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Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

How the First State Constitutions Helped Build the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
City University of New York

The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson plan based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American suffrage...
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Lesson Plan
National Constitution Center

To Sign or Not to Sign: The Ultimate Constitution Day Lesson Plan

For Teachers K - 12th
Learners examine the ratification process. For this U.S. Constitution lesson plan, students discuss the ratification process and read a play based on the process. Learners debate the ratification process and determine whether they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Bill of Rights is for US Today

For Teachers 7th - 9th
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...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Preamble to the Constitution: A Close Reading Lesson

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
"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...
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Lesson Plan
TCI

Celebrating Our Constitution

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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.
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Lesson Plan
Foreign Policy Association

U.S. and Europe Online Lesson Plan

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

Constitutionality of a Central Bank

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
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?
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Black Genius: How Did Black Genius Help Build American Democracy?

For Teachers 8th
"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,...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

Presidential Birth Requirement

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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...
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Worksheet
Scholastic

The Right to Vote

For Students 6th - 10th
Who used to have the right to vote in the United States? Who has the right to vote now? Amendments to the US Constitution that have changed the definition of eligible voters are the focus of a one-page worksheet that asks class members...
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

Choice Board: Expressed and Implied Powers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

Middle School Checks and Balances

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

A Trip Around the World

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do the rights of citizens in other countries, such as India, Germany, Brazil, and Iran, compare to those of Americans? Take a closer look at the provisions of various foreign constitutions, and compare and contrast the protections...
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Lesson Plan
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

For Teachers 7th - 12th
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill of Rights

For Teachers 8th - 10th
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...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

Wanted: A Just Right Government

For Teachers 6th - 11th Standards
What type of government did American colonists gain and seek after gaining their independence after the Revolutionary War? Here is lesson that will guide your young learners through the new nation's progression from the Articles of...
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Lesson Plan
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Arizona Department of Education

American History Impact of the Women’s Movement

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
State Bar of Texas

Marbury v. Madison

For Teachers 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Close Up Foundation

Rights Auction

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
City University of New York

Electoral College

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
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...
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Unit Plan
Southern Poverty Law Center

Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Pupils investigate American slavery from colonial times through the Civil War. They incorporate primary sources, video clips, and firsthand accounts to understand how the slavery issue gripped the nation. Essays, presentations, and...

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