Subject: U.S.

History and Government Grade level: 11th Grade

Unit: Constitutional Foundations Length of LEP: Day 2 of 3, 1 class period

Topic: The Bill of Rights

Content Standards:

11.2c Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to a convention whose purpose was to revise the
Articles of Confederation but instead resulted in the writing of a new Constitution. The ratification
debate over the proposed Constitution led the Federalists to agree to add a bill of rights to the
Constitution.

Students will examine the rights and protections provided by the Bill of Rights and to whom
they initially applied.

Literacy Standards:

RH. 11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented presented in diverse
formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or
solve a problem.

WHST. 11-12.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the
specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow
of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for
citation.

Learning Experience Outcomes Learning Experience Assessments

Students will: Discussion of Do Now Activity
Worksheet #1
Identify fundamental liberties that are protected by Exit Ticket
the Bill of Rights

Evaluate situations in which rights that are protected

by the Bill of Rights may be violated

Differentiation
Approaching On-level Beyond
Students will be provided with a list See Below Not Applicable
of news articles that violate one of
the civil liberties that is protected in
the Bill of Rights. This will ensure
that these students have the
materials that are necessary to
complete the assignment. The
articles given to these students will
be at a reading level that they can
comprehend.
See Handout #3
Curriculum Integration Not Applicable
Materials Procedures/Strategies

Classroom set Day 2

of laptops
Anticipatory Set/ Activating Prior Knowledge
SmartBoard
Students have been introduced to the Bill of Rights in class the previous day. The following
Projector questions will be used to remind students of what was discussed in class the day before.
This will help students pinpoint which amendment of the Bill of Rights they would like to use
PowerPoint for their mini project. The project will be introduced to students later on in the lesson.
Handout #1 Do Now
Handout #2 Students will answer the following questions that will be displayed on the board in their
Worksheet #1 notebooks:

Handout #3 1. What are the most important freedoms guaranteed to American citizens?
(Student 2. How does the Constitution create a government that protects and limits freedom?
Differentiation 3. What responsibilities come with freedom?
Approaching) 4. Does the Bill of Rights guarantee our freedom?

Exit Ticket Students will have 3 to 5 minutes to think and about and respond to these questions.

(The Bill of Rights will also be displayed on the SmartBoard)

Direct Instruction

Discussion of Do Now Activity

Teacher will then get attention of all of the students and begin to discuss the questions that
were posed in the beginning of class. Three to five students will have an opportunity to
share what they wrote in their notebooks.

Introduction to the Bill of Rights Mini Project

Teacher will present the mini project to students and explain what they need to include in
the project. This project will require students to select one of the amendments from the Bill
of Rights. Once an amendment is selected, students need to find an example of an
individuals fundamental liberty that was violated in todays society. Handout #1 will be
distributed to students so that they know what will be expected from them and what
information will need to be included in the project.

Credible Source Mini Lesson

Students will need to use the internet in order to research an example of a fundamental
right protected in the Bill of Rights that was violated in todays society. A few minutes of the

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 class needs to be set aside to remind students of what makes an article a creditable source.
For the purpose of this project, the teacher will provide students with a list of several
different news websites that they should use for their research.

Websites students can utilize for project: CNN Student News, The New York Times, The
Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Handout #2 will be distributed to students as a resource to help them identify creditable

sources.

Guided Practice

Worksheet #1 will be distributed to the class. The worksheet will require students to select
five of the amendments from the Bill of Rights and explain what fundamental right is
protected by that particular amendment in their own words. This activity will help students
select an amendment to the Bill of the Rights that they are interested in. Students will also
have to respond to several questions based on their selection of amendments. Once this
worksheet is completed, they will then have to pick one out of the five amendments that
they selected in this activity to be used for their Bill of Rights mini project.

Independent Practice

Bill of Rights Mini Project

Students will be given the remainder of the class period to begin developing their Bill of
Rights mini project. By the end of the period, students will have to complete an Exit Ticket
that includes the source that they found and the amendment being used.

Students should be reminded to reference Handout #1 for the guidelines of the project.

Closure

Students will need to hand in their Exit Ticket. The Exit Ticket will require students to show
the work they completed during class. They will be reminded that they will need to finish
their mini project for homework. Time will be spent at the beginning of day three of this
lesson plan segment for students to present their projects to their peers. The presentation
of the mini projects will allow all students to examine several examples of how fundamental
liberties that are protected by the Bill of Rights can be violated.

References:

Bill of Rights Institute :https://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/

PBS Reliable Sources: https://www-tc.pbs.org/now/classroom/acrobat/lesson07.pdf

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Freedom Day Lesson Plans- National Constitution Center

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