SS.912.CG.1.1

Students will analyze the first 10 amendments of the Constitution and note the influence of Enlightenment philosophers and the importance of them in government and our daily lives. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will participate in a reading and writing activity.  They will mark up the text of the Declaration of Independence, making sure to indicate any passages which demonstrate the ideas indicative of the influence of the Enlightenment thinkers.

The teacher will pass out the grievances portion of the Declaration of Independence and have the students highlight, in different colors, the passages they think are from the Enlightenment thinkers. 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will analyze excerpts from the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and Common Sense. 

The main purpose of this lesson is to have students gain an understanding of the important documents that led to the American Revolution.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson will draw a connection between the Enlightenment ideas of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes and the creation of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen.

This lesson includes guided notes for students to complete during the lesson, built in review questions, and a guided practice for students to complete that contains primary source text from the documents.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will review the key ideas of several Enlightenment thinkers and explore their influence on Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence. 

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson will be used to introduce or review the Declaration of Independence, a founding document of America. This lesson will familiarize students with one of the Founders, Thomas Jefferson, and his influence on the American government by incorporating ideas from the European Enlightenment era. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will compare and contrast Enlightenment philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes to Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence. 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will learn about Magna Carta by watching a short video. Then, in groups, they will analyze some original text from Magna Carta, translate it into “modern” English, and make connections to the U.S. Bill of Rights. Students will end the lesson by responding to a writing prompt to show what they have learned.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will examine how intellectual influences contributed to the ideas in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution by analyzing the major ideas of Enlightenment philosophers.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will extend their understanding about individual rights in the U.S. by examining how the English attempted to protect individuals from unrestrained monarchial power. By examining the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution, students will analyze primary sources so they may better understand how rights for individuals were incorporated into the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Type: Lesson Plan

By examining the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution, students will analyze primary sources so they may better comprehend the origins and evolution of checks on executive power. The emergence of a parliamentary or deliberative body to counteract unlimited use of power by a head of state/government was a major development in history, and, eventually, an important outlet for the peoples' voice.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will review key terms and people behind the Constitution. 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will learn to evaluate how ideas from the past influenced the political thinking of the Framers when writing both the Declaration of Independence and in reforming the country under the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will analyze the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and identify an Enlightenment ideal that justified the grievance.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will use historical context and close reading to investigate the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence. Students will compare both documents to uncover intellectual continuities and appreciate the foundational position both documents occupy in American political and governmental history. 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will use text analysis and historical context to explore the impact of foundational documents, such as the Mayflower Compact, on the U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights. Students will engage in close reading and analysis of the documents and provide some contextualization of the principles included within each document. A graphic organizer is designed to assist with a formative assessment writing assignment. The intention is for this lesson to follow 200022, but it is not essential provided students have a background understanding of the Mayflower Compact. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Discover the origins and meaning of the document known as Magna Carta in this short video.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This Grades 9-12 Civics Family Guide provides some ideas and activities to support civics education when at home, out and about, and in the community. The activities provided align to the civics learning benchmarks within Standard 1 at these grade levels.

Type: Teaching Idea

In this source analysis activity, students will read the English Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of Massachusetts to analyze the impact they had on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Students will answer questions about each document after reading. At the end, discussion questions require an overall analysis of the influence that these primary documents had on the U.S. founding documents.

Type: Teaching Idea

Students will use the quotation cutouts provided with this teaching idea to analyze and connect premises about government and civil rights from Enlightenment thinkers to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States.

Type: Teaching Idea