This master's thesis synthesizes literature on the teaching of the United States Constitution, analyzes the Supreme Court case of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 1990, and provides lesson plans for teaching the constitutional significance of this case. The thesis argues that because of the poor quality of textbooks and the inadequate…

No generation in U.S. history has matched that of the founding era for its array of talented and influential political thinkers and actors. These individuals (such as George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison) possessed traits of character and intellect that significantly shaped the…

The core mission of the social studies curriculum is education for democratic citizenship. The middle school years are an important time frame in which to fulfill that core mission. Policymakers, educators, community members, and parents need to recognize that civic education at the middle level years is important. One effective method for…