Unit Plan
Curated OER

We the Second Graders

For Teachers 2nd
Students study the history, development and meaning of the Constitution. They participate in a classroom simulation of the Constitutional Convention by writing a Preamble, developing a government, and writing a Bill of Rights for their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

With Liberty and Justice for All

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify and define in their own words the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They are assigned a CDV or amendment from the Bill of Rights and create and present a one-minute skit demonstrating it.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zora Neale Hurston:Fighting Jim Crow through the All-Black Community

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explain the importance of equality of opportunity and equal protection of the law as a characteristic of American society and evaluate the validity and credibility of different historical interpretations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Role Playing Free Speech

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students conduct research into looking at a free-speech issue. They role play the events surrounding a court case. The lesson includes guiding questions to help create context and determine areas of further study. The presentation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ohio Statehouse History

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the history of the Ohio Statehouse and order the major historical events in its development. The lesson traces the development from the time of Ohio's vast wilderness to the house's completion in 1861.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Supreme Court and the Fourteenth Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this Reconstruction Era instructional activity, students read and analyze 4 Supreme Court decisions regarding the Fourteenth Amendment and determine how the decisions...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

First Amendment and the Future

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read the Knight report and discuss key findings before deciding what aspects of the findings students can replicate in their own school and conduct a survey. They write survey questions and test them on sample group before...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

First Amendment and the Future

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners develop a strategy for furthering the First Amendment interest and knowledge in the school through posters, school-wide announcements, speakers, contests and more during the rest of the school year. Student research about free...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Religion in the Schools

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The requirements of the Equal Access Act are studied and applied to factual situations. By looking at the particular contexts suggested your class can examine the difficulties faced by administrators in whether they should permit...
Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Juvenile Justice

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils compare and contrast the legal system as it pertains to juvenile and adult crime and punishment. Incorporating primary documents, legal decisions, and video evidence, individuals form an argument debating the treatment of...
Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Youth Curfews

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Don't stay out too late! Scholars analyze the need for youth curfews in a democratic society. They examine primary documents, case studies, and short video clips to form their opinions and take a position on the issue. Holding a class...
Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

The Articles of Confederation

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Have you ever started a project only to realize you need to scrap it and start over? Scholars analyze the issues leading to the fall of the Articles of Confederation. A group investigation into Articles II, III, and VIII unveil the...
Unit Plan
Illinois State Bar Association

Mock Trial Teacher Training

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Whether you are new to the mock trial format or have extensive experience with the program, you'll find much to learn from this teacher training manual that includes strategies for teaching the various aspects of court room trials.
Lesson Plan
NPR

Same-Sex Marriage

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...
Lesson Plan
State Bar of Texas

Mapp v. Ohio

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Do you have a search warrant? Scholars investigate the concept of illegal search and seizure through the eyes of the Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio. A short video clip along with paired group work opens discussion on the concept of how...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Prohibition and Its Consequences

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Organized crime and speakeasies ... just another day during Prohibition. An intriguing activity explores the world of Prohibition and its consequences on life in the United States. Scholars analyze primary sources and place them on a...
Lesson Plan
1
1
School Improvement in Maryland

Political Systems: Advantages and Disadvantages

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Walt Disney Company

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble

For Students 2nd - 6th Standards
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a famous suffragette that paved the way for equal rights for women. Readers respond to before, during, and after reading questions based on her story. The resource is a great addition to a lesson during...
Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

History of Immigration From the 1850s to the Present

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The Statue of Liberty may embrace the huddled masses of the world, but has American society always joined in? After young historians read a passage about the history of American immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on...
Lesson Plan
Candace Fleming

Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.
Interactive
2
2
Judicial Learning Center

Getting Ready for Trial

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
A courtroom can be a scary place for the uninitiated. Get familiar with the process using a helpful overview of the activities that take place prior to both civil and criminal cases.  The lesson explains the differences between...
Lesson Plan
1
1
C-SPAN

14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
Lesson Plan
2
2
Teaching Tolerance

Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Alfred Sinker and the Writ of Habeas Corpus in 1861

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...

Other popular searches