What's New
Free First Amendment Lesson and Announcing the First 5 in My Life Video Contest
FREE lesson plan on the importance the First Amendment in students’ daily lives. The lesson culminates in a brand new video contest for students in grades 7-12, First 5 in My Life, with $10,000 in cash prizes for the winning students.
More details on the First 5 in My Life Student Video Contest can be found here.
Free Lesson and Video on Presidents and the Constitution
FREE John Adams: The Alien and Sedition Acts lesson from the Presidents and the Constitution curriculum. Help your students understand if the sedition portion of the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, signed into law by President John Adams, was a constitutional war measure. As part of our newest curriculum, you can also check out the video Commander and Chief: War and the Constitution, a seven minute documentary from the curriculum's accompanying website, www.ArticleII.org.
Lesson Plans
- Rights of the Accused - From our Landmark Supreme Court Cases DBQs: Exploring the Cases that Changed History curriculum, read this essay about criminal procedure rights written by noted scholar Dr. Dennis Goldford of Drake University. (203 kb, pdf format)
- Middle School Lesson on the Bill of Rights - A lesson from the Being an American: Exploring the Ideals that Unite Us curriculum, designed to teach middle school students about the Bill of Rights. (363 kb, pdf format)
Answer Key
- High School Lesson on the Bill of Rights - A lesson designed to teach high school students about the Bill of Rights. (363 kb, pdf format)
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Additional Resources
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Did You Know? - Uncommon facts about the Bill of Rights
- Founders Online - Read about the words and ideas of twelve Founders
- Read about Life Without the Bill of Rights, from The Bill of Rights and You: Rights and Responsibilities
- Order copies of our pocket-sized Bill of Rights for your class!
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Did You Know?
The Bill of Rights was ratified December 15, 1791.
Congress adopted twelve amendments, of which only ten were ratified by the states by 1791.
Over 200 years later, one more of the original twelve, concerning compensation for Congress was ratified on May 7, 1992, becoming the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights and was inspired, in part, by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason.
The Bill of Rights initially applied only to the federal government; however, the Supreme Court, through the Fourteenth Amendment, has incorporated some portions to apply to the states.
Only 17 amendments have been ratified since the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
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Additional Bill of Rights Day Resources
The Bill of Rights Institute's Founding Documents Teacher Resources
15 hand-selected resources about all the Founding documents, including the Bill of Rights
Gunston Hall Plantation
Learn more about the home of George Mason, the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights
James Madison's Montpelier
Learn more about the home of James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and author of the Bill of Rights
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For more free resources, click on a link below:
eLessons | Constitution Day | Founding Documents
Founders Online | Landmark Supreme Court Cases | Links