Students explore African-American students literature as an integral building block in empowering all students to a better awareness when reading and writing. They use as a productive Social Studies tool for overall understanding of the...

Middle schoolers create dictionary of terms for citizens of a democracy, using events and biographies from both their state's history and U.S. history.

Students locate images of two things that fly on the Internet and print them. They develop graphic organizers to compare and contrast the two images and exhibit the images along with the organizers in a classroom gallery.

Students discuss the need for rules in their community and classroom. Using this information, they identify the authority figures at their house, at school and in the community. They are read a book about following the rules and listen...

One way to assess improvement in writing is to conduct a district-wide assessment program. This resource details the Wisconsin Dells approach to assessing freshmen 6+1 Traits writing. The format could be adapted to any district or used...

Pupils consider First Amendment rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students complete an activity guide regarding plans to build an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in New York City. Pupils respond to discussion questions...

Students determine that the rules that we follow in America were written in the Constitution. They study a copy of the constitution and discuss how it compares and differentiates from the plan the class has written. They recite our...

Eighth graders demonstrate how South Carolina's Constitution has evolved through a research report. In groups, 8th graders conduct research and write a paper analyzing the historical and social influences that have been associated with...

Twelfth graders research how the constitution was formed and the reasons for its implementation. They form a class wide constitution that expresses the steps originally used while forming the original constitution. Students vote and...

Students examine the topic of race within the United States Constitution. Using case texts, they analyze how the documents deal with the issue of race. In groups, they explore the Court's definitions of citizen. They create a poster...

Students examine multiple sources like america's founders, court cases, headilnes and more to learn about the Constitutional Convention of 1787

Learners discuss two computerized options to change the current U.S. government. In this Constitutional Convention lesson, students write a statement advocating for one of the choices and participate in a mock modern Constitutional...

Students identify the principles of democracy when framing the United States Constitution. In groups, they analyze the differences that were settled before anyone signed the document. They role play their own activity in which they...

Learners explore the Constitution and The Bill of Rights including the process of the Convention throgh a variety of websites that examine the framers, venets leading up to and after the convention games and more.

Students explore an Internet site that introduces the Framers, court cases, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and even games and quizzes.

Pupils examine the classification categories of rights including liberty, security, cultural, and group rights. They identify and analyze the various similarities and differences among five countries and their constitutions.

Pupils study the history of the Bill of Rights and discuss the first ten amendments. The class is put into groups and each group is responsible for knowing 5 statements from the history of the Bill of Rights. Then the class plays a...

Learners read the handout, "A Visitor from Outer Space" and discuss the bill of rights. They complete the Bill of Right checklist individually or in small groups then complete a poll ranking each freedom. Students write reasoning behind...

Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...

Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...

Big Brother is always watching you! Scholars analyze the impact security cameras have on the legal system in a democracy. Primary documentation, case studies, and video clips investigate the use of video in prosecution and provide an...

Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism...

While this instructional activity includes several nice worksheets to identify and discuss the various limits on government (i.e. a constitution, the rule of law, separation of powers, consent of the governed, etc.), its main value lies...