2025 Constitution Month Lessons | Power of Democracy

Our most popular lesson for elementary schools. In the course of an hour, the visiting judge will walk students through a "You Be the Judge" activity. Some of the scenarios may be omitted or replaced with your own. The scenarios test students to think like a judge.

Introduce Young Learners to Civics

No Animals Allowed is our most popular lesson for elementary schools. In the course of an hour, the visiting judge will walk students through a "You Be the Judge" activity. Some of the scenarios may be omitted or replaced with your own. The scenarios challenge students to think like a judge.

Bring Civics to Life: Invite a Judge to Swear In Your Student Government!

The courts are here to support you in engaging students through a meaningful simulation of the democratic process.

Invite a local judge to preside over your student government’s swearing-in ceremony and give your students a firsthand experience of civic leadership and the rule of law.

Make it memorable. Make it real. Let’s bring civics to life—one oath at a time.

Have an expert give your students a close look at the U.S. Constitution. Students will be challenged to think critically about the challenges facing our Founding Fathers, and how they were able to create a 4-page document that has governed us for 200 years. They'll also learn about California's Constitution, founded on the same fundamental principles.

The Constitution: We Are All Equal

This presentation offers a basic introduction to the U.S. Constitution, beginning with the early challenges faced by the Founding Fathers in the New World. It traces the historical context, core principles, and lasting impact of the Constitution on American democracy.

Designed as an engaging starting point, the presentation helps students understand why the Constitution was created, how it works, and why it remains essential today.

The First Amendment

This lesson introduces students to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, exploring its five key freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Students will examine how these rights impact their daily lives and why they are essential to a democratic society. The lesson encourages critical thinking about the balance between individual freedoms and the rights of others.

What is Spectral Evidence? In 1692, it was all that was needed as proof of witchcraft. In just one year, 16 women and 4 men were put to death accused of being witches. This lesson brings students to an era of fear, suspicion, and injustice prevailed. With script reading assignments, students learn what it meant to fight for justice.

Salem Witch Trials

Travel back to 1692 when hundreds of women and men were put to death in Massachusetts for witchcraft. Through a reenactment, students put themselves in the shoes of young women fighting against charges of witchcraft.

The U.S. Constitution is a flexible, four-page document that has been amended twenty-seven times. This lesson explains the challenges around voting rights starting in the Reconstruction Era (1863-1877), and the fight for suffrage in the years that followed

Under Reconstruction: Voter Rights & the Constitution

The Reconstruction Era is filled with examples of challenges to the U.S. Constitution. This lesson reviews amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and looks at how state laws govern our elections.

Receive Your Civic Learning Award

Congratulations to the 35 schools selected for this year's honor! Invite a judge to your campus this September to present the award in person. Tip: while they're there, they may administer the Oath of Office to your incoming elected student government representatives. For a list of honorees: https://www.powerofdemocracy.org/civic-learning-award

POWER OF DEMOCRACY