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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Plessy v. Ferguson & the Roots of Segregation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How far in the past do the roots of Jim Crow and segregation extend? Young historians closely consider this question using detailed PowerPoint slides as a basis for discussion rather than lecture, culminating in an activity where class...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Public Christmas Displays and Lynch v. Donnelly

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Does a Christmas display on government property violate the Constitution? Learners study the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and learn about the landmark Supreme Court case Lynch v. Donnelly through watching a documentary and...
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Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Procedural Rights: Amendments VI, VII, and VIII

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Even in court, your class members have procedural rights provided by the amendments. Teach high schoolers this important lesson by using the 18th installment of a 20-part unit exploring the US Constitution. The resource provides several...
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Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Procedural Amendments: Amendments III, IV, and V

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
So many US Constitution clauses, so little time. The 17th installment in a 20-part series teaches pupils about the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. Learning through activities such as group work, connecting to current events, and...
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Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Courts and Judges

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
If the Supreme Court is so supreme, why do all cases not just start there? High schoolers learn why every case does not start at the Supreme Court as well as the importance of hierarchy in the US judicial system in the 11th installment...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Bill of Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In groups, learners review one of four selected Supreme Court cases. The whole class watches a video introducing the four cases, and then small groups dive into Internet research in an attempt to write a two-paragraph summary of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Searching for Answers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Makes a Good Law?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Why were laws created? Spark a group discussion on why we need laws to co-exist. Should the sale of some things be outlawed on Sundays? Read a case summary between Target and the state of Minnesota that debated this issue. Ask your...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Marsh v. Chambers and the Establishment Clause

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
1983 Supreme Court case Marsh v. Chambers, which centers on whether opening a legislative session with a prayer violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the US Constitution, is the focus of a series of discussions and...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Minnesota v. White: Exploring a Judicial Candidate’s First Amendment Rights

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
After watching a documentary on the Supreme Court case Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, class members research how the First Amendment and free speech issues influence judicial elections and then conduct a mock judicial election.
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission & the First Amendment

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
Should Congress limit how much a corporation spends to support a political candidate? Here is a fantastic lesson plan and activities to help young citizens approach this question.
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Compare and Contrast: School Photographs

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Separate and very unequal! An interactive presents learners with two images: a photograph of a boys' bathroom at a school in Gloucester County, Virginia, and a second of a girls' bathroom at a different school in the same county. The...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Worcester v. Georgia: Cherokee Sovereignty and Actions of the U.S. Government

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Young historians study the Supreme Court case "Worcester v. Georgia"  and note instances where the Justices defended the sovereign rights of the Cherokee. They also examine the actions of President Andrew Jackson and the provisions of...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

School Desegregation Court Cases: Mendez v. Westminster and Brown v. Board

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Separate is not equal! Young historians analyze the petition from the U.S. Supreme Court case Mendez v. Westminster filed in 1945 and examine background material about the case. They then compare it to the more famous Brown v. Board of...
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Lesson Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Actions that Changed the Law

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The Fair Play Act of 2009 came about due to the actions of one woman. Young historians research Lilly Ledbetter and what she went through to get pay equal to that paid to men for the same work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Oklahoma and Segregation

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Introduction to the First Amendment: What’s a Violation?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Young historians take an in-depth look at the five freedoms granted by the First Amendment. Groups apply their knowledge of the freedoms to a series of scenarios to decide if the depicted actions represent a violation of the amendment.
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

You Can't Say That in School? The Case of Lee v. Weisman

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The Supreme Court case Lee v. Weisman is the focus of a lesson that examines religion in public schools. After reading a summary of the case and before reading the verdict, pupils use their knowledge of the First Amendment to discuss the...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Compare Coverage of Brown v. Board Ruling

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Young journalists analyze how The Topeka State Journal, the Jackson Daily News, and The Providence Journal reported on the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education. Scholars scrutinize the headlines, photographs,...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Brown v. the Board of Education: Success or Failure?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Desegregation does not mean equality. An eye-opening instructional activity focuses on the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision to end school segregation. Scholars review a series of political cartoons to understand how the...
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Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Landmark Supreme Court Case: Roe v Wade

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Perhaps no issue is as controversial than abortion in the American landscape. Go beyond the rhetoric by examining the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States. A guided note-taking activity unpacks the arguments...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

The Supreme Court and the Lives of American Women 1908-2005

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
While Roe v. Wade and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment often get top billing in women's history, other lesser-known laws impact their daily lives. Pupils research cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey and use a jigsaw model to...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Voting Rights Act of 1965

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Despite the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle to ensure fair voter registration and election procedures continues. Young historians...