teaching the CONSTITUTION
AnnenbergClassroom.org
contains over 50 videos on major
constitutional concepts and court
cases with learning materials aligned
to state standards, as well as lesson
plans, online no-cost books for
download, and interactive games.
Annenberg Videos Have Won 45 National Awards
in partnership
with
www.SunnylandsClassroom.org
teaching the CONSTITUTION
Origin and Nature of the Constitution
Magna Carta New for Constitution Day 2015!
Key Constitutional Concepts: Creating a Constitution (20 mins)
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.: The Origin, Nature, and Importance of the Supreme Court (37 mins)
Justice Stephen G. Breyer: The Nature of Dissent in the Supreme Court* (18 mins)
Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Antonin Scalia: Judicial Interpretation (37 mins)
Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sandra Day O’Connor: Our Constitution (30 mins)
Online Game: The Constitutional Convention
Separation of Powers
Three Branches of Government
A Call to Act: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company** (23 mins)
Justice Stephen G. Breyer: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company* (9 mins)
Online Game: Branches of Power***
Article 1: Legislative Branch
Habeas Corpus: The Guantanamo Cases (25 mins) New for Constitution Day 2015!
One School’s Fight: The Making of a Law (20 mins)
The Legislative Process: How a Bill Becomes a Federal Law (19 mins)
Online Game: LawCraft***
Article 2: Executive Branch
Key Constitutional Concepts: Youngstown v. Sawyer** (20 mins)
Online Game: Executive Command***
Article 3: Judicial Branch
Independent Judiciary: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia** and Cooper v. Aaron** (34 mins)
Justices Breyer, O’Connor and Kennedy: Judicial Independence (32 mins)
Online Game: Court Quest***
The Amendments and Landmark Cases
The Story of the Bill of Rights (17 mins)
Documentaries on Amendments 1-10 (1-2 min segments)
Online Game: That’s Your Right
Amendment 1: Freedom of Speech, Religion, and Press
Online Game: The First Amendment - Tinker v. Des Moines
Conversations on the Constitution Series
Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Anthony M. Kennedy:
Freedom of Speech: Tinker v. Des Moines** and Morse v. Frederick (30 mins)
Amendment 4: Freedom from Unreasonable Search and Seizure
Documentaries on Landmark Cases
Search and Seizure: Mapp v. Ohio (25 mins)
Conversations on the Constitution Series
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor: Search and Seizure (17 mins)
www.AnnenbergClassroom.org
Amendments 5-7: Juries and Trials
FAQs: Juries (11 segments totaling 40 mins)
The English History of Juries
Understanding the Language of a Trial
The American History of Juries
A Word from the Judge
Qualifications and Types of Juries
A Word from the Defense
What to Expect as a Juror
A Word from the Prosecution
How a Trial Works
Grand Juries
The Value of Service
Conversations on the Constitution Series
Justices Breyer, O’Connor and Kennedy: Jury Service (11 mins)
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy: Miranda v. Arizona New for Constitution Day 2015!
Documentaries on Landmark Cases
Jury Selection: Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Company (also addresses racial
discrimination) (23 mins)
The Right to Remain Silent: Miranda v. Arizona (25 mins)
Amendment 6: Right to a Speedy Trial, an Impartial Jury,
Confrontation of Witnesses, and Counsel
Conversations on the Constitution Series
Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Anthony M. Kennedy:
The Right to Trial by an Impartial Jury (10 mins)
Documentaries on Landmark Cases
Jury Selection: Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Company (23 mins)
Key Constitutional Concepts: Gideon v. Wainwright** (20 mins)
Amendment 14: Due Process, Equal Protection, and Discrimination
“Thurgood,” starring Laurence Fishburne (1 hr, 44 mins)
Conversations on the Constitution Series
Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy: Brown v. Board of Education (27 mins)
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy: The Importance of the Yick Wo Case** (30 mins)
Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Anthony M. Kennedy: The Importance of the Japanese Internment Cases** (36 mins)
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the 14th Amendment and Sex Discrimination (42 mins)
Documentaries on Landmark Cases
Korematsu and Civil Liberties: Korematsu v. United States** (27 mins)
Yick Wo and the Equal Protection Clause: Yick Wo v. Hopkins** (20 mins)
Key Constitutional Concepts: Gideon v. Wainwright** (20 mins)
One Person, One Vote: Baker v. Carr** and Reynolds v. Sims** (26 mins)
Jury Selection: Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Company (23 mins)
*Produced in partnership with The National Constitution Center
**Cases aligned with state standards
***Produced in partnership with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics project (www.iCivics.org)
teaching the CONSTITUTION
Constitution Day 2015!
800th Anniversary of Magna Carta
This documentary explores Magna Carta,
one of the most important documents in
the history of democracy. A declaration of
rights by English barons who demanded
the monarchy recognize their rights in a
written document and disseminate them
to all freemen, Magna Carta was the
inspiration and historical precedent for
the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Habeas Corpus: The Guantanamo Cases
One of our oldest human rights,
habeas
corpus
safeguards
individual freedom by preventing
unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment.
This 25-minute documentary
examines habeas corpus and
the separation of powers in the
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks as
the Supreme Court tried to strike
a balance between the president’s
duty to protect the nation and the
constitutional protection of civil
liberties. The video explores this struggle through four major Guantanamo
cases: Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), Rasul v. Bush (2004), Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
(2006) and Boumediene v. Bush (2008). Available online at AnnenbergClassroom.org
www.AnnenbergClassroom.org
Interactive Games on the Constitution
That’s Your Right
How well do your students know the
individual freedoms that the Bill of Rights
guarantees? Our fun, online card game
for middle and high school students can
be played individually or in a multiplayer
mode. To win, players must understand
different constitutional concepts – from
the right against self-incrimination to
freedom of the press – and how they
apply in different scenarios.
First Amendment: Tinker v. Des Moines
Based on Tinker v. Des Moines Independent
Community School District (1969), a
­
landmark case about students’ right to free
speech, this game launches students on a
journey to the U.S. ­Supreme Court. Along
the way are mini-games and challenges
that teach about the First Amendment,
the Tinker case, legal concepts such as
precedents, relevant vocabulary, and how
the ­federal courts work.
The Constitutional Convention
Travel back to 1787 and take part in the
Constitutional Convention as the Founding
Fathers struggle to decide how the young
nation will be governed. Explore how very
different men representing their states’
conflicting demands created a bicameral
legislature and three branches of government. teaching the CONSTITUTION
Online Downloadable Books and Interactive Constitution
The Pursuit of Justice
Written by John J. Patrick and the late Kermit L. Hall,
this book analyzes 30 widely taught Supreme Court
cases and also summarizes an additional 100 included
in state history and civics standards. John J. Patrick is
professor emeritus of education at Indiana UniversityBloomington and also has taught middle and high
school history, civics, and government. Kermit L.
Hall was president and professor of history at the
University of Albany, State University of New York,
and wrote extensively on American constitutional,
legal, and judicial history.
Understanding Democracy
This guide, written by John J. Patrick, professor emeritus of
education at Indiana University-Bloomington, ­explains the core
concepts of democracy in a clear A-Z format. Professor Patrick
is the author of more than 100 publications on topics of civic
education, history education, U.S. history and political science
or government.
Download complete books or individual sections
Constitution Guide:
What It Says, What It Means
This interactive guide to the U.S.
Constitution provides the original text and
an explanation of the meaning of each
article and amendment. www.AnnenbergClassroom.org
Our Constitution
This book takes an in-depth look at the
Constitution,
annotated
with
detailed
explanations of its terms and contents.
Authors Donald A. Ritchie and JusticeLearning.
org have included texts of primary source
materials, sidebar ­materials on each article and
amendment, profiles of Supreme Court cases,
and timelines. Mr. Ritchie is historian of the U.S.
Senate and has written several books, including
Reporting from Washington: The History of
the Washington Press Corps; Press Gallery:
­Congress and the Washington Correspondents,
and American Journalists: Getting the Story.
Justice Learning resources have been relocated
to AnnenbergClassroom.org, which provides an innovative issue-based
approach for engaging high school students in informed civics discourse. Our Rights
This book draws upon historical case studies to
explore the rights in the Constitution. ­Supreme
Court cases are used to demonstrate both how a
right received its modern interpretation and how
it applies today. Author David J. Bodenhamer is
professor of history and the executive director
of The Polis Center, Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis. Professor Bodenhamer
is the author or editor of eight books, including
Fair Trial: Rights of the Accused in American
History, and The Bill of Rights in Modern America. Download complete books or individual sections
teaching the CONSTITUTION
Annenberg Classroom Videos Have Won 45 National Awards
Aegis Award American Bar Association Coalition for Justice Burnham “Hod” Greeley Award
American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award Best Shorts Competition Award Chicago International
Film Festival Television Award Two Chris Awards Three CINDY Awards Six CINE Golden Eagle
Awards Two CINE Masters Series Awards Three CINE Special Jury Awards Two Clarion Awards
Silver Communicator Award Gold Hermes Creative Award Platinum Hermes Creative Award
Hugo Gold Plaque Two Silver Hugo Awards KIDS FIRST! Film Festival 2007 Award REVERE
Distinguished Achievement Award Nine Bronze Telly Awards Four U.S. International Film &
Video Festival Awards Two Videographer Awards
Coming for Constitution Day 2016!
The Second Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms
Since long before the founding of the United States, guns have been
a part of the American identity. This documentary helps to explain
the history of guns and gun laws in American society and the Second
Amendment, leading to the landmark Supreme Court decisions in
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
that established an individual’s right to own a gun. Additional resources are available at FlackCheck.org, FactCheck.org and
CivicsRenewalNetwork.org.
A Project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center