This is a great, detailed exploration of the timeline of the passage and ratification of the 14th amendment from 1866-1868.The site as a whole provides details and timelines for many of the great events of American history, as covered by Harpers Weekly. It's also a great place to access cartoons for use in class!

I am really excited to use this website and all that it has to offer in terms of teaching about the Constitution as a living document. Peter Sagal's journeys across America and reflects on the magnificence and limitations of the Constitution. He speaks in student-friendly language, uses compelling graphics, and addresses ideas that will attract student attention (such as women in sports and how far we have come).

This site has a number of podcasts summarizing Supreme Court decisions that influence the rights of students. I like that these podcasts are (mostly) in student-friendly language. I also like the idea of using podcasts as a way of accessing auditory learners and addressing the skill of note-taking and picking out key informaton.

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!

This website focuses on an aspect of voting that we may not usually talk about with our students, but is arguably extremely important: the mechanics of voting. It takes you through a history of voting technology, from wooden ballot boxes, to gear and lever, to punch cards, to electronic voting. It would be a great way to explore the many influences that decide an election, and to question power in our democracy with students.

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.

Wow. I came across the site when I clicked on a link in the CUNY website, and I was blown away. I am amazed that I haven't come across this website before (I bet most of you have). It's got a plethora of primary sources on revolutionary and post-revolutionary America, as well as many other eras throughout American history. It also has teaching tools and lesson plans. I think that what I like the most about it is how well organized it seems to be. I will definitely be using this!

The prompt this week for the ACLU link had to do with how we might use timelines in class to explore voting rights, and that reminded me of this wonderful websites. It allows you to create your own dynamic timeline for students to explore, and it also allows students to create their own timelines. It's easy to use and visually very friendly.

This video is straightforward and fascinating, helping to explain issues of apportionment. It really emphasizes the complexity faced by the Supreme Court in trying to interpret and understand the Constitution.

I really enjoy starting each unit I do with a combination of texts and images, mainly primary sources, for students to observe and start to form impressions and questions. These LOC primary source sets are great for this!