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Judges in the Classroom Lesson Plan History Of The Bill Of Rights
Young scholars study the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. They investigate the authors of the Bill of Rights and play a game based on the research.
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U.S. History: Our Constitutional Amendments
Eighth graders conduct Internet research about Constitutional Amendments and present oral reports on their findings.  Their reports also include visual representations depicting their chosen amendment's focal point. Students discuss the...
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History of the Bill of Rights
Students study the history of the Bill of Rights. In this Bill of Rights instructional activity, students read and use two handouts to learn about the history of the Bill of Rights. Students then work in groups to study the Bill of...
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The President's Cabinet
Eighth graders obtain information about the President's Cabinet by using a template, and exploring the bookmarked Internet sites.
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The Right to Vote
In this voting worksheet, students identify and discuss changes in voting rights throughout American history.
Then, they identify why voting is an important right for Americans. Finally, students create voting bookmarks instead of or in...
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Chapter 16 (section 3) & 17 – The Enlightenment
In this Enlightenment worksheet, students read assigned  textbook  pages    regarding the era  and respond to 68 short answer    questions.
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Covenants, Compacts, Constitutions and By-Laws... Written Documents that Guide Governing
Third graders discuss documents in our government. In this government lesson plan, 3rd graders look up vocabulary words and illustrate them. They examine a historical document to discuss and answer questions. 
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The Reichstag Fire
Students examine the implications of the burning of the Reichstag in 1933.  Using the Weimer Constitution as a guide, they identify issues that allowed for Hitler and the Nazi party to gain power.  In groups, they create a web of the...
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Henry Laurens in the Tower of London
Eighth graders examine primary sources regarding Henry Laurens and his time in the Tower of London. In this American Revolution instructional activity, 8th graders create illustrated journals based on their research of imprisonment of...
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The Gold Rush Experience: Create Your Own Exhibit
Students create a virtual exhibit. In this gold rush lesson, students watch a movie about the California gold rush, view a virtual image of the gold nugget that started the gold rush and examine the sources. Students research and...
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The Interview of a Lifetime
Students study the process of creating an interview by role playing as a reporter who has the opportunity to interview one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster. They ask only five questions in this interview of a lifetime therefore...
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Images of the American Revolution
Students analyze several documents as they research the Revolutionary War. They evaluate documents and examine them for bias and perspective. They use their research to write monologues from the point of view of a famous Revolutionary...
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Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
Students examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the victory...
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The French Revolution
Tenth graders explore the events leading up to the French Revolution. In this World History instructional activity, 10th graders participate in a class discussion as the teacher shares a Powerpoint presentation, then the students...
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Will the Real Samuel Adams Please Stand Up
Students participate in a "To Tell The Truth" game show activity in order to determine the role of Sam Adams in the Revolutionary events that took place in the Boston area.  They ask questions of three students posing as Sam Adams to...
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Lesson PlanThomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
Students explore techniques of persuasive writing. In this persuasive writing lesson, students examine primary sources regarding the sale of Thomas Jefferson private library to Congress. Students write their own persuasive letters...
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Reviewing the Election Process by NOW Classroom for PBS
Students take a closer look at presidential elections. In this election process lesson, students discuss the roles of the primary, caucus, polls, Electoral College, delegates, and lobbyists in the process. Students then access the listed...
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ONE VOTE
In order to understand the political process and the importance of voting, pupils will construct a class time line. They will group up and research a specific era, creating a time line of political events where one vote made a...
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Federal Court Systems and Court Cases
Ninth graders investigate the basis for the Common Law Tradition. They examine the organization of the Federal Court System and students identify the various sources of the American Law.
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Creating Historians: Giving Scholars the Answers
How allowing index cards on tests can empower critical thinking; part one of a series on approaching social studies as a group of historians.
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Social Studies: Church and State
Discuss the separation of church and state as it relates to government entities. This is a great way to launch a discussion on the relationship between these groups. Learners analyze this relationship in governments throughout the world,...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
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,...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Youth Curfews
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...
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Choosing a College
How can mathematics help scholars choose a college? High schoolers learn how they can use decision matrices to rank colleges based on selected criteria. They also see how to weigh criteria using multiplication of the decision matrix by a...