At the beginning of every school year at Park Forest Elementary School (PFE), it is customary for teachers to invite their students to participate in establishing guidelines for behavior and citizenship in their respective classrooms. Teacher Lorraine McGarry and principal Donnan Stoicovy began the 2012-13 school year, however, by taking this…

This lesson relates to freedom of speech and freedom of the press as provided for in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Government. It presents seven primary source documents regarding Thomas Cooper's trial for sedition in 1800. Cooper was…

In 1917, after much agitation for alcohol prohibition by many temperance societies and organizations, the House of Representatives wanted to make Prohibition the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and sent the amendment to the states for ratification. Thirteen months later enough states said yes to the amendment. It was now against the law to…

Asserts that concern for academic success across the curriculum should extend beyond raising test scores. Contends that in the wake of the terrorist acts of 9/11/01, issues of public security and civil liberties present an opportunity for teachers to teach the Constitution and its amendments in an effort to fight citizen ignorance. (SD)

This activity for students in grade 12 aims to increase their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and its fundamental ideas: checks and balances, separation of powers, Bill of Rights, and the amendments. Students judge the constitutional powers of each brand of government by participating in the power game. The activity explains how the game is…

This lesson focuses on the role of the Electoral College in the election of the President and Vice-President as specified in the U.S. Constitution in Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 4, and the Twelfth Amendment. The lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Government. The tally of the 1824…

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson guided a piece of foreign diplomacy through the U.S. Senate, the purchase of Louisiana territory from France. Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary, who possessed frontiersman skills to explore the territory. Lewis, in turn, solicited the help of William Clark, whose abilities as a draftsman…

The United States subscribes to the original premise of the framers of the Constitution that the way to safeguard against tyranny is to separate the powers of government among three branches so that each branch checks the other two. At no time in the 20th century was the devotion to that principle more vigorously evoked than in 1937, when…

When George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789, the U.S. Constitution had already been ratified, yet the future of the new country was at risk. Some people wanted a bill of rights added to the U.S. Constitution to guarantee individual liberties. Two groups opposed each other--the Federalists…

In the Rene v. Reed case, Meghan Rene and other disabled students argued that their due process rights were violated in regard to the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) graduation examination. This set of four lesson plans uses the case of Rene v. Reed, which was first argued before the Indiana Supreme Court, to study the…

This booklet defines law-related education as an educational program for teaching non-lawyers about law, the legal system, and the fundamental principles and values on which constitutional democracy is based. The program's approach is characterized by relevant curriculum materials, interactive teaching strategies, and extensive use of the…

In 1893, in just 184 days, 28 million people, about one-third of the U.S. population, visited the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago (Illinois). This lesson focuses on petitioning the federal government, peaceably assembling, and exercising freedom of speech and religion, all of which are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S.…

Under Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, of the United States Constitution, the U.S. Congress is granted the power to "establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization." With passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, Congress exercised this authority, denying the rights of citizenship to all Chinese immigrants. The Chinese Boycott Case…

In 1951 Robert Russa Moton High School in Prince Edward County, Virginia was typical of the all-black schools in the central Virginia county. It housed twice as many students as it was built for in 1939, its teachers were paid less than teachers at the all-white high school, and it had no gymnasium, cafeteria, or auditorium with fixed seats. In…

This lesson offers historical background on federal Indian policy from 1870 to 1900, focusing on the Dawes Act of 1887 (with two resources). It provides four primary source documents, including maps of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and Will Roger's application for enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes. The lesson relates to the powers granted to…