As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...

The US Constitution is the beginning of Americans' rights. Use a five-paragraph passage to give a brief history of the US Constitution. A great last minute addition to a lesson on Constitution Day.

What better day to celebrate the US Constitution than on Constitution Day! After reading a short passage about the different understandings of habeas corpus and ex post facto, sixth graders respond to 10 multiple choice and short...

Long revered as the "upper chamber," the US Senate was created to give the new nation a balance between large and small states. However, has the time for this institution passed? Using a reading on how the amendment process works,...

Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...

Search the box of letters to find 18 different words related to the US Constitution. A word search is a great way to get kids thinking about new vocabulary words and recognizing them in a different context.

Students design colorful posters to "get out and vote" after studying the three amendments to the US Constitution that extend voting rights. They analyze the importance of voting to a healthy democracy.

Break the chain. An engaging lesson examines why it is so hard to break free of the prison system in the US. Academics participate in a reader's theater, read primary sources, and discuss their thoughts. The lesson explains the hardships...

Learn about the destruction of the rainforest by analyzing statistics. Young learners make an original line graph showing destruction in the rainforest. Additional activities include making a collage, sequencing Dr. Seuss' The...

The census has been a part of the American landscape since the Constitution was written; however, it does have a history of controversy. Class members use a guided reading and simulation activity on developing census questions to...

The language of the Constitution can feel quite ominous to young learners, but there are a variety of strategies you can utilize to help your class grasp the important concepts and ideals in our nation's founding document. This lesson...

Ben Franklin was the only American to sign The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. An interesting resource explores his role in the latter by comparing the US...

Could you pass a citizenship test? As part of their study of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and the immigrant experience, class members are presented with a sample citizenship test.

Who would've guessed that a document written over 200 years ago would still have a lot to teach us today? A set of folder games incorporates parts of a newspaper to teach about the Constitution and how it still applies to life...

Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...

How much power should a president be allowed to exert? Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt exercised their power according to their interpretations of the United States Constitution, and these interpretations affected the...

Examine the results of recent opinion polls on where people stand on the issue of the death penalty. In groups, middle schoolers examine various cases dealing with this issue and discuss the judgments. They write their own argument for...

Going green? Scholars investigate the creation of the US National Park program. Through diary entries as well as expert testimony, they synthesize information and analyze the need for conservation and preservation. Finally, they display...

Can a negative perception of a president's foreign policy harm his or her historical legacy? A project that winds the clock back to the date of Theodore Roosevelt's death puts students at the editorial desk of a fictional newspaper....

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 is extremely...

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,...

Fourth graders delve into the United States Constitution in a unit designed to boost reading comprehension, grammar, and writing. During each lesson, scholars read through and discuss a new chapter and work with prefixes and verbs....

Young scholars explore U.S. history by participating in a government activity. In this Constitution instructional activity, students identify the role government plays in our society and the differences the British colonies had in the...

Young scholars 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.