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This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that gave defendants in state criminal courts the right to a lawyer. Students learn about the 6th Amendment right…
Students learn why there are two houses of Congress and discover how a bicameral legislature ensures that all states have a voice in bills. Together, the class creates a school…
Need to teach the judicial branch in a hurry? In this lesson, students learn the basics of our judicial system, including the functions of the trial court, the Court of Appeals,…
Lace up your shoes and learn how candidates run the race to become President of the United States!
Use primary documents and images to discover the ways state and local governments restricted the newly gained freedoms of African Americans after the Civil War. Compare, contrast,…
Great question! We ask Thomas Hobbes and John Locke to help us find an answer. The thing is, they don't agree. Dig into the philosophers' ideas and see how they've influenced those…
With the end of the Revolutionary War, America’s geographical size doubled… but how should new territory be added to the United States? Learn about the issues raised by this…
Discover the debate that surrounded the Constitution before it became the law of the land. Excerpts from Federalist 84 and Anti-Federalist 46 offer insight into both sides of the…
Meet the departments doing the important jobs that make your county work!
Students learn that they are citizens at many levels of society — home, school, city, state, and nation — and create a graphic organizer that diagrams citizen rights and…
Explore the history of voting rights in the United States through an interactive PowerPoint presentation highlighting landmark changes. Following the presentation and class…
Introduce students to the ideas and writings of John Locke that influenced the likes of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers.
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, but he played many political roles throughout our nation’s history. His political life influenced the country in many…
As a new country, the United States experienced a lot of growing pains. Discover some of the citizen-led rebellions that occurred in the nation's first decades, and how the…
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that prohibited a suspect’s statements from being used as evidence unless the suspect has been advised of his or…
Thomas Hobbes was one of the first of his era to discuss the idea of the social contract. Explore his views on government and his famous book, Leviathan.
Help students learn about the duties and powers of the three branches, the amendment process, and the role of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.
Look at the tensions and differences of opinion that existed among early American states and citizens.Learn about the Articles of Confederation, why the first “constitution” didn’t…
Where do laws come from? This lesson teaches students about the sources, types, and unique systems of law that exist in the United States. Students learn about sources of law from…
In One Big Party, students learn about the role of political parties in the United States and the influence parties have in our political system, including the role of third…
Lesson Plan
