The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The activity explains what the Bill of Rights is and how it applies to everyday life, like freedom of speech or the right to a jury trial. Young historians complete hands-on...

The conclusion of the American Revolution brought about a new conflict—choosing the stye of government for the newly formed United States. Using the views of both Federalists and Anti-Federalists, learners work in pairs and groups to...

A courtroom can be a scary place for the uninitiated. Get familiar with the process using a helpful overview of the activities that take place prior to both civil and criminal cases.  The lesson explains the differences between...

Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer...

The right to peacefully assembly to protest injustice is a key element of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Class members are asked to analyze two photographs of people confronting what they consider to be unjust...

According to Article III, Section1 of the United States constitution, the only qualification one needs to be appointed to the Supreme Court is to demonstrate "good behavior." The president and Congress are given the power to determine...

Dr. Seuss wrote " A person's a person, no matter how small." The elementary resource uses Dr. Seuss's book Horton Hears a Who to explore children's rights in an engaging way. Young academics listen to the story, participate in group...

As part of the study of segregation in U.S. schools, scholars research and create a timeline of events that led to the historic Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education. Groups research a topic or event that led to the decision,...

Pupils study the history of the Bill of Rights and discuss the first ten amendments. The class is put into groups and each group is responsible for knowing 5 statements from the history of the Bill of Rights. Then the class plays a...

Students complete a unit of lessons on the documents, symbols, and famous people involved in the founding of the U.S. government. They create a personal bill of rights, write a found poem, design a flag, conduct research, and role-play...

Learners define arrest and detainment, examine hypothetical situations to determine if warrantless arrest/detainment is reasonable based on information available to police, discuss differences between hunch, suspicion, reasonable...

Students explore the controversy over a bill giving pilots the option to become armed federal law enforcement officers. They brainstorm other possible security measures for airplanes and airports.

What does the term "lifestyle" mean? What constitutes an active lifestyle? What constitutes a healthy lifestyle? The main ideas in this lesson focus on what an active healthy lifestyle looks like. There are questions for discussion, and...

Students analyze euthanasia as a possible way to die.  For this controversial lesson, students reflect and discuss euthanasia as a possible way to enter death.  Classroom discussion allows students to voice their opinion and...

Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism...

The college that directly affects young citizens' lives is not the university they're applying to. Learn about the Electoral College in a town hall activity in which class members debate the merits of the current system versus electing a...

Ninth graders demonstrate application of area, surface, and volume in the world around us by applying formulas to a model of the classroom so they can determine the volume and surface area of the room.

The Olympic Games are indeed a significant and far-reaching cultural component in our international community today, but from where do they originate? Where do our traditions stem from, and how do we choose the sports that constitute...

This is a 4-H citizenship activity that asks learners to examine county government, city councils, the three branches of the United States government, and complete a community service project. It also includes a word search,...

Eleventh graders investigate slave life on the Mount Vernon Plantation. In this slavery instructional activity, 11th graders examine photographs of and documents about George Washington's home as they participate in classroom station...

Students discuss the purpose of the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution. In groups, they write about the ten amendments and their purpose. They re-word the Amendments in their own way and answer discussion questions to end...

In this current events activity, students analyze a political cartoon about wiretapping practices by the government and respond to 3 talking point questions.