"Getting Away with Torture?"

Tackle ethics in your high school history classes with a Socratic seminar about torture as a means for obtaining information. The plan allows for pupils to take the reins during the seminar. On the first day, class members read several...

Children around the world enjoy a list of rights that protect their bodies, minds, families, and lifestyles. Review the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child with learners of all ages, and teach them all about their rights.

While the Revolution is perhaps the most famous revolt in American history, do scholars know about Shays' Rebellion? The outcome of the uprising led to the current Constitution. A video resource traces the history of and how the Bill of...

Break the chain. An engaging instructional activity 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 instructional...

Activity for students promoting a critical analysis and relevant discussion on whether torture is ever justified. Students are presented with the literature on U.S. law and international law on torture as well as Bush administration...

The Founding Fathers are larger than life in history books, but an engaging video resource brings them up close to your pupils. As viewers meet the founders in the National Constitution Center's Signers' Hall, they learn about the...

Learners explore the Constitutional Convention of 1787. In this U.S. Constitution lesson plan, students role play the parts of delegates in a simulation of the convention.

The Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws were rules that served the same purpose: to restrict the rights of African Americans. Young historians watch performers read Black Code laws from different states to explain how African Americans were...

Should public humiliation be an acceptable consequence for a crime? Have your middle schoolers engage in a round table discussion about the recent resurgence of the use of public humiliation as a punishment for crimes in the United...

While the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution to preserve liberty, not everyone was on board. The dissenters refused to sign on unless the Constitutional Convention added a Bill of Rights. Viewers explore these important civil...