Great ideas about law, government, and the rights of individuals, embedded in U.S. founding documents, are the connective cords by which national unity and civic identity have been maintained in the United States from the 1770s until today. To be a citizen is to understand and have a reasonable commitment to the ideas in the founding documents.…

One of the most important ways that individual citizens become involved in the federal judicial process is by serving on a jury. Jury service is one of the few legal responsibilities citizens in the United States have to their government. Though some people complain about the imposition of serving on a jury, many find that their service gives them…

This teacher's guide is part of a media package that also includes 5 video dramas, a 2 CD-ROM set, and a set of 30 student resource portfolios. The teacher's guide contains a semester of learning activities; the five video dramas use real-life situations to illustrate and teach civic events; the student resource portfolios have more than 40…

The "We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution" program is an instructional program on the history and principles of U.S. constitutional democracy for elementary, middle, and high school students. The program is based on curricular materials developed by the Center for Civic Education. At the high school level, classes may choose…

Maintains that in order for students to participate effectively in a democracy they must be exposed to different viewpoints. Shows that high school history textbooks avoid controversy, leave out vital information, and are biased. Argues textbooks should be subject to a fairness test that includes constitutional scrutiny. (RW)

Engages students in comparing the rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with those present in the United States Bill of Rights and other constitutional amendments. Challenges the students to explore reasons for the presence or absence of certain rights and to reflect on the role of the government. (CMK)

This document discusses several aspects of teaching about religion in the public schools. While religion is an important element in many areas of literature, art, and music, the social studies, especially history and civics, provide the best opportunity for including religion in the curriculum. Teaching about religion in public schools is examined…

Intended for use by high school U.S. history and government teachers and students, these scripted trials and related materials are designed to help students develop an understanding about important ideas in the U.S. Constitution. The document focuses on three fundamental issues of the Bill of Rights: search and seizure, freedom of expression, and…

The fall 1990 issue includes essays that recapture some of the presentations and thinking of the 1990 American Bar Association annual conference on higher education, entitled "American Citizenship and the Constitution." The idea of community was a recurring theme of the conference, and is the focus of three essays included in the Fall…

A teachers' guide is presented that accompanies the video production of "The Other Boston Tea Party," a play used to teach about the U.S. Constitution and American legal and political systems. The play combines a comedy of manners with an historical approach to the issues surrounding the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate over…

Developed for elementary students, this compilation of diverse lesson plans, project ideas, and resources is designed to assist teachers in teaching about the United States Constitution. The document includes 10 sections: (1) A Model Bicentennial Program for Elementary Schools; (2) Patriotism Packet of Lesson Plans; (3) A Young Citizen's Guide to…

"The Federalist Papers," a collection of 85 essays on the principles of republican government written to support the ratification of the Constitution of 1787, has been praised as an outstanding work by individuals ranging from such founding fathers as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to contemporary scholars in history and…

The Unites States Constitution and the Bill of Rights set forth the basic principles of the U.S. democratic constitutional order. It is from these documents that the fundamental political concepts of the United States are derived. The program presented here was developed for junior high school students and is intended to combat the apathy toward…

This paper discusses the distinction between the Constitution and constitutional law. The Constitution is the fundamental law of the United States. It creates the institutions of government, enumerates the powers of these institutions, and delineates areas government may not enter. The Constitution is the instrument by which the consent of the…

A major constitutional issue in the twentieth century is the extent to which the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted to fit changing times and circumstances. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court dispensed a "mechanical jurisprudence" based on an "objective" interpretation of the Constitution and…