Classroom Activities
1. Activate Prior Knowledge
Students will need to be placed in heterogeneous groups of 4. The following 4 questions will be assigned to each group, 1. Why do we have a government? 2. What power do you think our president has? 3. If you could change anything in our country what would it be and why? 4. What does the phrase Checks and Balances mean to you in connection with our government?. Each person will be assigned a question to write on the top of his/her notebook paper. The students will be given 5 minutes to respond to the question. After 5 minutes they will pass their notebook to someone in their group. They will then be given 3 minutes to read the new question and the response already given. They will then be given 5 more minutes to respond to the new question. This process will repeat until everyone in the group has answered all 4 questions.
As a whole group take time to discuss these questions and any common themes students noticed as they read each other's responses. Next display a copy of the Constitution and ask students to share their initial thoughts as they look at the document. Explain to students that this document outlines our government.
2. Background on Convention
Explain to students that before the creation of the Constitution our country followed the Articles of Confederation. Describe to the students the idea of state loyalty and the lack of accountability under the Articles of Confederation. Have students watch "Liberty Kids #40: We the People" (link below under student websites). While watching, students should respond to the following questions in their journal, 1. What events lead to the Convention? 2. What were some major issues at the Convention?. After the video discuss the responses students recorded in their journal offering more insight into the Convention (see background information above). The following two quotes from the video can also be used as journal prompts or discussion points "United we stand, divided we fall" George Washington, and "The Convention is held in secrecy so delegates can change their minds without fear of public embarrassment" James Madison.
Use the following links, http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/christy/, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters_mural_constitution_b.html, to explore the scene of the Constitutional Convention. Using the paintings to discuss symbolism and other insight the students notice. The paintings may also be compared and contrasted leading to more discussion of the Convention. I also suggest reading the background information on the painting and artist included on the first link before having this discussion with students.
3. Introduction to the Constitution
As a whole group read Article 2 of the Constitution discussing main ideas and summarizing the main points (see background information above). Have students in charge of the question "What powers do you think our president has?" from Activity 1 take out their journal entry. Use these ideas to compare with the actual powers described in the Constitution.
In groups of 2-3 have students read pg. 53-64 from "The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation". While reading have students record any questions that arise. After everyone has finished reading discuss as a whole group the questions recorded in the groups.
Lastly, discuss with students the system of Checks and Balances set up in the Constitution and complete the graphic organizer described above with them.
4. Analysis of the Constitution, Federalist Views, and Anti-Federalist Views
The following activity contains the bulk of the unit and will last over several days. The students will use the chart graphic organizer as described in the strategies above.
Before beginning the analysis of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers use pages 85-87 of "The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation" to lead a discussion on the ratification process and the role of these essays during the process.
Analysis of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers will be split up into 3 main categories, 1. Number of Executives and Term Length, 2. Election and Reelection, and 3. Executive Veto Power. For each category I have identified which essays to use (see background information above) and journal prompts. For each category first fill in the Constitutional Idea column using the Constitution as a reference on the graphic organizer described above. Use the quotes suggested above for the essay references to discuss the views of each side and to complete the graphic organizer. For the last column, My Idea, allow students to write which idea they agree with or create their own idea for the category. Take time to discuss student ideas and responses. This activity also lends itself to share with students the debates that occurred during the Convention (see background information above).
Number of Executives and Term Length
Federalist Paper References: 69, 70, 71
Anti-Federalist References: 69, 70, 71, 74, Cato V
Journal Prompts: Does making a decision alone or with a team require more personal responsibility? Explain. How does the length of a President's term affect his/her work ethic?
Election and Reelection
Federalist Paper References: 68, 72
Anti-Federalist Paper References: 51, 68, 69, 71, 72, Cato V
Journal Prompts: What qualities make someone capable of serving as President? Explain. How do you think the idea of reelection effects a President's decisions in his/her 1st term?
Executive Veto Power
Federalist Paper References: 51, 73
Anti-Federalist Paper References: 67, 73
Journal Prompts: Describe a time an adult "vetoed" an idea you had or something you wanted. Do you think this was fair? Why or why not?
4. Debate
To organize the debate there will be 6 teams of 4. A total of 3 debates will take place using the three topics in activity 3. In each debate one team will represent the Federalist point of view and one team will represent the Anti-Federalist point of view. The students will use the graphic organizer described above and the time limits described above in their planning. To determine the point of view and topic for each group you could assign it yourself based on the group's ability and needs or you could randomly have the groups assigned a topic and point of view. The students should work collaboratively and during the debate each team member should have equal speaking time. The students should also be encouraged to dress up on the day of the debate to fit the part of the time period.
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