Sixth graders research and examine the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America. They sequence events significant to this time period, read and discuss text, and in small groups prepare and present the...

Young scholars read about immigration to the U.S. during the Holocaust. In this immigration instructional activity, students write answers to discussion questions. Young scholars role play members of the 1951 U.N. conference and...

Students explore the U.S. plan for federal government. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students investigate a chart on the responsibilities of the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative Branches of governments. Students complete a...

Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to...

Students get an in-depth look at how our checks and balances system helps maintain the separating of powers between the three branches of government. They use current event head lines and insert them into he appropriate space on the...

How does the president of the United States get the authority to exercise his/her duties? What responsibilities and tasks go into a hard day's work for the president? Here is a lesson plan that includes several instructional materials...

Although just a quick review of general information learned about the Constitution and U.S. government, this presentation could be used as a fun activity before the beginning of a class lesson, or as an independent experience. The...

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...

In September we celebrate Constitution Day. Begin the celebration with a grand conversation about the US Constitution. Follow up the in-depth discussion with a learning game in which scholars match terms to images such as...

Students are introduce to the topic of nonviolence and civil rights by watching a video. In this stories of freedom instructional activity, students examine the Supreme Court's role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Students analyze...

Sensitive material is discussed in this lesson. Please review to ensure that the content is suitable for your class. The topic is the Eighth Amendment and how the U.S. Supreme Court makes determinations about what constitutes cruel and...

Young scholars examine the concepts of power and authority as they begin learning about government in this elementary social studies lesson. Through a series of readings, discussions, and problem solving activities, children...

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...

Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 

Sovereign nations or wards? High schoolers investigate the history of the Indian Reorganization Act and other legislation that impacted Native Americans. They also research different tribes' constitutions, compare them to the U.S....

The U.S. Guest-Worker Program and the H-2A visa are the focus of a social studies activity. First, class members assume the role of advisors who must present the president with four proposals that would amend the visas given to...

Why doesn't the Supreme Court hear testimony from witnesses? How do they complete an entire proceeding in less than two hours? A helpful lesson guides scholars of criminology through these and other questions by explaining how appeals...

Harry Potter, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, To Kill a Mockingbird. Kids view a slide show and then discuss the seven banned books featured in the presentation and the reasons why the books may have been banned.

Students critique the Creation of the U.S. Constitution. They list some ideas proposed and debated during the Constitutional Convention. Discussion of the important issues requiring compromise are examined.

Explore how the 14th Amendment changed the way the United States operated, both politicallay and socially. In this United States history instructional activity, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the...

In this social studies activity, students investigate the job of Sandra Day O'Connor in the judicial branch of the U.S. government. Students answer 25 questions, completing sentences with words from the word bank. This page is mainly...

Students analyze the U.S. Constitution for references to the creation and management of the U.S. Navy. They discuss their research and complete a worksheet and then research how the current Navy is organized.

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...

Students study the Constitution and then in an interactive group activity create a "Second Constitutional Convention" specifically designed to evaluate and trim down the number of amendments.