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Home > The Constitution > Changing the Constitution (HS)
Lesson Plan
The Constitution
Available in Spanish

Changing the Constitution (HS)

9-12
One class period
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Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Identify the ways that the constitutional government of the United States has changed over time
  • Analyze instances of constitutional change
  • Apply constitutional principles to instances of government actions
  • Describe the various ways constitutional principles can change: amend, interpret, supplement, implement
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Overview

America's constitutional government has changed over time as a result of amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court decisions, legislation, and other practices. Students will use the seven basic principles found in our government to understand these changes. They will also analyze examples of each type of change to determine their impacts on our constitutional government. Examples include the War Powers Act of 1973, legislative oversight, the 24th Amendment, Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, and more! This lesson also includes a template for analyzing additional examples of change.

iCivics en español! Student and class materials for this lesson are available in Spanish.

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Pedagogy Tags
EL/ML
Spanish
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