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I came across this lesson plan through a CUNY link in the optional reading for Session 5. I think it combines excellent primary sources (e.g., James Madison's notes regarding how to establish an electoral process) with incredibly creative activities to help students understand the advantages and disadvantages of the electoral college. I'm excited to try this out with my class this year!

Great primary visuals from the time period regarding the Chinese "invasion" of California. The visuals are from various publications. Students could categorize the arguments according to economic, political, cultural reasons as a take home assignment.

I found this link based off of my previous link of Washington's letter to the Jews of Newport. This is a collection of 50 critical primary sources that trace America's growth from the Declaration through the 1980s. It's interesting to see their choices of documents to include, and the story it tells of American history.

The American Civil Liberties Union has a vast array of materials hosted on their site. Perhaps the materials of greatest use to teachers are the frequent "news releases" about issues pertaining to our individual freedoms that are currently in the news.

The is a site that teachers should bookmark and read weekly because it keeps you up to date with the issues of the day.

Transcripts of the Constitution that could be excerpted or used in entirety with classes. This website contains high resolution images and also transcripts of documents. Furthermore, it has background and history of the documents.

Thanks for this!

 A huge library of the founding documents and a timeline.  Many of the documents include a glossary.  However, many of the connected sites don't work.  Also just be careful as this website does seem to have a right wing agenda. 

I wish I had found this site back in September! I really like all of the resources laid out on this website, it's easy to navigate, and something I could imagine letting my students explore too. I especially had fun playing "Which Founder Are You?" Turns out I'm George Mason.

Here is a great summary by the NYT about Supreme Court cases that revolves around student freedoms - it is a great catalyst for discussions and student involvement in politics and student government.

Fabulous site. Every high school student will be fascinated to read about cases involving school and teens. The SC cases are beautifully analyzed and very accessible for high school kids.

So helpful even for my middle school students, I think. I even learned some things! Who knew that 28 states still allow corporal punishment? I especially love the "impact" sections, which show how influential these rulings can be on future cases.

This is another website that provides background information on the 1st Amendment. I like this website because it talks about a few Supreme Court decisions and justices that have asserted that freedom of Speech is absolute. Similarly, this website does a pretty good job of describing current issues and challenges to free speech.

Jon Stewart uses the founding documents to condemn republicans for the government shut down.

This is a website that gives detailed analysis of the Pros and Cons of divisive issues debated by American society. It's a great way to start many a debate. Furthermore, it has specific connections to many Constitutional debates like Gun Control, Capital Punishment, and Citizenship.

I have used this site for years to introduce the structure of our government and more. It is broken down by grade so every teacher, k-12 will find this incredibly useful. Great visuals and a better explanation of our confusing election process than I've ever seen.

This might work nicely for comparing ancient democracies to ours today, specifically comparing and contrasting the balance of power. It is accessible enough that my 7th graders could explore it on their own.

Designed for 4th through 12th grade, has pre quizzes, an interactive tour and post quizzes. Solid explanations of processes, understandable by kids around middle school age and up, not dumbed down though. I can see having this as a center-type activity.

VERY useful for intermediate and middle. Definitely a keeper!

This website provides a great breakdown of the Constitution in kid-friendly language. It can be a great resource for lower achieving students who are trying to tackle the often complex language of the document.

I like this site because it is so available for middle school kids. Well worth bookmarking and using.

Tons of good things on this site - videos about government (which I find really hard to locate), interactive games, readings and information about federalism, rights and equality.  There are a lot of resources here, including an entire section for teachers.  I think it is mostly geared towards middle and high school teachers.