The lesson begins with students lined up in the front of the room. They are presented with a series of searches/seizures. If they believe the search/seizure was lawful, they step forward; if they believe it to be unlawful, they step backward. Next, students break into four groups. Each group is responsible for focusing on searches/seizures in a specific setting: at school, at home, in cars, or in public. The groups reconvene and present their ideas and findings to the rest of the class. The lesson ends with a discussion of the Fact Patterns handout.

Students examined the landmark legislation and amendments of the Radical Reconstruction era, and they learned about the unprecedented period of interracial democracy that resulted. In this lesson, students will learn about the debate that occurred within the women’s rights movement over the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. They will also conduct a close reading of a speech from Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African-American woman who was a leading activist in the fight for Black freedom and women’s rights.
Students will acknowledge that progress in making a society more democratic is often slow and uneven. Rights provided to some groups often continue to be denied to others.
Students will understand that members of social movements often struggle to create inclusive movements and can fracture along lines of identity such as race, class, and gender.

Website Description:
Are your students experts on U.S. citizenship? Put their knowledge to the test with Sortify: U.S. Citizenship, an original BrainPOP game made by BrainPOP with iCivics.
Share Sortify: U.S. Citizenship with your students using the “Share” button above. You must be logged in to access. This new feature allows teachers to assign Sortify outside of iCivics using learning management systems like Google Classroom, Edmodo, and more.

Student Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to...
*Recognize and recall rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens
*Identify active ways in which citizens can participate in government and contribute to the common good
*Relate like terms and concepts by deducing shared relationships

Students explore and articulate what they value, then examine how the value-based liberties and principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence were moved into legal protections through the Bill of Rights. Using select current events, students learn how, and how well, our rights work to defend our wealth and wellbeing and to curb government abuse of power

Students continue to explore the democracy journey, starting with people’s movements for civil liberties and civil rights during the 1950s to 1970s. Students are introduced to the Powell Memo of 1971, the business community’s response to this perceived attack on the American free enterprise, and then explore the landmark laws and social consequences of the resulting strategic legal campaign, organized by the Monied Power, to influence public opinion and, hence, political campaign outcomes. Students summarize the democracy journey, creating their own narrative of who rules.
Teachers can download the full set of lesson materials sets as zip files. Each set includes a teacher’s guide, PowerPoint slides, worksheets, and other materials. You can also watch instructional videos for each lesson to get an overview and learn how to teach them on the Ultimate Civics Youtube Channel.

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
In this lesson you will discuss some important questions about the responsibilities of citizens. You must develop your own answers to these questions. We hope this lesson will help you develop good answers.

Website Description:
(This lesson was formerly "Bill of Rights: You Mean I've Got Rights?") Students learn about the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and other important constitutional amendments. First they consider what rights they believe are important, then they read and analyze the real text of each amendment. This lesson also helps students analyze the impact that the Bill of Rights has on their daily lives. Completing this lesson prepares students to play the game Do I Have a Right?
Got a 1:1 classroom? Download fillable PDF versions of this lesson's materials.

Student Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to…
*Describe the circumstances and debate that led to the Bill of Rights.
*Compare and contrast the positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists as to the Bill of Rights.
*Identify the rights granted by the Bill of Rights and key later amendments.
*Categorize rights in the Bill of Rights as individual freedoms, protection from government power, or rights of the accused.
*Predict what might happen if key rights were missing from the Constitution.