Ideas for Activities and Discussions About the U.S. Constitution
Incorporating lessons about the foundation of the U.S. Constitution can invigorate the minds of students.
By Deborah Reynolds
Anyone familiar with gifted students knows that they have a strong sense of justice and a need for fairness for all. These are the students that will make their feelings known when the whole class misses recess because of the behavior of a few, or challenge the teacher on the validity of classroom or school rules. What better way to open up a dialogue about these feelings and address these gifted characteristics than by having students engage in creative activities and critical discussions about the Constitution? The Constitution is the foundation of our legal rights, and forms a good way to get into a discussion of fairness and government.
The Constitution of the United States was signed by 39 delegates at Philadelphia's Independence Hall on September 17, 1787. One topic of discussion could be what was imperfect about the situation in America which required delegates to draft a document aimed at forming "a more perfect union." Ask students what they think was happening in this country during that time period.
After discussing the fact that the Constitution is the foundation for the laws of the country, teachers can open up discussions about what effect having or not having such laws would have on people. This would directly tie into why having classroom "laws" or rules are so important. At this point, the teacher could allow students the opportunity to create a Bill of Rights for the classroom that addresses more specific rules for students, just as the Bill of Rights was created to address the rights of individual citizens.
Students can also practice the Congressional selection process by having an election that week to vote on classroom jobs. They can decide if they feel that this is a more fair practice of deciding class jobs each week, and vote to decide if that will be the selection process for the rest of the year.
Here are some great lesson plans that can be used to study the United States Constitution. Each lesson is formatted to address the needs of all students including gifted and high ability learners. They either offer differentiation strategies for grouping and/or have tiered assignments or projects.
Constitution Lesson Plans:
This lesson touches on how the Constitution relates to the Civil Rights Movement. It explores why we have rules and laws in our country. It also includes six videos on segregation and rights. There are many critical thinking questions as well as open-ended activities.
The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?
In this lesson, students discuss the importance of the Preamble to the Constitution. This lesson plan incorporates a great deal of technology. Several links are included as resources for students. It also includes five extension activities for students ready to move beyond.
This lesson has students create a Bill of Rights for an imaginary country. This lesson is a two-week lesson. Students begin by learning how the Bill of Rights applies to their daily lives. The students, as a group, create a Bill of Rights using Power Point and present it to the class. There are suggestions for accommodations for students who are struggling as well as extension activities for students that are advanced.
http://www.teacherlink.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/billrigh.html
This lesson introduces the Bill of Rights and provides several follow-up activities. In this unit, students use graphic organizers, practice vocabulary building, participate in a mock trial, and have a writing activity. Various activity suggestions are included so that students can have a choice and/or teachers can modify the lesson based on ability or interest. This lesson also includes a couple of extension activities at the end.
U.S. Constitution Roll Call Test
Students take on the role of newspaper reporters who have an opportunity to interview the signers of the Constitution. Students go back in time to research the founding fathers. They find information on the signers in order to conduct thorough interviews. Lesson extensions and support ideas are included.
