Teacher Activities
1. What does the Constitution look like?
As a primary source, one of the most remarkable things about the Constitution is that we still have it! Indeed, the Constitution is a four-page document that resides in the Library of Congress in Washington DC. When you imagine all of the paper you get in the mail, all of the paper teachers receive at Professional Developments, and all of the worksheets/handouts we give students, it is remarkable that these four pages still exist! Will any of our worksheets exist two-hundred years from now?
To help students engage with the Constitution on a visual level and to more fully appreciate its uniqueness as a primary source, consider posting a printout of the Constitution on the board. Do not, however, let students know that it is the Constitution! Next to it, display another 4-page document. This could be the Student Code of Conduct, a magazine, or newspaper. As an opener, have students answer the questions: "Which document is more important and why?" Perhaps students will say the document with color is most important! They may also reference the style of the font.
As a whole group, begin to share out and record similarities and differences, possibly in a Venn-Diagram. Ultimately have students consider why and what factors may have affected the layout of the Constitution. Are there wide margins? Who was the audience? Would they have wanted it to be visually engaging, or more "plain?" Why? Essentially, have students debate and consider what the purpose of the Constitution was and how the visual layout of the Constitution either does or does not support that purpose! This exercise can provide the instructor with formative feedback regarding how much background the student has with the Constitution!
2. What "powers" does the Constitution grant?
Because the Constitution offers quite descriptive statements of what each branch aught to do, consider providing small student groups with paper copies of the Constitution. Assign each group the job of either reviewing Article 1, 2, or 3 of the constitution. Proceed to have them highlight all verbs in their section of the constitution. Have students choose the 5-to-10 "most important" power verbs they notice and then create a poster of these verbs that includes a visual illustration or representation of what these actions may look like. What, for instance, does it look like for the President to "veto" a bill? What does it look like for Congress to provide and maintain the Navy?
Groups can present their posters. You can end this activity by having students answer critical reflection questions regarding possible conflicts between the branches. Are any of the verbs, for instance, the same? How do we, or might we, resolve conflicts between branches?
3. Are you a Federalist or Anti-Federalist?
Have students carefully read the Federalist, number 80, and the Anti-Federalist, number 11. Have students map and outline the general structure of each paper. You may, for instance, have students write a one-to-two sentence summary for each paragraph and then illustrate with an organizer how these paragraphs relate. You may consider having a brief class discussion after each article whereby the class considers how each author argues his point. The author of the Federalist, number 80, for instance, uses an almost scientific approach to defend the judicial branch: He begins by describing certain principles of "sound" government and proceeds to "test" whether each section of Article 3 coincides with these principles. You may ask students to record and define five unknown words from each article as well.
Next, have students assume the role of either a Federalist or Anti-Federalist. Using only the Constitution and the two papers, have students write a two-to-three page article that could be published in the school newspaper. Have them include at least three of the unknown words they researched. In their papers, students may adopt an argumentative style exhibited in either the Federalist or Anti-Federalist paper.
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