Take to the stage! Integrate both drama and civic skills by asking pupils to create and perform skills that demonstrate the importance of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. After reviewing the Preamble to the Constitution, learners...

When are responsibilities freely chosen, and when have they actually been imposed on us? Here you'll find a unique way to frame your class discussion on civic duty and responsibilities inherent in the United States Constitution.

Three activities focus on the First Amendment, especially the freedom of speech. Scholars craft a letter to the President of the United States and express their views about a topic important to them. Another activity has participants...

It's 1943, and Jewish people in Denmark are in hiding from the Nazis. What protection can the United States offer them? By examining the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, scholars consider the protections afforded to those...

The Pledge of Allegiance, the Gettysburg Address, the National Anthem, and the Preamble to the Constitution all get close attention in an exercise that asks learners to rewrite these formally-worded documents into informal language....

"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,...

How do governments differ in how they protect human rights? While the United States prides itself on its Bill of Rights, other countries have their own ways of protecting citizens' liberties. An interactive website, paired with...

In an engaging activity on universal and unalienable rights, learners work in groups to establish a democratic nation and determine what principles they want to protect to ensure a democratic society. They conduct a "rights auction" in...

New to the socratic seminar format? Check out a resource that not only provides the rationale for the procedure and step-by-step directions, but also provides a list of suggested topics, rules and model statements.

Scholars examine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and analyze the ideas in the preamble. Readers define new vocabulary words, listen to a Masterful Reading, answer questions in pairs, participate in a jigsaw discussion, and...

To memorize, or not to memorize: that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to suffer the fear and anguish of committing a poem to memory, to endure the heartache, to shuffle off this fear, and face the stares of classmates with the hue...