Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Thousands of Teacher-reviewed Resources!

Bill of Rights Day - December 15

The newly formed United States ratified the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution) on December 15, 1791. These amendments guarantee many freedoms, such as the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and freedom of the press. Help your students decipher and understand these amendments with the resources shared in this curated list.

Grades 9-12

Defending Rights and Dissent

Defending Rights and Dissent offers many timely articles on current events, civics, and human rights. The site also includes videos, events, and a resources section that allows you to search for articles related to your state.

Grades 5-10

iCivics

Discover several engaging, immersive games on civics, democracy, branches of government, citizenship, elections and campaigns, and the Constitution. Most also include a complete teacher manual and a detailed report of student game performance.

Grades 8-12

The Plainest Demands of Justice: Documents for Dialogue on the African American Experience

This seven-lesson curriculum uses primary source documents to teach students about the efforts of individuals and groups from colonial times through the present who are working to uphold the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and civil rights.

Grades 8-12

United States Courts Educational Resources

Choose the Educational Activities section to find lessons based on the constitutional amendments and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Each of the different areas of this section has several activities, many of which you can download.

Grades 5-12

That's Your Right

Learn about the Bill of Rights as you play this challenging card game that asks you to collect and match scenario cards to features of the Bill of Rights. Choose between three difficulty levels and whether you wish to play a single or multiplayer game.

Grades 8-12

Civil Rights Timeline

This interactive timeline from NewseumED uses primary source news articles and photographs to explain America's civil rights events from the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 through Alexander v. Holmes in 1969.

Grades 6-12

Interactive Constitution

On this site, you can select an article or amendment to view the wording of the Constitution, along with at least one feature discussing the specific impact of that piece. At the end of each article, additional information is included.

Grades K-12

Constitutionfacts.com

Discover topics ranging from the United States Constitution and its amendments to the Supreme Court. Each topic has an overview, subtopics, and quizzes to test your knowledge. There are activities for younger students in the Constitution Day section.

Grades 8-12

Milestone Documents

Explore documents that chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965, including the Lee Resolution, Treaty of Paris, Federalist Papers, Bill of Rights, Monroe Doctrine, Plessy v. Ferguson, Marshall Plan, Brown v. Board of Education, and others.

This Week at TeachersFirst

We eagerly invite you to participate in our winter book study and to check out a newly added blog post about an excellent tool that teaches students about the Bill of Rights. Finally, we encourage you to view OK2Ask sessions from our recent fall 2023 season on demand.