Author Misty Heggeness highlighted the significance of Harry Burn as it relates to the 19th Amendment.
Bell Ringer: The Constitution of the United States Vignette
This 1950s classroom film depicts the problems that led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, such as Shay’s Rebellion and confusing state currencies, and then dramatizes some of the major events of the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
Formation of State Constitutions
This lesson plan opens with reflective question that asks students to reflect the development of laws in the United States. Students then watch, analyze, and respond to an introductory video clip that details the goals of the writers of the first state constitutions. Next, students view for videos that provide historical background information, including uncertainty during the revolutionary era, what the colonists agreed upon, and how citizenship and society were viewed in the wake of the Enlightenment. Students then are assigned to study either Virginia’s, Pennsylvania’s, or Massachusetts’ first state constitution. After viewing the video clip for their assigned constitution, students then choose another first state constitution of choice and prepare a presentation comparing the two. The lesson concludes with a reflective video clip before students respond to a summative writing prompt.
First Amendment Quizzes
The First Amendment Academy is a hub for quick, engaging quizzes from Freedom Forum, which also provides educational resources through NewseumED. The quizzes test middle school and high school students’ knowledge with real-world scenarios, interactive activities and thought-provoking questions that make learning these five fundamental freedoms fun, fast and relevant.
Civic Online Reasoning for the Science Classroom
Scientific misinformation abounds online. Improve students’ ability to evaluate scientific information on the internet with these curricular materials. These lessons and tasks can be used in a variety of subject areas, but we’ve compiled this group of materials specifically for science educators because they present students with science-related sources.
Civic Online Reasoning for the History Classroom
Historical misinformation abounds online. Improve students’ ability to evaluate historical information on the internet with these curricular materials. These lessons and tasks can be used in a variety of subject areas, but we’ve compiled this group of materials specifically for history educators because they present students with history-related sources.
Civic Online Reasoning for the Civics Classroom
Information of civic importance abounds online. Improve students’ ability to evaluate civic information on the internet with these curricular materials. These lessons and tasks can be used in a variety of subject areas, but we’ve compiled this group of materials specifically for civics educators because they present students with civics-related sources.
Reading Like a Historian with Digital Literacy
10 new Reading Like a Historian lessons with formative assessments that incorporate digital literacy in the history classroom.
Beyond the Bubble
Beyond the Bubble unlocks the vast digital archive of the Library of Congress to create History Assessments of Thinking (HATs). Explore over 140 easy-to-use assessments that measure students’ historical thinking rather than recall of facts.
Reading Like a Historian Curriculum
The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features a set of primary documents designed for groups of students with a range of reading skills.