The United States

Constitution
Supreme Law of the Land from 1789 to Today
 Classroom Setting
• Grade Level: 9th Grade
• Class: United States Government
• Classroom Makeup: 25 students total; 13 white, 6 black, 4 Hispanic and 1
Asian
• No IEPs or 504s
• Middle of the road when it comes to ability in a social studies classroom
 About the Unit
• Students will be introduced to the early stages of the United States
government starting with the Articles of Confederation then shift focus to
the Constitution
• Each day of the unit will be dedicated to a different aspect of the
Constitution highlighting what the document actually says
• Topics include: the Preamble, the Bill of Rights, how to amend the
Constitution and the different branches of government
 Standards
• The student will evaluate roles and policies the government has assumed
regarding public issues (1.1.3)
• The student will analyze historic documents to determine the basic
principles of United States government and apply them to real-world
situations (1.1.1).
• The student will evaluate how the principles of government assist or impede
the functioning of government (1.1.2)
 Table of Contents
• Day 1: Articles of Confederation / Big Idea: If at first you don’t succeed; try, try, try again –
The failure of the Articles
• Day 2: The Preamble / Big Idea: The government gets a makeover
• Day 3:Anatomy of the Constitution / Big Idea: The law of the land condensed into 4,400 words
– What’s in it? (intro to topic)
• Day 4: Bill of Rights / Big Idea: 10 Rights to rule them all
• Day 5: The Constitution Today / Big Idea: The more things change, the more they stay the same
• Day 6: Amending the Constitution / Big Idea: I want a new Amendment!
• Day 7: Review
 Assessment Plan
• Day 1: Round Robin Chart
• Day 2: 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
• Day 3: Three-Minute Paper
• Day 4: Poster
• Day 5: Kahoot!
• Day 6: 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
• Day 7: Review
 Day 1: Articles Of Confederation: If at first
you don’t succeed; try, try, try again – The
failure of the Articles
• Objective: Students will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the Articles of
Confederation and identify problems they presented
• Essential Question: What were the major limitations to the Articles of Confederation?
• Motivation: Introductory video. We will view the video titled “Articles of
Confederation (Kelis's "Milkshake" Parody) - @MrBettsClass”
Procedure:
• Students will complete a note taking activity on the Articles of Confederation.
• Students will engage in critical reading by doing a think-pair-share activity worksheet
• Complete the worksheet with corresponding questions
• Review as a class
• Exit activity – Round Robin Chart
 Day 1 Cont.

• Activities: YouTube Video motivation activity, Interactive note sheet that has fill in
the blank prompts as well as true/false and several multiple choice questions to help
guide the students along, Text analysis mixed accompanied by a think-pair-share
activity to get students up and moving around as well as to get them working with
their peers, Debate where students are assigned a position, either for or against the
Articles, finally a round robin chart exercise
• Assessment: Round-Robin chart. Students will work with their peers at their island
to answer four essential questions. They will first be given the questions and
instructed to work independently but after they have finished, they can work with
their island mates to determine what the correct answer is. We will go around the
room to each group and they will read their answers. The group(s) with the most
correct will win a prize
 Day 2 – The Preamble (Full Lesson)
Big Idea: The government gets a makeover
• Standard: The students will analyze historic documents to determine the basic
principles of United States government and apply them to real-world situations
(1.1.1).
• Objective: Analyze the Preamble as the mission statement of the Constitution of
the United States and analyze how the Constitution eliminated the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation
• Essential Questions: Did the Preamble address the problems of the Articles? What
are the differences between what is in the Preamble and what is in the Articles?
 Day 2 (cont.)

• Motivation Activity: Students will be shown a picture of a series of license

plates that each have a different part of the Preamble listed (pictured above).
The idea is for students to try and determine what the seemingly gibberish
words actually say. The instructor will point out that each part of the
Preamble is on a different license plate from each state, highlighting how the
new Constitution applies to all people from all states. This activity will also
serve as their pre-assessment to see if they can read and decipher meaning
from the text they’ve just read through.
 Day 2 (cont.)
Procedure:
• View the picture containing all the license plates, what do you see? Can you make out what it says?
• Complete the “What I think I know” side of the worksheet with chunked pieces of the Preamble with a partner
• View a video from School House Rock about the Preamble, write down 3 thing you observe/hear
• Work as a class to complete a worksheet in order to determine the differences of the Constitution
• Continue that worksheet on the back and work with your elbow partner to fill in the boxes introducing the 3 branches
• Return to chunking worksheet and fill out the “What it actually means” box on the adjacent side.
• Exit Ticket
 Day 2 (cont.)
Activities
• Motivation Activity: Students will be shown a picture with seemingly meaningless pairs of letters that in
actuality read like the Preamble. They will try to decipher it then we will discuss what it says.
• Chunking Worksheet: Students will then be given a worksheet with bits of the Preamble chunked into
smaller pieces so they can determine what it says. The worksheet will have a “what I think it means side
and a “What it actually means side.” They will fill out the first side after the motivation activity and then
the other side near the end of the lesson
• Video: A brief video from Schoolhouse Rock will be shown and students will be given questions before
they view the video that we will discuss after it has concluded
• Fill in the blank note worksheet to highlight the key points from lecture (short)
• Worksheet that highlights different parts of government and the roles they play
• 3-2-1 Exit Ticket that will wrap up the lesson
 Day 2 (cont.)
• Differentiation
• Fill in the blank worksheet that is well organized and succinct
• Chunking activity for students with lower reading abilities
• Translations provided on an additional worksheet if necessary
 Day 2 (cont.)

• Assessment: 3-2-1 Exit Ticket

• Will be given to students in the last 5 minutes of class
• The prompts ask for 3 things that they learned in the lesson, 2 Things they want more clarification
on and 1 big question that they may have
• In addition, at the bottom of the exit ticket there will be boxes to gauge where the students stand on
the content we covered in class. They will score their understanding using 1-3, 1 being they have no
idea what the day was about, 2 could use more clarity on certain topics and 3 means they have
everything down pact
 Day 3 - Anatomy of the Constitution
Big Idea: The law of the land condensed into
4,400 words – What’s in it? (intro to topic)
• Objective: Students will examine the different sections of the Constitution in order to
determine how the power of the country is divided among different facets of
government
• Essential Question: What does the Constitution explicitly say when it comes to the
divide of power among branches of government
• Motivation Activity: View the video “How is power divided in the United States
government? - Belinda Stutzman”
• Assessment: Three Minute Paper
 Day 3 (cont.)
Procedure:
• Watch the video introductory TED talk video
• Break students into groups and assign them a branch of government that they will
research in the computer lab. Fill out accompanying worksheet
• Review as a class
• Jigsaw activity for students still not sure about certain content
• Assessment: 3 Minute Paper about branch they were not assigned
 Day 4 - Bill of Rights
Big Idea: 10 Rights to rule them all
• Objective: Students will examine the contents of the Bill of Rights and then will be
tasked with creating their own Bill of Rights for a hypothetical country
• Essential Question: Why has the Bill of Rights not changed since it was written?
• Motivation: Read the actual Bill of Rights as a class to introduce the topic. This will
feed into the activities designed for the day
 Day 4 (cont.)
Procedure:
• Read through the Bill of Rights as a class
• Break into groups of 2-3. You will be assigned an amendment
• With your group, define the amendment in modern terms and create a visual aid that
will help you remember. This can include a poster, brochure, comic strip, etc.
• Review finished products as a class
• Assessment: Create your own Bill of Rights for a hypothetical country the they just
established
 Day 5 – The Constitution Today
The more things change, the more they stay the
same
• Objective: Students will review current day news articles in order to identify ways that
the Constitution continues to impact them today
• Essential Question: How often is the Constitution used today?
• Motivation: As a class, we will view the article “10 fascinating facts about the Supreme
Court on its birthday” from the Constitution Center for some brief background
knowledge as well as just simply being fun to view
 Day 5 (cont.)
Procedure:
• View article about the top 10 facts about the Supreme Court
• Review a series of 3 articles from mainstream publishers that deal with different Constitutional rights.
Accompanying worksheet will help students identify key arguments
• Students will break into groups and will analyze each article together using their reading strategies
worksheet to guide them
• After 15 minutes, we will rotate articles until each group has had time to look through each individual
article.
• Discuss what we found as a class
• Complete a Kahoot activity that discusses concepts found in the articles and discussed as a class
 Day 6 - Amending the Constitution
Big Idea: I want a new Amendment!
• Standard - The student will analyze historic documents to determine the basic
principles of United States government and apply them to real-world situations (1.1.1)
• Objective: Students will review excerpts from the US Constitution to review the
process necessary to create a new amendment
• Essential Question: Should the process of creating a new constitutional amendment be
easier or left as it is?
 Motivation
• Video – The 27 Amendments
• Discuss: What do you notice about the number of amendments?
• Hypothetical: You’re at a restaurant with your 10 closest friends.
The manager tells you they have run out of most options and
that you must convince your group that 8 of you must all get the
same thing if we want to eat at this restaurant. Could you do
that?
 Flow of things
Procedure
• Motivation activity – video and hypothetical question
• Complete a note worksheet as a class that covers the essential topics for the day
• Map of the thirteen colonies as well as the current United States – using your
reader, identify how many representatives each state had now and then
• Review text of Article V of the Constitution as a class to determine meaning
• Review news article “Is Changing the Constitution the Only Way to fix Washington”
• 3-2-1 Exit Ticket: 3 things you learned, 2 ways to propose an amendment, 1
question
 Activities
• Video/Hypothetical Question
• Graphic organizer note sheet for the brief note taking segment
• Map of 13 Colonies/Current United States
• Kids Discover magazine with article about how representation has changed since
the beginning of the country
• Article V note worksheet
• Copy of the current event news reading that relates to topic
• 3-2-1 exit ticket activity
 Differentiation
• Multiple Means of Instruction
• Collaborative elements for students that prefer to work with others
• Close reading strategies
• Provided physical copies of all readings
• Links provided to students to pull up on their devices if needed
 Assessment
3-2-1 Exit Ticket
• Describe 3 new things that you have learned today from our different
activities. It can be something you observed, something you didn’t know or
something that was clarified for you
• Explain the 2 ways that an amendment can be proposed
• Ask 1 question you have about any of the material covered today
• Circle the 1, 2 or 3 at the bottom to tell me how you feel about today’s topics
 Day 7 – Review Day
• Objective: Students will review all content from the previous week in order to prepare
for the end of unit test
• Essential Question: Why was the Constitution an essential document?
• Motivation: Is it Constitutional? Have students reference their notes from last week in
order to determine if 10 different prompts would be upheld or struck down based on
their Constitutionality. Ex: The United States government prevents someone from
speaking because they don’t like his ideas
 Winding Down
Procedure:
• Open with a small 5 question review Kahoot in place of the drill
• Complete the “Is it Constitutional?” worksheet as a class
• Jeopardy comes next. Divide class into 2 even teams and work through all questions
• Give students a list of the most prominent terms and vocab and have them ask any
questions they have
• Give them their own study guide to complete at home
Assessment: Review Activities