Students investigate their elected officials and their roles. For this governmental leadership lesson, students discuss the Constitution and research their elected officials. They also organize the information they find regarding the...

Students learn why Delaware is called the First State and the background leading to Delaware's ratification of the US Constitution. Students, in groups, choose an individual in today's world that has the greatest influence on their...

Students role play a trial in which they consider if the United States government violated the rights of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.

Help youngsters get to know their states and capitals, explore their own country, and study American symbolism. They take a "trip" across America collecting symbols, images, and information about each state as they go (through text and...

Students explore how democracy in the United States changed and evolved from its birth to the present. They participate in a mock testing environment. Students write a multi-tasked essay on American government and politics.

Young scholars study background information on the laws and customs that make up our legal system, our legislative system, and our executive branches of government.

What have US-Japanese relations been like since the conclusion of World War II? Why do some commentators identify Japan's postwar years as a subordinate independence? Invite your young historians to research Japan's status in the world...

Fourth graders stud Federalism and identify examples of abuse of power.

Students examine historic examples of authority during wartime. They interpret the Fifth Amendment. They debate the merits of the Patriot Act.

Students examine human rights abuses in thirty countries, specifically explore abuses in Dominican Republic's Trujillo regime, research one country with significant human rights abuses, use Preamble to U.S. Constitution as measure of...

Students explore the facets of democracy. In this civic responsibility lesson, students create a definition of democracy and discuss the difference between a spectator and a participatory citizen. Students discuss whose responsibility...

In this U.S. history learning exercise, students read assigned textbook pages about the country from 1789-1815 and respond to 36 short answer questions.

Take classes on an in-depth tour of the Declaration of Independence. An informative resource effectively scaffolds learning by providing warm-up and wrap-up activities. It also includes a variety of handouts for individuals to complete,...

Popular culture often portrays the Feds as the most fearsome of law enforcement agencies. Yet, someone charged with a crime is considerably more likely to end up in a state court. The lesson, one of six covering the Organization of the...

Explore the Fifth Amendment by examining the meaning of "public use" as learners read a scenario and role play their assigned parts to determine "public use." They also read Supreme Court Cases regarding the amendment and present their...

Students identify the basic freedoms of citizens in the United States.  In this Bill of Rights lesson, students act out scenarios about the Bill of Rights.  Students create a picture book describing the rights they've acted out.

Unless you are a lawyer, you might not understand just how unrealistic Law and Order and other legal dramas actually are. Here's a great resource to help scholars of criminology gain a more realistic perspective. The lesson outlines the...

Students debate and explore the rationale and ethics behind Lincoln's 19th century suspension of habeas corpus - the 'writ of liberty' and answer related questions.

Students engage in the research of history that surrounded the actions of the federal government during the years from 1907-1937. The focus of the lesson is upon the regulations imposed on business during the time and how it effected the...

High schoolers make an investigation into the Constitution of 1819, Article IV, Section II, gave the Governor of Alabama the power to grant reprieves and pardons in all criminal and penal cases, except those of treason and impeachment,...

Learners analyze treaties made between the US government and Native American tribes. In this government lesson, students evaluate bias emotionally connect with what was gained and lost during the late 1700's. This is a 3 part lesson...

Students engage in a discussion regarding images of war we see, how quickly do we see them, and how they affect us? They view and analyze war photographs taken during World War I.

Third graders learn the responsibility of citizenship and learn facts about a state they choose to research.

Students study the Reconstruction Era after the US Civil War. In this Reconstruction lesson set, students examine the problems that were encountered by the South after the Civil War, look at different plans for Reconstruction, and...