Did you know that the United States Constitution was adopted after many state constitutions were already in place? Young scholars examine facts about the influence of states through an informative and interesting resource. Groups then...

Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...

The process for adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is long and arduous, by design. High School historians study a series of documents about the Nineteenth Amendment and, using an interactive program, drag the documents onto a...

Is it illegal to lie about military service? Discuss the ways the First Amendment affects the Stolen Valor Act with a lesson that focuses on the Supreme Court case U.S. v. Alvarez. As high schoolers learn more about the history of the...

Which right does the Constitution weigh more heavily: the sanctity of the American flag as a symbol of national unity, or the right to burn the flag in protest? The 1989 Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson explores a...

In an engaging activity on universal and unalienable rights, learners work in groups to establish a democratic nation and determine what principles they want to protect to ensure a democratic society. They conduct a "rights auction" in...

The Bill of Rights is a foundational document of American democracy, much like the Nuremberg Laws were a foundational document of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany. But that's where their similarities end. Engage high schoolers in a...

Going green? Scholars investigate the creation of the US National Park program. Through diary entries as well as expert testimony, they synthesize information and analyze the need for conservation and preservation. Finally, they display...

Lesson and activity in which students critique U.S. energy policy and its relationship to national security, then evaluate energy alternatives. Lesson includes article with background information, questions for discussion and...

Collaborative and consensus building activity on U.S. policy and treatment of Native Americans. Lesson provides an in-depth look at government Indian removal and provides a list from which students choose and defend a Native American...

Activity-based resource on the AIDS epidemic and Africa. Students answer a set of questions for discussion and participate in an activity in which they analyze the literature and make recommendations as if from the U.S. State Department....

Get to know and understand civil rights with the guidance of this project. Students will identify the rights given to us through the U.S. Constitution as well as the rights which affect them in school and answer some probing questions...

From the National Archives and Records Administration site, this lesson, focusing on a poster circulated in Philadelphia in 1839 to discourage the coming of the railroad, relates to the struggle to define the powers of the national and...