Who were the absolute monarchs of Europe and what effect did they have on their countries? Young historians begin by naming qualities they believe are important for a monarch to possess. They then take notes on four key factors...

While this lesson includes several nice worksheets to identify and discuss the various limits on government (i.e. a constitution, the rule of law, separation of powers, consent of the governed, etc.), its main value lies in a case study...

Marbury v. Madison is arguably the most important landmark case in the history of the Supreme Court. A fact-filled lesson provides background information about the case and two others related to the concept of judicial review. Scholars...

Keep track of constitutional principles with a graphic organizer. Pupils define, describe the origins of, and note down the location of the following terms: checks and balances, federalism, individual rights, limited government, popular...

Should the United States Supreme Court have the power of judicial review? Instructors guide class members through a review of Marbury v. Madison and assist class members in writing a brief of the case. As independent practice,...

Set down the basics of the three branches of government with the reading passage included here. After reading, class members answer five questions related to the passage.

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...

The system of checks and balances is integral to the functionality of the United States government. Learn more about the ways the three branches of the government work together—and about the limitations of their power—with an informative...

Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...

Analyze the federal government's direct response to the Whiskey Rebellion through this fantastic primary source analysis activity worksheet.

Americans love to learn about their rights, especially those that protect them from the government's power to invade their privacy. Young people are especially engaged by this topic. An informative lesson explores four Supreme Court...

A learning module on federalism. It includes several supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Topics covered include how state and federal powers are defined in...

Michael Anti (aka Jing Zhao) has been blogging from China for 12 years. Despite the control the central government has over the Internet "All the servers are in Beijing" he says that hundreds of millions of microbloggers are in fact...

This slide and the six that follow it (use the advance button near the bottom of the screen) offer an explanation of each of the three branches of government and the duties they perform, including discussion of the tensions arising from...

A tutorial that looks at the ideas from the Enlightenment that influenced the Founding Fathers, particularly those of John Locke and Montesquieu. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

Embark on his WebQuest to follow the path an idea takes to eventually become a law. Read a short description regarding the role of each branch of government and then answer a follow-up question using the link provided.