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Grades 9-10: Sample Learning Activities

• Students can research the moral and ethical foundations for the establishment of laws and political institutions in Mesopotamia by visiting the British Museum website at http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/staff/main.html and clicking on “Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia.” Other websites that organize and provide searches on many sites about ancient history are at http://www.julen.net/aw/ and the Perseus Project at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
• Ask students to describe the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism and their relationship to the political structure of early Chinese civilization. You can find information about the differences in Chinese thought on Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Legalism on Mr. Donn’s Lesson Plans (“Three Doctrines and Legalism”) at http://members.aol.com/DonnAnCiv/Behavior.html (Adapted from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, pp. 130-131.)
• Have students visit www.countryreports.org to research the political development of different civilizations or nations. Have students compare and contrast different political systems with those of ancient Greece and Rome. Ask students to discuss how contemporary democratic governments are rooted in classical traditions. Students can find information about Greek civic life at http://www.colonize.com/p/a.php?a=n001001182 (Mr. Dowling’s Electronic Passport, “The Cradle of Western Civilization.”)
• Provide students with descriptions of life in the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. Ask students to describe the similarities and differences. You can find information on this topic at http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/spartans/index.html Look for Peter Adams, Discovery School, lesson plan library, “Comparing Sparta and Athens.
• Have students write document-based reports on the development of the Roman Republic. They can find information for their reports on the Dalton School Rome Project Site at http://www.dalton.org/groups/rome/ under the heading “Political Resources.”
• Conduct a student panel discussion with students presenting the definitions of citizenship in Athens, Sparta, and Rome. Have students debate the merits of each concept of citizenship. Ask students to compare these conceptions of citizenship with that of the United States today. How are they similar and different?
• Students can investigate the origins of the Twelve Tables of the Roman law and explain their significance to the advancement of the rights of the citizen and to representative government. Students can find information about the Twelve Tables in Paul Halsall, The Ancient History Sourcebook: The Twelve Tables, c. 450 B.C.E. at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/12tables.html (Adapted from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, pp. 132-133.)
• Ask students to explain how many of the basic ideas and concepts of our current democratic republic, such as direct democracy, republicanism, representation, and constitution, had their origins in the political systems of ancient Greece and Rome. Student can find information about Roman law at http://www.crfusa.org/bria/bria17_4.htm#roman. This article, “When Roman Law Ruled the Western World,” appeared in the Bill of Rights in Action published by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Vol.17, No. 4 (Fall 2001). (Adapted from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, pp. 184-5.) Other sites on Rome include: SPQR. The Senate and People of Rome at http://www.romanempire.net/romepage/Citizenship/Roman_Citizenship.htm and Webquest, Journey Back to Ancient Rome, which is an interactive site including a role play activity on the role of a Roman senator and other aspects of Roman government.
• Students can research the Justinian Codes to evaluate their importance and the effects they had on later European law. Information about the Codes can be found on the Avalon Project website at Yale University Law School at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm. As an alternative you can provide students with the following information: Justinian, emperor of the eastern part of the Roman Empire from 527-565 A.D. collected and interpreted the Roman laws, edicts, and decrees and put them into one legal code. This legal code became known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. The following excerpts were translated from the Corpus Juris Civilis:

  General Rules of Law

  • That which was wrong in the beginning does not become right as time goes on.
  • Anyone who has the power to condemn a man also has the power to acquit him.
  • Any privilege or right that is not given to the defendant should not be given to the plaintiff. (Note: The plaintiff is the party who sues in a lawsuit.)
  • Anyone who knows about a crime that is to be committed but cannot stop it from being committed cannot be blamed for the crime.
  • No one may be forcibly removed from his own house.
  • In a case in which the claims of the two parties appear to be equal in merit, the person who has the object in dispute ought to be considered to have the stronger claim.
  • The seriousness of an offense never increases ex post facto. (This law means that once a person has been convicted of an offense and sentenced, his punishment cannot be increased.)
  • No one must suffer a penalty because of what he thinks.

  Ask students to read these laws and write two-three sentences that describe how the Romans defined “justice.” Have students share their conceptions of Roman justice with the rest of the class. Ask students to cite specific information in the General Rules of Law that support their conceptions of Roman justice. For example, if students argue that a man’s house is his castle, then they should find evidence that the Romans believed that state power should not be used to forcibly remove a man from his home. (Reading and activity adapted from: Edwin Fenton and John M. Good, The Shaping of Western Society: An Inquiry Approach, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974, pp. 25-28. and Linda W. Rosenzweig and George M. Gregory, Teacher’s Guide for The Shaping of Western Society, pp. 16-17.)

• Have students explain the significance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the way Muhammad lived his life) as the primary sources of Islamic beliefs, practice, and law, and their influence in Muslims’ daily life. You can find information about Human Rights and Justice in Islam as well as other general information on Islam at http://www.islam-guide.com/frm-ch3-12.htm. Another source of information about Islam, its moral and ethical teachings, is the PBS website: Islam: Empire of Faith at http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam. This site includes a series of five lessons and resources on Islam. (Taken from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, pp. 144-7.)
• Students can research the medieval political system established by Charlemagne who ruled from 768 to 814. Ask students to explain how he blended Greek, Roman, and Christian traditions into his form of government. Have students determine how political leaders (e.g., kings, mayors of the palace, and nobles) were recruited during the time of Charlemagne. Hold did these leaders retain their power and authority? Ask students how laws were made and enforced under Charlemagne. What roles did citizens play in this process? What beliefs and values governed political life? How did the roles of men and women differ in medieval society? What assumptions did medieval European leaders make regarding power, authority, governance, and law? (Adapted from: Edwin Fenton and John M. Good, The Shaping of Western Society: An Inquiry Approach, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974, pp. 37-42).
• Have students compare and contrast the social and political dimensions of the Japanese and European feudal systems. Ask students to also compare them to Chinese and Korean feudal societies in terms of how leaders were selected, how laws were made and enforced, the roles of citizens, and what beliefs and values governed political life. Students can participate in Samurai Resume by Freda Kelly (SCORE), an interactive lesson which examines the role of the samurai at http://rims.k12.ca.us/samurai_resume/
• Student groups can investigate the concept of absolute rule as exemplified in the practice of the divine right of kings and queens. Have students begin with a study of Louis XIV (1661-1715) and organize their research around the following analytical questions:
  • What were Louis’ most important personal characteristics? What adjectives would you use to describe him?
  • What political institutions did Louis XIV use to rule?
  • How did Louis XIV make political decisions?
  • What role, if any, did the citizens of France play in making political decisions?

  Have students read from the writings of Bishop Jacques Bossuet about the theory of the divine right of kings. Since Louis XIV shared these views, ask students to explain what divine right meant and how Louis XIV applied it to his rule of France. (Adapted from: Edwin Fenton and John M. Good, The Shaping of Western Society: An Inquiry Approach, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974, pp. 141-152.)

• Ask students to research the development of parliamentary democracy in England focusing on the importance of the Magna Carta, development of parliament, the concept of habeas corpus, and the development of an independent judiciary. Students can also investigate the historical backgrounds to the English Petition of Rights (1628) and the English Bill of Rights (1689). A useful website for the Magna Carta is at the National Archives and Records Administration (Magna Carta). This exhibit features the Magna Carta and a link to another exhibit site, “Magna Carta and Its American Legacy” at http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/magnacarta/manintrp.html (Taken from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, pp. 148-149).
• Have students refer to We the People, Level 2. Center for Civic Education. Reprint 2003. Lesson 1, “Why do we need Government?” for a lesson on the natural rights philosophy and the contributions of John Locke. “Lesson 2 in this series includes information on Montesquieu’s thoughts on how government should be organized to promote the common welfare.” (Taken from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, pp. 148-149).
• Visit the SCORE website (Schools of California Online Resources for Education) and find Growth of Democratic Tradition: Age of Enlightment for a brief introduction to the ideas of some British and French Enlightenment thinkers. This site includes lesson plans as well as student readings at http://rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/growth_of_democratic/ (Adapted from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, p. 187).
• Have students research the major political ideas expressed by the leaders and philosophers of the American and French Revolutions. Ask students to explain the impacts of the Enlightenment thinkers on the American Revolution and how the American Revolution influenced other revolutions, including the French and Latin American Revolutions. For information on the French Revolution including documents, maps, pictures, and music, visit the George Mason University site on Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution at http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/ Students can find an English translation of the complete text of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) on the Yale Law School, Avalon Project website at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/rightsof.htm For a comparison of the French and American Revolutions, visit How Revolting It Is: Comparing the French and American Revolutions in January 1793 (SCORE) at http://rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/revolting
• Ask students to find definitions for the concept of “imperialism” and to research reasons why nations adopt imperialistic goals. Ask them to explain the relationship between nationalism and imperialism. Students can also explore the relationship between imperialism and industrialization during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Assign groups of students to investigate the causes, effects, and long-term impacts of imperialism by the British in India; French, British, Belgians and Germans in Africa; and by other nations in China. Ask students to explain the political effects of imperialism on these regions of the world. Ask students to identify examples of how these political effects are evident today. For documents and activities related to teaching about Africa visit www.teachafrica.net a site facilitated by the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Key features on this site include information on African history, geography, and political science. The Michigan State University site at www.exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu includes classroom activities, country overviews, current events, and related resources to assist teachers in developing their own lessons on Africa. Another website on Africa is Channel Africa at www.channelafrica.org/portal/site which includes information about the economies, governments, and histories of all African nations. (Adapted from: “Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai: Connecting Trees, Civic Education, and Peace,” Social Education, volume 69, Number 1, January/February 2005, pp. 18-22. Published by the National Council for the Social Studies at www.socialstudies.org).
• Have students investigate the roles played by nationalism and imperialism in causing World War I. Ask students to explain how World War I raised fundamental questions related to justice and human rights. Provide students with information about the Armenian Massacres during this time period and have students prepare document-based reports about the causes, perpetrators, and effects of this human rights violation. Readings and primary sources about the Armenian Massacres can be found in Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide: The Human Rights Series, Volume I available from the Publication Sales Desk at the New York State Education Department at www.nysed.gov.
• The rise of Stalin and the modern totalitarian state serve as other case studies in teaching about human rights violations. Ask students to research how the civil, political, and human rights of various ethnic groups in the Soviet Union were violated during Stalin’s rule. What actions did Stalin take to maintain complete control over his citizens? How did he violate basic democratic principles such as the rule of law, due process, consent of the governed, limited government, and individual rights?
• Have students investigate readings and primary source documents about the forced famine in Ukraine found in Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide: The Human Rights Series, Volume III available from the Publication Sales Desk at the New York State Education Department at www.nysed.gov. Have students report on the causes for the famine; how the famine was carried out by Stalin’s government; and its effects on the people of Ukraine. Students may be able to interview the children of famine survivors or historians about the famine and its aftermath. Ask students to propose ways to protect against future acts of genocide. For additional information on Stalin and his use of terror and mass murder visit the Library of Congress, Soviet Archives Exhibit, The Internal Workings of the Soviet System at http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Experimental/soviet.exhibit/intro1.html
• Have students research how the failure of democratic traditions helped bring about the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany following World War I. Students can study the documents included in Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide, The Human Rights Series, Volume II, “Nazi Rise to Power,” pp. 47-78, available from the Publication Sales Desk at the New York State Education Department at www.nysed.gov. Ask students to use this information to prepare oral reports about the role of nationalism and anti-Semitism in bringing the Nazis to power in 1933. Ask students how the Nazi Party used the German constitutional government to pass laws that gave the Reich Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, unlimited powers. Have students discuss how the Nazi Party used nationalism, obedience to authority, and conformity to win the support of the German people and to control them after the Nazis gained power. Have students read, “Education for Death: Nazi Youth Movements,” (Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide, Volume II, pp. 75-78), testimony by Gregor Ziemer at the Nuremberg Trials, to learn how the Nazis used the German educational system to further Nazi goals and to teach prejudice and anti-Semitism. For additional information on the Nazi rise to power, visit http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/dictator.htm and read The History Place, “The Rise of Adolph Hitler: Hitler Becomes Dictator.” This site includes an in-depth description of Hitler’s rise to power in Germany in 1932-34. (Taken from: Education for Democracy: California Civic Education Scope and Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003, p.193).
• Students can research the Nazi Holocaust during World War II to determine how a German totalitarian government, elected by the people, was able to violate human rights as it murdered its own citizens and citizens of nations it conquered. Ask students to explain how the Nazis were able to exterminate millions of Jews, Poles, other Slavs, Gypsies, disabled persons, and others. Ask how the Nazis were able to legislate the violation of human rights and “The Final Solution”. Students can also investigate the arguments made at the Nuremberg Trails to convict the defendants who perpetrated these genocidal acts. Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide, The Human Rights Series, Volume II, “The Final Solution” (pp. 79-175) and “Perpetrators and Victims” (pp. 176-239) includes readings, photographs, charts, government documents, diary accounts, and other documents related to this topic. For further information about teaching about the Holocaust visit the Westchester Holocaust Education Center website at www.holocausteducationstr.org or call them at (914) 696-0738. This center, based in Purchase, New York, is dedicated to providing middle and high school teachers with curriculum units, teacher training programs, and special events focused on the Holocaust and human rights.
• Have students compare and contrast how Stalin and Hitler came to power and how they ruled their totalitarian states. Ask students to compare them to modern day dictators such as Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein. Have students define the concept of “genocide” and explain how these dictators used genocidal actions to control their citizens.
• Assign groups of students various human rights issues that currently challenge different nations and regions around the world such as the fundamental rights of children and women, child labor, human slavery, AIDS and related health issues, civil war, poverty, natural resource depletion, torture, refugees, illiteracy, and famine and hunger. Ask students to define the issue or problem related to the human rights violation, identify the nations or regions where this human rights violation is taking place, and explain what steps have been taken to resolve or remedy this violation. Provide students with copies of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of the Child at www.un.org and ask students to identify and describe how basic human rights are being violated in different nations or world regions. Ask students to propose alternative solutions to these human rights violations, to evaluate the consequences for each alternative solution (e.g., if the world community or United Nations attempted this remedy what might happen?), and to select and defend the best solution to the human rights problem. You can find additional information related to human rights violations and issues at amnesty international at www.amnesty.org, Human Rights Education Associates at www.hrea.org, Human Rights Resource Center at www.hrusa.org, Human Rights Watch at www.hrw.org, UN Commission on Human Rights at www.un.org/rights, and the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center and Library at www.umn.edu/humanrts/about.html.
• Have students analyze the United States Constitution, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child (www.un.org), and the Charter of Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org), and other civil/human rights documents to identify and explain the significance of the fundamental values and principles which they espouse. Ask students to compare and contrast these documents in terms of the civic values they defend including the rights of the individual, justice, privacy, due process, protection of property, equality, the rule of law, the public or common good, and the sanctity of human life. Ask students to propose ways that violations of these basic human rights might be resolved on an international scale. (Adapted from: Preliminary Draft Framework for Social Studies, New York State Education Department, 1995, p. 41.)
• Have students visit Constitutions of the World at www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/index.html to compare and contrast the constitutions of different world nations. Students can analyze each constitution to determine if it includes the basic civic concepts of the rule of law, due process, protection of property, protection of privacy, limited government, separation of powers, judicial review, branches of government, individual rights, the common good, justice, and equality.
• Students can investigate a variety of global problems to explain the roles that civic action and participation play in resolving these problems. Students can define the global problem, investigate its historical causes, propose alternative solutions, evaluate the consequences for each solution, and develop a final recommendation for action. A number of websites offer information about various global problems including Country Reports at www.countryreports.org, National Public Radio at www.npr.org, the British Broadcasting Service at www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice, China Radio International at www.en.chinabroadcast.cn, the Oxford Education Centre at www.ataschool.eduweb.co.uk/rmextos/ and the Global Connections Website developed by the WGBH (Boston) Educational Foundation at www.pbs.org/globalconnections/mideast.
• Students can research the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002 as an international tribunal following numerous human rights atrocities. Students can investigate the goals of the tribunal, the United States position regarding membership in the tribunal, and how the tribunal operates. Students can find information about the ICC at www.un.org/law/icc/index.html (the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court),at www.iccnow.org (Coalition for the International Criminal Court), at www.hrw.org/campaigns/icc/ (Human Rights Watch’s section devoted to the ICC), and at www.state.gov/t/us/rm/15158.htm (United States Department of State’s page on the ICC). For additional information and materials related to teaching about international law contact the Center for Teaching International Relations (CTIR) at the University of Denver at www.du.edu/ctir or call (303)871-7963. You can order Teaching International Law, 2004, a teachers’ guide that contains ten activities about how the international community and the international legal system work. (Adapted from: “The International Criminal Court,” Social Education: The Official Journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, Volume 68, Number 7, November/December 2004, pp. 447-451 at www.socialstudies.org).

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