This resource provides terms to know related to the concepts found in the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution.

This lesson traces Lincoln’s political life during a time of constitutional crisis. It examines Lincoln’s ideas and decisions regarding slavery and the use of presidential power to preserve the Federal Union during the Civil War. When students have completed this lesson, they should be able to analyze and evaluate President Lincoln’s decisions in response to the critical constitutional issues of his time.

By the end of the lesson the students should be able to understand how it feels to be a minority, to be different, and to be discriminated against in any way.

Students will gain an understanding of the role money plays in the US economy. The lesson begins with a simulation of a barter economy and discussion of the need for money. The students will then learn about the characteristics, functions, and types of money through discussion and reading an informative comic book about money.

In this lesson students examine the concept of “citizen” from a definitional perspective of what a citizen is and from the perspective of how citizenship is conferred in the United States. Students discuss the rights and responsibilities of citizens and non-citizens and review the changing history of citizenship from colonial times to the present.

In this lesson, students will identify and evaluate how due process rights are applied, to compare due process protections in the U.S. and Croatian Constitutions and the limits these protections place on government. It also asks students to compare Croatia geographically with the states of Delaware and Maryland. The lesson is one 90 minute class or two 45 minute classes. Students will answer the following Essential Questions: How am I protected from those with authority over me? How does the right to due process affect my life? Why do limits on those with authority promote fairness? Do other countries have similar limits on their governments?

Students assume the roles of detectives as they investigate the occurrences during the Salem Witch Trials. They also assume the roles of lawyers and explore the principles of American democracy through the documents and laws that are meant to protect citizens from such unjust treatment in modern history.

This lesson provides a comparative review of the United States Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the constitutions of Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal; historical context; connections with current events; and the opportunity to take and defend a position on which right or rights are most important.

For this activity, students learn several important facts about the Constitution and its history.

In this lesson students will familiarize themselves with the delegates that were present at the Constitutional Convention by listening to a series of 60-Second Civics podcast episodes devoted to the Framers of the Constitution.

In this lesson, students will develop an awareness of the Constitution and why we celebrate Constitution Day be exploring what it is and why it is important.

In this lesson, students analyze the preamble to the Constitution to learn some of the basic ideas about government.

In this lesson, students analyze the preamble to the Constitution to learn some of the basic ideas about government.

In this lesson, students learn how the Constitution established a new way to organize government called the federal system. Students will describe how federalism differs from other forms of government and identify strengths and weaknesses of a federal system.

In this lesson, students will work in groups to compare and contrast the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the Constitutions of the United States, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Colombia, and Republic of Ireland in order to emphasize how constitutions support democratic principles and human rights.

In this lesson, students learn to identify the requirements of a position of authority and the qualifications a person should possess to fill that position. Students learn a set of intellectual tools designed to help them both analyze the duties of a position and to decide if an individual is qualified to serve in that particular position. Students apply the intellectual tools to a job description fro president of the Untied States and create a list of some of the characteristics a person should have to fill the position and perform well in that office.

In this lesson, students will analyze the Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel and evaluate the major characters in terms of their rights and responsibilities in terms of power and authority.

Students will be introduced to one of the most important parts of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution--the equal protection clause (an excerpt from the Center for Civic Education's "We the People.")

This lesson explains the steps taken by the First Congress to name a president and vice president, to provide funding for the new government, to draft a bill of rights, and to organize the executive and judicial branches.