Classroom Activities
Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
The unit will begin by introducing students to the Preamble to the Constitution. To establish interest in the lesson, I will inform students that we will be voting for their favorite ice cream flavor to celebrate the unit upon completion. Votes will be written and tallied on the board. No matter what the winning flavor is I will tell the class I do not like the results of the vote and demand a different flavor. Naturally, I expect some grunts and moans from the class. This will lead to my first group discussion question, “Do you feel by changing the result I have silenced your voice and caused an injustice in the class?” Ultimately, I will lead students to the Preamble to the Constitution which established the supreme law of the land.
After discussing this activity, and the significance of the Preamble as a whole, we will return to our seats to read the Preamble to the Constitution. I will use the book, We the Kids: the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States for its beautiful illustrations and for the rudimentary breakdown of each aspect of the Preamble. Due to the Preamble’s complexity, students will use a graphic organizer in which we draw out each of the ideas established in the Preamble. I will assign each group one part of the Preamble to the Constitution and have them discuss in groups what they think it means. Afterward, I will discuss with the class as we touch upon each idea and write a modernized version of each core tenet to the Preamble on our graphic organizers, to synthesize the ideas discussed and to help the students understand the Preamble in their own words.
As we continue to explore the Preamble to the Constitution, I will prepare some flashcards with an illustration of each purpose of the Constitution to quiz students at the beginning of each subsequent lesson. These flashcards can be used when students have finished any work and want to review themselves or with another student.
Afterward, students will learn how some states refused to ratify the Constitution until they knew certain rights and liberties were protected. At this point, I will present the ten amendments to the class. Using a graphic organizer, we will discuss the meaning of each amendment and modernize the language for the sake of comprehension.
The Branches of Government
Next, students will participate in a classroom activity to learn about the three branches of government. I will first introduce students to a flowchart that walks students through how a bill becomes a law. I will explain to the students how Congress represents the legislative branch and is responsible for writing bills. I will explain how the Executive branch, which includes the President, is responsible for approving or vetoing a bill. Lastly, I will explain the Judicial Branch, which is responsible for enforcing and determining whether a bill is constitutional. Drawing these ideas together, I will explain the system of “checks and balances” and why this concept bore such importance for the drafters of the Constitution, from a historical perspective.
For the students to better understand this process of checks and balances, we will perform a classroom simulation where students write a bill that would apply to their everyday school life. Next, we will collect the bills and form committees for students to review the bills. In committee, students can decide which bill from their list will be pushed to become a law. Once students have decided which bills will become a law, the class will be divided in half, representing the House and the other the Senate. Students will then present the bill they have selected to the House while the Senate observes. The House will make any amendments before voting on the bill. Any bills approved in the House will then move onto the Senate, where a similar process will occur. Finally, all amended bills will be given to myself, who will be the acting President to either veto or approve the bill. As an extension, and depending on time and the content of any prospective “bill,” we may also form a Supreme Court from selected students that will review any approved laws. One way to review these laws would be by using the school code of conduct guide as a "Constitution," making sure laws adhere to school guidelines.
Mock Election
Following the legislative simulation, I will begin to focus on the First Amendment, to demonstrate how difficult it is to interpret the law. As a warm-up exercise, students will gather in our large group meeting area where we will review why the Bill of Rights exists, specifically focusing on the intent and purposes of the First Amendment. Through discussion, I will guide students to understand and discuss how freedom of speech extends beyond what you can say, and also applies to religion, the press, petition, assembly, or even the right to what you wear. Then I will propose the question to students, "Well, is how you spend your money and exercise of free speech?" With myself moderating, students will have a group discussion on whether or not spending money constitutes an exercise of free speech. Whether a classroom consensus is met or not, I will ask, "Should there be a limit on how much money you can spend as an exercise of free speech?" Again, I will lead students in a discussion before holding a demonstration.
In the demonstration, using a skateboard, I will ask my students, "This is my skateboard, and I own it just like I own my voice. In America, we have freedom of speech, and you can't limit how many words come out of my mouth. Let's say this skateboard represents a political cause I'm interested in, like global warming. And if I want my cause to move forward, I have to put energy, foot on the ground, to move the skateboard." I will then get on the skateboard to finish my demonstration. "If every time I put my foot on the ground that's a dollar I'm donating to stop global warming, do you think the government should limit how many times I can push the board forward?" It is important to note with students that the First Amendment protects political, ideological, and commercial speech. The true question at hand for students is, should money be identified as free speech if it’s used to promote political and ideological ideas?
The unit will culminate with a mock election for class president, with the purpose of applying what the students have learned for the last two weeks and offering the students an opportunity to think critically about the First Amendment.
The election will start by allowing any student to declare their intention to run for office. Students will be asked to come up with a speech in which they lay out their platform to the class. Students who are not running for office will watch the speeches to decide who they will endorse. Since I teach two classes, some students will be unable to hear every speech given very much in the same way that not every American can listen to every presidential candidate's speech (which point I will later discuss with the students). A lot of a candidates’ exposure to the opposing class will come in the form of advertisements.
I will be using a simplified hybrid model of both "patriot dollars" and Super P.A.C. funding to afford advertisement.
Each student will be given $100 "Patriot dollars" to donate to a campaign. However, there will be an individual contribution limit of fifty dollars to any one candidate. The only way a student can donate above the fifty-dollar limit is to form a Super P.A.C. Any group of students will be allowed to file paperwork with me, declaring their intention to form a Super P.A.C. The Super P.A.C. will then be able to pool their money to donate to a single candidate collectively. Donations will be made by students placing their donations into an envelope with their name and to whom they are donating. I will then collect the donations to give each candidate, having removed the money from the envelope to ensure privacy.
Once candidates have received their donations, they will be able to choose from a menu of resources to campaign. Options will include: hiring staff, buying copy paper to make fliers, buying poster board and paint to make hallway banners, or filming a video to show to any class. Also, students who raised a certain amount in funds will qualify for a debate to be held between both classes towards the end of the election cycle. The audience will be provided with a debate score sheet to help with decision making.
Lastly, students will be asked to cast their votes for class president. After the congratulatory celebration and swearing in, we will have a large group meeting to gauge our opinion on what helped make student’s final decisions. Important discussion questions to ask include:
“Was your opinion made from policy or advertisements?”
"Was it fair that some campaigns had the support of a Super P.A.C.?"
“Was it fair that you only got to participate in the big debate if you raised a specific amount of funds?”
“Did the winning candidate have the most in donations?”
“Do you think this method is fair?”
“Do you think money should be considered a form a free speech?”
After the election has concluded students will use their last day of the unit answering an opinion based prompt: "Is spending money on a political candidate a form of exercising free speech?" Students will realize the laws we have in this country are not as black and white as some think they are and they should always be well informed before supporting a politician or a law.
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