Curated OER
Voters and Judges
Students analyze the work on independent judiciaries. In this federal courts lesson, students listen to their instructor lecture on details of federal cases. Students respond to discussion questions and participate in an activity...
EngageNY
Studying Conflicting Interpretations: Perspectives on Plessy v. Ferguson: Part 3
Scholars closely read Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, seeking to understand why he disagreed with the court's decision that racial segregation laws for public spaces were constitutional....
Curated OER
Branches of Government Worksheet 2
Looking for a quick assessment to give to your class about the branches of government in the United States? This is a multiple choice activity that could be used as a quiz. There are 9 questions, some of which are a bit dated and should...
Curated OER
Branches of Government Worksheet
This is a basic multiple choice activity. Learners answer a set of 9 multiple choice questions about early colonists and branches of government. You might use this as a check for understanding or a quick quiz. The first 2 questions are...
Curated OER
Supreme Court: Practice with Precedents 2010
Eleventh graders examine the term precedent in the court system. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders research various court cases in history. Students create a study chart that shows comparisons of these...
Curated OER
Making an Appeal
Students make an appeal. In this making an appeal lesson students give characteristics of the Washington Supreme Court. Students examine public policy conflicts and present an appellate case.
Curated OER
Michigan United Conservationists Club (M.U.C.C). v. Michigan Secretary of State: An Issue of Referendum
Students observe the procedures of the Michigan Supreme Court. They identify the processes and procedures being used. They debate a case that was presented to the Court and analyze the oral arguments of the case.
Curated OER
Faces of the Bench
Students use primary source documents to gather information on justices in the Michigan Supreme Court. They write about the thoughts and experiences of the author. They identify and describe each justice briefly.
Curated OER
Michigan Judicial System Conclusion
Middle schoolers identify the courts that make up Michigan's judicial system. They state the responsibilities of each court and diagram a flow chart of how a case moves to the Michigan Supreme Court. They participate in a quiz about the...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights and the News
Students examine current news stories and from them develop "BIG" questions related to individual and group rights. They then relate their questions to the U.S. Constitution and supreme court decisions.
Curated OER
Vocabulary Related to the Attire, Accessories and Décor of the Parliament of Canada
Learners become knowledgable about the attire, traditions, and protocols of the Senate and Supreme Court by doing research.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cyberbullying—Alternate Lesson Plan
Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...
Project Tahoe
Individual Rights vs. The Greater Good Within the Scope of War
When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...
Curated OER
Down for the Count?
The New York Times article “Supreme Court, Split 5-4, Halts Florida Count in Blow to Gore” provides the opening to an assessment of the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of the 2000 presidential election. Assuming the...
Curated OER
A Question of Faith?
Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Students explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...
Curated OER
What is Public Use?
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...
Curated OER
The Juvenile Death Penalty
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...
Stanford University
Voices of the Struggle: The Continual Struggle for Equality
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history....
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Texas v. Johnson
Which right does the Constitution weigh more heavily: the sanctity of the American flag as a symbol of national unity, or the right to burn the flag in protest? The 1989 Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson explores a...
Louisiana Department of Education
The Scarlet Letter
Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...
Curated OER
You Can Say That Again!
A discussion of the Supreme Court’s Opinion of Tinker v. Des Moines generates a discussion of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. Although the key elements of this lesson are based on a video that is not included, the activities...
Pacific University Oregon
Civil Rights: US History
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
Curated OER
Japanese Internment
Eleventh graders read about and discuss the Japanese Internment of World War II. In this Japanese Internment lesson, 11th graders examine the Japanese Internment. They talk about the civil rights aspect, how they would deal with being...
Curated OER
Ralph, a Man of Color v. Coleman Duncan
For this supreme court case worksheet, students use a bank of 15 words, associated with the court case Ralph, a Man of Color v. Coleman Duncan, to fill in 15 blanks in 9 sentences.