Long revered as the "upper chamber," the US Senate was created to give the new nation a balance between large and small states. However, has the time for this institution passed? Using a reading on how the amendment process works,...

Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...

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 lesson is extremely...

What is the central idea of the Fourteenth Amendment? Scholars attempt to answer the question as they read and discuss the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the...

The authors of the court's decision and the dissenting opinion on Plessy v. Ferguson disagreed on their interpretations of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Scholars set out to show how with an on-demand writing prompt. They...

Students explore Latinos and the Fourteenth Amendment. In this government and law lesson, students analyze the ruling in Hernandez v. Texas. Students predict how the United States would be different if the court had made an alternated...

High schoolers research the passage of the 19th Amendment as an illustration of the mutual influence between political ideas and cultural attitudes. They also read the Seneca Falls Declaration and explore the cultural shifts it both...

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

How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...

Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...

Learners read the Knight report and discuss key findings before deciding what aspects of the findings students can replicate in their own school and conduct a survey. They write survey questions and test them on sample group before...

Students explore the First Amendment as it has been applied to teens and teen journalists. In this First Amendment lesson, students memorize the First Amendment, complete online research of the topic, and quiz. Students read about...

Students explore current interpretation of the First Amendment, including that of commercial speech. Next read background about Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

High school student love discussing controversial issues like those brought up in this fourth amendment case study. They examine the 1928 Olmstead vs. U.S. prohibition court case, applying the fourth amendment to determine whether...

What does freedom of religion mean? Analyze a series of Supreme Court cases where the First Amendment right to freedom of religion was put to the test. They discuss the cases' outcomes and argue whether the right decision was made....

As part of a study of the First Amendment, young historians research instances when individuals or groups used the First Amendment to change the United State's laws or policies. Teams are each assigned a different case study. With the...

After a close reading of the First Amendment and the five freedoms it guarantees, class members examine the civil rights timeline to see how civil rights groups applied these freedoms to create change. Using the issue the class chose in...

As a part of a study of the First Amendment, high schoolers research a current news story that seems to involve one of the freedoms granted by the First Amendment. Investigators decide whether they think the action presented in the story...

Placing Ben Franklin’s ideas about a free press next to those embodied in the First Amendment sheds light on both. Learners interpret and compare two primary sources and then examine them in the light of a contemporary survey about...

Is a Christian prayer before a Friday night football game a nice gesture or the imposition of religion on the rest of the community? A resource asks the question using a clip from the popular movie "Friday Night Lights" and readings...

Students discuss the government as a whole and then each amendment is examined. They complete a Bill of Rights test in groups or on their own. Answers are gone over in class and discussion is encouraged.

Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...

Students research three topics: The First Amendment, John Peter Zenger and his trial, and libel. In this journalism and libel lesson, students discuss things authority figures have done they disagree with and the anit-sedition law....

What does "freedom of speech" mean to your class, especially in the context of Internet communications? In round-table discussion format, middle and high schoolers address the issues discussed in "State Legislatures Across U.S. Plan to...