Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...

Students explore the concept of individual rights. In this McCarthyism lesson, students determine how government may affect the rights of individuals as they examine the Constitution, participate in class discussions, and research the...

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...

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...

Students study the history, development and meaning of the Constitution. They participate in a classroom simulation of the Constitutional Convention by writing a Preamble, developing a government, and writing a Bill of Rights for their...

Students explore the development of England from 1500 to 1689 in this eight lessons unit. The various parts of history affected by both political and religious factors are synthesized in this unit.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read "The Bill of Rights" and "The Preamble to the United States Constitution" and answer questions on the paired texts.

Explore why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution and its enduring impact on defining our rights. In this interactive lesson from WGBH, students develop a written argument in response to the question "How does the Bill of...

In this tutorial, students learn about the Amendments in the Bill of Rights, the rights they grant and the limits placed on these. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

Many Americans take for granted the freedoms contained in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. As students play this game, they will discover surprising facts about the story behind the Bill of Rights and gain a clearer...

This site contains a list of 50 words from the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. Teachers can digitally assign this list to their students to reinforce the spellings, pronunciations, and meanings of these words.

Summary, resources, and activities addressing the constitutionality with regard to the first amendment which surfaced with the Affordable Healthcare Act.

Six activities teach students about the U.S. Constitution. Learn about checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, some of the history of the document, and how each of the states became a state. The site also provides teacher resources,...

Explore the history of the United States Constitution: information about the writing the Constitution, the Great Compromise, the Constitution's signers, the Bill of Rights, the Amendments to the Constitution, federal powers, checks and...

A brief video that summarizes the first ten amendments to the Constitution. [3:36] Followed by a quiz and a list of additional resources to explore.

In this lesson, students examine primary source materials including the Book of Laws, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta in order to understand their meaning and to compare them. They then prepare an argument on...

Activity on first amendment rights and the protection of religious freedom. Students develop a deep understanding of religious liberty and how it has been interpreted as they examine the contoversies surrounding individual rights versus...

Each letter of this alphabet is linked to an important aspect of the U.S. Government, e.g. "A is for Armed Forces" has a link to the Air Force. Links are made to the Bill of Rights, symbols, branches of government and The Constitution....

This is a wonderful way to explore the US Constitution. The actual text of the Constitution comes first, then an excellent explanation of the text follows. In addition, most of the Amendments have essays by scholars on opposing sides of...

This module examines America's efforts to form a new government after the War for Independence and to draft the Constitution. Includes an interactive activity comparing Thomas Jefferson's and Alexander Hamilton's visions for America, a...

This unit explores the timeless qualities of The U.S. Constitution, the opportunities to amend it, and how it is a pillar of the American identity, through these activities, videos, and outside resources.

How well can you decide the balance of civil liberties? Review three case summaries as well as the laws and facts about each case and arguments, and then make a ruling.

An historically based record of Shays' Rebellion, delivered by a fictious character, relaying the events and observances that occurred in the fall of 1786.

Lesson plans, activities, and resources for learning about George Mason and his contributions to Virginia statehood and in forging the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.