How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...

Who has the power? The founding fathers asked the same question when the United States was formed. Learners explore issues that arose during Madison’s presidency that raised constitutional questions. Through discovery, discussion, and...

High schoolers engage in a lesson plan that focuses on the development of The Bill Of Rights in the United States. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students two focus questions in order to guide the information search....

Learners analyze the concept of procedural justice. In this judges in the classroom instructional activity, students role play the ways the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights established certain procedures to protect people from...

Students examine the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students write essays for perform plays that feature the importance of the first ten amendments. Students imagine the United States without 1 of the amendments that...

Pupils identify vocabulary words from the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. In this vocabulary lesson plan, students are given clues and say the word from the clues.

Eleventh graders explore the major points covered during the Philadelphia Convention/Constitutional Convention. They discuss the Federalists and the Anti federalists. They discuss the Bill of Rights and the drafting of the Constitution....

Students define federalism, Federalist, and Anti-Federalist, debate issue of ratification in classroom convention, and take vote on whether to add bill of rights. Three lessons on one page.

Money can't buy happiness, but it can put food on the table and pay the bills. The first of a five-lesson unit teaches pupils about the unemployment rate in 1963 and its relationship with the March on Washington. They learn how to create...

High schoolers examine Sir Thomas More's Utopian vision. In this philosophy lesson, students read Utopia and determine the pros and cons of Utopian societies. High schoolers then create and present monologues of residents of the Utopia.

If you are considering adding or expanding a unit on utopian and dystopian literature you simply must check out this fabulous resource. Packed with plans, activities, project-based and 21st century learning opportunities, the unit...

Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...

The United States: One nation with countless religions. An interesting instructional activity focuses on the freedom of religion protected under the First Amendment. Academics learn why it is important to protect all religions, why there...

There is no age limit on civic engagement. Even if your pupils are not old enough to vote, they are old enough to get involved. Show them how with a PBS instructional activity that underscores the importance of civic participation and...

What do hula hoops and the American system of government have in common? Using hands-on station activities, pupils consider the roles of the three branches of government. A script for teachers and writing prompts help round out a...

The debate over the integrity of stories in media is not new. Young journalists analyze historical sources that reveal freedom of the press controversies and draw parallels to challenges freedom of the press faces today. 

Studnets learn about The Constitution and The Bill of Rights through a series on Internet pages that include such things as the framers, court cases and games.

Students compare the Federalists and Anti-Federalists visions for the U.S. government. In this government instructional activity, students conduct research on Federalists and Anti-Federalists figures. Students use their findings to help...

Students examine current news stories and from them develop "BIG" questions related to individual and group rights. They then relate their questions to the U.S. Constitution and supreme court decisions.

Students become aware of the basic liberties of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition through study of Supreme Court cases. Student groups analyae some cases heard by the Supreme Court to further their understanding of the First...

Twelfth graders work together in groups to examine the discrimation Japanese Americans felt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Using primary source documents, they analyze and discuss the case of Fred Korematsu who was placed in an...

A timeline can be a powerful learning tool because it reveals a pattern in events. While few would consider St. Augustine, Florida a hotbed of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, a selection of background information and a timeline of...

September 17 is a great day to focus on the US Constitution for on this day in 1787, the Constitution was signed. Through a series of activities, high schoolers get a chance to look closely at this famous document and the rights and...

Young scholars examine the arguments for and against suffrage for women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They explore various websites, read and discuss primary source documents, develop a document from two points of view, and...