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Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 1 WHAT IS NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

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In this lesson, students will learn about some elements of Native sovereignty. They will learn what a Native nation is and why sovereignty is so important to a nation. The lesson focuses on why nations need land, why history is important, and how shared culture is also part of sovereignty. The lesson focuses on Native nations today because it is important to talk about Native nations today to break stereotypes that Native people only existed in the past. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 2: WHAT CAN DIFFERENT MAPS TELL US ABOUT NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND NATIVE LAND? Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 3: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1)? Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 4: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (2)?

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: History's Mysteries

Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 2 : What Can Different Maps Tell Us About Native Sovereigmty and Native Land?

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In this lesson, students will look at 3 maps to learn about where the ancestral tribal lands of four Native nations are located. The four nations are the Iroquois Confederacy (made of 5 nations), the Cherokee Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, and the Western Abenaki nation. Students will label all four groups on three different maps and as they look at each map they will consider how the land is represented on the map and how that might impact how people understand Native land and Native sovereignty. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 2: WHAT CAN DIFFERENT MAPS TELL US ABOUT NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND NATIVE LAND? Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 3: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1)? Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 4: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (2)?

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: History's Mysteries

Grade 1: Unit 2 History Mystery 3 Do Good Leaders Always Do Good Things?

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This lesson is the third and final part of the History's Mysteries unit, "What Makes a Good Leader?" In this lesson, students explore that leaders often make complex decisions and don’t always display positive leadership traits. While learning about George Washington’s use of slave labor throughout his life, students realize that even leaders are rarely perfect and can make poor decisions. This difficult topic is displayed in through the use of images and pictures and discussed in vocabulary appropriate for young learners. This lesson is part of a unit containing the following lessons: Grade 1: Unit 2 History Mystery 1: WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A GOOD LEADER? Grade 1: Unit 2 History Mystery 2: WHAT MADE PEOPLE THINK GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD BE A GOOD LEADER?

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: History's Mysteries

Introduction to the Rule of Law

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The Rule of Law is an important concept in understanding the Constitution; however, it is difficult for many people to define. Documents from the era of the drafting and ratification of the Constitution have been debated throughout history, as scholars and leaders have grappled over the proper relationship between the government and the governed. Moreover, the Rule of Law was established in the U.S. Constitution and enforced in the judicial system of the United States through judicial review. The first day of this lesson uses historical quotations to help students develop understandings of conceptions of the Rule of Law. In the second day of the lesson, through small group work and class-wide collaboration analyzing Supreme Court cases, students will reflect on how their understandings of Rule of Law relate to the Constitution, the judicial system, and their daily lives. (National Constitution Center)

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Supreme Court Cases: Dred Scott v. Sanford

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Using C-SPAN’s Landmark Cases website and programs, students will simulate the Supreme Court hearing of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), otherwise known as the Dred Scott Case. Students will read the case scenario and take on roles of either an attorney or Supreme Court Justice as if they lived in the 19th century. After studying the case, both teams of attorneys will present their cases in written and oral form and receive questions from the justices. Afterwards, the justices will facilitate oral argument and offer written opinions. Finally, the class will debrief the experience and read and discuss the actual decision.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Founder's Library

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This lesson is designed to introduce students to the Constitution. It can be used as a one-day lesson to fulfill the Constitution Day requirement or as a means to begin a conversation about the framers of the Constitution. It has been carefully designed to highlight the three spheres of civic education as detailed by the National Constitution Center; that is, the lesson includes civic knowledge, active citizenship, and democratic deliberation. The Founders’ Library refers to the prior knowledge the Founding Fathers brought to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Students will examine these ideas and use them to analyze the Constitution and Bill of Rights. At the same time, students will be considering ideas and information that relate to their own lives. Students will finish the lesson by considering the idea of prior knowledge. Each student will be asked to think of books, music, movies, or television shows that impact ideas about the United States. The combination of personal experience and the critical examination of the Constitution will allow the students to have a deeper understanding of the creative imagination that was necessary to write and debate the Constitution of the United States This lesson is designed for one forty-five minute high school class period. It does not have to be limited to the social studies classroom, but can be completed in a variety of settings from a small seminar to a traditional humanities classroom.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Freedom of Speech: What Can I Say In School?

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Students will investigate the legal language defining their freedom of speech rights. Participants will analyze landmark Supreme Court cases that define students’ freedom of speech, and then examine a recent challenge, Hawk and McDonaldMartinez v. Easton Areas School District (2013)—otherwise known as the I Heart Boobies case. To guide thinking, students will apply the IRAC case analysis technique and then will write majority and dissenting opinions as Supreme Court Justices.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Constitutional Conversation

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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.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

First Amendment: Speech

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Many Americans struggle with understanding the language and subsequent interpretation of the Constitution, especially when it come to the rights encapsulated in the First Amendment. While many Americans can agree that speech should be protected, there are disagreements over when, where, and how speech can be limited or restricted. This lesson encourages students to examine their own assumptions and to deepen their understanding of current, accepted interpretations of speech rights under the First Amendment including when and where speech is protected and/or limited. It should reinforce the robustness of the First Amendment protections of speech.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Second Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms (9-12)

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This lesson introduces students to different viewpoints and debates surrounding the 2nd Amendment by using the National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution. Students will build understanding of the resources and methods used by justices on the Supreme Court and Constitutional scholars when analyzing and forming opinions about articles, sections, and clauses of the Constitution. Using graphic organizers, students will identify key points from the essays of constitutional scholars Nelson Lund and Adam Winkler. Students will be able to trace the historic development of the 2nd Amendment with help from the Common Interpretation and matters of debate essays, and use evidence from the readings to explore modern interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. For students studying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, this lesson helps clarify the role of the Supreme Court and constitutional scholars in interpreting and applying the Constitution today.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

First Amendment: Press (9-12)

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Many Americans struggle to understand the Constitution, especially the rights included in the First Amendment. While many Americans, like many in the Founding generation, can agree that freedom of the press should be protected, there are disagreements over when, why, and how freedom of the press may be limited. This lesson encourages students to examine their own assumptions and to deepen their understanding of current accepted interpretation of freedom of the press under the First Amendment.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

First Amendment: Establishment Clause (9-12)

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The First Amendment has two clauses related to religion, specifically preventing the establishment of religion and the ability to freely exercise religious beliefs. The goal of this lesson is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. They will do this by understanding the history of the clause, as well as the relevant Supreme Court cases that will help students interpret how this clause has been applied. Students will also use scholarly essays and the text of the U.S. Constitution to evaluate current issues and cases that involve the Establishment Clause

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

First Amendment: Establishment Clause (6-8)

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When James Madison set out to write the First Amendment, he was careful to include protections against the national establishment of religion. The framers had experienced a world in which the church ran the government and did not want to repeat that experience. The issue of government established religion is still relevant in our country today. In this lesson, students will learn about the establishment clause and will examine four major issues that center around it.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Founding Documents Analysis/Comparison

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This lesson builds student understanding of the relationships between the United States’ founding documents by comparing and contrasting the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Using a close reading guide, students will explore the key concepts in Jeffrey Rosen and David Rubenstein’s “Constituting Liberty: From the Declaration to the Bill of Rights,” accessible on the Interactive Constitution at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution. Your students can more fully explore the U.S. Constitution’s history and what it means today with the new Interactive Constitution, where scholars of different perspectives discuss what they agree upon, and what they disagree about. These experts were selected with the guidance of leaders of two prominent constitutional law organizations—The American Constitution Society and The Federalist Society. This project is sponsored by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Please note that the link in the lesson plan for “Constituting Liberty: From the Declaration to the Bill of Rights” is rather difficult to locate, but is available here: https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/13_Exhibition_Pamphlet.pdf.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: National Constitution Center

Lesson Plan Civics Campaign Ad

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10th Grade Civics Class multi-day activity to create campaign videos as part of a larger Congressional Simulation Unit. Students experience a role-playing exercise as Congresspersons to try to get elected, pass bills, etc. This lesson is aligned to ISTE standards as well as Wisconsin Social Studies Standards to promote computational thinking and inquiry-based learning.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Jake Boll

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