Curated OER
Rafe's Classroom Secrets
Students consider Rafe's classroom secrets and teaching methods.
Curated OER
Ohm's Law, Watt's Law and Solving Formulas.
Students, in groups, connect a 10 ohm resistor across their 1.5 volt battery, and take voltage readings every 5 minutes.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Separation of Powers
Informative discussion of the ideas behind the Constitutional principle of Separation of Powers.
University of Chicago
The Founders' Constitution: Separation of Powers
Federal Convention on the Separation of Powers as recorded during debate at the convention, June 2, 1787.
US National Archives
Docs Teach: Separation of Powers or Shared Powers
In this activity, students will analyze documents that illustrate the relationship between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Using the scale in Weighing the Evidence, students will decide whether the United States...
University of Missouri
Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: Separation of Powers
When do the actions of one branch of the federal government unconstitutionally intrude upon the powers of another branch? This article surveys the history of this question in historic Supreme Court cases.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Separation of Powers
Discusses what separation of powers is, what it looked like in the past, and how it is interpreted in countries around the world and in the United States.
iCivics
I Civics: Separation of Powers: What's for Lunch?
Students find out how the three branches of government interact with each other and how decisions about laws are made by several parts of the U.S. government.
American Bar Association
American Bar Assoc.: Separation of Powers, Connecting the Separate Powers [Pdf]
This lesson involves role-playing to help the students understand the separation of powers. [PDF]
Tom Richey
Tom Richey: Constitutional Underpinnings of u.s. Government
The first unit of an online course on AP US Government and Politics. It explores key concepts of American government, including constitutional government, republicanism, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, construction...
US National Archives
National Archives: Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution
The Constitution can be broken down into 6 main themes: Limited Government, Federalism, Republicanism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and Popular Sovereignty. Students will study background on the Founding Fathers and use...
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum: Three Branches of Government
Interactive teaching unit for Grades 5-8 that helps to explain the three branches of government and the the balance of power. Topics covered include balance of government, how a bill becomes a law, the amendment process, the Legislative...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: The Defense of Marriage Act
A lesson plan addressing what happens when Congress passes a law or an act, but the law is unconstitutional.
University of Chicago
The Founders' Constitution
The University of Chicago provides thousands of primary source documents concerning the diverse contents of the Constitution. Documents underlying the proposed Constitution, as well as documents of the time debating the proposed...
US Government Publishing Office
Ben's Guide to u.s. Government: Constitution of the United States
Find background information on the Constitution of the United States of America, and learn the three basic principles upon which the Constitution was written. Additional content includes a look at the text of the Constitution, the events...
PBS
Pbs: How the Supreme Court Affects the Lives of Teens (Lesson Plan)
Objectives for this instructional activity include describing the structure and function of the Supreme Court, looking at important decisions, and discussing recent rulings and issues.
Digital History
Digital History: The Age of Constitution Writing [Pdf]
See how colonial and state constitutions differed and how the idea of a social contract between a government and its citizens is reflected in the state constitutions. The second half of this site gives an abbreviated text of the Articles...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Is Power Divided in the United States Government?
Video accompanied by questions for students that looks at how the concept of separation of powers embedded in the Constitution is applied in the United States government. [3:50]
Other
Usa Gov: Three Branches of Government
Lesson plans for students to learn about the three branches of government. They can find information about the origins of the Constitution, separation of powers, and details about each of the three branches.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Portable Fluid Power Demonstrator (Pfpd)
Working as teams, students learn the basics of fluid power design using the PFPD as their investigative platform. Students will investigate the similarities and differences between using pneumatic and hydraulic power in the PFPD. While...
Digital History
Digital History: u.s. Constitution and Organization of the National Government
Read about the structure of the U.S. Constitution and the thoughts of the framers behind the formation of each branch.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Constitution
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart is an in depth Activote questionnaire relating to our Constitution. Students should understand the basic concepts of the Constitution, checks and balances, separation of powers, and...
C3 Teachers
C3 Teachers: u.s. History Module: Did Founders Want Government to Work? [Pdf]
A comprehensive learning module on the system of government established by the founders that includes three supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and primary source materials, followed by a summative performance task....
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Separation and Power, Making of African American Identity: V. 3
An essay that examines the relationship between racial separation and power. In this essay Stokely Carmichael advocates for the coalescence of political and economic power within the black community in a way that liberates and insulates...