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…

This facilitator's guide helps adults present young people a view of the U.S. justice system and to involve them in the idea of the legal process, understanding the rights and responsibilities of participating in their government, laws, and the justice system. The guide also helps them understand the consequences of breaking the law. The 18…

Describes a course on the tension between individual rights and the powers of government. Explores the differences between the Anti-Federalists and Federalists conceptions of rights and the role of government. Discusses contemporary problems of rights as limits to democratic outcomes. Questions the traditional interpretations of the U.S.…

Maintains that Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. fundamentally altered the tradition of protest and reform. Compares and contrasts the role of each man in U.S. social and constitutional history. Concludes that while Thoreau lacked the broad influence of King, his writings influenced both King and Mohandas Gandhi. (CFR)

Examines the origins of the U. S. Bill of Rights and constitutional guarantees, focusing on trial rights, tracing them to English antecedents and the colonial period. Explains changes in understanding and the application of trial rights, highlighting the U.S. Supreme Court's evolving influence since the nineteenth century. Outlines contemporary…

Asserting that fear and misunderstanding about religion in public education precludes reflection and compromise needed to promote societal well-being, this paper examines the current status of religion in U.S. public education and considers implications for policy making and practice. A brief history of religion in public education and two recent…

This teaching guide accompanies a curriculum, intended to be used in the upper elementary grades, that introduces students to the study of constitutional government in the United States. It is designed to help students understand the most important ideas of the constitutional system and how they were developed, and to provide them with a knowledge…

This curriculum presents lessons and materials designed to teach immigrant students their rights and responsibilities under the U.S. legal system. The lessons employ interactive strategies, and develop higher order thinking skills as they foster English language learning. The curriculum contains eight units: (1) "Roots of Rights: Introduction…

This curriculum guide contains teacher-prepared elementary school lesson plans on the U.S. Constitution. The document was developed as a result of a Franklin County (Ohio) Educational Council U.S. Bicentennial-related Constitution workshop, during which elementary school teachers and principals exchanged knowledge and resources. Each lesson plan…

This curriculum guide and accompanying teacher's guide focus on the individual and personal freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and as interpreted by the courts--namely, the idea of fundamental rights as expressed through the concepts of liberty, justice, and equality. The curriculum includes 10 lessons: (1) Rights Are Fundamental; (2)…

This document is a collection of 16 lessons designed for use in United States history and American government courses at the high school level. The lessons are divided into four distinct categories: (1) religion and the Establishment Clause; (2) freedom of expression; (3) due process and other rights of the accused; and (4) equal protection of the…

This curriculum is organized around four concepts--authority, privacy, responsibility, and justice--which form part of the common core of civic values and concepts that are fundamental to the theory and practice of democratic citizenship in the United States. Rather than focusing on facts and dates, the curriculum challenges students to think for…

Designed to be used in combination with standard high school textbooks in U.S. history and government, these lessons on the U.S. Constitution can be used singly or in varying combinations and most can be completed in one or two class meetings. There are five chapters. Chapter I is an introduction for teachers. Chapter II includes lessons about the…

During the first year of its three-year existence, the Bicentennial Commission began to fulfill its mission, as defined by its chairman, to provide "a history and civics lesson for all of us." The Commission has decided to focus primarily on the educational potentialities of commemoration and to foster a firm understanding and…

Canterbury, Connecticut, and Little Rock, Arkansas, are links in a chain of events representing the struggle for equal educational opportunity for African Americans. Focusing on these two communities, this lesson plan highlights two important historic places and the role each played in testing the prevailing assumptions of the time regarding…