Curriculum
Writing The Constitution Unit Documents
Unit Guide, Unit Storyboard, Lesson Calendar; Brief Answers for Teachers
Writing The Constitution Lesson One
Unit Launch, The Articles of Confederation (Q1)
Students review the Unit Guide and Storyboard, and learn the story of the Articles of Confederation. They summarize the story with “Because – But – So” sentences.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Two
The Story of Shays's Rebellion (Q1)
Students learn the story of Shays’s Rebellion and tell it back using a 4-Box Storyboard.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Three
The Philadelphia Convention and the "Great Compromise" (Q1)
Students learn the story of the constitutional convention and the Great Compromise, then tell the story back using “Because – But – So” Sentences.
Writing the Constitution Lesson Four
The 3/5ths Compromise and the Electoral College (Q1)
Students read and take notes on the story of the 3/5ths Compromise. Students have a very short Question Four discussion about who they think should vote for president, and then they learn the story of the electoral college.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Five
Federalism and the Separation of Powers (Q1)
Students learn how federalism and separation of powers limit the power of the national government under the Constitution. The write a summative paragraph to describe how the Constitution tried to create a government that was “Strong, but not Too Strong.”
Writing The Constitution Lesson Six
Formative Assessment: How Does The Constitution Work? (Q1)
Students take a formative assessment on their knowledge of the government as described in the Constitution.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Seven
What did the Anti-Federalists Assume in their opposition to the Constitution? (Q2)
Students interpret excerpts from an essay by “Brutus,” an Anti-Federalist in New York state.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Eight
What did the Federalists assume in their support for the Constitution? (Q2)
Students interpret excerpts from “Federalist 45,” a response to the essay by “Brutus” in the previous lesson.
Writing the Constitution Lesson Nine
Federalists and Anti-Federalists in Virginia: A Question Three Puzzle (Q3)
Students explain why the western counties of Virginia supported the Federalists, while the counties in the middle of the state supported the Anti-Federalists.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Ten
The Story of Ratification and the Bill of Rights (Q2, Q1)
Students interpret Anti-Federalist Mercy Otis Warren, then learn the story of the ratification of the Constitution and the tenth and first amendments.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Eleven
The Bill of Rights: 4th, 6th, and 8th Amendments (Q1, Q2)
Students learn the contents of the 4th, 6th, and 8th amendments. They then write a paragraph describing how the experience of the Revolution influenced the supporters of the Bill of Rights.
Writing The Constitution Lesson Twelve
Should we keep the electoral college? (Q4)
Students discuss whether we should keep the electoral college system, or if we should choose the president by national popular vote total instead.