Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Supreme Court in Our Lives: Key Cases

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students analyze Supreme Court decisions and their effect on students. They discuss current events realted to the U.S. Constitution and review cases that impact students. They identify each case with its facts, issues, and arguments.
Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Congress's War Powers

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Declaring war is not as easy as some may think. High schoolers learn about Congress's limits regarding war by reading important clauses in the US Constitution. Various independent and collaborative activities reinforce learning, making...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Supreme Court Decisions and Their Effect On Us

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Consider five Supreme Court cases and how their outcomes have directly affected the American population. Government students research and compose a 1-2 page pager outlining the examples of our daily life that have specifically been...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Supreme Court Case Study: District of Columbia Vs Heller

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Examine the Supreme Court case, District of Columbia vs Heller, to build a better understanding of the Bill of Rights. Learners visit three different websites, read the provided informational text, and then answer a series of critical...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Background on the Patriot Attitude toward the Monarch

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Learners explain the Patriot attitude toward the British monarchy, which helps them embrace the Founders' reluctance to have a strong executive under the Articles of Confederation as well as their desire to build in checks of executive...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Advise And Consent Lesson 1: Limits of Power

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine the importance of citizens being involved in their community government for the common good. They look at the importance of limiting government and the concepts of philanthropy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Absolute Monarchs and Constitutional Monarchs

For Teachers 8th - 12th
In this absolute monarchs and constitutional monarchs study guide worksheet, students read a brief overview pertaining to the topic and then respond to a reflection question.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Michigan Constitution and the Legislative Branch

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore online resources to compare and contrast the different constitutions the state of Michigan has had. They continue their exploration of various websites, focusing on the legistlative branch and the homepage of their local...
Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Congress's Economic Powers

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Join Congress as they assess their economic abilities for spending—and as they discover their limits. High schoolers use an educational resource to explore Congress's economic powers and learn to apply these concepts to their everyday...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clear and Present Danger

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students assume identities of lawmakers, judges, writers, and protestors during times in American history when freedoms of speech and press were limited because country was on the brink of war or fighting one. Students use primary source...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create Your Own Constitution

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the processes, purpose and components of a good and just constitution. They focus on the Constitution of the United States of America. Students discuss the purpose of a constitution and reasons why the Constitution...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Documents and Symbols and American Freedom

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students complete a unit of lessons on the documents, symbols, and famous people involved in the founding of the U.S. government. They create a personal bill of rights, write a found poem, design a flag, conduct research, and role-play...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Are We Free Yet?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read excerpts from several Freedom Documents, evaluate amount of freedom guaranteed by each document, and rank documents on scale to determine which grant greatest and least amount of personal freedom.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Constitution for Alaska

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils 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
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
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
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
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School Improvement in Maryland

Supreme Court Case Overview I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As part of a study of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, class members examine four Supreme Court decisions—Gitlow v. New York, Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Griswold v. Connecticut—that incorporated the due...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson: Expansion of the Voting Base

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students give examples to indicate how the franchise was extended and limited in the first half of the 19th century, and cite some differences in the newly enfranchised population that could affect the way they would vote.
Lesson Plan
Redefining Progress

Have and Have-Not

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Is there a correlation between a country's wealth and the extent of its ecological footprint? What exactly constitutes an ecological footprint, and how does one country stack up against the rest? This is a unique lesson to incorporate...
Lesson Plan
1
1
School Improvement in Maryland

Affirmative Action

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do the government's affirmative action policies promote equity in the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and affirmative action policies come under scrutiny in an activity that asks class members to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Government and Natural Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to some basic ideas the Framers used in creating the kind of government they thought would best protect the natural rights of each individual and promote the good of all. At the conclusion of the lesson, they know...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Has Power?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discuss abuse of power in government and examine the Constitution for specific powers in each branch. They create a crossword puzzle utilizing terms and information regarding division of government powers and federalism
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Beginnings of Constitutional Government

For Teachers 6th - 11th
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.