Below are some Internet resources to help students and teachers with the simulated congressional hearings (SCH). I have divided all the links by the units in the We the People textbook in order to help you locate the resources you need. Please keep in mind that some of these sights are geared more to the adult reader and that students may need help understanding them. Many of the sites can be used by the teacher in order to build upon his or her knowledge of the subject. If you have any links you think I should add to this page, please email me and I will gladly add them!
Teacher Resources / Online Articles / Unit 1 / Unit 2 / Unit 3 / Unit 4 / Unit 5
The Center for Civic Education - The primary goal of our textbook We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation's elementary and secondary students. What makes the program so successful is the design of its instructional program, including its innovative culminating activity. Here you will find information on the mock congressional debates, which will be our culminating activity.
Center on Congress at Indiana University
The Center's goal is to explain the work and role of Congress to the average citizen. If you click on the section called "Learn About Congress" you will find interactive e-modules that will help you learn about everything from citizenship to how Congress works.
Digital History - Digital History enhances history teaching and research through primary sources, an online textbook, extensive reference resources, and interactive components.
ThisNation - A web site dedicated to providing factual, unbiased information about government and politics in the USA.
The White House: Government - Contains the main index of the offices and councils within the Executive Office of the President.
New York Times Learning Network - Educational resource for students in grades 5-12, teachers, and parents. Features include current events, news quizzes, daily lesson plans, Ask a Reporter, etc.
Library of Congress World Wide Web - Includes Library Services, Research Tools, American Memory Project.
Justice Learning - Text, audio, and multimedia resources for teachers, including lesson plans for legal and civil justice issues.
Citizen Joe - Weekly updates on the major bills being voted on in Congress, guides to key policy issues, balanced policy discussions covering both policy pros & cons, facts on over fifty policy areas, briefs on major policy debates, recommendations and links for readers who want to find out more, and most importantly, an up-to-date, ever-expanding source of information.
The National Constitution Center - Located in Philadelphia, this wonderful center is set up for students to learn about the Constitution with a hands-on approach. The website is full of wonderful resources to help students learn more about the Constitution. It includes primary sources, articles that relate to constitutional issues, historical information, and more!
Constitution Facts - Learn about the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Articles Of Confederation. Fascinating facts about the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, etc.
Ease History - EASE History is a rich learning environment that supports the learning of US history. Over 600 videos and photographs are currently available in EASE History. There are three entry points: Historical Events, Campaign Ads, and Core Values. Learn about US History through the prism of US presidential campaign ads, better understand the complexities of campaign issues and their historical context by looking at historical events, and explore the meanings of core values by examining how these values have been applied in both historical events and campaign ads. Three learning modes, single and multiple theme searches, and resources support the comparing and contrasting of historical cases. EASE History's goal is to support experience acceleration- to help learners think more like historians.
UComics - Political cartoons from over twenty of today's top cartoonists.
American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States - The site is dedicated to public communication of all kinds and includes a speech bank, movie speeches, audio figures of speech, and much more!
Online Newspaper Links in Maryland
UNIT 1 "What Basic Ideas About Government Did the Founders Have?"
The Common Good: Individual Rights and Community Responsibility - An article from Religion-Online.
The Common Good - A definition and analysis of the common good.
Constitutional Government in the U.S. - a lecture written by Woodrow Wilson.
Biography of John Locke - a brief biography of John Locke from the website "From Revolution to Reconstruction."
The National Archives: The Declaration of Independence - a wonderful website that contains a copy of the Declaration of Independence and articles on the history of this important document.
Declaration of Independence - Declaration of Independence, with signers' biographies, and other people, events, and acts.
UNIT 2 "How Did the Framers Write Our Constitution ?"
Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention - The Library of Congress has put together this wonderful site that contains many articles concerning the history of the Continental Congress, what it took to create the Constitution, and identifying defects in the Articles of Confederation.
threefifths.htm - Information on the 3/5 Compromise.
Minorities and Women in the 109th Congress - Site run by Fact Monster and has all the wonderful data!
The Making of the Constitution Part 3: The Great Compromise - The Constitutional Convention created the Constitution, the basis for the current American system of government.
US Senate: Historical Minutes > 1787-1800 - A Great Compromise -- July 16, 1787.
Ben's Guide (9-12): The Articles of Confederation - Information about our first constitution.
Congress for Kids - Constitution: The Great Compromise
Encyclopedia Britannica: The Great Compromise - More information and backgtround about the Great Compromise.
UNIT 3 "How Does the Constitution Organize Our Government?"
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet - In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, legislative information from the Library of Congress
Supreme Court Decisions - The Legal Information Institute's collection of recent and historic Supreme Court decisions, hypertext versions of the full US Code, US Constitution, Federal Rules of Evidence and Civil Procedure and other important legal materials - federal, state, foreign, and international.
Fedstats - More than 70 agencies of the US Government produce statistics of interest to the public. The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy maintains this site to provide easy access to the full range of statistics and information produced by these agencies for public use.
Ben's Guide (9-12): Legislative Powers of the President
The U.S. Constitution Online - U.S. Constitution.net offers the text of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, a FAQ, glossary, comment/question ...
Ben's Guide (9-12): The President
White House- White House home page - link to White House for kids, tours, and other great links.
Supreme Court of the United States - Official page of the United States Supreme Court, featuring court's opinions and orders, calendar and schedules, rules, news releases and general information.
The United States House of Representatives - Official web page.
Kids in the House - An interactive website for kids to help them learn more about the House of Representatives.
The U.S. Senate - Official web page
Milestone Cases in Supreme Court History - This website lists several key court cases decided by the Supreme Court. Each case has a ink to get more information about it.
Congress for Kids - Using appealing, full-color illustrations, and engaging activities, Congress for Kids will extend your learning in the basics about the American federal government. ... federal government doesn't have to be boring. Congress for Kids gives you access to interactive, fun-filled ... Sam is your guide through this wonderful website.
Judicial Review and the Supreme Court - Marbury vs Madison is discussed. Text of case, introduction, questions, notes on framers' intentions, images, links.
Impeachment - Great information and data from the website Fact Monster.
FindLaw: Cases and Codes: Supreme Court Opinions - Searchable database of the Supreme Court decisions since 1893.
Oyez - Multimedia database including Supreme Court cases (searchable by Date, Subject, Title or Citation), Court Justices, a virtual tour of the Supreme Court, case lists from the current docket, and an interactive game called Oyez baseball.
Oyez, Oyez, Oyez - take a tour of the Supreme Court, meet the Justices, or listen to cases being presented.
Uncle Sam/Who’s Who in the Federal Government – A great updated site by The University of Memphis with the names of people who hold the cabinet positions, serve on Congressional Committees and work for Federal Agencies. Each person is then connected to a link giving a one page biography.
Kids Democracy Project - This is an interactive site that allows students to see how government affects their lives, the voting process, and becoming president for a day.
Landmark Cases - Developed by Street Law, Maryland high school teachers, law students, law professors, attorneys and the Supreme Court Historical Society. Provides lesson plans, links to oral arguments, moot court activities and other resources.
Supreme Court History - U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society web site with links to teacher resources, audio oral arguments, details on how the court works, society publications, and workshops for teachers and graduate students on Constitutional issues.
UNIT 4 "How Does the Constitution Protect Our Basic Rights?"
Bill of Rights - A great site with information on the Magna Carta, terrific essays, timelines, etc.
ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union site for constitutional issues and current events.
Hutchinson, Anne - read about this woman who stood trial in 1637 for expressing beliefs that ultimately led to the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom in America.
American Civil Liberties Union : Free Speech - Links to issues such as censorship, campaign finance reform, commercial speech, and flag desecration.
FindLaw: US Constitution: Fourteenth Amendment - Equal Protection: Judging Classifications by Law
Rights of the People: Individual Freedom and the Bill of Rights - Information on the guaranty of equal protection of the laws
The Freedom Forum - A nonpartisan, international foundation advocating free press and speech rights for all people. Holds conferences, educational activities, publishing, etc.
Religious Liberty in the Modern Era
UNIT 5 "What Are the Responsibiities of Citizens ?"
Why Don't We Vote? - Quotes and answers from young people themselves.
Nickeoldeon's Kids Pick the President - A website for kids that allows them to pick the issues and the president.
A Sizzle Among the Young - An article from the NY Times (2008).
The Youth Vote: Hard to Tell How It Will Turn Out - An article from USA Today in 2004.
Vote or Die? Well, They Did Vote - Article from 2004 in the Wasington Post.
Responsibilities of Citizens - from Ben's Guide to the U.S.Government for Kids website
Citizenship Responsibilities - from U.S. Info
Elections - This has great inks to tons of facts, data, etc. pertaining to elections.
Why Tuesday - A website that promotes moving the voting day. It has great information about the electoral college, timelines, and much more!
CivNet - CIVNET is an online resource and service for civic education practitioners (teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum designers), as well as scholars, policymakers, civic-minded journalists, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) promoting civic education all over the world.
NACE : National Alliance for Civic Education - NACE believes the time has come to band together to ensure that the next generation of citizens understands and values democracy and participates in the ongoing work of building democracy in America.
Justice Learning - Text, audio, and multimedia resources for teachers, including lesson plans for
legal and civil justice issues.
Going Negative - Great article about negative campaigning. Contains Quicktime movie examples of both positive and negative campaigning.
From Bush, Unprecedented Negativity (washingtonpost.com) - An article about the 2004 election and negative campaigning.
Online News Hour - A copy of a transcript from a discussion on PBS about negative campaigning.
CyberCitizen - Educates children and young adults on the danger and consequences of cyber crime.
National Democratic Party - The Democratic National Committee plans the Party's quadrennial presidential nominating convention; promotes the election of Party candidates with both technical and financial support; and works with national, state, and local party organizations, elected officials, candidates, and constituencies to respond to the needs and views of the Democratic electorate and the nation.
Repubican National Committee - The GOP community is broad and diverse, and united in building a stronger America for generations to come. Several groups are working with us for the Party agenda. Find out more and get involved.
AlterNet - An article containing the top 10 reasons why politicians should llower the voting age.
U.S. Electoral College – Wondering what the electoral college is and where it came from? This is an excellent site that will answer all of your questions about how an election runs, as well as a little history about past elections. A must see!
Does My Vote Count? Understanding the Electoral College - An interesting article with great links.
Online Newshour: How the Electoral College Works - Information on the electoral college done by PBS.
Electoral College Calcultor - Interesting interactive module that allows you to calculate electoral votes.
The U.S. Electoral College WebZine - Resources, References & Stories about the much maligned U.S. Electoral College: Debunking Myths, Why the Electoral College?, How can Gore win the popular vote and lose the electoral vote?, Electoral Vote Calculator and tales of unfaithful electors.
Ease History - EASE History is a rich learning environment that supports the learning of US history. Over 600 videos and photographs are currently available in EASE History. There are three entry points: Historical Events, Campaign Ads, and Core Values. Learn about US History through the prism of US presidential campaign ads, better understand the complexities of campaign issues and their historical context by looking at historical events, and explore the meanings of core values by examining how these values have been applied in both historical events and campaign ads. Three learning modes, single and multiple theme searches, and resources support the comparing and contrasting of historical cases. EASE History's goal is to support experience acceleration- to help learners think more like historians.
Measure to Deny Voting Rights for Prisoners Is a Step Back for Massachusetts, ACLU Warns
Howstuffworks "How the Electoral College Works"- As we learned in the last presidential election, the electoral college plays a huge role in the election process. Learn how the electoral college works!
Dave Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections Electoral College Calculator - Experiment with electoral math. Election Data - Purchase high-quality data. Past Presidential Election Results - Lots of data .
Bill Press: Time to get rid of the Electoral College - Article from CNN.
The Electoral College vs. the People - Great resource from Fact Monster.