CEP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher: Molly Anstett

Date: 12/2/16 and 12/5/16
School:
Challenger Middle School
Social Studies

Grade Level: 8th

Content Area:

Title: Articles IV-VII and the Constitutional Card Sort

of 7

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

directly from the standard)
Students can:

Lesson #: 5

(Write Content Standards

1.2.f. Analyze ideas that are critical to the understanding of American history and
give examples of the ideals involved in major events and movements. Topics to
include but not limited to representative democracy, federalism, capitalism,
abolition, temperance, nativism, and expansionism
1.1.b. Use and interpret documents and other relevant primary and secondary
sources pertaining to United States history from multiple perspectives
4.2.d. Explain the role and importance of the Constitution
4.2.e. Discuss the tensions between individual rights, state law, and national law
Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of
instruction, select applicable questions from standard)
1. How have the meanings of American ideals remained the same and changed over
time?
2. How have various people from different eras in our nations history promoted change
in the face of opposition and what democratic principles were advanced?

Concepts and skills students master: (Understandings, Big Ideas, Unit

objectives)
Students will analyze the main ideas found in
Articles IV-VII in the Constitution of the United States. Students will demonstrate
understanding of the system at work by completing a Constitutional card sort,
identifying main ideas in the Constitution and citing them according to Article and
section number.
Evidence Outcomes: (Knowledge/ Skills, Lesson Objectives)
Every student will be able to: explain the three branches of government and
how they work together. They will use the first three Articles of the Constitution to
identify which branch is in control of various responsibilities.

Assessment of Evidence Outcomes: (How will you assess the selected lesson
objectives (general explanation, you will go into more detail at the end of the lesson
plan)
I will assess these objectives through their
Constitutional Card Sorts and their warm-up activity. Questioning strategies,
resulting in student processing, will also demonstrate achievement of objectives.
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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Planned Lesson Activities

Activity Name

Articles IV-VII and the Constitutional Card Sort

Approx. Time

How long do you expect the activity to last?

One and a half blocks (120 Minutes)

Anticipatory Set

Teaching/
Presentation:
(Select the most
appropriate teaching
model.)
-direct instruction
-presentation model
-concept teaching
-cooperative
learning
-inquiry

Teaching Strategy:
Guided Practice
&
Differentiation
Closure

Questioning about Articles I-III

Give example for warm-up
Share learning target for the day

Includes: Input, Modeling and Checking for Understanding

1. Cooperative Learning: Warm-up of five questions will be on the bo
to work together on. They must find the answers in the Constituti
partners to research the answers.
2. Checking for Understanding: Teacher will go over answers with stu
confusion and explain more in-depth processes within the answer
3. Presentation Model: To go over the instructions for the Constitutio
teacher will model how to find the answer to one of the questions
4. Cooperative Learning: In groups, students will search through the
find the Article and section number that answers their questions.

Students will find the parts of the Constitution that apply to their questio
answer in complete sentences, then move on to the next questions.
Students will work in groups to go through Articles I through III, while tea
gauge student mastery as well as address other questions. Differentiatio
through shortened questions, and/or making connections between the a
knowledge
Closure provided after lesson through discussion of questions, sho
Then, students will be instructed to turn-in their Constitutional Ca
Teacher will explain the necessity of amendments to change thing
Constitution, now that it has been set up.

Materials

Apple TV, iPads, Composition Books, grouped desks, pocket Constitution

Constitutional Card Sort and Answer Sheets

Accommodations

To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a child, students will have m

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&
Modifications

assignments to work on in mixed-ability pairs. Other opportunities for le

classroom discussion, working in groups, or through modified questions
When facilitating the activity, I will be checking in with students about th
make these adjustments.
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child, I will adjust questions to
Articles of the Constitution with their prior knowledge, including critical t
increasing the challenge of the concepts. Additionally, students can answ
or have questions added, increasing the challenge.

What accommodations will need to be implemented and for what studen

Accommodations need to be implemented for students previously identi
and 504s, as well as students who appear to be struggling as demonstra
understanding and questioning strategies. These accommodations can i
shortened questions, cloze notes, clarification, and more time to process
activities.

Post Lesson Reflection

1

To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize

assessment data to justify your level of achievement)

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

The lesson objectives were achieved by most students at a high level.

The warm-up activity required students to think critically about the
concepts we have been learning. They were applying the Constitution
to real-world examples, resulting in some frustrations. They used the
same process in the Constitutional Card Sort, challenging them to think
critically about the Constitution. Around of the students so far
successfully completed the Constitutional Card Sort correctly, while the
remaining needed more time. Half of the lesson objective was
achieved by all students, which was to identify the main ideas or key
concepts of Articles IV-VII. The other half of the lesson objective
requires that the students have a bit more time.

What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would

you make if you were to teach again?
I think I would include a sixth question on the warm-up to help
students figure out the process. Modeling how students were supposed
to find information would have been helpful. I think I would also put a
timer up on the board for the Constitutional Card Sort. Students really
struggled to understand that the activity was timed. They also needed
to know that they should have been using their notes and pocket
Constitutions, but that utilization of resources was difficult for them. To
help solve that problem the next time, I think I will explain more than
one example so that all students know how to find the answers to their
questions.

3 What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice,

reteach content, etc.)
The next lesson will involve continued practice for those students who
did not complete the Constitutional Card Sort. They will need to find
the answers to real-world examples in their Constitutions. As this unit
builds on parts of the Constitution, students will need to understand
how the Articles work together to make a functional government. To
achieve that, we will discuss the Card Sort and their answers, to ensure
factual information and dispel misunderstandings. Then, we will move
to the next section of the Constitution, which is the Bill of Rights. The
first ten amendments to the Constitution need a brief overview, and
then they will be completing an inquiry-style activity to apply the Bill of
Rights.

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