State or District Standard(s) Addressed
SS4H5 The student will analyze the challenges faced by the new nation.
a. Identify the weaknesses of the government established by the Articles of
Confederation.
b. Identify the major leaders of the Constitutional Convention and describe the major issues they debated, including the
rights of states, the Great Compromise, and slavery.
c. Identify the three branches of the of. government as outlined by the
Constitution, describe what they do, how they relate to each other (checks and
balances and separation of power), and how they relate to the states.
d. Identify and explain the rights in the Bill of Rights, describe how the Bill of
Rights places limits on the power of government, and explain the reasons for its
inclusion in the Constitution: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
AASL 21st Century Learner Standard(s) Addressed:
1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.
1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats.
Timeline:
The ideal time for this lesson would be in September due to Constitution day on September 17th. The suggested amount of time for this lesson would be four consecutive weeks. The first week would be to introduce the lesson to the students, assign the groups, and provide students with resources (both books and internet sources) to begin reading. The second week would be to introduce students to the technology portion of how to develop a powerpoint of at least ten slides. The third week would be a work session for the students to continue working on the project and try to locate any needed information. The fourth week would be a presentation of the powerpoints by the groups.
Materials:
-Nonfiction books in the media center relevant to the birth of the United States and the -Constitution located in the Dewey Decimal section:
-A flash drive to store the group’s project and information retrieved from the internet for the project.
-Access to at least four computers (or laptops) for the groups to work on in the media center to access information for resources.
-Paper and pencil to record information.
Suggested Children’s Literature
If You Were There When They Signed The Constitution
by Elizabeth Levy Published June 1st 1992 by Scholastic Paperbacks
Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz Published December 29th 1997 by Puffin…..
Grouping Strategies:
Students would select which standard they want to work on or the teacher would assign the students as needed.
Learning Activities:
Day One-
Work Session:
Students will work in groups on their projects. Today they need to choose their group, identify a group leader, a recorder, a timekeeper, and a researcher. Each person will work in the group to help find the information and collect it. The group leader is in charge of being responsible for making sure the information is collected and available for the next work session. Job assignments are under the final approval of the teacher.
Groups for Project:
1. Identify the weaknesses of the government established by the Articles of Confederation.
2. Identify the major leaders of the Constitutional Convention (James Madison and Benjamin Franklin) as well as how people were chosen to be part of this event and where it took place at.
3. Describe the major issues debated in the Constitutional Convention, including the rights of states, the Great Compromise, and slavery
4. Identify the three branches of the U. S. government as outlined by the Constitution, and describe what they do,
5. Explain how the three branches of the U.S. Government relate to each other (checks and balances and separation of power), and how they relate to the states.
6. Identify and explain the rights in the Bill of Rights, describe how the Bill of Rights places limits on the power of government, and explain the reasons for its inclusion in the Constitution in 1791.
Closing:
Everyone comes together to reflect about what the requirements of the project are and what they are expected to do by the next meeting.
Day Two-
Work Session:
Media Specialist will provide a demonstration on how to create, enter text and insert clipart and save a powerpoint document. A ten slide powerpoint template will be provided for students to start with during today’s lesson. Media Specialist will demonstrate how to use technological resources to find content and research information for the projects. Students will work in their groups on the projects while in the media center as well as check out library materials about the content area.
Procedures:
1. The teacher distributes the instructions for the Power Point (i.e. number of slides, technological resources that may be used to find appropriate pictures or videos)
2. The groups create a Power Point that discusses Constitution Day, and the standard they are researching (i.e. their project).
3. The student adds clip art that relates to the adoption of the constitution by using appropriate Pictures and Google Images.
Closing:
Everyone comes together to reflect about what the requirements of the project are and what they are expected to do by the next meeting.
Students will be given a copy of the Scavenger Hunt Worksheet to complete over the next week while they are researching information. It is due by the last session.
Day Three
Opening:
Media Specialist and Teacher review what is expected in the powerpoint presentation.
Media Specialist gives a review demonstration of how to create, enter text and insert clipart
and save a powerpoint document.
Work Session:
Students will continue from last week’s activities to research information and create a ten
slide powerpoint presentation over the standard.
Closing:
Everyone comes together to reflect about what the requirements of the project are and what they have left to do before the next meeting where they will present their powerpoints as a group.
Day Four
Opening:
The media specialist will open the session discussing what has been accomplished over the last few weeks. The teacher will explain that the students need to come up with their groups in the order of the standards.
Work Session:
The group leader will begin and then each member of the group will explain at least two slides.
Modification/Diversity:
Teachers will have final approval of groups and will ensure that students are partnered with others to give consideration for the different skills needed as well as assistance in reading the material. The activities chosen should accommodate the diverse age groups of the students coming from different cultures and family backgrounds. Therefore the opinions of the different thoughts of view should be embraced.
Assessment:
Group PowerPoint projects will be graded on the following:
Presentation 20 Points
Creativity 20 Points
Content 20 Points
Organization 20 Points
Group Participation 20 Points
Possible Points 100 Points
pre/post test
1.The constitution is also known as what? (Answer: living document)
2.What year was it signed? (Answer: 1787)
3.True or false: the constitution is the highest law in the land. (answer: true)
4.Can the constitution be changed? (answer: yes through amendments)
5.What are the first ten amendments called? (answer: the bill of rights)
6.True or false: the constitution is over 200 years old? (Answer: true)
7.What was the group of men called who wrote the constitution? (Answer: the farmers)
8.Where did they meet to write the constitution? (Answer: Philadelphia)
9.The first part of the constitution is called what? (Answer: the preamble)
10.How many states did we have when the constitution was signed? (Answer: 13)
