Standard 3: Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.

In this lesson, students will analyze a criminal case in Mexico involving an innocent man convicted of homicide. Students will identify and explain the protections for the accused that are outlined in the United States Constitution and infer how such protections might have affected the case in Mexico. This lesson features excerpts (note: the film is in Spanish with English subtitles) from the program Presumed Guilty, the story of a man wrongfully sent to prison in Mexico for a murder he did not commit.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this interactive 2-part tutorial series, you'll learn ALL about the Electoral College, the often-confusing mechanism used for picking the President of the United States.  

This is part 2 in a two-part series. Click HERE to open Part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this 2-part interactive tutorial series, you'll learn ALL about the Electoral College, the often-confusing mechanism used for picking the President of the United States.  

This is part 1 in a two-part series. Click HERE to open Part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In Part 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn about the impeachment process detailed in the U.S. Constitution, including what it is, who can be impeached, why someone would be impeached, and some famous examples of impeachment in action.   

This is Part 2 in a two-part series. Click HERE to open Part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In Part 1 of this interactive tutorial series, learn about the impeachment process detailed in the U.S. Constitution, including what it is, who can be impeached, why someone would be impeached, and a bit about the process.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn about the forms governments take, including monarchy, democracy, autocracy, and oligarchy.  You'll also learn about the advantages of a constitutional republic, the chosen form of government of the United States.   

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn about three economic ideologies--capitalism, socialism, and communism--as well as economic systems.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn about the famous Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review.  You'll examine the details of the case and its important legacy in American history.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, explore several landmark cases of the Supreme Court to see how the Court's decisions have impacted the rights of individuals and society throughout American history.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial hosted by "Bill" O. Rights, learn in great detail about the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this tutorial, learn about two different types of democracies.  You'll compare and contrast presidential and parliamentary systems of government using the examples of the United States and the United Kingdom.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn about three systems of government: federal, unitary, and confederal (a confederation).

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, you'll examine the powers and workings of the three branches of our federal government.  You'll learn what Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court really do.  Enjoy!

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, explore the impact of federal, state, and local governments on your daily life.   

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, explore the state government of Florida and learn how its three branches are modeled after those in the federal government.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn about six important amendments to the U.S. Constitution.  These amendments ended slavery, ensured equal rights for all citizens, and guaranteed voting rights to women, African Americans, and other minority groups.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn about one of the most important principles in American democracy: rule of law.  You'll explore this important concept and learn about its application to a famous Supreme Court decision: United States v. Nixon.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore the three branches of the U.S. federal government with a special emphasis on the checks and balances that allow our government to achieve a proper separation of powers in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, analyze all 10 Amendments that make up the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.  You'll learn not only about the rights and freedoms guaranteed by each, but also the limits of those rights.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This interactive tutorial will help you answer the questions: What can individuals do on their own to make change? When can your government help you?  To which government can you turn?  Learn about responsible citizenship and how you might make positive changes in your own community. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, explore the sources and types of laws in the American legal system.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, explore the similarities and differences between the federal Constitution of the United States and the state Constitution of Florida.  You'll also learn about our system of federalism and how it is expressed in these Constitutions.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This interactive tutorial teaches you all about the process of amending (changing) the United States Constitution.  

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn about the different levels of our federal judicial system, from federal district courts all the way up to the one and only Supreme Court.  In this interactive tutorial, you'll also learn about the landmark Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, which set an important precedent for students' right to free speech in schools.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn how the decisions of the United States Supreme Court have affected the equal rights of Americans.  You'll learn the outcomes and impacts of two famous cases: Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how to identify the three branches of the federal government as established by the Constitution of the United States.  In this interactive tutorial, you will also learn to identify the structure and function of each branch of government. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, compare and contrast different forms of government, including democracy, socialism, communism, monarchy, oligarchy, and autocracy. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn how and why American citizens are governed by TWO governments which share power: the federal government of the United States and the government of the state in which they live.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, learn how a bill becomes a law. You will see how bills (ideas for laws) are passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, and you'll learn how all three branches of government play a role in determining the laws of our land.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This teaching idea presents a way for students to interactively research 16 different Landmark court cases (14 Supreme Court and 2 state court level cases) and share their findings through presentations and a gallery walk. Requires background knowledge about levels of courts, the appeals process, and judicial system vocabulary.

Type: Teaching Idea

From 1972 to 1982, Florida lawmakers addressed the question of whether to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The amendment proposed that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” Floridians’ response to the ERA mirrored the national divide over the amendment’s message on gender equality. This resource from Florida Memory provides primary sources to support the teaching of the ERA in a Florida context. 

Type: Text Resource

Learn about Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution and the president's role as the commander in chief in this tutorial video provided by Khan Academy and the National Constitution Center.

Type: Tutorial

Learn more about the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This case was a pivotal moment in the struggle for racial equality in America.

Type: Tutorial

View a documentary about the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. You'll review the historic origins of these rights and then go into detail about the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in New York Times v. United States, the Pentagon Papers case. Enjoy!

Type: Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will view an outstanding video on the meaning and history of habeas corpus: the law that prevents a person being held in jail or prison without being able to hear and contest the charges being brought against them. You'll then learn about 4 recent Supreme Court cases where habeas corpus has been called into question in the context of the global war on terror.

Type: Tutorial

In this video, you will hear from Supreme Court Justices O'Connor, Breyer and Kennedy as they recount the landmark Supreme Court decision on the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. This case was instrumental in the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement and to desegregating public schools in America. The video also include discussion of a key event that followed the Brown v. Board ruling, specifically that of the nine students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, a group known as the Little Rock Nine. Enjoy this conversation on the Constitution!

Type: Tutorial