A classroom examination of the featured historical article announcing North Carolina's ratification of the Constitution can springboard into a lesson on federalism, the Bill of Rights, and the ratification process.

The most common activity in a social studies classroom should be the analysis of primary sources. Students are intrigued and engaged by edited and unedited documents, written statements, transcribed speeches, photographs, pictures, charts, graphs, cartoons, and even material objects. Ideally, the goal of social studies teachers is to prepare…

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Change can be scary. Quite often people find themselves venturing down an unknown path, unsure of what twists and turns will come their way. This uncertainty brings about questions, anxiety, and for some, a sense of panic. Similar emotions…

History education lends itself to considering historical problems from the perspective of people of that time and exploring their thinking or "predictions" about the problems' possible effects. Building lessons around the use of prediction-making humanizes history because it allows students to investigate historical events and understand…

Tracing the history of events that led to the U.S. Constitutional Convention (1787) and to the eventual ratification of the U.S. Constitution, this book presents numerous reproductions of leaders' portraits, documents, and paintings from the U.S. Library of Congress and other collections. Chapter 1, "Was the Revolution a Blessing or a…

This lesson plan for elementary-age children studies some of the primary source documents and symbols of freedom which were and are important for the nation. The lesson plan uses the following documents: "The Mayflower Compact"; "The Declaration of Independence"; "The Constitution"; and the "Bill of Rights."…

In 1876 Americans held a Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) to celebrate the nation's birth 100 years earlier. Machinery Hall drew the most admiration and wonder. Alexander Graham Bell exhibited the first telephone, and Thomas Alva Edison presented the automatic telegraph, one of more than 1,000 inventions he would patent in his…

Identifies the resources available through the National Archives, including: learning packages providing primary source documents for use by students; columns in "Social Education," which reproduce one document, offer historical background, and suggest learning activities; and summer workshops on instructional uses of primary sources.…

Many historians call the Civil War the central event in U.S. history. The formation of the U.S. Constitution corrected the autonomy of individual states that the Articles of Confederation did not harness. The young country struggled for 75 years to find a graceful balance between the power of the federal government and that of the states. The…

This lesson relates to freedom of speech and freedom of the press as provided for in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Government. It presents seven primary source documents regarding Thomas Cooper's trial for sedition in 1800. Cooper was…

From the 1860s through the 1870s the U.S. frontier saw many Indian wars and skirmishes. A study and report on the conditions of the Indian tribes, released in 1867, led to an act to establish an Indian Peace Commission to end the wars and prevent future Indian conflicts. In the spring of 1868 a conference was held at Fort Laramie (Wyoming) that…

In 1917, after much agitation for alcohol prohibition by many temperance societies and organizations, the House of Representatives wanted to make Prohibition the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and sent the amendment to the states for ratification. Thirteen months later enough states said yes to the amendment. It was now against the law to…

The Progressive Era, as the period in history at the turn of the 20th century has come to be known, was a time of tremendous social, economic, and political changes, and the presidential election of 1912 typified the reform spirit of the period. Among the choices for president in 1912 were three major candidates, each of whom laid claim to…

This instructional media advisory list was compiled to support the teaching of U.S. founding documents in North Carolina schools. Many entries in the annotated bibliography focus directly on such works as the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Other items that are cited reflect contemporary applications of the…

Through an exploration of essential documents and writings that led to and derived from the creation of the U.S. Constitution, this book chronicles U.S. history from 1775 to 1791. Major sections include: (1) the origins of the Constitution; (2) America in 1787; (3) the grand federal convention; (4) ratification of the Constitution; (5) the first…