Constitutional Connection: Pound students dive into civics with Husker helpers

September 26, 2025

Pound Middle School students learned about the legacy of the nation’s top document when they passed their own Constitutional amendments in class.
 
Eighth graders examined the scope of the Constitution during a special presentation in their differentiated social studies class. University of Nebraska College of Law students Anna Schroeder and Grace Schleining spoke about Constitutional bedrocks such as the three branches of American government, the checks-and-balances system and the amendment process. They then watched as the Squires thought of amendment ideas ranging from giving everyone basic human necessities to providing free streaming across all platforms.

 
Emma, Isabelle and Hazen sat together at their desks and came up with several amendment proposals. They said Schroeder and Schleining were doing a good job explaining why the Constitution plays a key role in the country.
 
“It’s important to have a government system like this,” Emma said. “The Constitution is a major document.”
 
“It’s interesting how each branch has power in their individual ways,” Hazen said. “It’s important to learn about this.”

 
Schroeder and Schleining said they were impressed with the intelligence the class displayed throughout the afternoon. Students broke into small groups for the amendment-creating assignment, and the two Huskers visited with each one about their proposed additions to the Constitution.
 
“I thought it was really fascinating how you could really see the wheels turning in a lot of these students’ heads,” Schleining said. “I was so pleasantly surprised how much thought they were putting into this and how much knowledge they had already.”
 
“I enjoyed hearing what all of their creative amendments would be to the Constitution and how they think the Constitution helps our government run,” Schroeder said.
 
Schroeder and Schleining based their activity on a lesson from the law school’s Continuing Legal Education Project. They explained the roles and responsibilities of the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government, and they talked about how the Constitution has created all three branches as equal partners. They also went over how the amendment system has allowed Americans to make important changes to the document for more than 200 years.
 
Schleining said it was fun to explore the fundamentals of the Constitution with eighth graders. She and Schroeder are both second-year law school students with an interest in business law topics.
 
“It’s really nice to get to go back to the basics,” Schleining said. “We’ve gotten to go into some nuance with the Constitution in law school, so to go back and remember the importance of the whole document was really cool.”
 
Schroeder smiled as she watched Emma, Isabelle and Hazen talk at their desks. The three Squires felt Hazen’s idea for giving full voting representation to the five U.S. territories with permanent inhabitants was a good one. American citizens living in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands currently have no representation in the Senate, and their delegates in the House of Representatives cannot vote on final legislation.
 
“You really put some thought into this,” Schroeder said. “Good work, guys.”
 
Schleining also said she was intrigued by the thoughts she heard from students.
 
“I don’t spend a lot of time around kids, so it was really refreshing to see what they think and to hear what they have to say,” Schleining said.
 
Students from across the nation spend time every September learning about the Constitution and how it has shaped the country. Constitution Week commemorates the signing of the Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. The Daughters of the American Revolution petitioned Congress in 1955 to set aside a week for Americans to celebrate the document, which was ratified by 11 states in 1787 and 1788. The new American government began on March 4, 1789.

Law students visited classrooms at seven middle schools throughout the week. They helped students at Culler, Dawes, Goodrich, Lefler, Lux, Pound and Scott learn about the Constitution.

 
After Schroeder and Schleining talked with every group, they invited volunteers to come forward and make a motion for the class to adopt their amendment. Students listened to each suggestion and then decided if they would approve it. If two-thirds of the 21-person class said yes, then the amendment would be ratified.
 
Cheers broke out when a Constitutional amendment to create free streaming services for all residents passed with 14 votes. An amendment stating that everyone – regardless of wealth or income level – would receive government-appointed lawyers also passed with 15 votes.
 
Just before the bell rang, Schroeder encouraged the Squires to approach all of their classes with the same type of curiosity and high-level thinking.
 
“Every group I talked to, you had rockstar ideas,” Schroeder said. “You did an awesome job today.”
 
Schroeder said her own positive classroom experiences sparked her interest in applying to law school. She said it was rewarding to help Pound students enjoy their own light-bulb moments with important topics like the Constitution.
 
“Growing up, getting to learn from guest speakers was always very exciting, so getting to come back and kind of see those wheels turn, like Grace said, and kind of experience their learning with them again was just fun overall,” Schroeder said.
 
Social studies activities promote critical thinking, problem solving and civic engagement for LPS students. Learn more about social studies lessons at elementary, middle and high school levels at home.lps.org/socialstudies.
 
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