Curated OER
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Students examine warrantless searches and due process. For this Supreme Court lesson, students examine primary documents from Mapp v. Ohio and discuss the implications of the decision.
Curated OER
Branches of Government: Crossword Puzzle
Reinforce terminology that goes along with the branches of government with this crossword puzzle. There are 17 clues provided. Learners fill in the crossword puzzle with the appropriate answers regarding the legislative, executive, and...
Curated OER
Ohio Statehouse History
Fourth graders examine the history of the Ohio Statehouse and order the major historical events in its development. The lesson traces the development from the time of Ohio's vast wilderness to the house's completion in 1861.
Curated OER
Introduction to the History of the Michigan Supreme Court
Students identify the players, events and changes in the history of the Supreme Court of Michigan. They explain the purpose of the Court in state government. They summarize the role and purpose of the Court.
Curated OER
Supreme Court Newspaper
Students examine the purpose and responsibilities of the Supreme Court and its justices. In groups, they research a specific case and identify how the Supreme Court affects their lives. Using the information they find, they create a...
Curated OER
John G. Roberts, Jr. -- Nominee, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Students examine the life and work of John G. Roberts, the nominee to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In groups, they use the internet to define the role of the Chief Justice and complete handouts to record their information....
Curated OER
US Government: Supreme Court
Students explore the powers of the Supreme Court. In this Judicial Branch lesson, students define vocabulary regarding the branch's responsibilities, take notes on a video regarding the branch, and discuss the powers of the branch in a...
Curated OER
Supreme Court June 2010 Decisions Wrap-Up
Students consider constitutional rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students complete an activity guide that requires students to examine Bill of Rights-related cases of 2010. Students respond to discussion questions pertaining to...
Curated OER
Supreme Court in Our Lives: Key Cases
Pupils analyze Supreme Court decisions and their effect on students. They discuss current events realted to the U.S. Constitution and review cases that impact pupils. They identify each case with its facts, issues, and arguments.
Federal Judicial Center
Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....
DocsTeach
U.S. v. Amistad: A Case of Jurisdiction
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...
K20 LEARN
Oklahoma and Segregation
It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...
C-SPAN
Civil Rights Movement: Sit-Ins
Part of the protests of the Civil Rights Movement were small scale sit-ins at lunch counters. This form of on-the-ground activism is the focus of a C-SPAN resource that includes four video-clips about the sit-ins by pupils at a lunch...
Judicial Learning Center
Article III WebQuest
Why is Article III of the constitution so significant? Pupils discover the importance of Article III and how it relates to past as well as current events by completing Internet research using a provided handout. They learn everything...
Carolina K-12
Writing Prompt: The Death Penalty
Is the death penalty unjust because it violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, "cruel and unusual punishment"? Or is it just a form of permissible capital punishment? After weighing arguments for and against the...
My Access
“Banning Books” Lesson Plan
To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...
Curated OER
Branches of Government
After reading a short text on the branches of government in the United States, future voters answer 8 fill-in-the-blank questions, as well as 11 true or false questions. This worksheet would be a great homework assignment or silent...
Curated OER
Down for the Count?
The New York Times article “Supreme Court, Split 5-4, Halts Florida Count in Blow to Gore” provides the opening to an assessment of the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of the 2000 presidential election. Assuming the...
Heritage Foundation
Exercising Judicial Power
We should all do more exercising, but should the judicial branch as well? High schoolers develop their understanding of what powers the judicial branch carries because of the US Constitution, as well as where their limits lie in the...
DocsTeach
Compare and Contrast: School Photographs
Separate and very unequal! An interactive presents learners with two images: a photograph of a boys' bathroom at a school in Gloucester County, Virginia, and a second of a girls' bathroom at a different school in the same county. The...
Curated OER
A Short, Short Lesson on the Fourth Amendment
Students read text of Fourth Amendment together as class, discuss necessity of Constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches, and analyze landmark Supreme Court cases dealing with Fourth Amendment rights.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Why We Have Freedom of the Press
A newspaper receives documents that reveal not only a devastating secret the public needs to know, but also troop movements that could put American lives at risk: to publish or not to publish? Using background readings, discussion...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Marriage and the State
What defines marriage in society? Scholars investigate the moral and legal arguments of what defines marriage. They analyze different marriage traditions and social customs around the world along with Supreme Court decisions. Individuals...
Curated OER
From Basketball Court to Supreme Court
Young scholars discuss scenarios about unfairness and retaliation in school sports. They read about a recent Supreme Court ruling about Title IX, and research, conduct polls and write articles about public opinions on gender issues in...