Students analyze the Preamble of the Constitution and identify the historical context that led to its wording. They, in groups, interpret phrases from the Preamble, examine relevant court cases and create illustrations for their portion...

How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second instructional...

What a unique and creative way for class members to summarize what they have learned about the United States Constitution! Here you will find project guidelines for learners to work independently on designing a float to represent a topic...

Students identify what a good government should provide for its citizens, and link their ideas to those of the founding founders by analyzing the Preamble to the Constitution. They create a mural depicting their understanding of the...

Youngsters identify and interpret the importance of having rules in order to maintain order at home, at school, in their community, and in the United States. They create a working Classroom Constitution that governs the classroom and...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts lesson plan. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American Revolution,...

Learners explore political parties by researching world history in class. In this Australian government lesson, students identify the term "federation" and discuss the elements of Australian politics. Learners analyze a map of Australia...

High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...

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...

Learners record and interpret data. In this constitution lesson, students discuss voting and making bar graphs. Learners practice voting and do a bar graph activity. Students make visual representations of votes on the board.

Students brainstorm their rights as Americans. In this The Constitution Lives! lesson, students discern the difference between rights and rules by completing a worksheet. Students consider the differences between types of constitutional...

Eighth graders watch as their teacher presents information on the Constitution, government and laws through a PowerPoint presentation. In groups, they discuss the importance of government and laws and identify the main ideas in the...

Students study the Constitution and then in an interactive group activity create a "Second Constitutional Convention" specifically designed to evaluate and trim down the number of amendments.

The process of nominating and confirming federal judges can sound like a lot of bureaucratic hoops, but a resource breaks down the steps of the Supreme Court nominations in a simpler manner. Learners participate in four activities that...

Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...

First graders simulate the signing of the constitution. In this American history lesson plan, 1st graders take on the roll of newspaper reporters during 1787. Students must pretend to interview signers of the constitution and create a...

Young scholars explore U.S. history by completing a quiz about civics. In this Benjamin Franklin activity, students read assigned text about Franklin's role in the development of the Constitution and the creation of a new society. Young...

Students act as if they are newspaper reporters from 1787 and they are to interview the signers of the Constitution. Teachers help guide students in what to ask the signers.

Students use the Internet to learn about the Constitution.  In this Constitutional Amendments instructional activity, students read and discuss the twenty seven amendments and work in groups to rewrite the amendments in their own...

Learners 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...

Can a negative perception of a president's foreign policy harm his or her historical legacy? A project that winds the clock back to the date of Theodore Roosevelt's death puts students at the editorial desk of a fictional newspaper....

Though the grandeur and elegance of the British palace remains unchanged throughout history, the role of the monarch has shifted from absolute rule to collaboration with a constitutional parliament. Young historians learn about the...