This lesson focuses on the drafting of the United States Constitution during …
This lesson focuses on the drafting of the United States Constitution during the Federal Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. Students will analyze an unidentified historical document and draw conclusions about what this document was for, who created it, and why. After the document is identified as George Washington’s annotated copy of the Committee of Style’s draft constitution, students will compare its text to that of an earlier draft by the Committee of Detail to understand the evolution of the final document.
iCivics presents a comprehensive, short-form video series explaining the text, history, and …
iCivics presents a comprehensive, short-form video series explaining the text, history, and relevance of the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and additional amendments.
"Students will explore the idea of different responsibilities in their community and …
"Students will explore the idea of different responsibilities in their community and analyze images that highlight the jobs of the three branches of government as outlined in the Constitution. This Civics for All of US distance learning program is available for groups of 10 or more students free of charge.
Each program will be led by one of our educators located at National Archives sites, the Center for Legislative Archives, and Presidential Libraries across the country. After submitting your program request, you will be connected to an available National Archives educator to confirm your reservation.
We require that the requesting educator or another educator from your institution be present during the student distance learning program to observe the session and support classroom management.
Check out the teacher guide for this program for optional pre- and post program activities.
The Constitution Rules! Teacher Guide Download includes lessons and activities to help students construct their own classroom constitution!
Programs are also offered as regularly scheduled interactive webinars. Registration is required, but there is no minimum attendance prerequisite.
This interactive guide to the U.S. Constitution provides the original text and …
This interactive guide to the U.S. Constitution provides the original text and an explanation of the meaning of each article and amendment. The guide is an excellent research tool for students to use to gain a deeper understanding of one of our nation’s founding documents and the establishment of the federal government.
When the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention convened in May of 1787 …
When the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention convened in May of 1787 to recommend amendments to the Articles of Confederation, one of the first issues they addressed was the plan for representation in Congress. This lesson will focus on the various plans for representation debated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
In this series of lessons, first students will read and reflect on …
In this series of lessons, first students will read and reflect on the Constitution regarding issues of security and liberty. Next, they will participate in a Reflective Conversation in which students will discuss the issues of security and liberty. Finally, they will expand the conversation to a larger community of peers outside of their school.
Website Description: Magna Carta, Montesquieu, the Mayflower, and more! Follow this WebQuest …
Website Description: Magna Carta, Montesquieu, the Mayflower, and more! Follow this WebQuest through history to the events, people, and documents that inspired the writers of the Constitution. This WebQuest serves as an introduction or review. Students will learn how documents from the Middle Ages and thinkers from the Enlightenment had an impact on the system of government that was formed in the Constitution, and how that has an impact on them today.
Student Learning Objectives: Students will be able to... *Identify documents and ideas that shaped the U.S. Constitution *Compare American and British governing documents *Explain key constitutional principles and their impacts
Website Description: When the Founders wrote the Constitution, they didn’t pull their …
Website Description: When the Founders wrote the Constitution, they didn’t pull their ideas out of thin air. They created a government based on a set of fundamental principles carefully designed to guarantee liberty. This lesson lets students look at the Constitution from the perspective of its foundational principles. Students make direct connections between these principles, the Founders’ intentions, and the Constitution itself, and they learn why the constitutional principles are critical to a free society.
Student Learning Objectives: Students will be able to: *Analyze the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution *Identify relationships among popular sovereignty, consent of the governed, limited government, rule of law, federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances *Describe how these principles are incorporated into the Constitution *Explain the concerns that led the Founders to value these principles
We're revisiting the origins of United States government and rights. Long before …
We're revisiting the origins of United States government and rights.
Long before we could decide and insist upon what they mean to us, a handful of powerful men had to put pen to paper. We're revisiting two episodes from our Foundational Documents series: The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. This is the story of how these now-indispensable documents came to be during a time when independence and unity was new and highly vulnerable.
Our understanding and interpretation of these documents has grown and changed in the hundreds of years since they were ratified. Take some time to get reacquainted.
History is the chronicle of choices made by actors/agents/protagonists in specific contexts. …
History is the chronicle of choices made by actors/agents/protagonists in specific contexts. This lesson places students at the First Federal Congress and asks them to consider whether citizens have the right to instruct their elected representatives on how to vote. This gets to the very heart of what our government is all about. Should we have a republic—a representative government in which elected leaders are free to deliberate and decide on their own—or a democracy, in which representatives follow the lead of their constituents? Students will engage with this question twice: first, as members of the First Federal Congress, not knowing anything about later events, and second, as modern citizens, taking into account partisan gridlock, media (print, broadcast, social media, and Internet news), and the infusion of money into the political arena.
This lesson uses the example of the 2008 contested Senate election between …
This lesson uses the example of the 2008 contested Senate election between Al Franken and Norm Coleman in Minnesota to discuss contested elections, counting votes, and recount laws. Looks at recount laws in your own state.
Why are the founding principles essential for a free society? This civics …
Why are the founding principles essential for a free society? This civics and government lesson plan was developed to facilitate instruction and discussion concerning the United States’ founding principles versus totalitarian systems of government. Students will contrast a totalitarian system of government with the founding principles of the United States as established in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
What is race? What is ethnicity? How can communication and relationships between …
What is race? What is ethnicity? How can communication and relationships between men and women be improved? What causes segregation in our society? How do stereotypes develop and why do they persist? How do an individual's racial, ethnic, and sexual identities form and develop? This course explores these topics and more.
Students will explain how the first 10 amendments to the Constitution protect …
Students will explain how the first 10 amendments to the Constitution protect individual liberties and limit the power of the government and evaluate the impact of the Bill of Rights on Americans’ everyday lives.
Developed as a companion edition to our Building Democracy for All eBook …
Developed as a companion edition to our Building Democracy for All eBook (2020), Critical Media Literacy and Civic Learning (2021) features more than 50 interactive media literacy learning activities for students organized around key topics in civics, government, and history education derived from the Massachusetts 8th Grade Civics and Government curriculum framework (from author introduction).
The National Park Service has created a K-12 curriculum that focuses on …
The National Park Service has created a K-12 curriculum that focuses on scaffolded lessons that focus on Martin Luther King’s advocacy, the March on Washington and other leaders of the Civil Rights movement.
Dane County's abundant surface water resources are monitored and assessed primarily by …
Dane County's abundant surface water resources are monitored and assessed primarily by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). Major streams and lakes are classified into categories based on the aquatic organisms present. These classifications provide an indication of water quality and fishery conditions.
Agricultural and urban land uses contribute to nutrient rich runoff reaching surface waters. Impervious surfaces and removal of wetlands also increases the flow of stormwater to local waterways. Explore issues facing our surface water and see maps of degraded water resources.
Effective water quality planning depends on long-term assessment and monitoring. The Capital Area Regional Planning Commission uses long-term datasets to evaluate regional trends.
Learn about practices meant to protect the region's streams, shorelands, and lakes.
Dane County Land and Water Resources Viewer: An interactive county map showing watershed boundaries, thermally sensitive areas, cold water communities and more.
Website with different lessons focusing on: 1.Analyze primary and secondary sources representing …
Website with different lessons focusing on: 1.Analyze primary and secondary sources representing conflicting points of view to determine the proper role of government regarding the rights of individuals. 2.Analyze primary and secondary sources representing conflicting points of view to determine the Constitutionality of an issue. 3.Assess the short and long-term consequences of decisions made during the writing of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 4.Compare the components of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights with the Constitutions of other nations. 5.Evaluate contemporary and personal connections to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 6.Compose a reflection and assessment of the significance of Constitution Day and the U.S. Constitution.
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