Bill of Rights Day: Classroom Lessons for History and ELA

A layered view of historical U.S. documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution ("We the People").

Christy Walters

November 15, 2025

Each year on December 15, the country commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed observing this day in 1941 to celebrate the fundamental rights and freedoms the document protects.

Today, you can use this anniversary to bring more lessons about history, government, laws, and writing into your ELA and social studies classrooms. Check out these lesson ideas and resources for Bill of Rights Day.

Discover the Bill of Rights in social studies
Explore the language of foundational documents in ELA

[Discover the Bill of Rights in social studies](id-ss)

Let history take center stage with these social studies activities for Bill of Rights Day:

Explore the American Constitution

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. It lists Americans’ rights and liberties promised to them and protected by their government. Students can learn more about the whole document with resources like:

The full text of the Bill of Rights in English and Spanish.
The full text of the United States Constitution in English and Spanish.
An article about the U.S. Constitutional Convention and the compromises delegates made while creating it to make a stronger central government.

Discover what the First Amendment protects

A Newsela Social Studies graphic with an article titled "What the First Amendment protects—and what it doesn’t." The image shows the text of the First Amendment on a document, overlaid with an American flag and a pen. The article also includes a "SENSITIVE CONTENT" warning.

The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights protects the freedom of speech, religion, the press, and assembly. Students can learn more about what these freedoms are and what the protection of them looks like in practice with the following activity:

First, have students read an article about what the First Amendment is and what it protects.
Next, have students read an article on how First Amendment rights have evolved.
Finally, have students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast what the Amendment protects and how it appears in practice.

See if the Fifth and Tenth Amendments have anything in common

The Fifth Amendment protects citizens from self-incrimination, being tried for the same crime twice, and unlawful seizure of private property for public use. The Tenth Amendment establishes the principle of federalism, defining the balance of power between the federal government and the states.

While these two amendments might not sound like they have a lot in common, they both protect the legal rights of different groups. Encourage students to look for similarities and differences between the two amendments with the following lesson.

First, ask students to read an article about due process, protected under the Fifth Amendment.
Next, ask students to read about the states’ rights protected under the 10th Amendment.
Finally, ask them to complete a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast what rights and freedoms these amendments protect.

See how amendments get added to the Constitution

The Constitution has 27 amendments in total, starting with the Bill of Rights and ending with the most recent amendment ratified in 1992. Students can learn more about how an amendment gets added to the Constitution with the following lesson:

First, show students a video about why the U.S. Constitution is so hard to amend.
Next, have them read an article about the Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1923 and championed for nearly 60 years without being added to the Constitution.
Finally, ask students to work in groups and create a proposal for a new Constitutional amendment, considering how they would work to get it passed.

See which colonial leaders fought for and against the Bill of Rights

Ratifying the Constitution wasn’t easy. Two political groups, Federalists and Anti-Federalists, fought over whether they should ratify the document or if it took too much power away from the states. The Bill of Rights became a compromise to get Anti-Federalists to ratify the document.

Students can learn more about these opposing viewpoints and how the document we know today finally became the guiding set of rules for the country with resources like:

An article about James Madison’s successful campaign to pass the Bill of Rights.
An article about the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the Constitution.
A video about the Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written to promote the ratification of the Constitution.

[Explore the language of foundational documents in ELA](id-ela)

Dive into the language of historical and foundational documents in your ELA classes:

Learn why language in the Bill of Rights is so specific

A Newsela ELA graphic with an article titled "Primary Sources: The Bill of Rights." The image is a faded section of a historical document, showing the heading "Congress of the United States."

The language in historical documents may be tricky for us to understand in modern times, but they were written this way for a reason. Students can analyze the text of the Bill of Rights to determine how well they think its language communicates the freedoms and protections of American citizens with the following resources:

First, have students read the full text of the Bill of Rights and annotate sections that they find impactful.
Next, have them watch a video that explains what the Bill of Rights is and determine if the passages they highlighted reflect the document’s goals and values.
Finally, have students read an article about ratified and failed Constitutional amendments and determine if the language used could have influenced why the failed amendments didn’t pass.

Discover the significance of U.S. foundational documents

The Bill of Rights is just one of many essential documents that laid the foundation for our nation’s governance. Students can explore resources about these documents, including:

An interactive video that breaks down the content of the Bill of Rights.
An article that explains the origins of the Bill of Rights.
A primary source comparison activity that highlights the similarities between the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights.

Explore more historical content with Newsela’s subject products

You can teach about the Bill of Rights and other significant world and U.S. history topics all year with Newsela’s knowledge and skill-building products. If you’re not a Newsela customer yet, sign up for Newsela Lite to start your free 45-day trial and get access to all our premium differentiated content and activities.