Classroom Lesson Plans
Please note that some lessons include handouts that are .pdfs; you may need to download Adobe's free Acrobat Reader in order to view them.
Voting Rights and Election Law Under the ConstitutionGrades 3 - 5
Mock election lesson planGrades 6 - 8
Who Can Vote for Student Council?Grades 9 - 12
Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Challenges of RedistrictingVoter Identification and the Right to Vote
First Amendment Lesson Plans
- Update: First Amendment Freedoms Lesson Plans
- Grades 4-6: Introducing the First Amendment
- Grades 7-9: Introducing the First Amendment
- High School Students (Grades 7-12)
- Student Activity - First Amendment: Can a Municipality Forbid Political Signs on Residential Property?
Student Activities and Discussion Topics (9-12)
- Why Court & Congress Collide, and Why Their Conflicts Subside by Charles Gardner Geyh (Insights on Law & Society – Fall 2006)
- Learning Gateways Activities – Ex Parte Merryman Simulation (Insights on Law & Society- Fall 2007)
- The Supreme Court Encounters the New Deal (Insights on Law & Society – Fall 2004)
Separation of Powers (Grades 4-6)
Students engage in a role play demonstrating separation of powers concepts; recognize constitutional provisions provides for separation of powers; and speculate on rationales for the Constitution’s separation of powers.
Student Privacy Rights (Secondary)
Students learn about 4th Amendment concepts by analyzing Katz v. United States (1967) and about student privacy rights in schools by comparing/contrasting excerpts (majority opinion with a dissent) in Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls (2002).
Teaching About Guns and Gun Control (Secondary)
Students identify and describe the main arguments of groups and organizations for and against gun control by creating a commercial. What Does the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution Mean? (Secondary)
Students compare/contrast the preambles of constitutions; compare/contrast state constitution preambles with the U.S. Constitution preamble; identify the values underlying these preamble provisions; and draft an alternative U.S. Constitution preamble and give rationales for its provisions.
