After introducing the three branches of US government, test the class' understanding of government powers. They are asked a series of questions regarding a federal act and then, answer which branch has the power of decision making....

The world is a big place, so it only stands to reason that different forms of government exist. Democracy, autocracy, oligarch, monarch, and dictatorship are all defined. An extensive explanation of US government system is also included....

Here is a fantastic resource on the civil rights movement! It includes reading materials and worksheets, and particularly highlights major legislation and the role of the judicial branch in the federal government in addressing the...

Students examine their individual rights at a public school. In groups, they identify the most common ways of expressing themselves and why they should limit their speech in public. They compare and contrast two cases in which they...

In this fractured facts for civics instructional activity, 9th graders correct 24 sentences by replacing certain phrases if they are incorrect, but not all need to be corrected, answers are included.

In this American government worksheet, students respond to 12 true/false, 11 alphabetical order, 15 fill in the appropriate articles, 15 matching, and 1 cryptogram about the structure of the American government.

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...

Learners read portions of biographies about human rights activists before participating in a jigsaw activity in which they report out on what they read. They made a timeline of one of the human rights activist's lives. They write a...

Middle schoolers focus on the First and Ninth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Before visiting a museum, they examine the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the visit, they work together with a museum member to watch a video and...

Second graders read The Piano and become familiar with racial discrimination.  In this racial discrimination book lesson, 2nd graders answer comprehension question to focus on the importance of the book.  Students discuss the...

Young scholars assess the validity of a national bank. They study the importance of McCullough v. Maryland. They review the arguments of Hamilton and Jefferson. They analyze the Tenth Amendment and the debate over state v. federal power....

Students study the trial of Dred Scott. They investigate the New York Times reporter and simulate writing about the trial for a newspaper. They identify the 5Ws from the play using a graphic organizer and present their findings to the...

Learners deal with 'real world' questions in settings that resemble Congress or the courtroom. They identify a problem, find causes, research possible solutions, determine the best solution, and plan a means of implementing the best...

In this Trail of Tears worksheet, students fill in the blanks with words given to the Trail of Tears. Students fill in 19 blanks on this worksheet.

Students view a PowerPoint presentation to explore the three branches of government. Using this infromation, they identify the people, buildings and responsiblities of each branch. They complete a worksheet using the internet and take a...

Students examine periods and instances of racial disharmony in the aftermath of segregation in the South, and de facto segregation in the North. They analyze causes of antagonism between racial groups and explore possible solutions.

Read about the conflict between the laws and regulations that were passed during Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and the interpretation of the commerce clause by the Supreme Court. Roosevelt had a plan to change the Supreme Court. See...

Use this site to learn all about this Supreme Court decision that dealt with interstate commerce. View an image of the original document and read the complete text.

This site from the Cornell University School of Law provides a brief description of what happened during the Amistad Revolt and gives details concerning the Supreme Court that followed.

This web page, which is provided for by the Cornell University Law School, explains the process of getting married and its origin.

This brief article explains the concept of original jurisdiction, especially in terms of the U.S. Supreme Court. There are links in the article to actual cases.

The confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice, with particular emphasis on the fight in the Senate, is highlighted in this report from January, 2006. A transcript, audio, and video are available.

An explantion of how the Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka turned the concept of separate but equal on its head. See how they determined that the 14th Amendment was being violated when schools did not fund...

At the Cornell Law School you can read a very simple definition of the legal term "tort" and read about the 1993 Supreme Court case "Smith v. United States."