Seventh graders research Supreme Court cases. They formally debate court rulings, write a scenario portraying a possible futuristic America and participate in a field practicum for media production, while evaluating various social,...

Should Congress limit how much a corporation spends to support a political candidate? Here is a fantastic lesson plan and activities to help young citizens approach this question.

Was justice served for Bobby Franks? An informative article about the 1924 trial of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold includes an overview of the murder of Bobby Franks, the defense’s legal strategy, and excerpts of closing arguments from...

Aliens have taken over the United States! Citizens can only keep two rights laid out in the first 10 amendments of the Constitution and must figure out which ones are best. Young scholars research the importance of each amendment and key...

Learners analyze their own feelings about the death penalty before considering court cases involving the death penalty. They determine what their definition is of cruel and unusual punishment, and analyze how different states handle the...

How would the Pied Piper recover his damages from the deceptive citizens of Hamelin if the story took place today? Explore one of the Pied Piper's options with a short play that depicts a court case in which he sues the city of Hamelin...

Students read text of Fourth Amendment together as class, discuss necessity of Constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches, and analyze landmark Supreme Court cases dealing with Fourth Amendment rights.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...

Investigate milestones along the path that lead to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. After researching key people, events, court cases, and legislative orders, teams present their findings as a magazine, newspaper, or...

Say what you mean and mean what you say. The Precision of Language addresses the importance of words, especially when they concern a person's rights. Scholars take a look at many different examples and complete questions analyzing the...

Every once in awhile a resource comes along that has all the materials you could ever want on a specific topic. Here's such a resource; an amazing collection of primary sources, photographs, posters, handbills, articles, and even the...

Imagine arguing a real Supreme Court case! Running your own county government! Acting as President for a day! iCivics offers games, web scavenger hunts, and other activities that encourage summer scholars to learn about their communities...

Norman Rockwell's painting "The Problem We Still Live With" launches a unit study of racism in the United States and segregation in U.S. schools. In the first lesson plan, scholars discuss the painting, review key elements of the Supreme...

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,...

Has any progress been made in desegregating schools since 1954's Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education? To find out, class members examine charts and graphs representing U.S. schools' racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic...

To understand how the allotment policy embedded in the Dawes Act, passed by the U.S. government in 1887,  affected the tribal sovereignty of Native Americans, young historians examine various maps and documents and Supreme Court...

The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case connected to the Jim Crow laws. Scholars explore the topic using the World Café protocol to analyze specific Jim Crow laws. They discuss how the laws relate to Plessy v. Ferguson and their...

Bring to life the severity of the Espionage and Sedition Acts through a mock trial. Learners have prior knowledge of WWI and the context of these acts. An anticipatory set gets the class discussing the ethics of wartime dissension, and...

Twelfth graders prepare themselves for a mock moot court. In groups, they are presented with an overview of each activity and research appellate cases related to the topic given to them. They identify regions of the country that have...

Students research the controversy of whether or not the National Do Not Call Registry is constitutional, and then hold a class debate. Students research the National Do Not Call Registry, the FTC, the FCC, and the most current status of...

Write an article about the impact of the National Do Not Call Registry on your readers. Students research the National Do Not Call Registry, the FTC, the FCC, and the most current status of related court cases. Students research what the...

Students analyze Supreme Court decisions and their effect on students. They discuss current events realted to the U.S. Constitution and review cases that impact students. They identify each case with its facts, issues, and arguments.

Students consider constitutional rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson plan, students complete an activity guide that requires students to examine Bill of Rights-related cases of 2010. Students respond to discussion questions pertaining...

Students are assign a particular Federal or State Court. They are asked to make a poster of the court they have been assigned. Students are told that the poster should include a list of the types of cases that particular court hears. ...