Students explore the Enlightenment — when thinkers applied reason to government and society, arguing for natural rights, the separation of powers, and government by consent — ideas that would reshape the modern world.
Students will be able to…
Where did ideas like “natural rights,” “consent of the governed,” and “separation of powers” come from — and why do they sound so familiar?
Project this and match each Enlightenment thinker to their big idea — tap a thinker, then tap the idea they’re famous for.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
“Consent of the governed” — where have you heard that?
Students investigate.
Students analyze.
Students conclude.
Students take action.
Aligned to the C3 Framework for Social Studies and Common Core literacy in history/social studies.
Explain the powers and limits of governments and the ideas behind them.
Analyze why developments are historically significant.
Analyze ideas and principles in founding documents.
Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students find Enlightenment ideas (natural rights, consent, separation of powers) inside the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. A printable document sheet is in the Social Studies library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.