Judicial Learning Center
Levels of the Federal Courts
The Supreme Court gets all the glory, but very few federal cases make it to the highest court. An interesting lesson explores the structure of the lower levels of the federal court system. In addition to outlining the organization of...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating About Immigration The DREAM Act
Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration...
Judicial Learning Center
State Courts vs. Federal Courts
Popular culture often portrays the Feds as the most fearsome of law enforcement agencies. Yet, someone charged with a crime is considerably more likely to end up in a state court. The lesson, one of six covering the Organization of the...
School Improvement in Maryland
Are These Human Right Violations?
Using the Declaration of Human Rights and the United States Constitution as reference tools, class members examine 14 scenarios to decide if the situation represents a violation of human rights, and if these same rights...
Curated OER
Picture Books and the Bill of Rights
Students identify the basic freedoms of citizens in the United States. In this Bill of Rights lesson plan, students act out scenarios about the Bill of Rights. Students create a picture book describing the rights they've...
Curated OER
Gun Control and Terrorism: Laws or Loopholes?
Students examine the Second Amendment of the Constitution. They research and organize key arguments and other fundementals of gun control. They participate in a debate defending the wording of the Second Amendment.
Curated OER
Legal Rights, the Charter, and Canada's Constitution
Students explore the issue of human rights in Canada and compare and contrast the Bill of Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They debate whether Canadians are giving up certain democratic rights in exchange for the greater good.
Curated OER
The Beginnings of Constitutional Government
Students examine excerpts of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. In this early American history activity, students read Paine's pamphlet and analyze the information according the rubric provided.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, lesson activities, and ideas...
Curated OER
Changes In The New Nation: New Beginnings
Students consider the role of American newspapers in the revolution and plans for new government. In this early American history lesson, students determine how communication provided by newspapers contributed to the organization of the...
Curated OER
Search & Seizure Opinion Poll
Students examine federal and state constitutional law relating to search and seizure. They analyze various scenarios, participate in an opinion poll, and discuss difficulties in balancing individual privacy rights with the need to fight...
Curated OER
"Martial Law in Hawaii After the Attack on Pearl Harbor"
Students explore the concepts of martial law, writ of habeas corpus, due process, discovery and human and constitutional rights during World War II. They assess the roles and responsibilities of government leaders and citizens during...
Curated OER
The Constitution
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...
Curated OER
Second Graders Create Their Own Social Studies Book (Part I, The 5Ws of the Constitution)
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...
Curated OER
Ratification of the Constitution
Eighth graders view two resources from the ratification debates and infer the motives and concerns of people in the two states involved. They write a newspaper editorial in favor or opposed to ratifying the Constitution.
Curated OER
Utah's Legislative Branch: How a Bill Becomes a Law
Seventh graders explain the steps by which a bill becomes a law. They research how a bill becomes a law within the three branches of Utah's government and synthesize their research and discussion in a classroom representation of government.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Marriage and the State
What defines marriage in society? Scholars investigate the moral and legal arguments of what defines marriage. They analyze different marriage traditions and social customs around the world along with Supreme Court decisions. Individuals...
Heritage Foundation
The Powers of the Executive
Are executives as powerful as they sound? High schoolers find out about the US president and executive branch. A variety of activities include scaffolded reading sections, research assignments, and collaborative group work.
American Bar Association
What Is Separation of Powers?
Who has the power? Scholars investigate the creation of the three branches of government in the United States Constitution. They analyze just why the framers created the branches the way they did.
C-SPAN
Judicial Review and Marbury v Madison
The Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison may not be widely recognized but the landmark case is particularly significant because it established the precedent for judicial review and that the Supreme Court had power as an interpreter of...
Curated OER
The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource...
Judicial Branch of California
The Power of the Press: The First Amendment
Was what happened in 1886 at the Haymarket riot a crime or a case of xenophobia? Using political cartoons from the time, young historians consider the role the media played in anti-labor sentiment during the time and how that influenced...
Walt Disney Company
Elizabeth Started All the Trouble
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...
Judicial Learning Center
Getting Ready for Trial
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...