Basic Productivity Tools (BPT)

Lesson Idea Name: Amending the Constitution

Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 5th Grade
Content Standard Addressed:
SS5CG2 Explain the process by which amendments to the U.S. Constitution are made. a. Explain the
amendment process outlined in the Constitution. b. Describe the purpose for the amendment process
Technology Standard Addressed:
3: Knowledge Constructor
Selected Technology Tool:
PowerPoint (Office365)

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ☒ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level:

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☒ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

The collaborative software we will be using will enable students to work wherever and whenever they have
access to the software. This means, if they need extra time, they will have it. Also, many of these types of
software offer translations as well as grammar and spelling help for those not proficient in English or who
have trouble writing. Students will have the opportunity to collaborate and help one another ultimately
achieve a presentable product.
Lesson idea implementation:
To introduce the topic, I will ask them the open ended question of “If you could change any law or rule in the
United States today, what would it be?” This could be a discussion question or a written reflection. Then I will
tell them that I am giving them the opportunity to create a mock proposal to amend the United States
constitution. They will be able to put their ideas into practice. I will separate them into groups of 3 and they
will create presentations using PowerPoint software to create and present their ideas to the class. We will
then have a vote and see if their ideas would have passed or not. This will give them the opportunity to go
through the standard questions of how of amending the constitution is done and why it would be done.
This will take about 2-3 classes to complete with one day being the introduction and brainstorming of the
topic, the next being the creation and collaboration of their product, and the final day being presentations.
The students will use collaborative software to be able to all work on their own separate devices and
contribute to the group work. These presentations, with added audio, will be anonymously posted to the
classroom blog for parents and others to see their ideas. Feedback will be in the form of group discussion and
a graded rubric. Group discussion will be used to have a conversation of which ideas were passed and why.
This will emphasize the final part of why constitutional amendments are made. The rubric will be to show any
errors they made in the process or correctness of their ideas.

Reflective Practice:
I feel that student learning in this situation will be enhanced by giving the students a task where they can be
creative, collaborate with one another, and ultimately be invested in the end product. This is a lesson that
students have some liberty on and can possibly create a solution to a problem they might be facing in real life.
This activity will enable them to make their own choices and learn about something that is interesting and
important to them. In the future, we could use this opportunity to amend some of our own rules in the
Spring 2018_SJB
 Basic Productivity Tools (BPT)
classroom. Or we could take our rules and create our own class “constitution”. This activity can be extended
beyond these few days and could carry on really throughout the year. Other technologies that could be
applicable would be online polls, and possibly other forms of presentation creators such as Prezi or movie
makers. The opportunities are only limited by the accessibility of technology.

Spring 2018_SJB