For social studies teachers, good social studies requires good reading, writing, and mathematics skills. In addition, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) administers reading, writing, and mathematics assessments to students at specific grade levels. Through many years of working together with their classes and with the "We the…

During World War II, a close friendship and excellent working relations developed between President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and Prime Minister Winston Churchill that were crucial in the establishment of a unified effort to deal with the Axis powers. In early 1941, FDR began the long-term correspondence that developed into a close working…

Traces the history of the Bill of Rights. Delineates the early arguments proposed for and against the Bill of Rights. Discusses the recent Ronald Reagan-Edwin Meese attack on the applicability of the Bill of Rights. Identifies seven items that every student should know about the Bill of Rights. (RW)

Considers who was intended to have civil rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Suggests that broad and inclusive historical analysis reveals individual citizens as the intended beneficiaries. Argues that the founders established a constitutional framework flexible enough to function in the transition from patriarchy and…

Presents a lesson to help students understand the development and controversy surrounding the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. Examines constitutional amendment suggestions presented by four states represented at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Includes two sets of student questions and four primary source readings. (CFR)

Asserts that social studies teachers generally agree that critical thinking and cooperative learning skills are two primary instructional goals. Describes a class activity utilizing roleplaying and the cooperative "jigsaw" approach to study the U.S. Constitution. (CFR)

This teacher's guide is designed to accompany the videotape "Democracy and Right's: One Citizen's Challenge." The videotape takes a case-study approach toward understanding rights. It examines the story of Ernest Green, one of nine black students who helped integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. Green's case…

This teacher's guide is designed to accompany the five-part videotape, "We the People: The President and the Constitution." The videotape draws on interviews with four of the five most recent presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. The videotape examines issues including: (1) the criteria each president…

The core civic ideas that helped form a consensus around a United States Constitution in 1787 are the seeds that produce the civic culture of the United States today. Constitutionalism, republicanism, communitarianism, and classical liberalism were related ideas at the center of U.S. civic culture in the 1780s. Two hundred years later, with some…

A set of lessons for teaching about the debate that produced the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States is presented. Initially, the lessons introduce students to the positions taken by prominent Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the need for a bill of rights. These activities prepare students for a subsequent lesson that…

Because Watergate tested the strength of the U.S. constitutional system and proved that it worked, this unit could serve as a focal point for study of the U.S. Constitution. The three objectives of the document are: (1) to expand knowledge of the governance process through study of the separation of powers, the impeachment process, the right to…

This report sets forth certain conclusions reached by the Special Constitutional Convention Study Committee of the American Bar Association after conducting a two-year study. The committee was formed to evaluate the ramifications of the constitutional convention method of initiating amendments to the U. S. Constitution as set down in Article 5. It…

Presented is a list of resources on the U.S. Constitution for elementary and secondary schools. Listed alphabetically and topically, the resources include organizations which provide classroom materials, teacher training, and other services. Included are special sections on the cultural and political contexts of the bicentennial, women and the…

Designed for use at the high school level, this textbook is organized around four key ideas central to the U.S. Constitution: authority, privacy, responsibility, and justice. A knowledge of these ideas is necessary to understand the foundations of U.S. government and to evaluate important differences between a constitutional democracy and a…

In April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. Under the powers granted to it by the U.S. Constitution, Congress passed the Selective Service Act of 1917. Among the first regiments to arrive in France, and among the most highly decorated when it returned, was the 369th Infantry, more gallantly known as the…