K-6 Lesson Plans
(Constitution Period)
In order to gain a better understanding of the
influence of historical documents in the creation of the American
government, students will be asked to compare the English Magna Carta
with the Declaration of Independence. Students are also asked to
define and identify rights.
In this lesson, students will apply their
interpretation of citizen’s rights to the meaning of rights as
described in historical documents (The Petition of Rights, Declaration
of Independence, Bill of Rights).
For
this lesson students will be enhancing their knowledge and
geographical skills. During this two-day lesson activity students will
analyze war strategies used by both the British and the Continental
Army. Students will also have the opportunity to locate a number of
battle sites in New Jersey and New York and identify their
significance. This lesson provides an extensive historical look at the
American Revolution and is ideal for introducing your unit on the war.
Students
will learn what a treaty is and the impact of the provisions of John
Jay’s Treaty. This will be accomplished by having students take part
in an Internet search and through the use of an attached Critical
Thinking graphic organizer.
In this lesson students will read a narrative and answer comprehension
questions to learn about John Adams, our second president, and his
immense contribution to the United States Constitution. After
learning that the founding fathers modeled the Bill of Rights (first
10 amendments to the United States Constitution) after the Bill of
Rights contained in the Massachusetts Constitution, students will
depict the more important rights through illustrations and
re-enactments.
In this lesson the students will begin by attempting to determine
whether the United States is a direct democracy or a republic. The
teacher will illustrate the problems with a direct democracy by posing
a question that yields a clear majority. A class discussion should
ensue, and it will be determined that a majority vote is not always
fair. In an effort to limit the majority, the class uses
representatives to employ a ‘republican’ form of government.
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In order to gain an understanding of how difficult it was for the
states to agree on a government for their new nation, in this lesson
the students will simulate that difficulty by participating in an
Intergalactic Congress. Members of planets of varying sizes and
populations will attempt to create a set of rules to function by.
Students will then look at the Articles of Confederation and discuss
how effective they think they were.
This lesson will have students work cooperatively to comprehend the
inter-workings of the Electoral College.
In this lesson students will identify the Bill of Rights and interpret
the meaning of the first ten amendments. Students will analyze why
the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution.
This lesson will introduce students to the events of The Whiskey
Rebellion of 1794. Students will examine the rebellion and its
effects on the Constitution. Washington’s response to the chain of
events will also be analyzed.
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