The New York Times
Where to Draw the Line: Balancing Government Surveillance with the Fourth Amendment
The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...
NPR
Progressive Era Lesson Plan
The women working for equal rights in the early 20th century weren't a part of one large group; rather, they were members of dozens of small groups focused on social reform. Explore the ways groups in the Progressive Era like National...
iCivics
Mini-Lesson: Executive Orders
Can the President of the United States pass a law all by himself? Scholars investigate the concept of the executive order in regards to the powers of the presidency. They use current issues and events to monitor media bias while also...
Curated OER
Interview With the Signers of the Constitution
Young scholars work in small groups to develop three questions that a newspaper reporter assigned to cover the signing of the Constitution might have asked each of the following signers of the Constitution: George Washington, Benjamin...
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution Roll Call
First graders simulate the signing of the constitution. In this American history lesson plan, 1st graders take on the roll of newspaper reporters during 1787. Students must pretend to interview signers of the constitution and create a...
Curated OER
Paving the Road to the Constitution
Eighth graders argue for or against the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In this U.S. government lesson, 8th graders complete four activities that encourage them to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of...
Curated OER
The Preamble to the Constitution
Students discuss key phrases from the Preamble of the Constitution, find ways to relate the values stated in the Preamble to their daily lives, and explore possible changes needed in the Constitution by future generations of citizens.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Classroom Constitutional Convention
Learners investigate the eight phrases that comprise the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution to determine its principles and purpose. Their own Constitutional Convention is convened to craft a preamble for their school's governance.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: Chief Executives Compared: The Federalist Papers
Fix the Articles of Confederation or develop a new constitution? That was the question facing the Founding Fathers. Several of those in favor of a new constitution published a series of essays, collected in the Federalist...
Curated OER
Decisions, Decisions: The Constitution
Eighth graders, after working with the software Decisions, Decisions: The Constitution, become face to face with the dilemmas, compromises, and struggles of writing the American Constitution. Each student is evaluated on how well they...
Curated OER
The Constitution: What's in It...Exactly?
Seventh graders examine the U.S. Constitution. In this American government lesson, 7th graders listen to a SMART Board-supported lecture about the branches of the U.S. government. Students write responses based on the lecture.
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution Roll Call Test
Students act as if they are newspaper reporters from 1787 and they are to interview the signers of the Constitution. Teachers help guide students in what to ask the signers.
Curated OER
The Constitution.
Second graders study the Constitution. They examine the meaning and fundamentals of the Preamble of The Constitution of USA. They assess the importance of having a Supreme Law that states the rights and obligations of the citizens. They...
Curated OER
Constitutional Convention
Students engage in a role-playing situation to illustrate the kinds of compromised that were made a teh Constitutional Convention. They write three short 1-2 paragraph arguments and then present their arguments to the class at the...
Curated OER
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
Fifth graders research, examine and study about the three branches of the government and the contents of the Constitution including both the Articles and the Amendments. They create their own classroom constitution at the end of the unit.
Curated OER
Celebrate the Constitution
Learners explore the process of writing our Constitution through an interactive program. They are to put themselves in the place of the statesmen and predict how they felt at the time. They compare the founding fathers.
Curated OER
Covenants, Compacts, Constitutions and By-Laws... Written Documents that Guide Governing
Third graders discuss documents in our government. In this government lesson, 3rd graders look up vocabulary words and illustrate them. They examine a historical document to discuss and answer questions.
Curated OER
Our Constitutional Amendments
Learners analyze how the Bill of Rights affected people. In this U.S. History lesson, students research specific Amendments then prepare an oral report and visual presentation on one amendment to share with the class.
Curated OER
We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution - Selecting the President
Young scholars study how the electoral college works to select a U.S. President. In this history lesson, students examine the U.S. Elector College methods then answer questions and write an essay that relate to the state where they...
Curated OER
Double Jeopardy Clause: A Fifth Amendment Constitution Trivia Game
Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This lesson plan is extremely...
Curated OER
Get To Know The Constitution
Pupils search the Constitution for specific information. In this Constitution lesson plan, students read the Constitution and search for the branches of government, specific Amendments, and more, in groups.
Curated OER
Debate on Ratification: Should We Ratify the New Constitution?
Students determine whether the Constitution should be ratified. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students research the roles of famous Federalists and Antifederalists in order to prepare them to participate in a classroom simulation...
Curated OER
The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said
Middle schoolers list some ideas proposed and debated during the Constitutional Convention, and discuss the important issues requiring compromise during the Constitutional Convention.