USA.gov
How The Supreme Court Works
Just how does a case come before the highest court in the land? A graphic flow chart unpacks how plaintiffs come before the Supreme Court. Graphics include background on the nine justices and just how many cases they actually hear each...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!: Simulating the Supreme Court
Students have freedom of speech—or do they? Using an actual court case and research materials on the Supreme Court, young legal scholars examine the Supreme Court's role and history. Then, they argue a case the court declined to hear and...
Judicial Learning Center
The U.S. Supreme Court
How do Supreme Court justices determine which cases to consider? What happens when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case? The lesson explores important questions and others in the field of criminology. It focuses on the...
Heritage Foundation
Courts and Judges
If the Supreme Court is so supreme, why do all cases not just start there? High schoolers learn why every case does not start at the Supreme Court as well as the importance of hierarchy in the US judicial system in the 11th installment...
PBS
The Supreme Court: Liberty of Contract
How did the Supreme Court apply the Fourteenth Amendment to cases involving working people? Learn all about labor rights in a resource that focuses on the liberty of contract and protections for workers. Scholars complete handouts that...
iCivics
Mini Lesson: Supreme Court Opinions
The court of last resort. Historians research, using current cases and issues, the impact the Supreme Court of the United States has on how our nation operates. They analyze recent decisions made by the nine judges and determine how the...
Curated OER
Supreme Court Shake-Up
Students examine the role of the Supreme Court through an interactive program. They analyze the history of the Court and its members. They finally explore how the Supreme Court works.
Sharp School
The Bill of Rights and Supreme Court Cases Project
Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...
PBS
Explicit and Implicit Language – Interpreting the Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment
How do Supreme Court justices interpret amendments to the Constitution? The resource helps answer that question by discussing how people use explicit and implicit language to interpret the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. Learners...
State Bar of Texas
Engel v. Vitale
Can you bow your head and pray in school? Scholars investigate the issue of school prayer with the Supreme Court case Engel v. Vitale. A short video clip along with paired group work helps viewers form opinions on the matter. They answer...
iCivics
Court Quest
Introduce your learners to the federal and state court systems with a fun, interactive online video game! After reading sample cases, class members identify to which court the case should be assigned and gain a greater...
Curated OER
The Legacy of the Warren Court
Students examine the major decisions by the Supreme Court when Warren was the Chief Justice. In groups, they research the life and other works of Earl Warren and discuss how ones background can influence decisions. They also examine...
Heritage Foundation
The Amendment Process and the Bill of Rights
Did you know that lawmakers have proposed more than 5,000 bills to amend the US Constitution in Congress? Your class learns intriguing facts about the process of choosing amendments. A variety of activities including before and after...
State Bar of Texas
Roe v. Wade
At what point does the right of privacy end and the government begin? Scholars research rights under the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution. Using the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case as a starting point, along with small group work...
Curated OER
The Supremes
Students discuss steps cases go through to reach Supreme Court, examine Bill of Rights, and rank rights in order of importance to them. Students then research Supreme Court case dealing with one of first ten amendments, and write about...
State Bar of Texas
Mapp v. Ohio
Do you have a search warrant? Scholars investigate the concept of illegal search and seizure through the eyes of the Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio. A short video clip along with paired group work opens discussion on the concept of how...
Read Works
The United States Constitution
The US Constitution is the beginning of Americans' rights. Use a five-paragraph passage to give a brief history of the US Constitution. A great last minute addition to a lesson on Constitution Day.
Curated OER
The Supreme Court
Students examine the Fourteenth Amendment. For this Supreme Court lesson, students define due process and equal protection as they analyze the impact of the amendment and the Supreme Court on workers' rights in the early 20th century....
Curated OER
Stories of Freedom and Justice: Learning Resources
Young scholars are introduce to the topic of nonviolence and civil rights by watching a video. In this stories of freedom lesson, students examine the Supreme Court's role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Young scholars analyze how...
State Bar of Texas
White v. Regester
One vote doesn't really matter, right? Class members investigate the concept of voter rights and restrictions using the 1973 Supreme Court case White v. Regester. They view a short video and work in pairs to analyze how people create...
State Bar of Texas
Edgewood ISD v. Kirby
Have you ever wondered where the money comes from to pay for your school, teachers, supplies, and building? The 1989 Supreme Court case Edgewood ISD v. Kirby lays a framework for open discussion on the funding of public schools. Using a...
Curated OER
From Tinker to Fraser: Freedom of Speech in Public Schools
The Tinker and Fraser cases were taken the Supreme Court on the basis of the 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. Learners discuss each case, the First AMendment, complete handouts, and conduct a role play activity. Handouts are...
Louisiana Department of Education
The Scarlet Letter
Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...
Curated OER
Religion and Politics: The Battle Over the Judiciary
Students analyze the relationship between religion an politics. In this Supreme Court lesson, students examine the results of the 2004 presidential election and explore how the results impacted George W. Bush and his Supreme Court...