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This is an interesting NYT article that discusses America's view of the Constitution, and the impact the Constitution had on the rest of the world. It chronicles the ways other countries were impacted by the Constitution. For instance, countries that created Constitutions strikingly similar to the U.S.

Everyone should read this article! It could be the foundation for one of our online sessions. Note the remark: "America is in danger, I think, of becoming something of a legal backwater" .

I went searching for a useful article on the Shelby County v. Holder decision. I wanted to supplement the material provided in the Middle School Lesson for this week, which covered a history of voting rights in America. The materials did not go so far as to include this recent development, which arguable disenfranchised a large portion of Americans. I would read this article with the students and then add a character for "period 4" in the lesson who, students would realize, may be disenfranchised by this 2013 Supreme Court decision.

And make sure students realize the close proximity in date of this article and story. This is as current as it gets.

The New York Times has a great map section for the Electoral College. If you type in Electoral Map in the search bar of the New York Times it will be give you various maps of the past few elections (presidential, midterm, governors, etc.). A great visual for students to understand voting patterns, etc.

This is an article about the election of 2008. However it goes into the history of how Douglass and Stanton were close allies and then ended up not being so.

This chart shows how many electoral votes each state had between 1981-90, 91-2000, and 2001-10. Could be useful when teaching contemporary elections - and could be particularly helpful when looking at demographic patterns - inferences galore to be made!

Here is a nice opinion piece by the NYT regarding the Electoral College: http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000001821730/electoral-college-101.html?ref=electoralcollege

Albert, I loved this article and the trailer. The best quote from the trailer is the last line: Interviewer: What is democracy? Kid: It's a type of ... disease.

Written by historian Paul Finkelman, a very opinionated takedown of Jefferson that could be used as part of a critical study of slavery and the founders. I tried to preface our look at the article with a discussion of the dangers of judging historical figures by contemporary standards, but most kids remained firmly in the "monster" camp anyway

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.