Lessons and Resources
Every U.S. history lesson relates to the Constitution. Though it is not always mentioned or included in classroom teaching and resources, the events and issues students study can be linked to a constitutional clause or principle; incorporating the Constitution throughout the curriculum is one way for students to better understand the document's relevance to the present and their lives.
The resources in this section represent efforts over the years to develop materials that weave the Constitution through historical and current events about which students learn. Two of the packets, on impeachment and birthright citizenship, ask students to consider the Constitution, the Framers' ideas, and events and issues in the past and the present to draw their own conclusions. The other two, on abortion and immigration, frame these topics through the lens of the Constitution and how it's been interpreted. The latter were developed in partnership with students from NYU Law School, who used this information to teach New York City high school students about the history and context behind issues in the news today.
Constitutional History: The Right to Choose
Explores abortion- related case law and Supreme Court decisions; challenges students to consider the right to privacy and the tenuous nature of the right to choose. Developed in collaboration with students at NYU Law School.
The Constitution and Immigration
Resources introduce legal and political obstacles to immigration in the past and present. Students evaluate the ways in which constitutional principles shape debates about immigration in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Developed in collaboration with students at NYU Law School.
Impeachment
Students learn about the history of impeachment and its use as a political tool over the years. Resources include perspectives on impeachment in different eras and information on presidential impeachments in the United States.
Birthright Citizenship
Students will discuss and analyze the origins and implications of birthright citizenship and recent attempts to undermine this principle as they draw and express their own conclusions on this topic.