Challenges students to think outside of the box to find examples of government around their school campus. All areas of the curriculum are covered and students have to defend their answer.

In small groups, students will be assigned two of the first ten amendments and pose the questions, “Which of these two amendments do you think is more important?” and “Why do you believe this?” in a survey of ten classmates. Then they will collect and organize the data electronically to create two visual representations of their information. Students will add their raw data and visualizations to a shared slideshow to present their findings to the class and explain why they chose this particular visualization model and what conclusions they can draw from their survey responses.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2010256.Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson Plan for a Constitution Scavenger Hunt.Students will engage in discussion about the organization and importance of the Constitution. After, students will be given the Scavenger Hunt and, using a copy of the Constitution, answer all questions going through each Article. The Scavenger Hunt goes over basic information within the Cconstitution. Follow-up lessons could go into deeper, higher level inquiry.Includes Lesson Plan outline as well as Google Doc/PDF attachments of the Scavenger Hunt.

The Aaron Burr treason trial in John Marshall’s court is one of America’s most important chapters. Just three years after the deadly Hamilton duel, President Thomas Jefferson had Aaron Burr charged with treason for plotting to carve out a kingdom for himself from parts of Louisiana and Mexico. The ensuing “trial of the century” in 1807 Richmond, VA, captivated a young nation. Accusations of treason. Claims of presidential privilege. The rule of law. Some things endure.What happened to Aaron Burr? Was he found guilty of treason? Watch The King of Crimes to find out.

This activity is designed to be a review of the key principles (themes) of the US Constitution and should be done after an examination of the US Constitution.  It includes brief fictional scenarios describing government policies/actions where students are supposed to identify which principles are illustrated in the scenario.  It may be initially used as an exit ticket after a direct instruction lesson on Constitutional principles; but debriefing the scenarios should be a group or whole class discussion where students explain their answers to each item.

This table shows the attitudes of U.S. citizens' willingness to give up civil liberties to curb terrorism from 1996-2007. It has been consistent that the majority of respondents consistently responded against giving up civil liberties with the exception of 2001-2002 which is probably correlated with the 9/11 incident.

Students will examine the Three-Fifths Compromise. They will look at how the Constitutional Convention decided to handle the issue of enslavement in legislation. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to learn more about the development and lasting impact of this compromise.

This Story Map Journal explores the issue of slavery from the early days of the republic through John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry, a prelude to the war between the states. Key questions: Why was slavery not legitimately dealt with during the founding period of the nation? How did the cotton gin help change the economy, culture, and demographics of the country? What correlations can be made between slavery and cotton? What issues arose between the northern and southern states as new territories were acquired in the west? What role did John Brown play in the lead-up to civil war? Contains links to student materials and teacher materials for creating lesson plans.

Students will examine the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the lives of formerly enslaved people in Virginia. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to gain context and knowledge about how the Emancipation Proclamation impacted individuals lives directly. Students will develop inquiries and questions about the experiences and history that they learn about through these learning activities.

Students will compare and contrast four petitions (primary sources) in favor of woman suffrage to identify reasons why women wanted the right to vote.