Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...

What is the central idea of the Fourteenth Amendment? Scholars attempt to answer the question as they read and discuss the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the...

What does "freedom of speech" mean to your class, especially in the context of Internet communications? In round-table discussion format, middle and high schoolers address the issues discussed in "State Legislatures Across U.S. Plan to...

As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...

Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...

“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...

Powerful women need not look like Wonder Woman. After writing a paragraph about a strong woman they know, young scholars examine images of Alice Paul and then do a close reading of Katharine Rolston Fisher's poem "Alice Paul." Finally,...

A primary source set of photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and FBI reports provides insight into race relations during the 1960s, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the murder of Emmitt Till. Designed to be used to...

The authors of the court's decision and the dissenting opinion on Plessy v. Ferguson disagreed on their interpretations of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Scholars set out to show how with an on-demand writing prompt. They...

That's history. Scholars work together to review the text Abolition and its accompanying text-dependent questions. They then determine what information to add to the Historical Context anchor chart. For homework, individuals think...

Break the chain. An engaging lesson examines why it is so hard to break free of the prison system in the US. Academics participate in a reader's theater, read primary sources, and discuss their thoughts. The lesson explains the hardships...

After watching an excerpt from a video of Fannie Lou Hamer's testimony before Congress, pupils do a close reading of Mahogany L. Browne's poem "When Fannie Lou Hamer Said," annotate words and phrases that draw their attention and list...

A cross-curricular resource teaches and reinforces mathematical concepts with several activities that use parts of a newspaper. Scholars use scavenger hunts to find the different ways math is used in the paper along with using data...

Try out this reading passage when teaching your class about the 1920s and 1930s. After reading the text, which provides an overview of some major events in these years, learners respond to five related questions.

Betsy Ross, Toni Morrison, Sacajawea, Amelia Earhart, Maya Lin, Sally Ride, Judy Baca. No matter the subject area or the grade level you teach you will find much to value in a manual that focuses on the contributions U.S. women have...

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

Learners study the decisions and solutions involved in winning the right to vote. After reading background information on the fight for women's suffrage, including one woman's story, and its eventual success in the United States and...

Students examine the rate of institutional racism in the United States. Individually, they write in their journals about how they can make better choices and increase their self-esteem. Using historical documents, they identify the...

How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...

Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights lesson, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates to human...

The longest journey begins with a single step. Scholars analyze the details of Carlotta Walls LaNier's journey through the desegregation of schools in the United States. They continue reading the author's memoir, A Mighty Long Way and...

Students read a variety of well-known studenT books and discuss concepts presented in the books as they relate to the Bill of Rights. They discuss the books and compare them to the Bill of Rights Amendments.

Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...