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...

High school seniors investigate what national, state and local rules say about voting. After examining the Constitution's articles, clauses, and amendments, researchers look at videos, listen to podcasts, and read articles to gather...

Fix the Articles of Confederation or develop a new constitution? That was the question facing the Founding Fathers. Several of those in favor of a new constitution published a series of essays, collected in the Federalist...

To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...

Students study the United States Constitution and create a year-long cumulative activity for social studies. In this social studies lesson, students complete activities throughout the year to learn the 5Ws for the United States...

The allure of true crime television shows often leads to intrigue of the criminal justice system. Using a six-unit curriculum, learners explore criminology and the justice system in the United States. Topics include the police, trial...

Students examine material on the Civil War Era to develop an understanding of the major issues that were resolved. This six lessons unit provides a closer glimpse into our nation's political and ethical history.

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...

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.

High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...

Need lessons on writing and solving one- and two-step linear equations and inequalities, as well as systems of equations? This comprehensive 106-page module from the Georgia Department of Education contains many different lessons for a...

Feeling stuck? Want to energize the class? Use activities such as quizzes and fill-in-the-blank worksheets to get class members' attention with a year's worth of holiday celebrations. From Mother's Day to Robert Burns's birthday,...

Students study the Reconstruction Era after the US Civil War. In this Reconstruction lesson set, students examine the problems that were encountered by the South after the Civil War, look at different plans for Reconstruction, and...

This tutorial explains the types of laws in the legal system of the United States. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

A unit of study that examines the impact Native Americans had on ideas about democracy and government, and how this influenced the writing of the US Constitution. Students will compare the Iroquois Confederacy's Great Law of Peace with...

Enhance classroom teaching on the United States Constitution with the help of these resources including lesson plans, activities, interactive sites and more.

In this lesson, students examine primary source materials including the Book of Laws, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta in order to understand their meaning and to compare them. They then prepare an argument on...

This site contains a list of 50 words from the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. Teachers can digitally assign this list to their students to reinforce the spellings, pronunciations, and meanings of these words.

How well can you decide the balance of civil liberties? Review three case summaries as well as the laws and facts about each case and arguments, and then make a ruling.

National Archives and Records Administration home page on the U.S. Electoral College. Contains details on historic voting patterns as well as technical details on procedures.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United States. It was set up by our Constitution to make important decisions about the law. This article describes how the Supreme Court works, and its impact on American justice. It also...

This site contains a description of the juvenile justice system, background on the case involving Gerald Gault, and learning exercises for teachers to use in class.