US History · Week 4 · Founding Ideals, Faith, and Reconstruction
Freedom of Conscience
Students examine the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses and the ongoing debate over church and state, weighing several perspectives before forming a view.
- Students will
- Students explain the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses and weigh several perspectives on the debate over church and state before forming a reasoned view.
- SEL skill
- Slow down and weigh several perspectives before deciding how a religious freedom case should come out
- What it looks like
- Students practice using their emotions to think carefully through a decision, not to react.
- Content focus
- Freedom of conscience
- Format
- Small group problem-solving
Responsible decision-making
Responsible decision-making means making caring, constructive choices by thinking about ethics, safety, and consequences. More responsible decision-making activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- 11.3.5: CA History Social Science Content Standard, Grade 11: United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century (standard 11.3, item 5)
- CA HSS Analysis Skill: HREP3 Evaluate major debates among historians about alternative interpretations of the past. (Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View)
- C3 Framework (national): D2.Civ.10.9-12 Analyze how personal interests and perspectives affect the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, and rights.
- Literacy in history: RH.11-12.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.
Fits these textbook chapters
- History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals, Chapter 4: The Colonial Roots of America's Founding Ideals
- History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals, Chapter 9: A Dividing Nation
Textbook names are used only to help you find activities that fit what you teach. RoseThread Connect is not affiliated with these publishers.
More responsible decision-making activities for US History
- Titans of Industry Responsible decision-makingStudents weigh whether leaders like Carnegie and Rockefeller were captains of industry or robber barons and practice judging evidence rather than labels.
- Becoming a World Power Responsible decision-makingStudents map the Spanish American War and expansion in the Pacific, including Filipino and Native Hawaiian perspectives, and weigh the costs of a choice for everyone it affects.
- New Deal Debates Responsible decision-makingStudents weigh arguments for and against New Deal programs, including the Central Valley Project that reshaped California water, and practice evaluating a policy by its intended and unintended effects.
- The Atomic Decision Responsible decision-makingStudents weigh the arguments made for and against dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and practice holding a difficult decision with care and humility.
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RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.