Provides a lesson plan and primary source material for exploring whether Richard M. Nixon should have been prosecuted for obstruction of justice following his resignation from the Presidency. Contains a reproduction of the special prosecutor's memorandum that lists the factors which support or detract from a decision to prosecute Richard Nixon.…

Offers a collection of seven lesson plans and 33 activity ideas for the celebration of the Constitutional bicentennial. The lesson plans and activities span grades K through 12. (JDH)

Provides an activity designed to help students understand how U.S. Supreme Court judges are selected. Points out that the Constitution does not specify any qualification to serve as a federal judge, but that an unwritten rule is that all nominees have a bachelor of laws degree. (JDH)

Presents a game which has students interpret Articles I, II, and III of the U.S. Constitution to understand the allocation of powers among the 3 branches of government. The game helps students understand the interaction between the 3 branches of government, stressing the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. (JDH)

This lesson provides a simulation in which upper elementary and middle school students establish classroom routines, participate in decision-making activities, improve their understanding of the Constitutional Convention, and differentiate among the three branches of government. (BSR)

Briefly reviews the history of the judicial branch of the U.S. government. Maintains that the 1803 U.S. Supreme Court decision in "Marbury v. Madison" established the Court's authority to not only interpret the Constitution, but also to apply the Constitution to acts of other separate but equal branches of government. (JDH)

Offers an eight-day unit on search and seizure for high school students. Includes condensed versions of famous court decisions, teaching materials, and day-by-day teaching procedures. (JDH)

Presents an activity designed to show the sources of power under our federal and state systems of government. Provides a visual demonstration of how power is divided, promotes study of the U.S. and state constitutions, and highlights the role of citizens in making democracy work. (JDH)

Provides a six day unit of instruction designed to help senior high students understand the civil rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Based around provided summaries of famous court cases, the unit includes instructional objectives, suggested teaching procedures, and evaluation aids. (JDH)

A set of lessons for teaching about the debate that produced the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States is presented. Initially, the lessons introduce students to the positions taken by prominent Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the need for a bill of rights. These activities prepare students for a subsequent lesson that…

Provides background material for teaching Article Four of the United States Constitution. Suggests activities using primary documents in order to teach lessons on religious tests. The document chosen is a letter to John F. Kennedy from a citizen written in September 1960. Document may be reproduced for use in the classroom. (KO)

The political ideas of John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other Founders of the United States have been a rich civic legacy for successive generations of citizens. An important means of ensuring that these ideas on constitutional government continue to inspire and guide people in the 21st century lies in…

Designed especially for the use of the foreign-born who are preparing themselves for their naturalization examinations as applicants for United States citizenship, this textbook contains thirty lessons which tell about the government in the United States and about the kind of Constitution upon which it is founded. The text of each of the thirty…

This curriculum is designed to introduce secondary students to the ideas behind the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution and the experiences of the Founders that led to the creation of this document. Its intent is to provide young people with a knowledge of how the Bill of Rights came into existence, why it took the form it did, and how it has…

In a simplified edition of a textbook designed especially for the use of the foreign-born who are preparing themselves for their naturalization examinations as applicants for United States citizenship, twenty-one lessons tell about the government of the United States and about the kind of Constitution upon which it is founded. In order to help…