This constitutional casebook is the outcome of the P.A.T.C.H. Law Program of the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District in New York. The casebook provides students and teachers in grades 7, 8, 11, and 12 with a summary review of the 22 cases mentioned in the New York State Regents' 11th grade "U.S. History and Government"…

Reinforcing earlier conclusions of the Educational Testing Service, this evaluation highlights the success of the "We the People" program using the "Justice for All" textbook produced by the Center for Civic Education (CCE), the program involves students in a rigorous study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and supports…

This essay explores the various definitions of "civitas" and how those definitions have valuable lessons for people. "Civitas" means both a political community or government, especially as found in a republic, and the kind of citizenship a republic requires. Specifically the paper examines the role of government in education…

Identifies five great ideas of the U.S. Constitution as power, liberty, justice, equality, and property. The first of two installments, article focuses on how ideas of power and liberty are presented in the Constitution. It also discusses how people may exercise power through voting and public protest and liberty through their First Amendment…

This pamphlet is designed to aid law students as they participate in the "Street Law" seminar that pairs law students and educators in the high school classroom. The clinical program places future lawyers in the classroom to help instruct in areas such as how the law affects daily lives, the meaning of the Constitution, dispute…

"We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution" is a national civic education program that aims to help elementary and secondary students understand the history and principles of constitutional government. The program focuses on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and fosters civic competence and responsibility among students in…

This book explains the development and current workings of the American and Maryland judiciaries. An interview with the Honorable Arthur M. Monty Anhalt of the Circuit Court of Prince George's County, a long-time advocate of law education, presents a realistic view of the principles by which jurists operate in their daily effort to impart justice.…

This curriculum introduces secondary students to the study of constitutional government in the United States. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of how the Constitution came into existence, why it took the form it did, and how it has functioned for the past 200 years. Through the 31 lessons of the text, organized into six…

This book presents, in words and pictures, a history of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Fifteen chapters in the book are entitled: (1) Origins; (2) The Colonial Experience; (3) The American Crisis: Road to Revolution; (4) New Order of the Ages; (5) The Bill of Rights; (6) The Civil War; (7) A Changing America; (8) War & Reaction;…

This book contains three major essays that consider the origins of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. In "The U.S. Bill of Rights in Historical Perspective," Donald S. Lutz examines the intellectual context of the Bill of Rights by analyzing the changing ideas about rights in colonial,…

Presents a lesson plan dealing with the right to vote. Identifies groups which were not allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, and explores why the vote was denied and what changes in society would have allowed the groups to vote. (BSR)

Describes the real-world impact on a class of fourth graders of a civics lesson about constitutional government taught by high school students. (SR)

Since its founding more than 200 years ago, America has stood for the promise, if not always the practice, of freedom. On its best days, America is a nation committed to the revolutionary proposition that more freedom, not less, is the key to a vibrant, equitable, and secure democracy. However, the results of a recent national study, "The…

This article describes the law-related education (LRE) programs instituted by the United States Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). By linking legal and constitutional matters to everyday life, the programs aim to bring alive for elementary through high school students legal statutes that often…

This collection of research findings by several organizations quantifies public ignorance of the U.S. Constitution and the success of the "We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution Program" in addressing the problem. Surveys by the American Bar Association, the Hearst Corporation, the National Assessment of Education Progress, the…