E-AMENDMENTS: As President Obama deftly alluded to last night, political bickering and in-fighting are sure to continue over the next few months as America's legislative and executives branches continue to wrestle over fiscal policy. So what to do if you want a bit of non-partisan, non-punditry conversation in your classroom? Look no further than this free interactive Constitution from the National Constitution Center (NCC). The detailed site provides multiple interpretations for Constitutional articles and amendments as well plain-language summaries of how contentious issues including immigration and taxes were addressed by the founding fathers and other amendment creators. Just five minutes into exploring the site and we debunked a common assumption that the First Amendment is the most important since.. well, it comes first. (Actually according to constitutional scholar and NCC interpreter, Linda Monk, the First Amendment was originally the third proposed amendment. But the first two proposed amendments were never ratified!) Teachers can find lessons plans for utilizing the resource here. Hat tip to eSchoolNews for putting NCC on our radar.
