Constitutional Rights Foundation
How the First State Constitutions Helped Build the U.S. Constitution
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...
City University of New York
The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a instructional activity based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American...
National Constitution Center
To Sign or Not to Sign: The Ultimate Constitution Day Lesson Plan
Students examine the ratification process. For this U.S. Constitution lesson plan, students discuss the ratification process and read a play based on the process. Students debate the ratification process and determine whether they...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights is for US Today
The first ten Amendments of the U.S. Constitution are vital for young people to understand. Provide the foundation of the laws that govern our country with this junior high school lesson. Groups use the newspaper to identify rights...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Preamble to the Constitution: A Close Reading Lesson
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." These familiar lines begin the Preamble to the Constitution, but do learners know what they mean? A close reading exercise takes a look at the language of the...
TCI
Celebrating Our Constitution
School House Rock's "Preamble" launches a study of the Preamble of the US Constitution and the relevance of this 200 year-old document today.
C3 Teachers
Black Genius: How Did Black Genius Help Build American Democracy?
"How did the slavery system undermine the United States' democratic principles?" This question launches a study of how the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, and Article IV,...
Foreign Policy Association
U.S. and Europe Online Lesson Plan
Class groups investigate the economic and political implications of a country's policies on genetically modified foods, craft a position paper detailing that policy, and share their findings with the class. Armed with this information,...
Federal Reserve Bank
Constitutionality of a Central Bank
Considering the expressed and implied powers of Congress, was it constitutional for the United States to establish the Second National Bank in the early nineteenth century? What is the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve System?
C-SPAN
Presidential Birth Requirement
Every president of the United States must be a natural-born citizen, but the definition of natural-born is not as straightforward as it seems. Secondary scholars examine two points of view surrounding the constitutional requirement and...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers
Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...
Arizona Department of Education
American History Impact of the Women’s Movement
Take a look at important images that depict the women's suffrage movement, the support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and wage equity for women over the last two centuries. As class members work through a lesson on primary source...
C-SPAN
Middle School Checks and Balances
Seven video clips reveal how the checks and balances built into the constitutional framework of the United states' government are designed to keep any one branch from becoming too powerful. After watching each clip, groups identify the...
C-SPAN
Choice Board: Expressed and Implied Powers
Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution expressly lists powers given to Congress. Over the years, lawmakers have expanded the enumerated powers to include powers implied by the list. To better understand the significance...
City University of New York
Electoral College
A presidential election is a lot like the 2004 World Series, and it's also a lot like choosing an orange in a paper bag. Apply the process of the electoral college to these two analogies with a set of lessons about government...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
State Bar of Texas
Marbury v. Madison
Who has the final say in matters dealing with the rules under the United States Constitution? The case Marbury v. Madison brings to light the issue of judicial review. Learners investigate the Supreme Court's opinion in the case with a...
iCivics
For The President, All In A Day's Work
How does the president of the United States get the authority to exercise his/her duties? What responsibilities and tasks go into a hard day's work for the president? Here is a lesson plan that includes several instructional materials...
iCivics
Wanted: A Just Right Government
What type of government did American colonists gain and seek after gaining their independence after the Revolutionary War? Here is activity that will guide your young learners through the new nation's progression from the Articles of...
Scholastic
Women's Suffrage for Grades 6–8
Learners study the decisions and solutions involved in winning the right to vote. After reading background information on the fight for women's suffrage, including one woman's story, and its eventual success in the United States and...
Close Up Foundation
Rights Auction
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...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
This exercise on the Constitution requires small groups to design a visual metaphor that expresses the concept behind one of seven principles: popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, separation of powers, checks and balances,...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Curated OER
Political Asylum Talk Show
Learners view videos, visit websites, and read about the nature and changes made to the idea of political asylum. Beginning with Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, they will explore policy change throughout the years. The lesson plan...