A classroom examination of the featured historical article announcing North Carolina's ratification of the Constitution can springboard into a lesson on federalism, the Bill of Rights, and the ratification process.

Civic education in public schools faces major challenges. Under No Child Left Behind, many schools have favored teaching math and English rather than civics, which undermines one of the purposes of public schools--to educate students to be responsible and active citizens in democracy. A second challenge comes inside the classroom: engaging the…

This study guide is a product of the Idaho Humanities Council (IHC). The guide is the result of IHC's July 2002 summer institute for teachers held at Albertson College of Idaho (Caldwell). Twenty five Idaho teachers participated. They explored U.S. Constitutional issues and political decisions and participated in a simulated congressional hearing…

History education lends itself to considering historical problems from the perspective of people of that time and exploring their thinking or "predictions" about the problems' possible effects. Building lessons around the use of prediction-making humanizes history because it allows students to investigate historical events and understand…

Twelve lesson plans on the Bill of Rights are featured in these materials for Nebraska senior high school students. The 12 lessons include: (1) The Bill of Rights--Introductory Unit; (2) Freedom of Speech; (3) Freedom of the Press; (4) Free Press/Fair Trial; (5) Freedom of Religion; (6) The Right to Keep and Bear Arms; (7) Due Process; (8) Search…

This document from the Virginia Department of Education reports on a project to enable public schools to meet requirements of two laws. The first law required public schools to emphasize instruction on the documents of Virginia and United States history and government. The second requested that all public schools be urged to display copies of the…

This issue of "Bill of Rights in Action" explores issues raised by empires and imperial law. The first article, "Clash of Empires: The Fight for North America," looks at the clash of empires and the fight for North America during the 18th century. The second article, "When Roman Law Ruled the Western World," examines…

This unit for teaching U.S. history was designed to help students understand, appreciate, and analyze the magnitude of the Founders' creation. It permits them to understand issues confronting the Founders in 1787, to become involved in the process of resolving these issues, to comprehend the actual solutions developed by the Founders, and to…

December 10, 1988, marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration represents the first comprehensive, global statement on basic human rights, embracing many of the values long held by U.S. citizens; and it urges all peoples and all nations to promote respect for the…

This theme issue of the "Bill of Rights in Action" looks at labor issues. The first article examines the unionization efforts of the Wobblies in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. The second article explores the protests of the Luddites during Britain's Industrial Revolution. The final article looks at whether…

Discusses the history of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Describes the evolution of constitutional rights in the United States. Explains how the Constitution, particularly the First and Fourth Amendments, has been applied to juveniles. Identifies some of the leading cases involving juvenile rights. (SG)

This article features a list of websites for primary sources and civics education. The World Wide Web has become an excellent source for facsimiles, images, and transcriptions of primary sources. As it would be impossible to provide a comprehensive list of all the sites, this annotated list highlights selective sites that provide access to…

Suggests three monumental social changes in U.S. history have moved us closer to a viable democracy: the Bill of Rights, the abolition of slavery, and woman's suffrage. Notes children face many types of poverty; a children's rights amendment would focus child advocacy efforts. Discusses the precedent of the Equal Rights Amendment, which failed by…

Examines the origins of the Bill of Rights. Explores the temptation to focus on current problems at the expense of the future. Introduces four articles concerning teaching about the Bill of Rights. (SG)

Knowledge of the United States Constitution was investigated for 111 randomly selected college students. Many students had little or no knowledge/understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. No significant differences were found between those who had read the Constitution and those who had never read it. (SLD)