lesson
Foundational American Documents: Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights
Synthesize how the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights together define American democratic governance.
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Constitutional Government and the Protection of Individual Rights
8 lessons
Goal
Understand the structure of the federal government, the system of checks and balances, and how constitutional amendments and judicial actions expand and protect individual rights over time.
8 lessons
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- Separation of Powers: Three Branches of U.S. GovernmentUp next
- Checks and Balances: How Branches Share and Limit PowerNot started yet
- How a Bill Becomes a Law in the Federal GovernmentNot started yet
- Foundational American Documents: Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of RightsYou are here
- How the Amendment Process Works: Changing the ConstitutionNot started yet
- How Rights and Responsibilities Have Changed Over TimeNot started yet
- Expanding and Protecting Voting Rights Through Constitutional AmendmentsNot started yet
- How Courts Interpret Laws to Protect or Limit RightsNot started yet
Learning standards covered
SS.5.18West Virginia Social Studies Standards · All agesIdentify the characteristics and purposes of maps, globes, geographic information systems, and other geographic tools.
SS.5.20West Virginia Social Studies Standards · All agesDemonstrate an understanding of the industrial North and the agricultural South before, during and after the Civil War. • Research the roles and accomplishments of the leaders of the reform movements before and during the Civil War (e.g., abolition movement, Underground Railroad and other social reforms, etc.). • Explain how specific events and issues led to the Civil War (e.g., sectionalism fueled by issues of slavery in the territories, states’ rights, election of 1860 and secession). • Summarize key battles, strategies and turning points of the Civil War (e.g., Fort Sumter, Antietam, Gettysburg, other regional battles and the surrender at Appomattox). • Compare the roles and accomplishments of historic figures of the Civil War (e.g., Abraham Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address) Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Clara Barton and Frederick Douglass, etc.). • Explain the impact of the Civil War’s physical destruction on the nation and the people (e.g., soldiers, women, African Americans, and the civilian population, etc.).
SS.5.21West Virginia Social Studies Standards · All agesExamine the economic, political and social developments during Reconstruction. • Explain the effects of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the goals of Reconstruction. • Characterize the effects of Reconstruction on African Americans (e.g., rights and restrictions, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth Amendments, rise of discriminatory laws and groups (Klu Klux Klan), motivations to relocate, and the actions of the Freedmen’s Bureau, etc.).