Unit 5 challenges students to trace the shifts in federal oversight as well as public opinion when it comes to civil liberties. Our Inquiry Companion Guide activities for Unit 5 facilitate student participation in inquiry-based civics learning for each strategy.

Students engage by considering the meaning of consent of the governed as well as explore primary source documents associated with landmark Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment Supreme Court cases. They will explain the tension created by the intersection of Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause by participating in a Paideia Seminar. Students then elaborate on their knowledge of the rights of the accused through a democratic experience simulation. Finally, students will evaluate their understanding of the Bill of Rights as they assess and defend each amendment.

Best practices for culturally responsive teaching weave through each activity.