Learners take on the roles of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government in the United States and work to develop public policy issues and ideas into laws in this engaging and well-designed online interactive.

Just what is jurisdiction and why does it matter? A helpful activity takes academics on a journey to understand how judicial jurisdiction works. Scholars read excerpts from the Constitution and court documents to understand the process...

Scholars learn how the judicial system treated under-age Civil War soldiers using historical analysis. The resource uses court documents to help historians understand why Habeas Corpus was used in the case of Alfred Sinker and why he was...

Travel back in time to understand the effects of FDR's New Deal on the Supreme Court. Academics analyze historical documents to understand FDR's attempts to pack the Supreme Court and the opposition he faced. The activity includes a...

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...

A courtroom can be a scary place for the uninitiated. Get familiar with the process using a helpful overview of the activities that take place prior to both civil and criminal cases.  The lesson explains the differences between...

Not just anybody can do the job of a federal judge, but according to the United States Constitution just about anybody can be appointed. The lesson outlines the process and requirements for becoming a federal judge, focusing on the...

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...

Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...

Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...

Americans love to learn about their rights, especially those that protect them from the government's power to invade their privacy. Young people are especially engaged by this topic. An informative lesson explores four Supreme Court...

We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...

Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...

Why study landmark Supreme court cases? A helpful lesson offers a brief but valuable argument for the importance of these cases in the field of criminology. It introduces scholars to some key terms necessary for studying court cases and...

Unless you are a lawyer, you might not understand just how unrealistic Law and Order and other legal dramas actually are. Here's a great resource to help scholars of criminology gain a more realistic perspective. The lesson outlines the...

Popular culture often portrays the Feds as the most fearsome of law enforcement agencies. Yet, someone charged with a crime is considerably more likely to end up in a state court. The lesson, one of six covering the Organization of the...

Advanced readers strengthen their vocabulary repertoires by pairing synonyms and antonyms with six words derived from the Latin roots spect, sta, and vert. A word bank of 24 possibilities provides support (each blank has two appropriate...

Test your knowledge of U.S. geography and government with these games and printable activities. In one game, see if you can place all 50 states in their correct location. In the second game, see if you can recognize the powers of each...