FIELD EXPERIENCE #6
Domain I, Competency 004
Subcompetencies 3, 6, 7, 8
Kathy Hainey
Activity One: Lesson Plan
Title: Road to Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
Grade Level: Secondary Social Studies
Time Frame for Teaching: 70 minutes
Goal: For students to have a general understanding of the course followed to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the influence of the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalists on this action.
Objectives:
1. The students will, when broken into two groups representing the Federalist and Anti-Federalist views of the Constitution, and using the rules of debate previously practiced by the class, debate at least 3 of the points of each side of the issue.
2. The class will participate in an open discussion of the first acts of the new government as discussed in the text.
3. Upon completion of this lesson the student will identify the sources of opposition to the Constitution discussed in the text by writing a paragraph citing at least 3 of these sources.
Resources: Magruder’s American Government, 75th Edition, Chapter 2, Section 5
Introductory Activity:
Review the reasons the Framers felt the need for a Constitution and Key Terms in the Chapter.
Procedures and Activities:
1. Cursory review content of Chapter 2, Section 5, which students were assigned to read prior to class.
2. Have students break up into 2 groups, one representing the Federalist’s point of view, and one representing the Anti-Federalist’s point of view. After 10 minutes of discussion within the group deciding the 3 points they wish to present, two people from each group will be chosen to be the speakers. The two speakers from each group will debate the 3 points from each side of the argument. Each side will have 5 minutes to present argument and 2 minutes for rebuttal.
3. For 15 to 20 minutes, facilitate an open discussion regarding the first acts of the new government as discussed in the chapter, then extend discussion to the debate on the Federalist/Anti-Federalist positions.
4. For remainder of the class, have the students write a paragraph addressing 3 sources of opposition to the new constitution.
Modeling by the teacher: Show excitement for the content and subject by being enthusiastic about the activities for the day’s lesson.
Guided Practice: This is represented by the teacher facilitating the open discussion.
Independent Practice: This is represented by the debate and the written paragraph activity.
Activity Two: Done
Activity Three:
1. The topics of ratification of the constitution and the role of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists are included in the standardized test my students are required to pass. An understanding of how the constitution came into existence is essential to general knowledge of how the American government works and its effect on each of the students. Yes, it should be taught again.
2. The sequence of topics seemed appropriate to me. From the review of the reading, to specific activities based on the chapter information, the sequence facilitated comprehension and application of all material covered in the entire lesson.
3. I believe my objectives were appropriate for my students. They are all familiar with simple, short debating criterion, are capable of lively, open discussion, and are working on various paragraph writing styles.
4. My instruction was aligned with the expectations of the school and the standards. The lesson plan follows the progression of the text and chronology of early U.S. Government. The procedures and assessments seemed consistent with my objectives.
5. The expected activities of the debate and open discussion were effective for student learning. Next time, if I have them write a paragraph as part of this lesson, I will decide upon a new topic. This question required much less higher-level thinking than I had hoped for.
6. The learning atmosphere was very good. The students were involved and excited about the activities. The pre-debate discussions within the groups were inclusive, with almost all of the students participating, rather than just the most dominant ones. We were able to use two classrooms for the group preparation for the debate, which was quite helpful and made the physical environment more conducive to learning.