Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Constitutional Issues: Civil Liberties During War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discuss democratic ideals and constitutional principles. They decide which side of the issue they are on dealing with the placement of Japanese-Americans in camps during World War II. They examine primary source documents for...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Ideas for Activities and Discussions About the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Incorporating lessons about the foundation of the U.S. Constitution can invigorate the minds of students.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How was the Constitution Used to Organize the New Government?

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
How did the United States Congress determine how the new president and vice president would be named when the nation was first established? Who would provide money for the government, and how would the executive branch be organized? 
Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

A History of the United States

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Patriotic Symbols of the United States

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young historians take a close look at the most famous patriotic symbols of the United States and determine what they actually stand for. Symbols such as Uncle Sam, The Statue of Liberty, The Bald Eagle, and The Liberty Bell are studied....
Lesson Plan
City University of New York

Presidential Elections and the Electoral College

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
To understand the controversy surrounding the US 2000 presidential election, class members investigate the rationale behind the Electoral Collage, the intimidation involved in the election of 1876, and the 2004 American League...
Interactive
2
2
Judicial Learning Center

The Judge and the Jury

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out with the Old, in with the New

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders review the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and explore the major debates during the writing of the Constitution. They review vocabulary and compare primary source documents to study the three branches of...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Magna Carta: Cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers use the Internet to read a brief description of Magna Carta (link provided). They "walk through" the document with the teacher, identifying four major themes. High schoolers read and discuss "The Rhetoric of Rights:...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read a rewritten version of the Declaration of Independence, create a set of pictures illustrating the Preamble of the Constitution and create a version of the Declaration of Independence in the form of a song, a poem,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Tinker to Fraser: Freedom of Speech in Public Schools

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The Tinker and Fraser cases were taken the Supreme Court on the basis of the 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. Learners discuss each case, the First AMendment, complete handouts, and conduct a role play activity. Handouts are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ONE VOTE

For Teachers 5th
In order to understand the political process and the importance of voting, pupils will construct a class time line. They will group up and research a specific era, creating a time line of political events where one vote made a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Inauguration and the Constitution

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Learners read the sections of the US Constitution that discuss the elements of the inauguration. They study how the inauguration symbolizes the peaceful transition of power in a democratic republic and show the parts of the inauguration...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conflicting Ideas about the Completed Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers analyze and discuss the opinions about the US Constitution as given by Benjamin Franklin and George Mason.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

The Importance of Inauguration Day

For Teachers 5th - 9th
As Inauguration Day approaches, prepare your learners by researching the protocol of years past.
Lesson Plan
Minnesota Center for Community Legal Education

Minnesota v. Hershberger

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Freedom of religion has been a controversial, yet fundamental, tenet of the United States since even before the nation's birth. In a well-constructed lesson, the class compares the Minnesota Constitution to the US Constitution as a means...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women in Texas Politics: Winning the Vote, Three Pioneers, and Serving the People

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study women's involvement in Texas politics. In this US history lesson, 4th graders discuss woman suffrage, examine three Texas female pioneer legislators by reading biographies, and explore women's issues by generating a...
Lesson Plan
1
1
School Improvement in Maryland

Affirmative Action

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do the government's affirmative action policies promote equity in the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and affirmative action policies come under scrutiny in an activity that asks class members to...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Walt Disney Company

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble

For Students 2nd - 6th Standards
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a famous suffragette that paved the way for equal rights for women. Readers respond to before, during, and after reading questions based on her story. The resource is a great addition to a lesson during...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Documents and Symbols and American Freedom

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students complete a unit of lessons on the documents, symbols, and famous people involved in the founding of the U.S. government. They create a personal bill of rights, write a found poem, design a flag, conduct research, and role-play...
Lesson Plan
PBS

President Theodore Roosevelt: Foreign Policy Statesman or Bully?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Can a negative perception of a president's foreign policy harm his or her historical legacy? A project that winds the clock back to the date of Theodore Roosevelt's death puts students at the editorial desk of a fictional newspaper....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

US & Iroquois Constitution Parallels

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars engage in a lesson that is concerned with the concepts related to comparing the United States and Iroquois Indians while focusing upon the foundations of the ruling documents like the US Constitution. They conduct research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students participate in classroom debate regarding the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Students then vote for the amendments they would like to ratify.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Constitutional Convention

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students simulate the Constitutional Convention. They describe how the members of the Constitutional Convention might have felt as they gathered and began the arduous and memorable task of writing the United States Constitution .