Fifth graders research, examine and study about the three branches of the government and the contents of the Constitution including both the Articles and the Amendments. They create their own classroom constitution at the end of the unit.

Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 

A discussion of the Supreme Court’s Opinion of Tinker v. Des Moines generates a discussion of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. Although the key elements of this activity are based on a video that is not included, the...

Do you have a search warrant? Scholars investigate the concept of illegal search and seizure through the eyes of the Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio. A short video clip along with paired group work opens discussion on the concept of how...

High schoolers engage in the democratic process and to learn how a bill become a law. Then they write a bill they would like as law in their classroom. Students also form committees that will review the list of bills to determine if they...

Does a public school have the right to restrict what t-shirts students wear? Discover what happened when this question was brought to the Supreme Court, and review other major cases in United States history involving judicial review....

Students become aware of the basic liberties of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition through study of Supreme Court cases. Student groups analyae some cases heard by the Supreme Court to further their understanding of the First...

Eighth graders examine the current amendments and discuss any change they would like to make. With a partner, they develop a proposal and an advertisement to redo at least two amendments. They also compare and contrast the amendments...

Divided the class into pairs, each group is assigned one of the amendments. They use the internet to research current cases and issues involving their amendment. They are then lead into the introduction to some of the basic concepts of...

How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource...

Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...

1983 Supreme Court case Marsh v. Chambers, which centers on whether opening a legislative session with a prayer violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the US Constitution, is the focus of a series of discussions and...

A university decides not to allow a qualified scholar to enter its institution based on skin and gender—but this case is about a white female? The 2003 Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger lays the foundation for open discussion and...

As part of the study of women's history, young scholars examine Chester Comix's strips about the Seneca Falls Convention and four 19th century leaders in the struggle for equal rights. After researching other elements of the Suffrage...

What would your scholars do if Susan B. Anthony walked into class? Shock them to attention with this instructional activity, which has the school secretary (or any willing participant) dress as the famous suffragette and answer questions...

The class analyzes a series of documents intended to show the events that lead to women gaining the right to vote. They play a Tic-Tac-Toe style game, make a time line with sequencing cards, and review the 4 steps of social change....

Students shoot Bill of Rights videos. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students film digital segment that illustrate the meaning of the first 10 amendments. Students integrate the video clips into PowerPoint presentations.

Young scholars describe demographic, economic, political and geographic features of the U.S., summarize events leading to the creation of the Constitution and describe the process of amending the Constitution.

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...

Learners identify First Amendment rights of Freedom of Religion. They identify the colonies which were settled by people escaping religious persecution. They study the beliefs of the five major religions in the US.

Students consider how zoning policy shapes the character of neigborhoods. They see how zoning and loan policies have been used historically in the U.S. to benefit some people and discriminate against others. They examine tensions between...

Students identify the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and explain how these shortcomings lead to the creation of the Constitution. They explain why the Bill of Rights was added to the constitution and identify six freedoms...

Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this abolition lesson, students watch "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and discuss the philanthropic acts they witnessed in the film. Students also complete an activity that requires them to determine...

Students research online and in books city statutes regarding posting signs on utility poles, interview appropriate officials about ordinances and how completely it is enforced, explore what has happened elsewhere when citizens decided...