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...

A piece of the past helps shape the future. Learn what historical documents reveal about the past using an engaging activity.  Academics participate in a role-playing scenario, view the voting record of the Constitutional...

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...

Supreme Court justices debate the meaning of the US Constitution, but we expect teachers to explain it to scholars with far less training and experience. A daunting task for sure, but it's not insurmountable with resources that simplify...

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...

Believe it or not, the Constitution was America's second attempt at a democratic government. Academics travel back to the past to explore the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation that would eventually lead to the Constitutional...

Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...

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...

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...

What a unique and creative way for class members to summarize what they have learned about the United States Constitution! Here you will find project guidelines for learners to work independently on designing a float to represent a topic...

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...

Congress does more than create new laws. Political scientists delve into the elections of 1796 and 1800 to understand how political parties, the Electoral College, and personal agendas affected the election process. The resource also...

Fair or unfair? To begin a study of the American Revolution, class members review the treatment of the people of the American Colonies by the King of England and decide which were fair and which were unfair. Class members then annotate a...

Most Americans profess their love for the US Constitution, but this was not always the case. An informative lesson overviews the debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists by summarizing the main arguments of each side. It...

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...

The Supreme Court gets all the glory, but very few federal cases make it to the highest court. An interesting lesson explores the structure of the lower levels of the federal court system. In addition to outlining the organization of...

Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson plan of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which...

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...

Once a registered voter isn't always a registered voter. Academics explore the topic of voter registration and hindrances to remaining registered. The resource focuses on data analysis, federal voter registration law, and Supreme Court...

Just how alike are some historical documents? Discover the similarities between the Magna Carta and the United States Bill of Rights in a fast-paced activity. Historians learn the importance of both documents and the lasting impact they...

We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...

Senators are public servants but they do get paychecks. The activity focuses on historical analysis and a treasury document from the first Congress. Scholars read the document, answer questions, and participate in group discussion to...

Scholars learn how the judicial system treated under-age Civil War soldiers using historical analysis. The resource uses court documents to help historians understand why Habeas Corpus was used in the case of Alfred Sinker and why he was...

Considering the expressed and implied powers of Congress, was it constitutional for the United States to establish the Second National Bank in the early nineteenth century? What is the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve...