Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, young scholars go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short...

How do new amendments become part of the US Constitution? AP government students explore, analyze, and use the US Constitution to develop a deep understanding of the interworkings of law and government while practicing synthesis and...

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...

Young scholars explore the Constitutional Convention of 1787. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students role play the parts of delegates in a simulation of the convention.

Using the Constitutional Convention as a model, learners create their own governments. Other activities to explore the American Constitution include creating posters to help explain the Bill of Rights. 

Twelfth graders discuss the creation of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Through a class debate, role-playing Federalists and Anti-federalists, they identify the reasons for and against ratification...

Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This lesson on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution in an...

After defeating the most powerful nation in the world, the United States had to deal with its own weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. Activities in the lesson include analyzing primary sources from the Founding Fathers to...

Why did the Founders make it so challenging to amend the US Constitution? To gain an understanding of why the process is so difficult, class members engage in a Constitutional Convention simulation. Groups draft, propose, and debate...

Learners examine the ratification process. In 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...

While the Constitutional Convention lay the foundation of the new government for the United States, the protections given under the Bill of Rights were controversial. Using documents, such as James Madison's and Thomas Jefferson's...

Students act as newspaper reporters from 1787 and interview some of the signers of the Constitution. They study the contributions of these Founding Fathers: Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton and discuss the purpose of the U.S....

Young scholars take and defend positions on what conditions contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a constitutional government. They debate whether or not the government should have prosecuted Nixon over the Watergate scandal.

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...

Different currencies, multiple armies, unreliable protection from thieves: class members experience these challenges playing a game that demonstrates life under the Articles of Confederation. After playing the game—which takes them on a...

Students discuss key phrases from the Preamble of the Constitution, find ways to relate the values stated in the Preamble to their daily lives, and explore possible changes needed in the Constitution by future generations of citizens.

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...

Eighth graders, after working with the software Decisions, Decisions: The Constitution, become face to face with the dilemmas, compromises, and struggles of writing the American Constitution. Each student is evaluated on how well they...

Young scholars 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 engage in a role-playing situation to illustrate the kinds of compromised that were made a teh Constitutional Convention. They write three short 1-2 paragraph arguments and then present their arguments to the class at the...

Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This instructional activity is...

Students determine whether the Constitution should be ratified. In this U.S. Constitution instructional activity, students research the roles of famous Federalists and Antifederalists in order to prepare them to participate in a...

Students consider the presidential requirements. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students participate in a role play that requires them to act as senators and debate an amendment to allow naturalized citizens to run for the presidency.

Students investigate amendments to the Constitution. In this government lesson, students research how an amendment is made and amendments that have both passed and failed. They write their own amendment and attempt to have it pass by the...