Profiles of the Framers

As Bob Dylan so famously wrote, "The times they are a-changin'." Through a series of discussions, indepedent class work, and a whole-class simulation young scholars explore how the amendment process allows the US Constitution to change...

Ever wish your class could travel back in time and witness the making of the Constitution firsthand? This plan makes the classroom come pretty close. Eighth graders simulate the process of creating a constitution and design their own...

Should slavery be legal? Who should be able to vote? Should Revolutionary War bonds be paid back? How did the writers of the US Constitution, with their conflicting interests, answer these questions? Class members engage in a role play...

Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or...

Here is a standard multiple-choice test that covers important democratic events and institutions in the history of the United States. Topics covered include federalism, organization and contents of the Constitution, and major Supreme...

Supreme Court justices debate the meaning of the US Constitution, but we expect teachers to explain it to scholars with far less training and experience. A daunting task for sure, but it's not insurmountable with resources that simplify...

How difficult was it to get everyone to agree on the contents of the Constitution? Historians analyze the task of the Founding Fathers in creating the United States Constitution. They research a directory of video clips, primary sources,...

Twelfth graders go through the process of writing a classroom constitution and then compare their process to that followed by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

Learners view a PowerPoint presentation based on the framers of the Constitution. Students create notes on each of the delegates featured. Using their notes, they write a paragraph on the Constitutional Convention delegate they believe...

Eighth graders discover details about delegates to the American Constitutional Convention. In this U.S. Constitution instructional activity, 8th graders research information about 9 delegates to the convention and then write paragraphs...