FAULT LINES IN THE CONSTITUTION: FREE CHAPTERS & EDUCATOR MATERIALS

Best Users: School Librarians, Educators, Home Learning
Best Audience: Grades 06-12

Looking for this book during lockdown? It is available as an e-book in select libraries, an audiobook, and is shipping from many independents.

FREE CHAPTERS

The acclaimed nonfiction book Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today (Peachtree) was reissued in Fall 2019 with compelling new content. As you may know, the book links contemporary problems to a section of the Constitution. Not only does the book give us a new view into the document that forms the basis of our society and government, it also opens doors to solutions.

Covid19 is THE contemporary problem defining our students’ present and future. Peachtree Publishing Company has kindly and boldly released the chapters that deal with the emergency powers of the president and Congress and the ways the government can restrict America’s freedom of movement during an epidemic. What can we learn about the government’s role in keeping its citizens safe?
READ Chapter 18 & 19 of Fault Lines in the Constitution
 

AUTHOR READ ALOUD AND DISCUSSION

Emergency Powers

At War with Bugs

 

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR MATERIALS

Because the fault lines in the Constitution never stop affecting public policy and the lives of Americans, award-winning author Cynthia Levinson and constitutional scholar Sanford Levinson have not stopped writing about it nor offering tools.
EXPLORE Resources for Educators & Students
 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today
By Cynthia Levinson, Sanford Levinson
Published by Peachtree Publishing Company
Available Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Book Revised 08/01/2019
Age Range: 10 – 14 Years

Many of the political issues we struggle with today have their roots in the US Constitution.

Husband-and-wife team Cynthia and Sanford Levinson take readers back to the creation of this historic document and discuss how contemporary problems were first introduced—then they offer possible solutions. Think Electoral College, gerrymandering, even the Senate. Many of us take these features in our system for granted. But they came about through haggling in an overheated room in 1787, and we’re still experiencing the ramifications.

Each chapter in this timely and thoughtful exploration of the Constitution’s creation begins with a story—all but one of them true—that connects directly back to a section of the document that forms the basis of our society and government. From the award-winning team, Cynthia Levinson, children’s book author, and Sanford Levinson, constitutional law scholar, Fault Lines in the Constitution will encourage exploration and discussion from young and old readers alike.

“Cynthia Levinson (The Youngest Marcher) and her constitutional law professor husband hone in on select aspects of the United States Constitution; after scrutiny of the Preamble’s intentions and some of the document’s problematic provisions, they call urgently for reform, giving it an overall C+ grade….This thought-provoking and exceptionally topical work concludes with a debate between the Levinsons over the best way to accomplish much-needed changes to America’s most basic governing document.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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“Gerrymandering. Filibusters. The electoral college. The authors tackle these and other constitutional issues in this insightful work. The book functions differently than a straightforward explanatory text on the U.S. Constitution. Rather, the authors examine the fissures and issues that arise when it comes to the actual application of the Constitution…Much food for thought on the application and relevance of many of the Constitution’s stipulations. Essential for class discussions, debate teams, and reports.”
—School Library Journal, Starred Review
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“The Levinsons grade the Constitution’s success in meeting its primary goals as outlined in the Preamble, giving it a C-plus overall. The text concludes with the authors debating the pros and cons of a second Constitutional Convention. A fascinating, thoughtful, and provocative look at what in the Constitution keeps the United States from being “a more perfect union.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review