Students will learn about the structure, function, and powers of the legislative branch of government. They will explore the legislative process, as well as the influence of citizens and political parties.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is one of the nine required, foundational documents for AP U.S. Government. This lesson includes a guided reading of the Letter, supported with textual and video-based resources.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860, his experience in politics and government included serving in the Illinois legislature and the US House of Representatives. He had also studied law and was licensed to practice law in Illinois at age twenty-seven. This seems like scant experience for a man who would lead a country through its greatest internal challenge. However, Lincoln found a way to draw on his life experience and his professional knowledge to lead the nation with an astuteness and skill that might have escaped a more seasoned politician.

Presidential campaign commercials from 1952-2020 for both Dem/GOP. Also has lessons plans for analyzing things like what makes a good ad, or how does the historical context affect an ad.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council. Dealing with the "regulatory taking" of property, this lesson asks students how much they think the government should be able to regulate property before it becomes a "taking" requiring just compensation.

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.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Mapp v. Ohio. Dealing with incorporation of the Fourth Amendment and the legality of searches and seizures, this lesson asks students to assess the claim that the exclusionary rule helps ensure liberty and justice.

After losing an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, Mapp took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court determined that evidence obtained through a search that violates the Fourth Amendment is inadmissible in state courts. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

The Marbury v. Madison decision resulted in the establishment of the concept of judicial review. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

The U.S. Supreme Court determined that Congress has implied powers that allow it to create a national bank, even though the Constitution does not explicitly state that power, and that Maryland’s taxing of its branches was unconstitutional because it interfered with the working of the federal government. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona. Dealing with the Fifth and Sixth Amendments and whether or not the accused needs to be advised of their rights upon arrest, this lesson asks students to evaluate the extent to which Miranda is the fulfillment of the legal tradition of the promise against self-incrimination.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed, deciding that the police had not taken proper steps to inform Miranda of his constitutional rights. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

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.

The Supreme Court decided that the search did not violate the Constitution and established more lenient standards for reasonableness in school searches. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Nollan v. California Coastal Commission. Dealing with whether or not regulations restricting property owners' actions on their own property are protected by the Fifth Amendment, this lesson asks students why property rights are sometimes referred to as a "bundle of sticks."

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 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.

Summaries of all SCOTUS courts cases, that will show the background facts, constitutional issue, the holding by idealogy/seniority and will also have links to the original documents or audio of the oral arguments