Madison was there! Scholars go on a journey to discover the person behind the founding father label as they explore James Madison's role in the formation of the United States government. The culmination is a writing assignment and...

Delve into the responsibilities of the president by looking at President Hamilton's opinion of the presidential office in his own words. The second in a three-part series, the resource also offers an interesting compare-and-contrast...

To war! To war! Every nation in the history of the world has had to deal with warfare on some level. Scholars go through a series of activities and discussions surrounding the development of the Constitution to help them better...

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third instructional activity of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on...

Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which the...

Here is a solid lesson plan to support your instruction on the Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation. It includes close analysis of primary source images, a guided notes template and answer key, and many key...

With graphic organizers galore, learners will follow the changes of church and state in early colonial America. They look at the differences between the pilgrims and the puritans in terms of beliefs and life ways. Myths and...

Young scholars investigate reasons why James Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution." They discuss three events during his presidency that raised constitutional questions and look at Madison's opinions of those questions. They...

Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This lesson on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution in an...

Fifth graders conduct Internet research about the governmental balance of power. They create Kidspiration projects demonstrating the workings of the three branches of government. They compare U.S. democracy with other forms of government.

Search the box of letters to find 18 different words related to the US Constitution. A word search is a great way to get kids thinking about new vocabulary words and recognizing them in a different context.

Use the dystopian novel After by Francine Prose to spark discussion about individual and student rights. Learners read the novel, evaluating how far a school can go to control its attendees. As they read, scholars...

One of the most confusing aspects of any presidential election year is the role of the Electoral College. Learners read a bit about how the Electoral College works and then they hold a mock election in their classroom. They'll redraw a...

Students research the laws and policies for school dress codes in their school and others in their state or area and explore what others say about these policies. After research is complete, students divide into two teams to develop...

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are outlined in this PowerPoint. Each amendment is noted on its own slide, with a summary of its purpose and important sections of the actual document. Tip: Have students choose an amendment and write...

Students study the Bill of Rights. As a class, they create a "School Bill of Rights," with amendments. Students discuss the difference between rights and responsibilities and examine Supreme Court decisions dealing with the first ten...

Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...

Students research the Constitution and the War Powers Act in order to determine what the powers of the government are in times of conflict. They answer a series of questions then write a legal brief either supporting or condemning the...

Students study the concept of separation of powers. They recognize how the Constitution provides for separation of powers and categorize public officials into one of three branches of government. Students do a role play and see if...

Students read excerpts from several Freedom Documents, evaluate amount of freedom guaranteed by each document, and rank documents on scale to determine which grant greatest and least amount of personal freedom.

Students examine both the Preamble of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They work in small groups to connect the two documents and analyze how the documents are important to their lives today. They create a poster that visually...

Studnets compare example of primary documents that have shaped U.S. government and our Constitution.

Learners explain why some colonists remained loyal to England during the American revolution. In this social studies lesson, students write a letter to an editor about their reasons for remaining loyal to England.

Eleventh graders examine the powers of Congress.  In this American Government lesson, 11th graders read about Congress.  Students complete a worksheet on their findings.