In this lesson, students analyze the interplay of processes and procedures that courts use to seat an impartial jury and gain appreciation for the essential role of juries in the justice system. They also explore the responsibilities and limits placed on government by the Constitution in the context of civil and criminal trials.

This three-part documentary discusses why and how the Constitution was created at the Constitutional Convention and explores the protection of individuals' rights in the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright and limits on presidential power through checks and balances in the Supreme Court case Youngstown v. Sawyer.

This lesson focuses on the landmark Supreme Court case Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), which challenged the extent to which the president of the United States can exercise power during times of foreign conflict. The underlying issue, which has arisen throughout our nation's history, is to define the balance of power among the three branches of government during times of national emergency.
This lesson, based on the Annenberg Classroom video âKey Constitutional Concepts: Presidential Power,â is meant to teach students how constitutional law determines the parameters of presidential power by focusing on President Harry Truman's domestic policy regarding labor and the steel industry during the Korean War.
The estimated time for this lesson plan is 45 minutes.

The lesson begins with students considering the need for an attorney in a criminal trial, followed by an examination of the rights contained in the Sixth Amendment. Using the video, students examine both the constitutional right to counsel and how this right has been secured by Supreme Court decisions. Throughout this lesson, students are provided opportunities to form their own opinions regarding Gideon's case while reviewing the language of the Sixth Amendment as they see his case unfold. The lesson concludes with students writing a historical analysis of the Gideon decision and understanding how criminal defendants are now informed about their right to counsel.

Learn how laws are made in an updated version of LawCraft. Select a district to represent in the House of Representatives, then review letters from constituents. You'll dig into survey data and select an issue that's important to you and the people who live in your district. Take that issue to the House and jump into the law-making process. See if you can make the compromises necessary to get your bill passed by the House and Senate and still make a law you're proud of.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Rep. Pete Sessions (R., Texas) explain the complex process of turning a bill into federal law in discussions with high school students.

This video tells the story of the origins of the Magna Carta and explores the two most important principles that it symbolizes: rule of law and due process. Students will learn how the framers interpreted and redefined the rule of law and due process when they created our Constitution. And they will understand how those rights have been expanded and protected by the U.S. Supreme Court through two landmark Supreme Court cases: U.S. v. Nixon and Powell v. Alabama.

This video tells the story of the origins of the Magna Carta and explores the two most important principles that it symbolizes: rule of law and due process. Students will learn how the framers interpreted and redefined the rule of law and due process when they created our Constitution. This version of Magna Carta and the Constitution is for use in history classes.

Students will learn about the principles that undergird the Magna Carta and how they have influenced important legal documents. More specifically, students will evaluate the Magna Carta's impact on the U.S. Constitution.

This lesson is based on the Annenberg Classroom video âSearch and Seizure: Mapp v. Ohio,â which explores the landmark Supreme Court decision that makes state governments also responsible for protecting our Fourth Amendment right. With the exclusionary rule, this right becomes real for all of us.

The complex relationship between the presidency and public opinion is examined by leading historians, political scientists and public figures who also offer insight into the office and its occupants from George Washington to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This discussion guide is for use with the video âThe Nature of Judicial Independence,â which features remarks and conversation with Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Hon. Stephanos Bibas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and David F. Levi, former dean of Duke University School of Law, on October 26, 2019, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Using the Annenberg Classroom video âOne Person, One Vote,â this lesson explores the questions âDoes the Constitution require that every person's vote count the same as another person's vote? Why would that be important?â Students will use their knowledge of the U.S. Supreme Court cases Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims to answer these questions.

The process of how a bill becomes a federal law is more than a series of linked steps. It is the fundamental way people in a democracy get involved and work through their elected officials to meet needs and solve problems for the benefit of themselves and other Americans. Through this lesson, students will learn about the dynamic interconnections of people, principles, and process that are involved in making federal laws.
The estimated time for this lesson plan is four class periods.

This documentary tells the story of a tiny school in Yosemite National Park that tries to solve its funding problem by getting a bill passed in Congress and, in the process, learns many lessons about how federal laws are made.

Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Stephen G. Breyer answer questions from students about why we need a written Constitution and what it says about the Supreme Court and its rulings.
Closed captions available in multiple languages, including Spanish.

This lesson is based on the two-part Annenberg Classroom video âThe Story of the Bill of Rights,â which explores one of the toughest political fights in American history and the outcome that became a symbol of liberty and freedom in America – the Bill of Rights.

This lesson is based on the Annenberg Classroom video âA Conversation on the Constitution: Brown v. Board of Educationâ in which Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer participate in a Q&A session with a group of high school students. The conversation revolves around the issues and arguments in Brown v. Board of Education. Through the lesson, students gain insight into decision-making at the Supreme Court, learn about the people behind the case, construct a persuasive argument, and evaluate the significance of Brown v. Board of Education.

Four short videos explain the significance of presidential signing statements: Separation of Powers, Non-Enforcement, the Unitary Theory and the President's Intent. Hosted by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

This lesson is based on an Annenberg Classroom video Habeas Corpus: The Guantanamo Cases that explores the four Supreme Court cases known as the Guantanamo cases. These cases are examples of how the Court, the president and even Congress fought to balance national security and civil liberties during the war on terror, a war that continues to this day. At the hear of each case was the constitutional right of habeas corpus, the right to have one's detention or imprisonment reviewed in court.
This lesson is aligned with the National Standards for Civics and Government and Common Core Standards. The estimated time of this lesson is two 50-minute classes.