Procedures

• Step 1.

  Provide students with the graphic organizer this will be used to collect information from the three Supreme Court cases covered in the lesson.

• Step 2.

  Provide students with background knowledge on the United States v. Lopez case. The presentation of four video clips below will help provide the students with an understanding of the case.

• • VIDEO CLIP: Case Introduction (0:59)

  • VIDEO CLIP: Enumerated Powers (2:10)

  • VIDEO CLIP: Economic Activity (0:55)

  • VIDEO CLIP: Prevention of Handgun Violence (1:44)

• Step 3.

  Using the clips below, introduce students to the Supreme Court cases Wickard v. Filburn and Gibbons v. Ogden.

  These cases provide an opportunity to examine other cases that deal with the interstate commerce clause.

• VIDEO CLIP: Wickard v. Filburn (1:21)

  VIDEO CLIP: Gibbons v. Ogden (2:49)

• Step 4.

  Assign the students an additional Supreme Court case to review that is related to the interstate commerce clause. Students can choose from Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, Inc. (1958), Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964), or Gonzalez v. Raich (2005).

  Encourage the students to review the video archives at C-SPAN to assist them in their research.

• Step 5.

  Students should continue to conduct their own research as they work to complete the graphic organizer.

  Oyez provides information on Supreme Court cases that the students will find essential to complete their assignment.

• Step 6.

  As a class review the essential questions from the graphic organizer for the Supreme Court cases of the United States v. Lopez, Wickard v. Filburn, and Gibbons v. Ogden. Ask students to describe the fourth case they chose. Conclude the lesson by asking students to describe any trends or surprising rulings they found. Ask students to communicate the significance of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce and how that power affects the country.