As part of a greater classwide congressional simulation, this assessment could be used to guide student research and essay writing.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Rubric/Scoring Guide, Teaching/Learning Strategy
Resource list for where to access primary source documents.
Material Type: Primary Source, Reference Material
A podcast broken down into multiple parts about how a bill really becomes a law. Includes a graphic organizer for teachers to assign while listening.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This website was designed to give students and teachers the ability to electronically access important portions of the We the People student text, such as the Unit and Lesson Purposes and the Terms and Concepts to Understand, and to provide links to primary sources, Supreme Court cases, multimedia, and helpful websites related to the content of the student and teacher's editions.
Material Type: Full Course
SHEG Lesson on the Declaration of Independence. Central Historical Question: Why did the Founders write the Declaration of Independence?
Material Type: Assessment, Homework/Assignment, Lesson, Primary Source, Reading
This lesson enhances the student experience during the Judge Chats program at the National Constitution Center. It is an anticipatory activity that helps students explore the requisite skills necessary to become a judge. Through this lesson, students will create a list of questions, based on what they learned in class, to share with the visiting judge during the Judge Chat program. The students will access their personal experiences to connect with the content of this lesson. They will examine and analyze primary source documents, in order to understand how the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions established the qualifications and duties of judges.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
Many Americans do not fully understand the history and text of the First Amendment, even if the rights enshrined within are used every day. While many Americans, like much of 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 the currently accepted interpretation of freedom of the press under the First Amendment
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This is a video learning module that teaches about citizenship and the 14th amendment. The module goals are: define citizenship as stated in the Fourteenth Amendment, describe the process of becoming a naturalized citizen, and to evaluate the impact of the naturalization process on society, government or the political process.
Material Type: Assessment, Learning Task, Module
Congress is made up of a group of people who work together to improve the quality of lives of citizens throughout the nation. Long ago Congress decided that it was important to pass labor laws to protect children. Students will answer the question why child labor was a problem? They will explore this question by investigating a series of photographs of children working in fish factories long ago. In addition, In this episode, students will engage in careful observation to identify objects and note details (See), generate and test hypotheses based on evidence they have collected (Think), and reflect on their learning by applying it to related questions (Wonder).
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this mystery, students will learn about what due process rights young people have in and out of school. They will start by learning some background information and then specifically learn about the Reasonable Suspicion Standard for conducting student searches in schools. Students will then have two activities to practice applying the standard. The lesson will culminate with students analyzing real court cases and using their knowledge to apply the Reasonable Suspicion Standard. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS "DUE PROCESS" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 2: HOW AND WHY DO PEOPLE FIGHT FOR DUE PROCESS RIGHTS? Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 3: DO STUDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN SCHOOL?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this mystery, students will learn about three due process champions through the History Mystery questions “Why and how do people fight for due process rights?” The mystery begins by helping students understand what it means to fight for rights and how a person might petition for their rights. Then the mystery takes students through three due process champion stories of John Peter Zenger, Fred Korematsu, and Clarence Gideon. Each story starts with an introduction reading and video. Then students work in groups to investigate a primary source or sources related to each story with the guidance of an investigation packet. Each story helps students answer the history mystery question. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS "DUE PROCESS" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 2: HOW AND WHY DO PEOPLE FIGHT FOR DUE PROCESS RIGHTS? Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 3: DO STUDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN SCHOOL?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this mystery, students will learn the meaning of “due process”, where due process rights are in the Constitution, and the history of where American due process rights came from. Students will begin by figuring out the meaning of the term. They will then examine the Bill of Rights and create Due Process Amendment Cards that they will use for this and additional mysteries in this unit. Students will sort the due process rights in the 4th-8th Amendments into the categories before, during and after trial. The will end the mystery by learning about the history of due process including the Magna Carta and due process rights in colonial America. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS "DUE PROCESS" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 2: HOW AND WHY DO PEOPLE FIGHT FOR DUE PROCESS RIGHTS? Grade 5 Unit 3 History Mystery 3: DO STUDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN SCHOOL?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
: In this lesson, students will learn about how “freedom of speech” is applied in schools. Students will begin by brainstorming the meaning of “free speech” from prior lessons and then brainstorming about how they think speech might be limited in schools. Then students will learn about speech rights in school by completing a reading and watching a short video. For the activity, students will look at school-based scenarios and decide whether or not they think a school could limit student speech.’ This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 5 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS "FREE SPEECH" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Grade 5 History Mystery 2: DOES "FREE SPEECH" MEAN I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT? Grade 5 History Mystery 3:WHAT CAN I SAY IN SCHOOL?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this lesson, students will learn about how the freedom of speech is limited. Students will predict, read about and apply their knowledge of three restrictions on the freedom of speech. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 5 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS "FREE SPEECH" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Grade 5 History Mystery 2: DOES "FREE SPEECH" MEAN I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT? Grade 5 History Mystery 3:WHAT CAN I SAY IN SCHOOL?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
The lesson begins with a brief introduction to the mystery and then a quick context video to help students understand how and why we have a Bill of Rights. In this lesson, students will explore the importance of free speech in American society by analyzing the words of the 1st Amendment; learning new vocabulary; reading an overview of the history of the 1st amendment; and looking at 4 key reasons why free speech is important in America. For the student activity, students will explore how each of the 4 key reasons for speech relates to their own lives and ideas. This lesson is part of a Unit that includes the following lessons: Grade 5 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS "FREE SPEECH" AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Grade 5 History Mystery 2: DOES "FREE SPEECH" MEAN I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT? Grade 5 History Mystery 3:WHAT CAN I SAY IN SCHOOL?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this mystery, students will look at primary and secondary sources from the four Native nations we have been studying: Haudenosaunee/Iroquois, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Western Abenaki. They will match their five different strategy cards with the primary and secondary sources. After reading each source, students will determine which strategy that nation used to protect their land and sovereignty during the American Revolution. After each source, students will read a brief summary that will give more information about the strategies used. Student handouts will allow students to mark up the primary and secondary sources, pick a strategy and then explain their reasoning. 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
In this lesson, students will be introduced to five different strategies that Native nations used to protect their land and sovereignty during the American Revolution. Students will be reminded about the key ideas of the American Revolution and learn a little bit about how the Americans talked about Native people in the Declaration of Independence. They will also learn that both the British and the Americans tried to court Native nations to join their side during the war. Students will then be introduced to five different strategies used by different Native nations. 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
This lesson is the second part of the History's Mysteries unit, "What Makes a Good Leader?" In this lesson, students will study different situations that forced George Washington to learn leadership skills. By using George Washington as an example, students will learn that an important leadership skill is to ask for help. Using George Washington as an example, students will think of other leaders who displayed different types of leadership skills. 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 3: DO GOOD LEADERS ALWAYS DO GOOD THINGS?
Material Type: Activity/Lab
