Curated OER
Powers of Congress
Have your class fill out this comprehension sheet while reading about the powers of Congress. There are ten multiple choice questions focused on the rights, powers, and limitations of Congressional law.
Judicial Learning Center
About Federal Judges
Not just anybody can do the job of a federal judge, but according to the United States Constitution just about anybody can be appointed. The lesson outlines the process and requirements for becoming a federal judge, focusing on the...
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution and Amendments
Students explore the framework of government and examine the Constitution to see its impact on their lives.
Curated OER
What is Meant by Returning to Fundamental Principles?
What did the Founding Fathers mean by the importance of continually returning to fundamental principles? Your young historians will analyze a series of quotations illustrating the fundamental ideals and principles of the...
Achieve The Core
Linda R. Monk, Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution - Grade 8
“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...
Judicial Branch of California
The U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights
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...
Curated OER
Regents Review Worksheet #1: Principles of the U.S. Constitution
Kids who take the Regents Exam really need to know a lot of information. This is a wonderful exam review tool that includes 26 pages of questions, charts, and suggested readings to help upper graders pass the test. It focuses on all...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Refugees From Vietnam and Cambodia
The United States may have pulled its troops from the Vietnam War in 1973, but the conflict was far from over for the citizens living in Asia at the time. An informative resource lets learners know about the wave of over 220,000...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Refugees from the Caribbean: Cuban and Haitian “Boat People”
Should refugees fleeing poverty be allowed the same entrance into the United States as those fleeing persecution? High schoolers read about US foreign policy in the late 20th century regarding refugees from Cuba and Haiti, and engage in...
Curated OER
United States Constitution Framers
Young scholars view a PowerPoint presentation based on the framers of the Constitution. Students create notes on each of the delegates featured. Using their notes, they write a paragraph on the Constitutional Convention delegate they...
Curated OER
Civil Liberties and War Powers: Korematsu v. United States
Eleventh graders compare and contrast Supreme Court decisions dealing with the application of civil rights during times of war, with emphasis on discrimination and detention. Working in groups, 11th graders review cases and analyze how...
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?
Curated OER
Citizenship Worksheet 2 - A Government of Laws
In this citizenship and government laws worksheet, students identify what the United States government provides for its citizens, the foundations of that government, the principles of the Constitution, any amendments to the Constitution,...
Curated OER
Lesson 1: The Importance of Rules in Our Country and in Our Classroom
Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson 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 the...
Curated OER
Post-1865: Effects of the War
An engaging lesson focuses on the impact of the war and Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction had on the United States. Historians analyze primary documents, such as Constitutional Amendments and newspaper experts. They also participate in...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Privateers in the War of 1812: Soldiers or Thieves?
Do governments have the right to authorize individuals to perform illegal acts during times of war? Did the US government really employ pirates? Use the War of 1812 as your vessel to answering these questions through class discussion and...
The Guardian
A Timeline of Women's Right to Vote
Which countries implemented women's suffrage before the 19th amendment went into effect in the United States? Which countries still do not allow women to vote? Watch the global spread of women's rights in an interactive timeline...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
Learners discuss the government as a whole and then each amendment is examined. They complete a Bill of Rights test in groups or on their own. Answers are gone over in class and discussion is encouraged.
Curated OER
3 Branches of Our Government
This straightforward fill-in-the-blank activity could be used for a variety of purposes. Young historians are given 10 sentences about the branches of government; they fill in the blanks with terminology that is related to the United...
Curated OER
Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Constitution
High schoolers determine how President Lincoln promoted emancipation. In this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents, including the U.S. Constitution, to reconstruct Lincoln's attempts to end slavery and deliver the...
Bill of Rights Institute
Celebrate Constitution Day
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...
Curated OER
Constitutional Convention Simulation
Why did the Founders make it so challenging to amend the US Constitution? To gain an understanding of why the process is so difficult, class members engage in a Constitutional Convention simulation. Groups draft, propose, and debate...
Constitution Facts
U.S. Constitution Crossword Puzzles: Intermediate #1
All of the details of American history fall into place with a clever crossword puzzle. Nearly 100 clues prompt middle and high schoolers to fit the correct answers to topics including the American Revolution, the Civil War, and...
PBS
Constitution Day
September 17, Constitution Day so named because that was the day in 1787, that 39 men signed the Constitution, is the focus of a series of activities designed to simulate a Constitutional convention and open a study of the US Constitution.