Civic education in public schools faces major challenges. Under No Child Left Behind, many schools have favored teaching math and English rather than civics, which undermines one of the purposes of public schools--to educate students to be responsible and active citizens in democracy. A second challenge comes inside the classroom: engaging the…

In recognition of the needs of adults whose native languages are other than English or who possess minimal literacy skills in English, the National Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights gave a grant to the Literacy Volunteers of Washington County, Rhode Island for tutors to develop lessons on the Bill of…

Presents a three-day lesson, which requires students to evaluate selected Supreme Court cases and determine how they think the cases were decided and which amendments were applicable. Includes eighteen cases for student deliberation, followed by the actual Supreme Court decisions. (GEA)

Students should achieve a higher level of understanding and appreciation of the evolving nature of the U.S. Constitution and its relevance to contemporary societal issues by studying historical documents from the period of time between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. This document begins with a history of that period and of the…

Presents ideas from the Center for Research and Development in Law-Related Education for lesson plans to celebrate the Bill of Rights. The article offers projects, resources, and reproducibles that describe the Bill of Rights and how to teach elementary and secondary students about the subject. (SM)

Presents seven lesson plans for secondary school students. Titles include "Civil Rights in the 19th and 20th Centuries"; "Tyranny of the Majority"; "Equality Under Law"; "Voting Rights: Key to Equal Rights?"; "Hispanics! Immigration! Reform?"; "Unincorporation"; and "Indians and the…

Presents a lesson which will help students see the importance of the Bill of Rights in their everyday lives and learn the first ten constitutional amendments. Outlines the procedures for a five-day teaching unit, assignment of a student project, and discussion of two problems dealing with freedom of expression. (GEA)

Presents a lesson plan that highlights the role of the Supreme Court in determining the applicability of the first eight constitutional amendments to the rights of students. Allows students to study actual Supreme Court cases involving schools. Includes lesson objectives, procedural outline, numerous case-related primary documents, and a brief…

Centering around a role-play simulating the search of students suspected of possessing illegal drugs, this lesson focuses on students' rights as related to the Bill of Rights. Calls upon students to argue landmark cases involving students' rights to enhance critical thinking skills. (GEA)

Describes the National Bicentennial Competition on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, a Center for Civic Education project. Includes two project lessons which focus on the U.S. Constitution as an instrument to protect individual freedom at the middle school level, and feature the founding philosophy of the Constitution at the high school level.…

This is the first of four special handbooks on constitutional themes. "The Idea of Liberty" (I. Starr) suggests that for teaching purposes, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights is an excellent operating definition of liberty. "Introducing the First Amendment" (D. Sorenson) is a lesson plan for use with upper elementary and…

Lesson plans include an application by James D. Laney for teaching the concept of economic scarcity to first graders, and an activity requiring seventh graders to report on the origins of Texas towns by Pat Hazlett. Glenda Hayes and the Center for Civic Education offer activities for U.S. history, U.S. government, and world history. (LS)

Presents a learning activity in which students compare their state constitution's bill of rights with the federal Bill of Rights. Provides a chart for identifying comparisons of enumerated rights. Includes background information and explains objectives and procedures. (CH)

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans focuses on teaching high school students their Constitutional rights and responsibilities. The 40 lesson plans in the book cover the courts and basic rights, the rights of criminal suspects, the rights of minors and education law,…

Designed to meet the need for suitable materials for teaching the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to young children, this publication offers model lessons and teaching methods and includes specific classroom activities. In the book's first section, model lessons demonstrating the use of the newspaper to study the Constitution in grades one…