Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arrests and Investigatory Stops

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers define arrest and detainment, examine hypothetical situations to determine if warrantless arrest/detainment is reasonable based on information available to police, discuss differences between hunch, suspicion, reasonable...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill Of Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine Supreme Court cases. In this U.S. government lesson, students watch a video about the Bill of Rights and then research 4 Supreme Court cases using the noted web site. Students analyze the presented information and write...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letters to the Government

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine how to be active participants in their local, state, or federal governments. They create a powerpoint presentation and write a letter to one of their governmental representatives about a problem and solution of...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 2: The Debate in Congress on the Sedition Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils research and discuss the provisions in the Constitution that supported the arguments for and against the Sedition Act. They articulate objections to and arguments in favor of the Sedition Act.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Constitution for Alaska

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read sections cited from the Governing Alaska unit. They discuss factors that made Alaskans push for statehood. They view video A Constitution for Alaska.
Lesson Plan
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1
Facing History and Ourselves

The Importance of a Free Press

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a...
Unit Plan
3
3
Curated OER

Voices from Little Rock: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement through Primary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...
Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning about Fake News

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The framers of the United States Constitution felt a free press was so essential to a democracy that they granted the press the protection it needed to hold the powerful to account in the First Amendment. Today, digital natives need to...
Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Public Christmas Displays and Lynch v. Donnelly

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Does a Christmas display on government property violate the Constitution? Learners study the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and learn about the landmark Supreme Court case Lynch v. Donnelly through watching a...
Interactive
Reporters Without Borders

2017 World Press Freedom Index

For Students 6th - 12th
Freedom of the press was seen as a right so important that the Founding Fathers listed it as part of the first amendment to the United States Constitution. Americans pride themselves on this freedom, but just how free are American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living News: Classroom Materials

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore controversial current events. For this Bill of Rights lesson, students research selected issues and examine the issues from different perspectives. Students script and record news stories that feature their findings.
Lesson Plan
iCivics

A Trip Around the World

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do the rights of citizens in other countries, such as India, Germany, Brazil, and Iran, compare to those of Americans? Take a closer look at the provisions of various foreign constitutions, and compare and contrast the protections...
Lesson Plan
Minnesota Center for Community Legal Education

Minnesota v. Hershberger

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Freedom of religion has been a controversial, yet fundamental, tenet of the United States since even before the nation's birth. In a well-constructed lesson, the class compares the Minnesota Constitution to the US Constitution as a means...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Case Studies on the Sixth Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students trace the historical background of the sixth Amendment to the Constitution. They identify the legal issues and legal arguments in the cases studied, and evaluate the court's decisions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill of Rights

For Teachers 8th - 10th
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Role of the Executive Branch in the Lawmaking Process

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars examine Article I, Section 7, and Article II, Sections 2 and 3, of the U.S. Constitution, explain the president's role in the lawmaking process, and define the term veto.
Lesson Plan
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

For Teachers 7th - 12th
This exercise on the Constitution requires small groups to design a visual metaphor that expresses the concept behind one of seven principles: popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, separation of powers, checks and balances,...
Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Freedom of Expression

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan: Student Worksheet

For Students 10th - 12th
These guided reading questions accompany several websites on the development of the US Constitution. While some of the links have changed, they are still accessible. History or government classes benefit from reading primary source...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Alabama's Steps to Statehood

For Teachers 4th Standards
To demonstrate their understanding of the steps Alabama took to become a state, groups create a poster that identifies what the United States Constitution and the Northwest Ordinance required of a territory to become a state.
Lesson Plan
iCivics

Wanted: A Just Right Government

For Teachers 6th - 11th Standards
What type of government did American colonists gain and seek after gaining their independence after the Revolutionary War? Here is instructional activity that will guide your young learners through the new nation's progression from the...
Lesson Plan
BBC

The Monarch's Changing Role

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Though the grandeur and elegance of the British palace remains unchanged throughout history, the role of the monarch has shifted from absolute rule to collaboration with a constitutional parliament. Young historians learn about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Juvenile Death Penalty

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Sensitive material is discussed in this lesson. Please review to ensure that the content is suitable for your class. The topic is the Eighth Amendment and how the U.S. Supreme Court makes determinations about what constitutes cruel and...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Understanding Plagiarism--Worksheet 1

For Students 9th - 12th
Understanding plagiarism is the goal of this worksheet. After reading the two definitions of plagiarism listed on the sheet, class members decide whether the eight listed scenarios constitute plagiarism. Their responses are used to...

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