We Can Change the World

This lesson can be used as an introduction to or a culminating activity for studying civil disobedience, creative nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy, significant events in his life, the influences on Gandhi's life, and the people Gandhi has influenced and continues to influence today. Its application here is focused as an introductory lesson in bullying prevention.

Branches of Government

These three mini-posters illustrate the three branches of government. Diagrams: simple , detailed ; and explanation .

Shamus the Squirrel

This lesson plan is based on the short story "Shamus and the Constitution" created by past Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyer Division Chair J.J. Clark, a U.S. Attorney and mother of three who created the story of a young squirrel named Shamus whose tree community is being disturbed by squirrel bullies. In the story, Shamus learns about the rule of law and the three branches of government and uses that education to help the rest of the squirrels create a safer and fairer community, free of bullying and other problems. Book copies of the story are available while supplies last from the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Downloads : story, lesson (again), and illustrations squirrel, leaf, and tree.

Law Day Lessons

Looking for ideas on teaching about Separate Branches, Balanced Powers? Start prepping now to make your Law Day presentation a hit!

This year's Law Day Lessons for elementary, middle, and high school students are available on the Law Day website.

These lessons are great for presentations at schools, and some also feature downloadable handouts for the students as well as additional linked resources.

National Online Youth Summit

Now available: the pre- and post-test answer key .

Student Voices Lesson: Community Issues

This lesson , which deals with issues in the community, is from the Student Voices Campaign Curriculum, Unit 2, Lesson 1. It is used with the permission of Student Voices and the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

When Push Comes To Shove: Coconut Chaos

"Through student role play and student mock mediation and mock trial, students will learn the value of solving disputes in a nonviolent manner, as well as learn certain methods for attaining a nonviolent resolution of a dispute." Access entire document here .

Test your knowledge of Pennsylvania counties

Try taking this seventeen-question quiz (plus a bonus question!) about the counties in Pennsylvania. The answer to each question is one or more county names. You can also get all the answers here .

Make a Difference in Your World with Future/Creative Problem Solving

This lesson was created by Anne Spector, a longtime contributor to Pennsylvania Bar Association educational outreach efforts and a recently retired educator from the Cheltenham School District. The lesson is easily adapted to older students by utilizing more mature literature. However, teachers who have used this lesson have found that older students enjoyed learning the process through stories they might read to younger children. (grade level: K-5)

English Literacy/Civics Curricula

From the PA Dept. of Education Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (PDE:ABLE)

"In response to federal legislation, selected Pennsylvania agencies have developed curricula that integrate civics instruction with English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. These ESL curricula emphasize contextualized instruction on the rights of citizenship, naturalization procedures, civic participation, and U.S. history and government to help learners acquire the skills and knowledge to become active and informed parents, workers, and community members.

While developing their curricula over the course of two years, Pennsylvania ABLE programs started with a basic framework, and then examined factors that may influence curricula, such as other stakeholders, program philosophy, demographics, and student goals. Each program examined published curricula before developing their own, and designed their curricula in accordance with sound language acquisition and adult learning theory.

These curricula are freely available for use in your program."

CityYouth: Ancient History

The Constitutional Rights Foundation's (CRF) new middle-school Ancient History curriculum is now available. CityYouth: Ancient History explores four ancient civilizations-Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome-and is designed to support California and National Standards in World History and the social sciences.

Engage Students in Government

CityWorks is CRF's newest high school government curriculum designed to fit into any civics or government class. CityWorks provides interactive lessons in which students become citizens of the fictional city of Central Heights. CityWorks is standards-based and will help students understand the differences and relationships amongst federal, state, and local government.

Free booklets for "I Signed the Constitution" and Law Day

LEAP-Kids helps produce booklets each fall and spring for the PBA, for both "I Signed the Constitution" and Law Day. Past and current versions of those lesson books are available online and free hard copies can also be ordered at the site.

Constitution Center Scavenger Hunt

This scavenger hunt is designed to show you some of the excellent exhibits within the National Constitution Center that you may want to spend some time exploring with the students you will be working with. Follow the hints to find the exhibit the scavenger hunt is referring to. Once you find the exhibit referred to on the list, spend some time reflecting on the questions that accompany each item on the list and think independently about how you would use this exhibit with the students. You may want to ask your students these questions and share your own thoughts with them.

Brown v. Board of Education: 50th Anniversary

"The story of America's struggle toward equality is complex. But in its ideals, America has stood for the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education ruled that the Constitution forbids laws segregating public schools by race. This historic decision opened the doors of opportunity for many Americans. Constitutional Rights Foundation presents a series of online lessons marking the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision."

Over a dozen lessons are available on this site by the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Also visit our Law Day section to read more about this year's theme: "To Win Equality by Law: Brown v. Board at 50".