We All Have Rights
Author: Pat Piwowarski
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We All Have Rights
Author: Pat Piwowarski
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THEME: The Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
BROAD CONCEPT: Freedom, Rights, Responsibilities go
along with rights
GRADES: Jr. High (whichever grade takes the constitution test in your district) or High School
INTEGRATED SUBJECTS: Language Arts, History, and Math
UNIT GOALS AND PURPOSE: Students will gain a better understanding of
what our founding father’s went through in trying to define the rights of our
citizens and decide how to best protect these rights. They will gain an understanding that even though times have
changed, our basic rights and needs have remained the same for 200 years. This
knowledge will be demonstrated through a series of projects. Evaluation will be ongoing and will be based
on the student’s ability to complete the assigned projects.
TIME FRAME: These
activities will span a period of approximately 3 weeks. This includes time for instruction as well
as for projects.
OBJECTIVES:
In this lesson, students will:
MATERIALS:
STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS UNIT:
1.A.3b Analyze the meaning of words and phrases in their context.
1.A.3b Analyze the meaning of words and phrases in their context.
1.C.3f Interpret tables that display textual information and data in visual formats.
3.B.3a Produce documents that convey a clear understanding and interpretation of ideas and information and display focus, organization, elaboration and coherence.
3.C.3a Compose narrative, informative, and persuasive writings (e.g., in addition to previous writings, literature reviews, instructions, news articles, correspondence) for a specified audience.
3.C.3b Using available technology, produce compositions and multimedia works for specified audiences.
4.B.3a Deliver planned oral presentations, using language and vocabulary appropriate to the purpose, message and audience; provide details and supporting information that clarify main ideas; and use visual aids and contemporary technology as support.
4.B.3b Design and produce reports and multi-media compositions that represent group projects.
5.A.3a Identify appropriate resources to solve problems or answer questions
through research
10.A.3a Construct, read and interpret tables, graphs (including circle graphs)
and charts to organize and represent data.
14.A.2 Explain the importance of fundamental concepts expressed and implied in major documents including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution.
14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to
the individual, family, community, workplace, state and nation (e.g., voting,
protection under the law).
14.F.2 Identify consistencies and
inconsistencies between expressed United States political traditions and ideas
and actual practices (e.g., freedom of speech, right to bear arms, slavery,
voting rights).
16.A.2a Read historical stories and
determine events which influenced their writing.
16.B.2b (US) Identify major causes of the American Revolution and describe the consequences of the Revolution through the early national period, including the roles of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES WHICH WILL PROMOTE ENGAGED LEARNING:
Activity 1 – Students will be given a copy of the Preamble. The class will discuss the fact that this was written over 200 years ago. The class will look at the language which our Founding Fathers used and will discuss what words we no longer use. Students will use Word or a similar program to rewrite the Preamble into language which would be better understood by people today. They may also use Word Art, clip art or other features to illustrate specific words or concepts which they think are especially important.
Activity 2 – Teacher will lead a discussion of “What is the difference between a right and a responsibility?” Students will be divided into 3 or 4 member groups. Using Kidspiration or Inspiration, students will brainstorm what rights they have as a United States citizen and what their responsibilities are. Students will organize this information in a clear visual representation. Students will then return to large group setting and share their ideas with their classmates.
Activity 3 – Using the school curricular materials, the teacher will go over the Bill of Rights with the students. A discussion of each of the rights will follow. Students will then be placed into small groups (2 or 3 students). Students will be given 2 days outside of class to find photos that show people enjoying the liberties that they have because of the Bill of Rights. Pictures can be from the Internet, magazines (scanned into the computer), or pictures which they have taken or will take using a digital camera. Students are to organize these pictures into a poster entitled “Our Rights”. Posters will be displayed in the hallways of the school.
Activity 4 – Teacher will discuss the style and purpose of an editorial. Students will be given a list of events in U.S. history when a person or group or people had their basic rights suspended or violated. Some examples are; Indians being placed on reservations, gun control, Japanese Internment camps in 1942, wartime suspension of rights, zero tolerance policy of schools, civil rights demonstrations of the 1960’s, anti-Vietnam protests of the 1960’s, censorship, internet privacy, and when one person’s right interfere with the rights of others (ex. You do not have the right to yell fire in a crowded movie theater). Students are the use word processor to write an editorial on this issue.
Activity 5 – Teacher will follow lesson plan on Early American Leaders (http://www.school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/leadersof earlyamerica/index.html). After completing the activities listed in the lesson plan, students will select one of our founding fathers, other than George Washington, and design a handout (brochure, poster, or leaflet) explaining what leadership qualities that individual has and why that individual should be elected President of the new country. The handout needs to state specific facts about the individual and examples of things that show that he would be a good leader. They will use the Internet, encyclopedias, library books, or textbooks to research their individual.
Activity 6 – Teacher will demonstrate how to do a Power Point presentation. Students will be assigned a Power Point presentation on the Bill of Rights. Presentation needs a title slide and at least 1 slide for each right. Slide must include the Amendment number, and a summary of the right. A picture of example of how the right applies to their daily lives may also be included. Students will present their PowerPoint presentation to the class.
Activity 7 – Following a class
discussion on some of the important vocabulary words learned thus far, the class
will develop a list of at least 40 words which could be used for the following assignment. Using Puzzlemaker, (www. discovery .com) students will design
a word find, an acrostic, or crossword puzzle using a minimum of twenty terms,
which relate to the Preamble, Bill of Rights or American Revolution. Students will then solve a puzzle created by
one of their classmates.
Activity 8 –Following a discussion on how all issues have good and bad points, students will use Road Map of the Constitution ( www.thinkquest.org/11572/ issues/index.html), students will be divided into small groups (4 students) and will select one of the Present Issues listed. Depending on the size of the class, each group should pick a different issue, or if the class is large, there should be a minimum of 2 groups on each topic. Students will research this topic and will present the pros and cons of this issue and will express what points should be considered in adopting this amendment. Students are to use the computer to generate visual aids to use in their presentation.
Activity 9 – Using information from textbooks, reference materials or the Internet, students will create a time line showing important issues which led to our breaking away from Great Britain. Students are to include at least 10 examples of Acts which were passed by Great Britain or events that occurred in history which made the Founding Fathers feel the need to break away and which led to the development of the Bill of Rights.
Activity 10 – Teacher will teach the students how to transform material presented in a chart into a circle or bar graph utilizing Excel or a similar spreadsheet program. Students will be given a copy of the Classroom Handout “Toward Revolution” (www.gilah.uh.edu/historyonline/us6.cfm). They will then use a spreadsheet program to create a graphic representation of one aspect of colonial society based on the data given in the handout. Students will provide a written explanation of how this information affected some aspect of colonial life and the way our Founding Fathers developed our Constitution.
SHARE YOUR IDEAS:
Students will share their knowledge through a series of 7 individual and 3 group projects. Students will be evaluated on the group projects based on the finished group project. Individual projects will be evaluated based on completion according to requirements, creativity, and original thought. Projects will, for the most part, be completed in class although some outside class time will be needed together information.
Student’s final grade will be based on the following rubric:
Projects total points awarded: 275
Project
1 (25 points)
Creativity
(15 points)
Accuracy
of ideas expressed (10 points)
Project
2 (20 points)
Understanding
of difference between rights and responsibilities (10 points)
Organization
(How is it set up? Is it easy to
follow?) (10 points)
Project
3 (20 points)
Relationship
between photos and Bill of Rights (15 points)
Neatness
of work (5 points)
Project
4 (30 points)
Research
of topic (10 points)
Grammar
and Mechanics (10 points)
Defense
of argument (10 points)
Project
5 (30 points)
Research
(10 points)
Creativity
(10 points)
Strength
of Arguments (10 points)
Project
6 (30 points)
Creativity
(10 points)
Accuracy
of Information (20 points)
Project
7 (20 points)
Required
number of words (5 points)
Utilization
of puzzle making program (10 points)
Solving
classmates puzzle (5 points)
Project
8 (50 points)
Thoroughness
of research (15 points)
Oral
presentation (Clarity of pros and con arguments) (15 points)
Oral
presentation (Delivery of material) (10 points)
Visual
Aids (5 points)
Project
9 (20 points)
Accuracy
of information (10 points)
Organization
of material (10 points)
Project
10 (30 points)
Accuracy
of graph (10 points)
Discussion
of relevance of information (10 points)
Grammar
and mechanics (10 points)
STUDENT AND TEACHER ROLES:
The role of the teacher is to give her
students the basic information on the Bill of Rights to allow them to apply
this information to their daily life and their projects. The teacher will provide basic information on
how to utilize the various computer programs.
The teacher will monitor the student’s progress and offer assistance
when necessary. The teacher will assist
students in their search for appropriate materials on and off the
computer. The teacher will help guide
class discussions.
The role of the students is to help each other when placed in a group project. There are always some students who are more computer savvy and can help teach/direct other students. They will explore new ideas and expose themselves to new ways of thinking.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE PRINT RESOURCES STUDENTS MAY USE:
World Book Encyclopedia, Civics/U.S. History textbook, Library books,
Constitution work text (Ex. Steck-Vaughn
The Constitution Work text)
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC:
The Courage of Their Convictions, by Peter Irons: The Free Press
American Heroes: In and Out of School,
by Nat Hentoff: Delacorte Press
Can t You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz, Coward Press.
Shhh! We’re Signing the Constitution, by Jean Fritz, Putnam Press.
If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution, by Elizabeth Levy, Scholastic Press.
Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787, Catherine Drinker. May to September 1787. Little, Brown.
The Fourth Amendment, by Paula A. Franklin, Silver Burdett.
The Changing Face of the Constitution, by Don Lawson, Watts Publishing.
The Constitution, by Richard Morris, Lerner Publishing.
The U.S. Constitution for Beginners. Steven Bachmann, Writers and Readers Co.
Founding: A Dramatic Account of the Writing of the Constitution, by Fred Barbash, Scholastic Press.
FOR ADDITIONAL ONLINE INFORMATION
AND MEDIA PERTAINING TO THIS UNIT, TEACHERS MAY WANT TO USE THE FOLLOWING
INTERNET ARTICLES:
Title1: Scholastic Teacher Resources grads 6-8
URL1: http://Teacher.scholastic.com/grade/results.asp
Description1: Civics and Government Resources links aimed at upper elementary grades. Includes lesson plans and reproducible for many areas of social studies.
Title2: Preamble with School House Rock
URL2: http://noir.used458.k12.ks.us/6thgrade/murphy/SocialStudies
Description2: This site provides many
good lessons, including question for the students to answer after listening to
(or watching) School House Rock Preamble.
Good questions and an interesting way to use School House Rock website.
Title3: A study on first amendment rights in the Bill of Rights
URL3 www.ccle.fourh.umn.edu/rulesfortsmith.html
Description3: Four lesson plans and
all necessary materials needed to discuss the basic freedom in the first
amendment and how they have been applied to real life historic situations.
Title4: Gilder Lehrman history online
URL4: http://www.gliah.uh.edu/historyonline/inter_exercises.cfm
Description4: An excellent site which
contains annotated documents, interactive exercises, annotated links, classroom
handouts, hypertext links, historical glossaries, and great debates. It includes flash movie prototypes, quizzes,
and games about historical topics.
Title5: Bill of Rights Institute Education Resources
URL5: www.billofrightsinstitute.org/links.php
Description5: A wonderful resource site
which includes everything from articles by our Founding Fathers to games such as a Jeopardy
style Constitution Trivia game and Who Wants to Marry a Founding Father? A
great site to get information on many different aspects of the Constitution and
the Bill of Rights.
Title6: National Constitution Center Lesson Plans
URL6: http://www.constitutioncenter.org/sections/teacher/lesson_plans/lessons_main.asp
Description6: Includes lesson plans in 41
different categories ranging from the Bill of Rights, Amendments, Due Process,
Civil Rights, and Individual Rights vs. Public Rights. An excellent resource.
RELEVANT
INFORMATION, STUDENTS WILL VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB SITES:
Title1:
National Archives and Records Administration
URL1: http://nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/confath.html
Purpose of Use1: Students can use this website to research the biographies of our Founding Fathers.
Description1: This site contains a
biographical index of the Founding Fathers. The Delegates to the Constitutional
Convention are divided according to the colony which they represented.
Title2: The Founding Fathers, A Brief Overview
URL2: http://www.lexrex.com/bios/overview.htm
Purpose of Use2: Students can use this site for additional biographical information on the Founding Fathers and to help them analyze the information in their graphs.
Description2: Gives background information
on the founding fathers, their political experience, occupations, geographic
and educational background, longevity, family life, and post convention
careers.
Title3: Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government
URL3: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/citizenship/rights.html
Purpose of Use3: Gives information on the Bill of Rights as well as rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Description3: This is a simplified guide to the Bill of Rights, citizenship, how to become a citizen and the rights and responsibilities of a citizen. This is a short site, but has good information and would be good for lower achieving students.
Title4: A Roadmap to the U.S.
Constitution
URL4: http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/issues/index.html
Purpose of Use4: This site is to be used with Activity 8 to show students some current areas of concern and to help them formulate ideas on problems associated with issues considered for amendments.
Description4: Contains information on the Constitution and amendments. It includes landmark Supreme Court cases and tells how the amendment process has dealt with past issues and current controversies.
Title5: Free Speech and Other Rights May Not Be As Safe As You Think During Wartime
URL5: http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/columns/fflevenson.wartime.10.21/
Purpose of Use5: This site is useful for activity 4
Description5: Well written article on
suspension of liberties during wartime.
Includes links to other sites which deal with times in our history where
civil liberties were denied to specific groups of people.
Title6: San Francisco News Japanese Internment Editorial 1942
URL6: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist8/editorial2.html
Purpose of Use6: Another site that is useful for activity 4
Description6: Contains editorials on placing Japanese Americans
into internment camps during WWII. Also
contains some good links to other sites which deal with suspension of rights.