Bill of Rights Institute
Preserving the Bill of Rights
Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...
Curated OER
American Studies
Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...
Curated OER
The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said
Students critique the Creation of the U.S. Constitution. They list some ideas proposed and debated during the Constitutional Convention. Discussion of the important issues requiring compromise are examined.
Curated OER
Getting to Know the Founding Fathers
Learners focus on the values of moderation and self-discipline as exemplified by the U.S. Constitution and the Founding Fathers. Students participate in dialogues and role-plays.
Curated OER
Documents and Symbols and American Freedom
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...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2011
Those who lived during the Great Depression could clearly draw a line between the roaring 1920s and the desolation of the following decade. Class members examine these two periods and compare them using an essay question prompt and...
Curated OER
Our Classroom Constitution
Develop a system of classroom rules created by the kids, for the kids with this three-part instructional activity series on the US Constitution. After learning about the structure of the Constitution and the government it established,...
Curated OER
Family Quilts Keep us Warm
Students explore families and culture. For this family and culture lesson, students discuss their families and their similarities and differences. Students read the book The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco and create their own quilt...
Curated OER
Electricity and Magnetism: Ben Franklin and His Influence
Fourth graders explore electricity by examining the life of Benjamin Franklin. In this biographical lesson, 4th graders listen to the teacher read facts of Benjamin Franklin's life and analyze his contributions to our current society. ...
Curated OER
A Dream and an Idea: Searching for a Roadmap to Create a Country
Students compare and contrast opposing visions of government held by the founding fathers. They evaluate the roles of historical leaders in shaping the U.S. as an emerging nation.
What So Proudly We Hail
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Lesson on the Declaration of Independence
What does it mean to say that a right is unalienable? How did the founding fathers convey this revolutionary concept in the Declaration of Independence? Engage in a close reading and analysis of the Declaration of Independence, and...
Constitution Facts
U.S. Constitution Crossword Puzzles: Intermediate #1
All of the details of American history fall into place with a clever crossword puzzle. Nearly 100 clues prompt middle and high schoolers to fit the correct answers to topics including the American Revolution, the Civil War, and...
Curated OER
The Federalist Papers (1787-1789)
An online interactive history quiz awaits your eager upper graders. They respond to 50 multiple choice questions about the Federalist Papers, and then submit their answers to be scored. While the quiz covers some pertinent information,...
Curated OER
U.s. Constitution Roll Call Test
Students act as newspaper reporters from 1787 and interview some of the signers of the Constitution. They study the contributions of these Founding Fathers: Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton and discuss the purpose of the U.S....
Curated OER
Conflicting Ideas about the Completed Constitution
Students analyze and discuss the opinions about the US Constitution as given by Benjamin Franklin and George Mason.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Articles of Confederation
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...
Curated OER
Things To Do With Dad- Alphabetical Order
In this "things to do with dad" worksheet, students alphabetize a set of words found at the bottom of the page. Worksheet has links to additional activities.
Curated OER
Racism, Discrimination, and the Law
Seventh graders examine the various racism and discrimination faced by various ethnic groups in the United States. In groups, they research the legal system and describe the purpose of the United States Constitution. They review cases...
Curated OER
Lesson 2: The Constitution: Our Guiding Document
Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Curated OER
We Are the Government
Students read primary documents to find the motivations of the founding fathers of the United States. In this primary documents lesson, students discuss the meaning of the Preamble to the Constitution, read parts of the Constitution...
Curated OER
The Early American Contradiction
Students use the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to investigate the apparent contradictions between slavery and freedom. The activity looks at the reasons for the incorporation of slavery into early colonial life even with...
Nikola Tesla documentary student worksheet
PBS documentary: Tesla - Master of Lightning; this worksheet will keep the students engaged while watching this excellent documentary about Tesla. The documentary can be found on Netflix or YouTube. It will take two class periods to...
Curated OER
Little Rabbit's Tale: 19
This set of daily spelling activities is intended for use with the story, Little Rabbit's Tale. Learners use the high frequency and spelling words found in the story to complete 4 different activities. They write the long e words, fill...