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, students go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...

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...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

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...

Students explore the framework of government and examine the Constitution to see its impact on their lives.

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...

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...

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...

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

Learners pretend they live in a very small country with a Constitution, and Bill of Rights, like that of the US. People from another planet conquer the country, but allow them to retain five rights. They choose the five rights they want...

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...

Should representation in the new United States government be based on population? This instructional activity illustrates the details of this important quandary through an adaptation of speeches on the topic given at the Constitutional...

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....

Students 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...

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...

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.

Students examine the ratification process. In 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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

Illegal immigration is an ever-changing source of consistent controversy. A reading passage about the rights of undocumented workers and illegal immigrants—and the lack thereof—guides high schoolers into a mock trial activity. Three...

What would it have been like to have heard the debate on the issue of slavery at the Constitutional Convention of 1787? With this resource, you are given the opportunity to read through a reconstruction of speeches on the topic with your...