Curated OER
The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?
Learners analyze the Preamble of the Constitution and identify the historical context that led to its wording. They, in groups, interpret phrases from the Preamble, examine relevant court cases and create illustrations for their portion...
Curated OER
What Does The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution Mean?
Students begin the lesson by comparing and contrasting two state constitution's preambles. After identifying the themes in the state preambles, they compare the U.S. Constitution's preamble to the states. They work together to write...
Stanford University
Declaration of Independence
Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer citing...
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
US Constitution
Think about the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence with your budding historians. They analyze the importance of historical documents by examining several famous documents, and then they complete activities that check...
Achieve The Core
Linda R. Monk, Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution - Grade 8
“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...
Curated OER
Declaration of Independence
Twelfth graders summarize sections of the Declaration of Independence and share their interpretations with classmates. They write essays on the Declaration or an essay tracing the rights of minorities from the Revolution to the present.
National Endowment for the Humanities
James Madison: Madison Was There
Madison was there! Scholars go on a journey to discover the person behind the founding father label as they explore James Madison's role in the formation of the United States government. The culmination is a writing assignment and...
National Constitution Center
Interactive Constitution
Did you know there are seven Articles and 27 Amendments to the US Constitution? Explore each and every one of them, including the Bill of Rights and other rights around the world, in a super neat US Constitution interactive.
Curated OER
We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Constitution
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...
Curated OER
One Step Closer to a Treaty
Students speak objectively about the nuclear disarmament issue and interpret sections of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. They become more informed by these discussions and readings on the nuclear
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Images of the American Revolution
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this American Revolution lesson plan, students examine international involvement in the war as well as major events of the war.
Facing History and Ourselves
Socratic Seminar
New to the socratic seminar format? Check out a resource that not only provides the rationale for the procedure and step-by-step directions, but also provides a list of suggested topics, rules and model statements.
Curated OER
Building the Foundation
Learners understand the purpose of the judicial branch of government. In this judiciary instructional activity, students participate in exercises to understand how the court system works. Learners complete activity sheets to develop...
Curated OER
Looking at Constitutions
Students work in groups to research and examine Constitutions from various countries. In this government and public interests lesson, students analyze primary and secondary documents to make a comparison between constitutional documents...
Curated OER
Cuban Missile Crisis: Teaching Activities
Students create a timeline of the important events of John F. Kennedy's presidency. They construct a timeline of the major events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They compare the Missile Crisis events with their presentation in the movie...
Curated OER
The Decision to Americanize the War in Vietnam
Students research the major events of the Vietnam War and construct a timeline. They do the same with the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson or the 1960's. They act as an advisor to President Johnson to recommend a course of action...
Curated OER
Constitution of the United States: Crossword Puzzle
In this United States history worksheet, students use the 16 clues in order to fill in the crossword puzzle with the appropriate answers pertaining to the Constitution of the United States.
Curated OER
Life in Roman Britain
Students discuss life in Roman Britain. In this Roman Britain lesson, students listen to a recording of "The Romans in Britain" by Judith Nicholls and discuss what life was really like in Roman Britain.
Curated OER
Why We Chose Our Constitution
Learners examine the American plan for government. In this American government lesson, students examine selected Internet websites regarding the Magna Carta, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.
Curated OER
American Government Worksheet 1
In this American government worksheet, learners respond to 12 true/false, 11 alphabetical order, 15 fill in the appropriate articles, 15 matching, and 1 cryptogram about the structure of the American government.
Curated OER
Unit Plan Template
Use this U.S. History unit plan as a template for creating your own! Simply download the resource and edit the text fields with your own customized unit plan. This is a great jumping-off step, especially for newer teachers.
Curated OER
Constitution Week
Students prepare one-minute broadcasts about events leading to the writing of the Constitution and current issues in the next election. Students read their broadcasts on the school P.A. system each morning during Constitution Week.