The Constitution:  Counter Revolution or National Salvation? Teacher Guide

The students have already studied Colonial America and the Revolution. This unit on the U.S. Constitution begins with an examination of what type of government would best represent the ideals of the American Revolution. Once these factors are identified, the Articles of Confederation are examined, the reasons for calling a Federal Convention are explored, and the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention are studied. Finally the ratification process is studied. It is during this part of the unit that the Broadside project is completed.

Note:   This project is not dependent on the use of technology. Hard copies of the documents may be printed and the broadside produced without the use of computers. On the high tech side, students may access and read the documents online, take and share notes electronically, and produce a broadside using desktop publishing tools.

Questions to Focus Instruction

• Essential Question:
  

  Where does power reside in the relationship between people and government?

• Unit Question:
  

  Was the Constitution an abandonment of the ideals of the American Revolution?

Lesson 1:   Creating a Government   (1 class period)

Preparation

1. Print out Government Workshop handouts for classroom distribution. One handout per group is needed.
2. Print out copies of the Declaration of Independence for classroom distribution, if needed.
3. Print out copies of the Articles of Confederation for the homework assignment, one copy per student, if needed.

Classroom Activity

1. Introduce unit on the Constitution.
2. Present the question to the students that will be addressed in the Government Workshop:   Given the ideals of the American Revolution as represented in the Declaration of Independence, what type government would you create?
3. Government Workshop
   1. Distribute Government Workshop handouts.
   2. Students divide into small groups of 3-4 persons each.
   3. Each group chooses or is assigned to represent a political orientation: radical or conservative.
   4. Each group works through the set of questions in the Government Workshop handout, answering the questions from the point of view of the political orientation they represent.
4. When students have completed handouts, classroom discussion of the workshop takes place.
5. Students together formulate key points which their small groups have identified.
6. Students share their group's answers to the question presented.
7. Government Workshop handouts are turned in to the teacher.
8. Distribute the copies of the Articles of Confederation and assign homework.
9. Inform students that for this unit they will need to keep a notebook (or section of their notebook) which will record the process. They may need to purchase a notebook, and should have it by the next class.

Homework

Read the Articles of Confederation and compare to the key points identified in the classroom activity.

Lesson 2:   Articles of Confederation   (1 class period)

Preparation

1. Prepare classroom lecture on the Articles of the Confederation. This should focus on how the government operated under the Articles, and why it operated as it did, e.g., there was no national executive and the Americans did not want to be ruled by another king.
2. Print out the Reading Assignments handout for distribution.

   NOTE: The Reading Assignment uses the text, The Enduring Vision. An online alternative is the Special Presentation, "To Form a More Perfect Union: The Work of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention," in Documents of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention in American Memory. See Procedure: Lesson 8 below for suggestions on how the Special Presentation might be used.

Classroom Activity

1. Students should have notebooks available. Explain how the notebooks will be used in the course of this project.
2. Pose the question: Did the Articles of Confederation represent the ideals of the American Revolution?
3. Students respond to this question in their notebooks.
4. When students have completed the writing assignment, have classroom discussion on the question.
5. Give lecture on Articles of Confederation
6. Distribute the Reading Assignments handout and assign reading homework (Reading Assignment #1).

Homework

Students complete Reading Assignment #1 on the Articles of Confederation.

Lesson 3:   Calling a Federal Convention   (1 class period)

Classroom Activity

1. Introduce the Annapolis Conference and the debate over whether to call a Federal Convention.
2. Student Debate:   "Yea or Nay on the call for a Federal Convention?" In this activity, students make preliminary identifications of arguments for and against the Convention. The debate may take a number of forms, ranging from free form to highly structured. Here are some possibilities:
   • Each student or group of students contribute to the debate a "yea" or "nay" with a brief supporting argument.
   • Students or teams of students are assigned political positions of radical and conservative. Ensuing debate takes place according to a set of official rules, i.e. Parliamentary Procedure.
   • Students form pairs and have a "silent debate." Each takes a role as radical or conservative. The two students pass a piece of paper back and forth between them, responding to each of their adversary's points and making their own points. No talking is allowed. At the conclusion of the debate, students circle their opponent's best argument. This choice is an excellent activity for class on a Monday after a long weekend.
3. At the conclusion of the debates, the class discusses the reasons for and against the call for a Federal Convention that have been identified in this activity.
4. Assign reading homework.

Homework

Students read material from the textbook or other source on what happened in the Constitutional Convention.

Lesson 4:   Drafting the Constitution, Part I   (1 class period)

Preparation

Prepare lecture on major issues in the drafting of the Constitution. This will include classroom interaction and will take two days.

Classroom Activity

1. Lecture on and discuss with the class the major issues in the drafting of the Constitution, and how they were resolved. The four major points to cover are:
   
   1. What to do with the Articles of Confederation;
   2. Power of national government versus the state/regional government;
   3. Representation: large versus small states; and
   4. Slavery.
2. Assign reading homework.

Homework

Lesson 5:   Drafting the Constitution, Part II   (1 class period)

Preparation

• Print out copies of the Constitution for classroom distribution, if needed.
• Print out Document Analysis handouts for distribution in class as homework.

Classroom Activity

1. Continue lecture on and classroom discussion of the four major issues in the drafting of the Constitution, and how they were resolved.
2. Distribute Document Analysis handouts and assign homework.

Homework

Document Analysis

1. Read the Constitution.
2. Answer the set of questions on the Document Analysis handout in your notebook.

Lesson 6:   Government under the Constitution   (1 class period)

Preparation

Classroom Activity

1. Students should have notebooks available.
2. Pose the question: Did the Constitution reflect the ideals of the American Revolution?
3. Students respond to this question in their notebooks. Their answer should be based on the issues they have identified in the Government Workshop and the Documents Analysis they have completed as homework.
4. When students have completed the writing assignment, have classroom discussion on the question.
5. Lecture on the Constitution. Focus on how the government is designed to operate under the Constitution:
   • The three branches of the government;
   • The requirements for office holders; and
   • The system of checks and balances.

Lesson 7:   Broadside Project Introduction   (1 class period)

Preparation

• Print out for classroom distribution copies of the Student Guide describing the activities of the project.
• If computer lab time for the class is unavailable or limited, print out the Introduction and at least two sample broadsides from An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera from American Memory.

Classroom Activity

1. Distribute the Student Guide describing the Broadside project.
2. Introduce the Broadside Project to the class.
3. In the computer lab introduce the students to American Memory.
4. Students will view broadsides from the special Introduction to An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera.
5. In the computer lab, students complete "Activity One: What is a Broadside?" from the the Student Guide.
6. If time in the computer lab is limited, distribute print copies of the "Introduction" and sample broadsides from the collection. Students complete the assignment in class.
7. Assign reading homework on the ratification of the Constitution (Reading Assignment #2).

NOTE: The Reading Assignment uses the text, The Enduring Vision. An online alternative is the Special Presentation, "To Form a More Perfect Union: The Work of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention," in Documents of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention in American Memory. See Procedure: Lesson 8 below for suggestions on how the Special Presentation might be used.

Homework

Students complete Reading Assignment #2 on the Constitution.

Lesson 8:   Reviewing the Events: From the Revolution to Ratification of the Constitution   (1 class period)

Preparation

Arrrange for computer lab time for students to view and read the Special Presentation "To Form a More Perfect Union; the Work of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention." (If computer time or access is not available, print out copies of the special presentation for students to read in class.)

Classroom Activity:

1. Introduce the Special Presentation as a review of events from the Revolution up to the ratification of the Constitution.
2. Ask students to read the entire presentation, paying special attention to the sections that talk about the problems that arose after the Revolutionary War under the Articles of Confederation.
3. Students are to note down 4-5 problems that the nation was facing, with particular attention to the years under the Articles.
4. In class discussion, students brainstorm and list problems that faced the nation under the Articles of Confederation.
5. Pose the question: Why might it be difficult to convince your state to ratify the Constitution?
6. In classroom discussion, identify five major issues regarding the Constitution:
   1. Legal
   2. Interstate/ International Commerce
   3. Debt
   4. Representation
   5. National Integrity

Lesson 9:   Examining Primary Sources, Part I   (1 class period)

Preparation

1. Print out for classroom distribution copies of each of the following documents:
• Issue 1:  Legality
• Issue 2:  Commerce
• Issue 3:   Debt
• Issue 4:   State vs. National Power
• Issue 5:  National Integrity
2. If computer lab time for the class is unavailable or limited, print out copies of each of the primary source documents named in each of these five issue handouts.

Classroom Activity

1. Students begin "Activity Two: Examining the Primary Source Documents" (Jig Saw Activity) from the Student Guide.
2. Students divide into five groups with five to six people in each group. Each group is assigned one of the five issues to research.
3. Distribute to each of the groups the handout for their assigned issue.
4. In the computer lab, students form teams of two and examine online pre-selected documents from American Memory. For each document they are to determine the arguments for and against the ratification of the Constitution providing quotes that demonstrate understanding.
5. If time in the computer lab is limited or unavailable, distribute print copies of the each of the primary source documents named in each of these five Issue handouts.

Lesson 10:   Examining the Primary Sources, Part II   (1 class period)

Classroom Activity

Lesson 11:   Examining the Primary Sources, Part III   (1 class period)

Classroom Activity

1. The activity of Lesson 9, "Examining the Primary Source Documents" (Jig Saw Activity) is continued in class. A representative from each issue group meets those from other groups to share their findings. Form five groups for this discussion.
2. After the groups have shared their evidence, each individual student begins to draft her own Broadside, which will be completed as homework.

Homework

Complete Broadside. This may take a weekend.

Lesson 12:   Answering the Question, "Was the Constitution a Counter Revolution?"   (1 class period)

Classroom Activity

1. Students should have notebooks available.
2. Pose the question: Was the Constitution a Counter Revolution?
3. Students respond to this question in their notebooks. Their answer should be based on the issues they have identified in the previous activities.
4. When students have completed the writing assignment, have classroom discussion on the question.

Assessment

1. Objective and open response questions;
2. Peer/Teacher: observation, evaluation, feedback;
3. Broadside Evaluation Rubric.

Performance Task and/or Student Performance

The students produce a broadside in which they take a position on the ratification of the Constitution and support it with evidence.

Assessment Criteria for Broadside Final Project

See Broadside Evaluation Rubric.

1. Content;
   • States a position for or against the ratification of the Constitution;
   • Supports with at least three pieces of evidence ;
   • Demonstrates understanding of the essential question;
   • Represents state's interests;
2. Format;
3. Mechanics.

Other Forms of Ongoing Assessment

1. Quizzes, tests, prompts, work samples;
2. Observations, cooperative learning dialogues, interviews, notebook;
3. Student self-assessment.