Reports on a poll conducted by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) which asked members and potential members to respond to 28 professional issues and rate a series of services provided by NCSS. Includes ordering information for the complete survey. (GEA)

Discusses the progress made by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) in recent years and examines areas in which improvement is needed. States that NCSS must serve as an advocate for excellence in social studies programs and teaching. (GEA)

Discusses a teaching unit which enables high school students to see the connections between the specific grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and the structural prohibitions in the U.S. Constitution. Predicts that 27 grievances will be identified as students become more familiar with these two documents. (GEA)

Presents a lesson which calls upon students to compare Adam Smith's WEALTH OF NATIONS to James Madison's FEDERALIST #10 to see how the ancient concept of individual rights and liberties was used to describe both economic and governmental systems. Presents questions to provide the basis for comparison. (GEA)

Presents three lesson plans for an eleventh grade U.S. History course entitled: "Thomas Jefferson's Opinions of Negroes"; "Why Weren't Women Considered Part of the Body Politic?;" and "Blackstone's Understanding of King-in-Parliament as the Foundation of the British Constitution." Each lesson includes instructional procedures and questions for…

Presents a lesson plan which uses role playing to teach secondary students about sectionalism and its effects on a nation. Set during the Constitutional Convention, students, as participants, learn about the three main areas of conflict, the viewpoints of each section of the country, and the importance of compromise as they argue and defend their…

Presents a teaching unit which will enable secondary students to differentiate between unitary, federal, and confederate forms of government; list factors leading to the formation of the U.S. federal system of government; and understand how different structures of government result in different degrees of freedom, responsibilities, and…

Presents a two-day lesson which helps students understand the distinction between government and private action and, for more advanced students, to apply past court decisions to a hypothetical situation involving commerce and contract rights. Includes a checklist of 25 items which examines government involvement in students' everyday lives. (GEA)

Presents a six-day lesson in which two different classes role play the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to simulate the bicameral nature of the U.S. government. Students use actual federal or state legislation or write their own bills, and then work through the process of passing them into law or rejecting them. (GEA)

Presents a lesson which will help high school students identify the specific parts of the U.S. Constitution, recognize the way the Founding Fathers dealt with the problems of government, and evaluate how the document works 200 years later. Includes an in-depth worksheet for analyzing the document and two sets of constitutional problems to be used…

Presents a lesson for secondary students which teaches that the U.S. Constitution has changed in a variety of ways and that it has a direct effect upon the lives of citizens. Provides a worksheet and a lecture outline covering three methods of constitutional change and Supreme Court cases such as Dred Scott and Brown vs. Board of Education. (GEA)

Presents a lesson which will help students see the importance of the Bill of Rights in their everyday lives and learn the first ten constitutional amendments. Outlines the procedures for a five-day teaching unit, assignment of a student project, and discussion of two problems dealing with freedom of expression. (GEA)

Presents a three-day lesson, which requires students to evaluate selected Supreme Court cases and determine how they think the cases were decided and which amendments were applicable. Includes eighteen cases for student deliberation, followed by the actual Supreme Court decisions. (GEA)

Outlines a lesson in which students learn how the constitutional protection of religious freedom has been applied to the Amish. Includes readings from which students can analyze three seemingly contradictory decisions related to the Amish and attempt to understand judicial interpretation. Asks students to apply the concept of judicial…

Presents a 234-item annotated bibliography of a wide variety of resources for teaching about the Constitution at all grade levels. The materials include: books; computer software; inspirational literature; teaching aids such as letters, memoirs, and diaries; teacher's handbooks; portraits and pictures; music, songbooks, and recordings; and…