Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts

PMC brings lawyers and judges into the classroom to speak to students, providing an engaging, non-traditional approach to civic education. PMC offers a full curriculum for middle, high school, and college students based around four weeks of core classes:

• Week 1: The Three Branches of Government

• Week 2: How Do Our Courts Operate? (PA & US)

• Week 3: How Does Someone Become a Judge?

• Week 4: Your Civic Duty as a Juror

PMC also offers unique supplemental classes that students and teachers can choose from to complete their 8-week program.

Middle School, High School, College

National Constitution Center

Constitution 101 is a 15-unit asynchronous, semester-long curriculum that provides students with a basic understanding of the Constitution’s text, history, structure, and caselaw. Drawing on primary source documents from our new, curated online Founders’ Library—containing over 170 historical texts and over 70 landmark Supreme Court cases selected by leading experts of different perspectives—students will study the historical and philosophical foundations of America’s founding principles from a range of diverse voices The curriculum guides students to think like constitutional lawyers—cultivating the skills necessary to analyze all sides of constitutional questions. Each module includes detailed materials for classroom educators, as well as opportunities for guided discovery and practice and tools to check for understanding.

High School

The Jack Miller Center

Read through relevant sections of the Constitution to teach about key principles using this tool.

ContextUS is a project of the Jack Miller Center and powered by Sefaria. ContextUS is a nonprofit organization committed to improving public knowledge and preserving the American experiment. Learn More.

High School

National Constitution Center

Beginning with the words “We the People,” the U.S. Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

In the NCC’s Interactive Constitution, learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives.

The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement

Maggie’s Civics Corner is a tribute to the Rendell Center dog Maggie. Animals are a wonderful way to teach rights and responsibilities in a safe and welcoming way.

The following lessons align to this pathway:

K - 8

PACJI

Civics education undoubtedly plays a vital role in maintaining a strong democracy, as a basic understanding of how government works is required for citizens to become active participants in society. As one of the three branches of government, the judiciary reflects the core values of American democracy while acting as one of its essential pillars.

Recognizing this, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court created the Commission on Judicial Independence (PACJI) in 2005. Among their chief tasks, they are charged with fostering a greater public understanding about the role of the judiciary and explaining the essential need of an independent judiciary in America. As part of their efforts, these materials were created as a resource for teachers, students and the public to learn more about the work, role and structure of the state’s courts.