In this unit, students will participate in a mock trial that explores the rights and restrictions on individuals attempting to practice their own religion. Students will first familiarize themselves with the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (“RFRA”), which was intended to further protect First Amendment rights. Students will then read and analyze case documents adapted from a real federal court case, Singh v. Carter, which involved a conflict between a soldier’s desire to exercise his religious practices and the U.S. Army’s interest in protecting its soldiers through uniform and safety requirements.

After learning about the relevant law and facts, students will participate in a mock trial that will allow them to use their knowledge to persuade judges to find either that the soldier’s religious practice is protected by RFRA, or that the Army has an overriding safety concern that forbids the soldier from exercising his religion. The mock trial allows students to assume roles as members of the plaintiff’s team, members of the defendant’s team, neutral judges, or impartial courtroom participants. This allows every student to have a substantive role in deciding or observing a dispute that remains pertinent today. Students engage in the authentic tasks of examining and weighing evidence, and using facts and evidence to formulate and present claims.

This Unit contains 7 lessons:
Lesson 1: Religious Freedom Mock Trial
Lesson 2: Articulating and Applying the Law
Lesson 3: Understanding the Evidence
Lesson 4: Developing a Theory of the Case
Lesson 5: Preparing for Trial
Lesson 6: The Trial
Lesson 7: Debrief and Reflection

This is an easy sorting activity to help students learn the difference between rules and laws. I teach students on a 1-2nd grade level, so I used basic rules and laws in this sort. It is the perfect homework assignment for practice or assessment to check for understanding! Enjoy this freebie!! ...

Three branches of government worksheet, for students to fill in information on each branch.

Students love to do Color by Number, and this activity is an engaging way to cover many facts about the government of the United States. A passage, color by number activity, and answer key are included.

These are flip flaps for your students' S.S. interactive notebooks. They glue the flap and write the definition or give examples underneath it. The flaps are for the three branches of the three levels of Government. They include: Title for Local Government

Finally! A daily review for Social Studies. My students retain information best with constant review so it is important for me to continually review students daily over information that has already been learned.

This section contains reproducible copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teaching activities correlated to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government and cross-curricular connections.

Comprehensive End of Unit Test about US Government including multiple choice, matching, and fill-in. Includes Constitution, Branches of Government, and US symbols.

UMCDC 1st Grade MIOpenBook Chapter 1 Section 1 "How can rules help us get along?" (20-21)

UMCDC 1st Grade MIOpenBook Chapter 1 Section 2 "How are our responsibilities at home and school alike?" (20-21)

UMCDC 3rd Grade MiOpenBook Chapter 3 Government "What does Michigan's government do?" (20-21)

UMCDC 3rd Grade MiOpen Book Chapter 3 Section 1 "Why do people need governments?" (20-21)

UMCDC 3rd Grade MiOpen Book Chapter 3 Section 2 "Why do we need local governments and a state government?" (20-21)

UMCDC 3rd Grade MiOpen Book Chapter 3 Section 3 "What is a representative government?" (20-21)

UMCDC 3rd Grade MiOpen Book Chapter 3 Section 4 "How is our state government organized?" (20-21)

UMCDC 3rd Grade MiOpen Book Chapter 3 Section 5 "What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens?" (20-21)

This is a self-service online workshop for teachers who use primary documents to help students see the impact and ongoing relevance of the Constitution. It requires little advance preparation and provides everything needed, including a vocabulary list, document analysis worksheets, and historical documents -- John Marshall's Supreme Court nomination (1801), proclamation to New Orleans (1803), Lincoln's telegram to Grant (1864), Johnson oath photo (1963), and more.

In this blended learning unit, student will explore the U.S. Government from the Articles of Confederation through the writing of the Constitution.  Students will be able to recognize the reasons why the founding fathers included the ideas and principles in these documents based on historical perspectives.

This Unit on the Foundation of American Government focuses on the founding of the U.S. government, the ideals of democracy, along with the historical influence of various government styles on the U.S. This blended government/civics unit and course offers elements of both face-to-face and interactive online learning.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G1NNqQgpOyvCt2Fe3v6TyHe3LSprGVd06HPPWh37j7o/edit?usp=sharing