September 17, 2011
Classroom Activities and Resources for Teachers
General Resources
Local Events and Resources
Other Resources
Classroom Activities and Resources for Teachers
All Grades
Center for Civic Educationhttp://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=constitution_day
Downloadable, ready-to-use lessons for kindergarten through twelfth grade. Kindergarten and Level 1-2 lessons examine the theme of authority. There is also a Flag Building poster and a Constitution Day Rap! Lessons for grades 3-4 and 5-6 explore ideas in the Preamble, such as "We the People." The Level 7-8 lesson helps students understand the federal system. Level 9-10 students examine the general framework of the government created by the framers. Finally, the lessons for levels 11-12 provide exercise to improve critical thinking skills involving contemporary issues. There are also lessons on "Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution" and "The Role of the President." An Historical Analysis of Constitutional Amendments is new this year.
Selected lessons are available to download to an MP3 player. Notes for the teacher may be downloaded as audio recordings for some of the lessons.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
http://www.crf-usa.org/constitution-day/constitution-day.html
Provides free online resources including lessons for K-12. The K-2 lesson title is The Tired King. Grades 3-5 titles: Mr. Madison Needs Some Help, and Trouble in Gold Flats; Grades 6-8 titles: Rome: Republic to Empire; The Federalist Papers. Grades 9-12 titles: Aristotle: In Search of the Best Constitution; Diversity and Equality; Constitution and Governance; Foundations of Our Constitution; and Bill of Rights in Action Archive. Arizona's SB 1070and State Policing of Immigration is news.
Elementary
Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com
From the home page, go to Teachers. Enter "Constitution" in the Search box, and you will be taken to lists of Resources and Activities (including free articles and lesson plans), Book Information, and Printables. From here, you may search by grade level, choosing Pre K-K, 1-2, or 3-5.
NOTE: The website also provides lessons and resources for middle and high school students.
Middle School
The Bill of Rights Institutehttp://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/constitutionday
New: Life Without the Bill of Rights activity, including games and a quiz. The popular Madison's Notes Are Missing (interactive experience) is back. There is Americapedia, an online reference, and other resources, including a new lesson plan, "Principles and the Death of Osama bin Laden."
Information about the Being an American Essay Contest may be found at www.beinganamerican.org.
High School
American Bar Association Division for Public Education
www.abaconstitution.org
Here you will find the Preamble, all seven Articles, and the 27 Amendments in the Bill of Rights. You may also link to Landmark Cases of the United States Supreme Court. Conversation Starters suggest thought-providing topics with suggested questions and related resources.
Annenberg Classroom
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/
A website with a "comprehensive curriculum on the Constitution and its amendments to daily civics news and student discussion." The Constitution Curriculum features these sections: Constitution Guide, Teaching the constitution, Videos, Timelines, Issues, Games and Interactives, PDF Timelines, PDF Lesson Plans, Books, and iBooks.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/
Find biographies of the 39 delegates who signed the Constitution; The Constitution Game; fascinating facts about the Constitution; and information about a teaching unit from the National Archives and Records Administration. Also: Teaching with Documents: U.S. Constitution Workshop at http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-workshop/index.html.
NOTE: Teaching with Documents provides resources suitable for grades 4-12.
Sunnylands Classroom
http://www.sunnylandsclassroom.org/ShowPage.aspx?PageId=12
2010 Materials:
Constitution Day Resources, featuring interactive educational games: Being John Marshall; The First Amendment; The Constitution Convention. Four additional games have been produced in partnership with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's iCivics project: Branches of Power; Executive Command; LawCraft; and Court Quest. 2010 Materials coming soon.
Street Law, Inc.
http://www.streetlaw.org
From the home page, select Resources for Teachers and Educators. Click the Resources tab for free lesson plans and links to other publications and research.
General Resources
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)http://free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=19
Click on "See All 27 Resources" to find a variety of documents from the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration and the National Constitution Center. Here you may find an online, searchable Constitution, The Federalist Papers, and much more.
Local Events & Resources
Nebraska Supreme Court and Nebraska State Bar Foundation-Connecting teachers with judges and lawyers for classroom presentations
The Supreme Court and the Bar Foundation will assist teachers in securing an attorney or judge to visit the classroom and make a presentation. If you are not acquainted with a judge to invite to your classroom, contact Janet Bancroft, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you need assistance finding an attorney for a classroom visit, contact Doris Huffman, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Also, check out Classroom Resources that were prepared for the 2011 Law Day celebration for both secondary classes.
http://www.nebarfnd.org/law-day-essay-contest - Classroom Resources (Secondary)
The Bar Foundation will make its four-DVD set of the PBS series, The Supreme Court, available for loan to teachers. Simply send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to inquire about borrowing this resource for up to two weeks.
Nebraska State Bar Foundation’s Mock Trial Cases
http://www.nebarfnd.org/mock-trial
2010 Mock Trial Case – State of Nebraska vs. Alex B. Toakliss
This criminal case involves the death of a college student at a Halloween party.
2009 Mock Trial Case - IN THE MATTER OF Kev Inruser A23 571 113
In removal proceedings
This civil case involves a foreign citizen in a removal proceeding. The process for the asylum seeker is complicated by evidence that he/she was involved in persecuting others under the now deposed government of his/her home country.
2008 Mock Trial Case – State of Nebraska vs. Chris Byrd
This criminal case involves procurement of alcohol for a minor.
2007 Mock Trial Case – A & M Records, Inc., et al vs. K.C. Jones
This civil case is a copyright infringement suit brought by several recording companies against a college student for allegedly downloading and sharing music.
2006 Mock Trial Case – State of Nebraska vs. Willie Flounder
A criminal case involving an attempted murder charge against a student for the shooting of another student. The defendant claims s/he was legally insane at the time of the incident. The case points up the problem of bullying and provides opportunities for discussing ways individuals and schools may respond.
2005 Mock Trial Case – Pat Christianson vs. William Jennings Bryan Public High School
A First Amendments rights case. It centers around the Student Council election at WJBHS where the principal, Dr. Eddie U. Cation, has told Pat that she will be allowed to participate as a candidate for student body president only if she eliminates her religious rhetoric from the campaign. Pat refuses to comply with the school’s mandate to purge her campaign message of any religious references. She maintains that her First Amendment rights have been violated and seeks a resolution by filing a lawsuit. Also posted at this site are relevant case law summaries and suggested additional readings.
United States Courts
http://www.uscourts.gov/EducationalResources/ConstitutionResources/ConstitutionDay.aspx
Listings include:
- Steps for student groups to take to become involved in a naturalization ceremony
- Information about scheduling a viewing of the Supreme Court's Conversations on the Constitution, including Jury Service
- Link to the Annenberg Classroom
Other Resources
Nebraska Secretary of State - Electionshttp://www.sos.ne.gov/dyindex.html#boxingName
This site provides information for voters in the following categories:
- General Voter Information
- Military Voters
- County Election Officials
- Overseas Voters
- Voter Information Center
- Information for Candidates
- Election Forms
- Previous Election Years
http://www.nebarfnd.org/age-of-majority
Online booklet on rights and responsibilities for young people coming of age
You the Juror – Nebraska State Bar Foundation
http://www.nebarfnd.org/you-the-juror
Free juror orientation video on DVD or VHS
