Internet Activities for High School Civics Class

Students learn about U.S. government in Civics studies.

Teaching students civics lays the foundation for responsible United States citizenship. Civics lessons include investigating fundamental United States documents, including, but not limited to the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Internet provides useful educational access to these and other governmental documents.

The President of the United States

Use the Internet to teach students about the Executive Branch of government.

United States government and its three branches, Executive, Legislative and Judicial incorporate key terms that help define the roles of each branch. Terms central to the Executive branch, for example, include commander in chief, executive order and executive power. Give students these terms and instruct them to search government sites on the Internet to define the terms and describe their origins in essay form.

The United States Constitution

The U.S. Constitution serves as the foundation for all United States government. Assign students to find a copy of the Constitution online and to write a bibliography card for the site, applying the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines for electronic sources. Divide the class into three groups. Assign one article and one section of the article each group. Instruct each group to create a mini-presentation of their article and section. For example, a group might read the contents of Article 3, Section 1, "Judicial Powers" and present the central points of the section.

The Bill of Rights

United States government regularly addresses issues related to the Bill of Rights. Select a current event that you can relate to the Bill of Rights. The rights of U.S. citizens when arrested, for example, find their basis in the Bill of Rights. Instruct students to find a copy of the Bill of Rights online and write a bibliography. Ask students to find a current new item on the Internet that is related to one of the 10 amendments. Devote a class period to student presentations of their research.

References

• Center for Civic Education: "What Is the Role of the President in the American Constitutional System?"
• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources
• U.S. Constitution Online: The United States Constitution
• Charters of Freedom: The Bills of Rights Transcript

Resources

• Charters of Freedom: The Declaration of Independence, etc.