Historical Foundations of the US Constitution Unit

Learning Goal: Students will describe the goals and structure of the U.S. Constitution.

Essential Questions:  1. What are the goals of the U.S. government, as outlined in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution?  2. How did the Pilgrims influence the framers of the Constitution?  3. Why does the U.S. Constitution divide power among three branches of government?  4. How does the system of checks and balances work?  5. How and why can the U.S. Constitution be changed?

Benchmarks:  SS.7.C.1.6: Interpret the intentions of the Preamble to the Constitution.  SS.7.C.1.7: Describe how the Constitution limits the powers of government through separation of powers and checks and balances.  SS.7.C.1.9: Define the rule of law and recognize its influence on the development of the American legal, political and governmental systems.  SS.7.C.3.5: Explain the Constitutional amendment process.  Common Core:  LACC.68.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.  LACC.68.RH.

November 7th & 8th: Readers Theater: "Unit or Die" + Timeline

   uniteordie_readers_theater.pdf  

 Dec of Ind  "Draft #1"  

Articles of Confederation   "Draft #2"

NJ Plan + VA Plan   "Ideas"

The Great Compromise/The Constitution   "Final Draft"  

Bill of Rights:Add to the const

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The six principles of the Constitution (Beginning with the End in Mind)

1. Popular Sovereignty
2. Limited Government
3. Constitutionalism
4. Seperation of Powers
5. Checks & Balances
6. Federalism

Off the 11th

November : 12th & 13th "How we got our freedom"

• marking the text lesson
•   How we got our freedom.docx  

November 14th & 15th: iCivics "Wanted: A just Right Government"

  

November 18th & 19th: Writing of the Constitution Intro and Smarts songs

Trip-to-DC-Album-Lyrics-Smart-Songs(2).pdf

November 20th & 21st: Flash Cards & Level Questioning

Study Flash Cards: http://quizlet.com/_hjic3

November 22nd & 25th: Shay's Rebellion and Cornell notes

  DSComicstrip.pdf   Due on December 3rd and 4th

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEoeK5MvEdY

  Shays comis strip.docx  

 Rubric:

Bold & Catchy Title in Box #1: ___/ 5 points

8 Creative boxes that fufil the requirements of the content on their sheet: 10 points per box= ___/80 points

Each box needs a colorful picture or series of pictures- it's okay to use symbols/ word bubbles): __/10 points

Creativity: ___/ 10 points

Use color pencil, marker, crayon, & pen: no regular pencil marks may be visible: __/5points

Effective design and layout: ____/ 10 points

Total: ____/120 points

November 26th & December 2nd: games on iCivics (refer to the iCivics link to learn more)