Teaching and Learning about Civics

Lesson 1: Talking about the Constitution: civil dialogue

Grades 6 to 12 and college. One class period (about 50 minutes).

Essential question

What is the difference between a political question and a constitutional question, and why does that difference help us talk across disagreement?

Students will

• Tell the difference between a political (policy) question and a constitutional question.
• Build and use a set of class norms for civil dialogue.
• Practice a short constitutional conversation in a small group.

You will need

• Constitution 101, Module 1: Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue (high school), or the Module 1 materials as one PDF
• Middle school Module 1: Thinking and Talking About the Constitution
• Civil Dialogue and Constitutional Conversations resources, including the Civil Dialogue Toolkit (PDF)

Steps

1. Warm-up (5 min). Each student writes a one-sentence definition of civil dialogue, then compares it with a partner. Module 1, activity 1.1, gives sample definitions you can share next.
2. Set norms (10 min). Build class norms together. Start from the norms the Center suggests: stay calm, listen patiently, listen actively, and don't speak twice until everybody has spoken once.
3. Two kinds of questions (15 min). Show the toolkit's example. Policy question: should the principal search a student's locker? Constitutional question: does the Fourth Amendment limit a government employee's power to search it? Pairs then write their own pair of questions on a topic in the news.
4. Practice round (15 min). Small groups discuss one constitutional question using the norms. Rotate roles: facilitator, timekeeper, summarizer and norms checker.
5. Close (5 min). Each group reports one point of agreement and one open question.

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: use Topic 2 of the middle school module, "The Importance of Civil Dialogue."
• College or dual enrollment: add the seven methods of constitutional interpretation (Module 1, activities 1.4 and 1.5). Students tag each argument they hear with the method it uses.

Check for understanding

Exit ticket: write one political question and one constitutional question about the same issue.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 1: American Government and Civic Engagement.

Source: National Constitution Center, Constitution 101 Curriculum, Module 1; Middle School Module 1; Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue Tool Kit; Constitution in the Headlines (suggested discussion norms).

Lesson 2: Reading the Constitution like a scholar

Grades 8 to 12 and college. One or two class periods.

Essential question

How can people who disagree about the Constitution still find common ground about what it means?

Students will

• Read a clause of the Constitution in its own words.
• Explain where scholars with different views agree and where they disagree.
• Use evidence from the text and history to explain an interpretation.

You will need

• The Interactive Constitution. For each clause, two scholars chosen with guidance from the American Constitution Society and the Federalist Society write a shared "Common Interpretation" and separate "Matters of Debate" essays.
• Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov), a plain-English legal analysis from the Library of Congress (optional, for older students).

Steps

1. Warm-up (10 min). Students read the Preamble and rewrite it in their own words.
2. Jigsaw (20 min). Give each group one clause, such as the Commerce Clause, the First Amendment or the Equal Protection Clause. Groups read the Common Interpretation and list three things both scholars agree on.
3. Matters of Debate (15 min). Groups read the two Matters of Debate essays and note where the scholars part ways and what evidence each one uses.
4. Share out (5 min). Each group reports in this form: "Both scholars agree that... They disagree about... because..."

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: use the Preamble and one amendment only. Read the Common Interpretation aloud together.
• College: compare the Matters of Debate essays with the Constitution Annotated entry and a case from the Supreme Court Cases Library.

Check for understanding

Write a one-paragraph "common ground" summary of your clause, with one quotation from the text.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 2: The Constitution and Its Origins.

Source: National Constitution Center, Interactive Constitution; Library of Congress, Constitution Annotated.

Lesson 3: Separation of powers and federalism: who decides?

Grades 6 to 12 and college. One or two class periods.

Essential question

Why did the framers divide power among three branches and between the national and state governments, and how does that division show up in Colorado?

Students will

• Sort real situations by branch (legislative, executive or judicial) and by level (federal, state or local).
• Explain checks and balances using a founding-era primary source.
• Compare how a bill becomes law in Colorado with the federal process.

You will need

• Constitution 101 Curriculum, Module 6: Separation of Powers and Federalism (activity 6.1, "Whose job (or check) is it?", and the Article I, II and III info briefs)
• Founders' Library: James Madison, Federalist No. 51 (1788), and Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws (1748)
• How a Bill Becomes Law in Colorado (Colorado General Assembly, available in English and Spanish)

Steps

1. Sort it (10 min). Pairs sort situation cards by branch and level, for example: issuing a driver's license, declaring war, vetoing a bill, ruling a law unconstitutional, setting a school calendar.
2. Primary source (15 min). Read a short excerpt of Federalist No. 51, including Madison's line "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Students explain it in their own words and give a modern example.
3. Branch dossiers (15 min). Three groups each take one branch and list its powers and one check it holds on each of the other branches.
4. Colorado connection (10 min). Walk through the Colorado bill process. Students mark one step that has a federal parallel and one that doesn't.

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: use the middle school version of Module 6 and limit the sort to 6 cards.
• College: add John Adams, Thoughts on Government (1776), from the Founders' Library, and the student-led Constitution 101 on Khan Academy, Unit 5.

Check for understanding

Students explain one check and balance in writing, then give one example of federalism from their own community.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 3: Federalism.

Colorado connection

Colorado bills pass through committees and votes in both the House and the Senate before reaching the governor. Use the General Assembly's Resources and Guides page for a glossary and a short video.

Source: National Constitution Center, Constitution 101 Curriculum, Module 6; National Constitution Center, Founders' Library; Colorado General Assembly, How a Bill Becomes Law in Colorado.

Lesson 4: Free speech and the First Amendment

Grades 6 to 12 and college. One or two class periods.

Essential question

Most Americans agree that speech should be protected. So when, where and how can the government limit it?

Students will

• Examine their own assumptions about free speech.
• Explain how the Supreme Court has drawn lines around protected speech.
• Apply those lines to a school or campus scenario.

You will need

• First Amendment: Speech, a lesson plan from the Center (download the lesson and activity sheets)
• First Amendment: Free Speech Lessons (separate high school and middle school versions)
• Supreme Court Cases Library: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)

Steps

1. Anticipation guide (10 min). Students agree or disagree with statements such as "A school can punish any student speech it dislikes." Keep their answers for the end of the lesson.
2. Read the text (5 min). Read the First Amendment on the Interactive Constitution and underline each of the five freedoms.
3. Case stations (25 min). Groups rotate through four case stations. At each one they record the facts, the question, the decision and the rule it set.
4. Return and reflect (10 min). Students go back to the anticipation guide. Which answers changed, and which case changed them?

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: use the middle school free speech lesson and focus on Tinker.
• College: public colleges are government actors. Students compare a public campus speech policy with the rules from the four cases, keeping the focus on the constitutional question rather than the policy preference.

Check for understanding

Students write a short "ruling" on a new school or campus scenario and cite at least one case.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 4: Civil Liberties.

Source: National Constitution Center, First Amendment: Speech [lesson plan]; National Constitution Center, First Amendment: Free Speech Lessons; National Constitution Center, Supreme Court Cases Library.

Lesson 5: The rule of law and the courts

Grades 9 to 12 and college. Two class periods of about 50 to 60 minutes each.

Essential question

What is the rule of law, and why does it matter in the U.S. constitutional system?

Students will

• Build a working definition of the rule of law from historical quotations.
• Analyze Supreme Court cases in small groups.
• Connect the rule of law to the courts and to daily life.

You will need

• Rule of Law: High School Level, a two-day lesson plan by Ellen Resnek of the Center's Teacher Advisory Board (also available as a PDF)
• Supreme Court Cases Library (for example, Marbury v. Madison and Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer)
• Optional video: The Rule of Law in the United States (C-SPAN Classroom), with short clips of justices, attorneys and law professors

Steps

1. Day 1: Quotations (50 min). Follow the Center's Day 1 plan. Small groups read historical quotations about law and government and draft a class definition of the rule of law.
2. Day 2: Cases (50 min). Follow the Day 2 plan. Groups analyze an assigned Supreme Court case, then the whole class works out how each case tests the rule of law.
3. Connect (10 min). Students list two places the rule of law shows up in their own lives, such as school rules, traffic laws or contracts.

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: use only Day 1 and two or three quotations.
• College: add the C-SPAN clips. Students write an essay on a current challenge to the rule of law, using sources from more than one viewpoint.

Check for understanding

Students answer the lesson's two essential questions in a short written response with evidence.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 13: The Courts.

Colorado connection

Compare the federal courts with Colorado's state courts. Ask students which court would hear a case about a state law.

Source: Resnek, E., Introduction to the Rule of Law [lesson plan], National Constitution Center; National Constitution Center, Supreme Court Cases Library; C-SPAN Classroom, The Rule of Law in the United States.

Lesson 6: Voting rights and elections in Colorado

Grades 8 to 12 and college. One or two class periods.

Essential question

Where is the right to vote in the Constitution, and how did it grow to include more Americans?

Students will

• Trace how constitutional amendments expanded the vote.
• Find official, nonpartisan Colorado voting information.
• Weigh the arguments for and against a ballot measure without taking sides.

You will need

• Classroom Resources about Voting Rights (the Center's topic page, with briefing document, slide deck and worksheets)
• Election Teaching Resources
• Go Vote Colorado (Colorado Secretary of State) and the Colorado General Assembly home page, which links to the current ballot information booklet (Blue Book)

Steps

1. Quick question (5 min). Ask: "Where does the Constitution guarantee the right to vote?" Collect answers. The Center notes the right is not directly protected in the original text, and amendments have made it more inclusive over time.
2. Amendment timeline (20 min). Groups each take an amendment: the 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 24th or 26th. They add to a class timeline what the amendment changed and who gained a voice.
3. Colorado how-to (10 min). Students explore Go Vote Colorado to see how to register, check a registration, find where to vote and view a sample ballot.
4. Blue Book practice (15 min). Pairs read one ballot measure in the Blue Book and summarize the arguments for and against it. Don't ask students how they would vote.

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: focus on the 19th and 26th Amendments and the timeline.
• College: add Constitution 101, Module 13: Voting Rights in America. Students analyze one Supreme Court voting case from the module.

Check for understanding

Students complete a timeline card for one amendment and explain how it changed who could vote.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 7: Voting and Elections.

Colorado connection

Colorado encourages young people to pre-register before they turn 18. Every public high school has a staff member trained to help with voter registration, and high school juniors and seniors can serve as student election judges. Details are on the Secretary of State's High School Registration page. Check it for current age rules before you teach.

Source: National Constitution Center, Classroom Resources about Voting Rights; National Constitution Center, Election Teaching Resources; Colorado Secretary of State, Go Vote Colorado and High School Registration.

Lesson 7: Constitution in the headlines

Grades 8 to 12 and college. One class period. Repeat it any time a constitutional question is in the news.

Essential question

How can we talk about a constitutional issue in the news civilly, using evidence and more than one viewpoint?

Students will

• Separate the constitutional question in a news story from the political debate around it.
• Listen to scholars from different viewpoints.
• Take part in a structured, respectful discussion.

You will need

• Constitution in the Headlines. Each resource pairs a short media clip with "Big Constitutional Questions," primary sources and student choice activities.
• Example: Amending the Constitution and the Article V Project, with time-stamped clips of three scholars
• Your class norms from Lesson 1

Steps

1. Review norms (5 min). Revisit the class civil dialogue norms.
2. Headline story (10 min). Read the resource's headline story and its Big Constitutional Questions aloud.
3. Listen (15 min). Play the suggested clips. Students take notes in four boxes: facts, feelings, questions and connections.
4. Fishbowl dialogue (15 min). An inner circle discusses one Big Constitutional Question while the outer circle tracks evidence and how well the group follows its norms. Then the circles swap.
5. Choice activity (5 min to start). Students pick one of the resource's student choice options to finish as homework.

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: use one clip and a whole-class discussion instead of a fishbowl.
• College: students find two more news sources with different viewpoints in the library's A-Z Databases list and compare how each one frames the constitutional question.

Check for understanding

Students write a short reflection on how one scholar's argument changed or confirmed their own thinking.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 2: The Constitution and Its Origins (Article V and the amendment process).

Source: National Constitution Center, Constitution in the Headlines; National Constitution Center, Amending the Constitution and the Article V Project.

Lesson 8: From classroom to community: a civic action project

Grades 6 to 12 and college. Three to five class periods over two to three weeks.

Essential question

How have ordinary people used their First Amendment right to petition, and how can we take part in our own communities today?

Students will

• Analyze historical petitions to Congress.
• Find out who represents them at the state and federal level.
• Research a local issue and write a respectful, evidence-based message to a decision-maker.

You will need

• National Archives lesson plans on petitions to Congress, such as "In Their Own Words: Women's Petitions to Congress (1830-1971)"
• Colorado General Assembly, "Find My Legislator"
• iCivics (free account): the "Who Represents Me?" WebQuest and the County Solutions civic action unit
• Optional capstone: a free Scholar Exchange with a lawyer, judge or constitutional scholar

Steps

1. Petitions then (1 period). Analyze historical petitions with the National Archives lesson. What did people ask for? How did they make their case?
2. Choose an issue (1 period). Students brainstorm local issues and choose one. Use Lesson 1 to frame both the policy question and any constitutional question.
3. Research (1 to 2 periods). Students gather evidence from library databases and official sources, and look up who represents them.
4. Act (1 period). Students draft a respectful letter, public comment or short presentation. Sending it is optional. Students choose their own position, and grading is on evidence and civility, not on viewpoint.
5. Capstone (optional). Schedule a Scholar Exchange on a related topic.

Adapt it

• Grades 6 to 8: work on one shared class issue and write a group letter.
• College: add a short annotated bibliography and a reflection that connects the project to civic engagement readings.

Check for understanding

Rubric: accurate evidence, a clear question, an appropriate decision-maker and respectful tone.

Open textbook companion

OpenStax American Government 3e, Chapter 1, section 1.3, "Engagement in a Democracy."

Colorado connection

Colorado legislators can be found through the General Assembly website. You can also invite a county clerk or a local official to visit or answer student questions.

Source: National Archives, Center for Legislative Archives lesson plans; Colorado General Assembly; iCivics; National Constitution Center, Scholar Exchanges.