In the Constitution, the Congress is given the sole power of impeachment and removing the President and all civil officers from office. This power of Legislative Branch provides a significant check over the Executive and Judicial Branches. This lesson provides explanations of the Constitutional basis of the power, the process for removing officials and the history of impeachments and removing these officials from office. It also provides discussions on the standards of impeachments and how those are interpreted by Congress.

Students will learn how our Constitution was created and what some of its key characteristics are. They will also explore key amendments to the Constitution and their application in protecting citizens' rights.

15 asynchronous modules about the U.S. Constitution. Modules included videos, activites and student/teacher notes/instructions

This lesson has students use C-SPAN's Constitution Clips to explore the provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Using their own devices in class or at home, students will be introduced to the Constitution through C-SPAN video clips. This lesson has students complete an online scavenger hunt to learn more about the structure and rights included in the document. This scavenger hunt is best suited for classes with one-to-one devices or a flipped classroom format.

This comprehensive series of 35 short videos explains the text, history, and relevance of the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and additional amendments in everyday language. Each video is assignable and ends with a call-to-action question, prompting learners to further explore the topics.

Use this lesson with The Constitutional Convention Narrative and after students have done The Articles of Confederation, 1781 Primary Source activity.

This lesson contains various activites that can be used while teaching about the Constitutional Convention. Some have students compare similiarities/differences between the Convention members. Others deal with comparing the Articles of Confederacy to the Constitution, objections to the Constitution, or Madison's description of 'Federalism.'

This lesson plan focuses on the essential question: How does philosophy affect the way a judge reads the Constitution and what is the effect of that? Teachers will use the Annenberg Classroom video âA Conversation on the Constitution: Judicial Interpretationâ in which Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, a strict constructionist, and Stephen Breyer, an evolutionist, debate how the Constitution should be interpreted.

Three key components of the Fourteenth Amendment – due process, equal protection, and privileges and immunities – are explored in this lesson, which centers on the video âA Conversation on the Constitution: The Fourteenth Amendment.â In the video, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks with high school students about the Fourteenth Amendment and the protections it offers.

Essential Question: Should the executive branch have the authority to deny individual rights and liberties during times of war, even if it is done in a discriminatory way?
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
Know the facts and decisions of the Hirabayashi and Korematsu cases.
Consider the impact of war-time pressures on governmental decision-making.
Consider the extent to which the judicial and legislative branches should defer to the executive.
Apply the concepts of discrimination and rigid scrutiny to contemporary scenarios.

This lesson explains the structure and function of the judicial branch. Students will learn how the Supreme Court originated, how cases are selected, and why it is an important institution. In the accompanying Annenberg Classroom video âA Conversation on the Constitution: The Origin, Nature and Importance of the Supreme Court,â Chief Justice John G. Roberts answers students' questions about the Supreme Court and his role as chief justice of the United States.

This discussion guide is for use with the video âDeciding Difficult Cases,â which features Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, interviewing the Hon. Emmet G. Sullivan, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, at the Fair and Impartial Judiciary Symposium on October 26, 2019, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

This lesson is based on the Annenberg Classroom video that explores the evolution of the free press doctrine, Freedom of the Press: New York Times v. United States

Students analyze primary source texts, including excerpts from the Federalist papers, to investigate the purposes of the Necessary and Proper Clause, the ways in which the separation of powers limit government, and how factions and personal liberties affect the functioning of government. Next, students will write an essay or produce another type of product to answer the question the lesson title poses. Then students will create and deliver brief persuasive speeches in support of how our current federal government is either functional or dysfunctional.

At a time when the country was in deep conflict over slavery, the Supreme Court decided that Dred Scott was not a “citizen of the state” so it had no jurisdiction in the matter, but the majority opinion also stated that Dred Scott was not a free man. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

This three-part lesson asks students to investigate and think critically about the nature of the War Powers identified by the Constitution. Beginning with the historical and philosophical foundations of the War Powers as they are written in the Constitution, students will be asked to explore why the Founders identified the War Powers as they did, using primary sources to back up their arguments. Students will then consider how War Powers have changed over time, evaluating the evolving dynamic of powers between the three branches of government.

The ink was barely dry on the Constitution when the first challenges to its protections arose. These early challenges to the new constitutional republic often involved the meaning of the Constitution itself. What did its words actually mean, and who would get to decide?

This unit is designed to provide students with an introduction to the electoral processes of the American political system. Students will develop a strong foundation that will inform them of their choices and encourage civic involvement. The Elections and Voting unit guides students to a deep understanding of concepts and processes across the political spectrum through simulations, presentations, vocabulary-building activities, and a mock election.

This is a case about whether public schools may also play a role in teaching faith to God through the daily recitation of a government-endorsed, teacher-led prayer. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

Article I Section 8 of the Constitution lists powers expressly delegated to Congress. This lesson has students learn about the concepts of enumerated and implied powers of Congress and explore real life examples of these powers. Students will use the Constitution Clips resources to summarize the specific enumerated powers and identify the additional powers of Congress implied by them. This lesson works well in classes with one-to-one devices or could be adapted to fit a flipped classroom.