Our Constitution Annenberg Classroom

This book by Donald Ritchie takes an in-depth look at the Constitution, annotated with detailed explanations of its terms and contents. Included are texts of primary source materials, sidebar material on each article and amendment, profiles of Supreme Court cases, and timelines. Classroom Resources > The Constitution: That Delicate Balance A video instructional series on the American Constitution for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 13 one-hour video programs. Constitutional issues come to life in this Emmy Award-winning series. Key political, legal, and media professionals engage in spontaneous and heated debates on controversial issues such as campaign spending, the right to die, school prayer, and immigration reform.

This series will deepen understanding of the life and power of this enduring document and its impact on history and current affairs, while bringing biases and misconceptions to light. Can the President's conversations with advisors remain secret when Congress demands to know what was said? Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski, former President Gerald Ford, and Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox bring first-hand experience to this topic. If the president, as commander in chief, decides to declare war, can Congress restrain him? Debating the issue are Gerald Ford, former CIA deputy director Bobby Inman, former secretary of state Edmund Muskie, and others. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of...

The preamble is the introduction to the Constitution. It outlines the general goals of the framers: to create a just government and to ensure peace, an adequate national defense and a healthy, free nation. With its first three words, “We the People,” the preamble emphasizes that the nation is to be ruled by the people— not a king or a dictator, not the president, Supreme Court justices, members... The U.S. Supreme Court held in 1905 (Jacobson v. Massachusetts) that the preamble is not a source of federal power or individuals’ rights.

Rather, all rights and powers are set out in the articles and amendments that follow. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. The framers of the Constitution separated the powers of government into three branches, granting legislative power (the power to pass laws) to Congress, executive power (the power to administer the laws) to the president,... The unique and limited powers of Congress are contained in Article I. The framers believed that this separation of powers would ensure that no one person or group of persons would be able to create, administer and enforce the laws, and that each branch would be... Under this scheme, Congress cannot give its lawmaking powers to the executive or judicial branch.

The courts are charged with ensuring that the three branches act independently and do not overreach their delegated powers. But in some instances, two branches of government are required to work together. For example, the Senate must approve the president’s appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the president has the power to veto acts of Congress or to pardon convicted criminals. Free classroom resources for teaching the Constitution. Annenberg Classroom's free resources include over 65 videos on constitutional concepts and Supreme Court cases as well as games, lesson plans, timelines, downloadable books, a glossary, and a Constitution guide.

For teachers, lesson plans on Supreme Court cases, constitutional concepts, and critical thinking skills; a guide that connects resources to the Constitution's articles and amendments; and recommendations for civics resources. For students, the Annenberg Constitution Guide: What It Says, What It Means; games; Constitution-related timelines; downloadable books; and a glossary of terms. What is the story of Juneteenth? Why do we celebrate this newly designated federal holiday, and how is it connected to one of the most cherished American ideals: freedom? This film explores the history of Juneteenth and illustrates how and why freedom and citizenship were intertwined, as well as how the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution changed and expanded the... Sponsored by Grolier Online, an educational portal drawing from Grolier’s various encyclopedias, this site provides information about American Presidents, Vice Presidents, Presidential candidates, and Presidential elections.

http://www.americanpresident.org/ Sponsored by the Miller Center of the University of Virginia, this site examines the history and function of the American Presidency, drawing in part on the Miller Center’s oral histories with members of... http://www.americanpresidents.org/ Based on C-SPAN’s television series, this site provides extensive material on each President, featuring video interviews with historians, visits to Presidential sites, and extensive background information. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm Sponsored by the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, this site offers the text of the Articles of Confederation and other documents relating to it and the road to the U.S. Constitution. http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org The Bill of Rights Institute’s mission is to educate high school students and teachers about the Constitution and Bill of Rights through the words and ideas of the framers. It examines the liberties and freedoms guaranteed in these founding documents and how they have affected and shaped a free society.

The site includes classroom lessons and other materials for teachers, landmark Supreme Court cases, and historical documents. Benton, Wilbourn E. 1787: Drafting the Constitution. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1986. A collection, in two volumes, of the delegates’ notes and draft texts. Bowen, Catherine Drinker.

Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September, 1787. Boston: Little, Brown, 1966. A classic study of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Bradford, M. E. Original Intentions: On the Making and Rati­fication of the United States Constitution.

Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1993. A skeptical analysis of the framers’ “idealism.” Butzner, Jane, ed. Constitutional Chaff: Rejected Suggestions of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, with Explanatory Argument. 1941. Reprint, Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat, 1970.

Proposals that did not make it into the Constitution. Collier, Christopher, and James Lincoln Collier. Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787. New York: Random House, 1986. A study of the Constitutional Con­vention with an emphasis on the Connecticut Compromise. Review by Vanessa Aranda , Common Sense Education | Updated September 3, 2019

Civics website makes teaching the Constitution manageable, meaningful Pros: The videos are solid and are extended with multiple materials connecting the Constitution to current events. Cons: There's no built-in differentiation, and while the lessons have a variety of videos, illustrations, and photos, the website itself is lacking. Bottom Line: Go for the videos, stay for the lessons: Annenberg Classroom saves teachers' prep time when teaching the Constitution, current events, or other civics lessons. Annenberg Classroom provides a comprehensive, multimedia curriculum on the Constitution. The site has free classroom resources which include videos, games, lesson plans and timelines as well as their popular Annenberg Guide to the Constitution, which provides the original text and then explains it in...

These materials are provided to equip middle and high school teachers with the tools to create informed citizens who understand their rights and responsibilities as outlined in the Constitution. Civics was founded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2009 to ensure that all Americans have the knowledge and will to participate in our unique experiment in self-government. iCivics first-of-its-kind digital civic library includes more than 260 curricular resources, digital literacy tools, professional learning materials, and educational video games. And behind those numbers lie countless young people who now feel the weight of their civic roles and agency. Constituting America's mission is to utilize the culture and multi-media outreach such as music, film, internet and social media, to educate, engage and inspire America's adults and students about the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the foundation it sets forth regarding our freedoms and rights.

Learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives. Discovering Justice envisions a society in which everyone is well-equipped with the knowledge, skills, and desire to build and sustain an equitable democracy.

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