Bill of Rights Institute

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Screenshot, Bill of Rights Institute home page
Annotation

This website offers opportunities for teachers and students to explore the Bill of Rights in a multitude of ways and includes information about educational opportunities for students and teachers in addition to their online content. (The institute puts on Constitutional seminars for teachers as well as a Constitution Academy and essay contest for students.)

On the website itself teachers will find information on Constitution Day, more than 90 lesson plans which incorporate the Bill of Rights, daily news headlines relating to the Bill of Rights, and one-to-three sentence summaries of more than 150 Supreme Court cases in 15 different thematic categories such as freedom of speech, federalism, and freedom of the press. The Supreme Court case feature is especially useful if you are looking for a brief description of the case and its central issues.

The site is very easy to navigate and the Institute has clearly made an effort to streamline the search for information. One particular example of this is the Americapedia. This resource allows teachers and students to find identifications and definitions for people and words commonly associated with the study of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The Americapedia is organized into five categories—Civic Values, The Constitution, Documents, Landmark Supreme Court Cases, and People—with 15–60 definitions in each section.

Another area of this site clearly designed for ease of use is the primary documents section. In this section you will find 11 foundational primary source documents in addition to the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other amendments. Such a short list of documents means finding relevant information quickly, but some may find this section quite limited if doing in-depth research.

Finally, for teachers and students looking for a little variety in their study of the Bill of Rights, this site offers some interactive games. While the “Life Without the Bill of Rights?” and “Constitution Duel Quiz” games could be good for lesson introduction or class discussion, the “Madison’s Notes are Missing” game offers an opportunity for more in-depth student inquiry and requires interaction beyond just the click of a mouse.

Teachinghistory.org Teacher Representative Seth Swihart wrote this Website Review. Learn more about our Teacher Representatives.

Bill of Rights

Description

Professor Gordon Lloyd examines the U.S. Bill of Rights, its wording, its drafting and acceptance, and the arguments that sprang up surrounding it during its creation.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to the Friday, June 25th, 9:00 am-10:30 am session; and select the RealAudio image or link in the gray bar to the left of the main body of text.

Older versions of this lecture, from newer to older, can be found here and here.

Hatton W. Sumners Institute

Description

The institute is divided into three levels, as follows:

101: This 40-hour training begins with an in-depth study of the Declaration of Independence. Participants will then be taken through the ancient and European origins of the U.S. Constitution, followed by the American origins. The training will continue with a famous Federalist debating a famous Anti-Federalist over whether a New York State convention should vote to ratify the Constitution in 1788.

Then attending teachers will be taken on a walk through the seven articles of the Constitution. The remainder of the time will be spent studying the First Amendment and famous Supreme Court cases on the First Amendment, including the current term cases.

The agenda is divided into blocks of time spent with scholars, followed by break-out sessions where activities are demonstrated on the curriculum covered in the scholar sessions.

201: Available to those teachers who have completed the 101 session, the advanced session begins with a look at the "Ladder of the Bill of Rights." The remainder of the three-day, 18-hour institute is spent studying Amendments Two through 10, along with Supreme Court cases decided under each of these amendments. Break-out sessions follow each scholar session with activities on the Bill of Rights.

301: The one-day, seven-hour Update Session is available to those teachers who have previously attended both 101 and 201. Participants will spend most of the time discussing Supreme Court cases that have been decided during the past few years with the scholars. They will also receive a new activity guide, which includes lessons on Federalism and writing.

Contact name
Greenwood, Yvonne
Contact email
Sponsoring Organization
Law Focused Education, Inc.
Phone number
800-204-2222
Target Audience
3-12
Start Date
Course Credit
The State Board for Educator Certification approves the institute for continuing education credit for teacher certification, and optional graduate credit is available through the University of St. Thomas in either Political Science or Education.
Contact Title
Coordinator
Duration
Five days
End Date

History Colloquium: "First Amendment and Religious Liberty, Free Speech, and Free Press: 1791-Present"

Description

"An NCHE team of Charles Errico, Ted Green, and Lucinda Evans will explore the topic of the First Amendment and Religious Liberty, Free Speech, and Free Press: 1791-Present at this colloquium."

Sponsoring Organization
National Council for History Education
Phone number
1 440-835-1776
Target Audience
Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade
Start Date
Cost
Not listed
Course Credit
Not listed
Duration
Five days
End Date

Civil War and Reconstruction

Description

"This course will examine military aspects of the war, as well as political developments during it, including the political history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. The course also examines the post-war Amendments and the Reconstruction era."

Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Ashbrook Center, TeachingAmericanHistory.org
Phone number
1 419-289-5411
Target Audience
Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade
Start Date
Cost
None ($500 stipend)
Course Credit
"Teachers may choose to receive two hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University. This credit can be used toward the new Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transfered to another institution. The two credits will cost $440."
Duration
Six days
End Date

Civil War and Reconstruction

Description

"This course will examine military aspects of the war, as well as political developments during it, including the political history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. The course also examines the post-war Amendments and the Reconstruction era."

Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Ashbrook Center, TeachingAmericanHistory.org
Phone number
1 419-289-5411
Target Audience
Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade
Start Date
Cost
None ($500 stipend)
Course Credit
"Teachers may choose to receive two hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University. This credit can be used toward the new Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transfered to another institution. The two credits will cost $440."
Duration
Six days
End Date

Bill of Rights

Description

Professor Gordon Lloyd examines the U.S. Bill of Rights, its wording, its drafting and acceptance, and the arguments that sprang up surrounding it during its creation.

Bill of Rights

Description

Professor Gordon Lloyd examines the U.S. Bill of Rights, its wording, its drafting and acceptance, and the arguments that sprang up surrounding it during its creation.