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Resources > U.S. Constitutional History > Lesson Plans

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CongressLink
http://www.congresslink.org
"CongressLink provides information about the United States Congress - how it works, it's members, and the public policies it produces..."
CongressLink is authored by the Dirksen Congressional Center, a research and education non-profit organization. This website offers such great features as lesson plans by subject, WebQuests, and history materials (both documents and photos). Another interesting feature is that any of the material on the site can be translated into French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. With lesson plans and WebQuests to motivate the students into civic action there is a place to go on this website that allows students to easily identify their representatives in congress, and then write to them!

First Amendment Center
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/
“Welcome to the First Amendment Center’s new Web site, featuring comprehensive research coverage of key First Amendment issues and topics, a unique First Amendment Library and guest analyses by respected legal specialists.”
Operated by the First Amendment Center, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, this site features excellent research coverage of key First Amendment issues and topics, as well as a library of related materials dealing with the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. The material on this site can be located, appropriately enough, under the First Amendment freedoms, with each of the 5 freedoms further broken down into “a number of subtopics, such as free speech on public college campuses, workplace religious liberty, blue laws, and the rights of prisoners.” This site would be tremendous addition to anyone teaching about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases
http://www.landmarkcases.org/index.html
“This site was developed to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases, helping students explore the key issues of each case.”
Diana Hess, Nancy McCullough, and Jennifer Brandsberg teamed up with Street Law and the Supreme Court Historical Society to create Landmark Supreme Court Cases. At this site, teachers and students can access primary documents, narratives, lesson plans, and reading activities. The material approaches the subject from multiple angles. The lessons on specific cases include multiple reading levels and are tailored to fit class sessions. If the instructor prefers teaching legal concepts, the site provides this material, as well. Some of the material is complex, and the website includes teaching strategies.

National Constitution Center (NCC)
http://www.constitutioncenter.org
"NCC was established to increase awareness and understanding of the U.S. Constitution, the constitution’s history, and the constitutions relevance to our daily lives…”
The one thing a visitor to this website will notice is the number of lesson plans available to educators in the area of constitutional subjects. To coincide with the lesson plans, there is an area of historical documents relating to constitutional history such as the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Bill of Rights, and Constitution. One good feature worth noting about this site is the Kids Corner section that contains activities, quizzes, and a glossary of terms.