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Civics/Government Resources

The resources provided on this website are intended to provide a quick access list for educators to use in a way that supports their instructional planning. 

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  • ABOTA: ABOTA was founded more than 50 years ago, as an organization of trial lawyers dedicated to the preservation of the 7th Amendment right to a civil trial by jury, the promotion of civility and professionalism among members of the bar, and the protection of an independent judiciary. Nationwide, we have more than 6,700 members.

  • The American Presidency Project  An on-line source for presidential public documents.  There are over 129,000 presidential and non-presidential records available in the database. 

  • Annenberg Classroom: A guide to the U.S. Constitution  What it means, what it says? This site includes numerous lessons on the Constitution.

  • Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections  Find national results for presidential elections from 1789 through 2016. Election information, articles and a description of the election process is also available.

  • Ben's Guide to the United States Government:  Maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office, this site offers activities and related websites related to the Constitution and the U.S. government for grades K-12.

  • Bill of Rights Foundation  Constitutional activities, lesson plans, and other resources for teaching Middle and High School students.

  • Bill of Rights Institute  The Bill of Rights Institute offers lessons and activities for teaching students about the words and ideas of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The institute also offers professional development opportunities for teachers.

  • Center for Civic Education:  Lessons for grades K-12 are available for free download from the Center's website. The lessons are adapted from the Center's We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution and Foundations of Democracy curricular materials.

  • CNN Student News  Designed for middle and high school students. CNN Student News is a 10 minute, commercial free, daily news program produced by CNN journalists.

  • Colorado Goes Supreme  Join Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as he prepares to argue a landmark elections case in the U.S. Supreme Court. Weiser will use Colorado Department of State v. Baca  as a vehicle to illuminate different civics concepts in this video series, including topics like “How does a case get to the U.S. Supreme Court?” and “What is the Electoral College?”

  • Constitution Annotated  A new website from the Library of Congress that provides a comprehensive overview of how the Constitution has been interpreted over time.  The online Constitution Annotated includes discussions of the Supreme Court's latest opinions.

  • The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource)  An organization that provides a free online database for constitutional research and education. Our mission is to increase understanding, facilitate research, and encourage discussion of the U.S. Constitution by connecting individuals to primary source documents regarding its creation, ratification, and amendment.

  • iCivics: iCivics champions equitable, non-partisan civic education so that the practice of democracy is learned by each new generation. We work to inspire life-long civic engagement by providing high quality and engaging civics resources to teachers and students across our nation.

  • Constitution Facts:  This site contains everything “constitutional”, including the text of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and many of the legal documents pertaining to the Constitution. In addition, it contains crossword puzzles, famous quotes, and dates to remember concerning the development and ratification of the Constitution.

  • The Constitutional Rights Foundation:  This site includes lessons and activities about the Constitution for K – 12 teachers to use in their classrooms.

  • The Council on Foreign Relations: The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

  • C-Span Classroom  The C-Span Classroom provides free Current Events videos, Lesson Plans and Bell Ringers, On This Day in History Events, Constitution Clips and  Classroom Deliberations.

  • Digital Civics Toolkit  The Digital Civics Toolkit is a collection of resources for educators to support youth to explore and recognize the civic potentials of digital life. The Toolkit explores a range of civic opportunities and dilemmas via 5 modules focused on: Exploring Community Issues, Investigation, Dialogue, Voice, and Action.

  • GeoCivics  The GeoCivics project provides state-based resources to develop skills and knowledge helpful for discussing the apportionment and redistricting process. These resources prepare and support students, teachers, and community members with education materials and geospatial data, leading them to engage in conversation about the apportionment and redistricting process.

  • Landmark Supreme Court Cases:  This site includes resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases.

  • Lessons on Local Government: A resource for elementary, middle, and high school teachers in Colorado to easily find curriculum materials that meet the state's social studies and civics standards. Here you'll find numerous local government lesson plans to use in your classroom. Feel free to use them as they are or customize them to make them resonate better with your students. Lessons on Local Government is a supplementary resource intended to help save you time searching for and planning lessons pertaining to Colorado social studies and civics standards. These resources were developed from a partnership between the Colorado Municipal League (CML) and the Special District Association of Colorado (SDA).

  • Library of Congress: Patriotic Melodies -  Patriotic Melodies tells the stories behind many of the songs that have now become part of the American national heritage. A combination of hymns, national songs, music of the theater, radio and television, military themes, and poetry, all of this music demonstrates that while over history many things have changed, this expression of pride and hope remain a constant part of the American experience.

  • Library of Congress: American Memories Collection -  This site includes documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789. The Continental Congress Collection and the Constitutional Convention Collection contain 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

  • The National Archives: the Charters of Freedom  This site provides photos of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, as well as activities for observing Constitution Day such as meeting the Founding Fathers and signing the Constitution.

  • The National Constitution Center: The National Constitution Center brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution.

  • National Council for the Social Studies:  NCSS offers a variety of articles about teaching the Constitution as well as lesson plans and links to other online resources.

  • The Rendell Center: The Rendell Center works with K-12 teachers and administrators to promote non-partisan civic education and engagement so that our next generation has the knowledge, skills, and disposition of effective citizens. We achieve this by delivering innovative experiential learning programs for students and professional development opportunities for educators.

  • Retro Report: Retro Report is an independent nonprofit newsroom creating trusted documentary videos and classroom resources. At a time when misinformation is rampant and there’s disagreement over objective facts, our team of award-winning journalists and educators is creating trusted documentary videos and classroom resources. Our work brings a greater understanding of current events, fights misinformation and encourages inquiry.

  • School House Rock: Preamble  This link goes directly to the Preamble lyrics; however, this site also includes amusing audio and text for additional history related topics such as the Constitution and our Three-Ring Government. Additionally, most of the Schoolhouse Rock videos can be found on YouTube and iTunes.

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