Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

Middle Childhood Education Lesson Plan Template v. 2

Teacher Candidate Name: Jessica Reynolds
Lesson Title/#: Articles of Confederation #3
Grade Level: 8
Essential Question: Is the best government the government that governs the least?

Lesson Foundations
Content Standards
*Science and SS should also include
common core for reading/writing

Learning Objective(s)
Students will

SS.ONLS.8.7: Problems arising under the Articles of Confederation led to debate over the adoption of the U.S.
Constitution
CCR.READING.8.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from
it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
1) Students will be able to explain the views of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists over the ratification of
the U.S. Constitution using document based questions. (understand)
2) Students will be able to compare the views of the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists using document
based questions. (analyze)

Prior Academic
Knowledge and Skills

1) Students know the new political, social and economic relationships for the American people that resulted
from the American Revolution.

What have you or your mentor

taught previously that will inform
what students are learning today?

2) Students know the domestic problems that arose under the Articles of Confederation.
3) Students know how the domestic problems under the Articles affected individual states.
4) Students are familiar with primary and secondary sources.

Materials & Resources

5) Students are familiar with DBQs.

1. Playing cards
2. Opening video: http://www.history.com/topics/federalist-papers/videos/america-gets-aconstitution?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false
3. Timer
4. 10 folders (2 folders dedicated to each of the 5 documents) with four copies of the document in each
5. DBQ answer packets
6. Smartboard slides for opening, agenda, and LOs

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7.Graphic organizer for essay writing

Assessments

Describe the assessments that will be used in this lesson to monitor students mastery of the lesson objective(s). List assessments in order in which they appear in the lesson.

Name and number of

Assessment
A1: DBQ Part A:
Analyzing Primary
and Secondary
Sources

Description of assessment
Formative: Students will read
and analyze primary and
secondary source documents
that include excerpts from
texts and political cartoons.
Students will answer two
questions about each
document.
Document 1:
1. Based on this document,
identify one reason that
Alexander Hamilton believes
the national government
should have the power to tax.
(understand)
2. What does this excerpt
suggest about trust between
the people and the
government? (analyze)
Document 2:
3. According to the document,
why does George Mason
believe there must be a
national Bill of Rights?
(understand)
4. Why should declaring the
rights of citizens be a
responsibility of the national
government? (analyze)

Evaluation Criteria - What is the evidence (the answers) of student learning?

Specifically list evidence of learning and learning objectives.
LO1 (understand) & LO2 (analyze)

1. It would restore trust between the people and the government, people cannot
depend on a national government that has to depend upon thirteen individual
governments itself,

2. The financial situation of a country and the governments ability to control the
economic system will affect the trust between the people and the government

3. A Bill of Rights in 13 separate states does not protect the people of the country
as a whole nation

4. In a representative government, or a democracy, the people should be able to

depend upon their government to protect them under the law. Putting a Bill of
Rights into law, helps to ensure that the people cannot be treated
unconstitutionally

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Seminar 2

Document 3:
5. Based on the document,
5. Madison believes that the national government should have authority over
what type of powers does
powers that require uniformity across the states, two of these powers include
James Madison believe the
regulating trade and taxing imports and exports
national government should
be armed with positive and
complete authority? What are
two examples of these powers?
(understand)
6. Does James Madison support 6. James Madison supports the Constitution because it strengthens the power of
or oppose the Constitution?
the national government, and grants them the powers he is referring to
How do you know? (analyze)
Document 4:
7. Why is Uncle Sam drawn
large in this cartoon? What
does he symbolize? (analyze)
8. Why is the little guy upset
with Uncle Sam? (analyze)

Document 5:
9. What event is this cartoon a
representation of?
(understand)
10. What does the figure on the
right mean when says you
dont need it because you
already have all these rights?
(analyze)

7. Uncle Sam symbolizes the federal government, he is drawn largely to represent a

strong, national government
8. The little guy is representative of the state governments and he is unhappy with
Uncle Sam because he feels that the national government is infringing upon states
rights to govern themselves

9. This cartoon represents the debate over the ratification of the Constitution
between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists
10. The Federalists believed that it was not necessary to include a Bill of Rights in
the Constitution because they believed that people were automatically give these
rights under the law and the government. The Anti-Federalists found it to be
imperative that a Bill of Rights be included.

Middle Childhood Education

A2: DBQ Part B:

Writing an Essay that
compares the
perspectives of the
Anti-Federalists and
Federalists

Summative: Students are

asked to write an essay that
responds to the following
prompt: Imagine you are an
American living in the U.S.
during the 1780s. Consider
how each party, the Federalists
and the Anti-Federalists think
the government should be run.
Choose a perspective,
Federalist or Anti-Federalist to
support. Include at least three
major beliefs about
government that support the
party you choose and explain
the significance of these three
beliefs. Include evidence from
at least three of the documents
above to support your writing.

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LO1 & LO2 (understand & analyze)

A sample essay response:
Possible introduction: The Articles of Confederation caused problems to arise
within the states. The Articles limited the amount of power that the federal
government had and allowed each individual state to govern the way they saw fit.
Eventually people realized that the Articles needed revising and began to
formulate a plan as to how the revision would happen. During this time, two
parties with opposing viewpoints emerged, the Federalists and the AntiFederalists.
Possible answer in support of the Federalists: If I were living in this time period I
would choose to side with the perspective of the Federalists. The Federalists
believed that a strong central government was necessary in order for the United
States to function as a nation. The Federalists felt that the Articles did not grant the
federal government enough power to handle duties such as taxation. James
Madison, one of the most well-known Federalist supporters, wrote that the
national Government should be armed with positive and compleat [complete]
authority in all cases which require uniformity (document 3). Federalists such as
Alexander Hamilton felt that in order for the country to be successful, and for the
people to restore trust in the government, the federal government needed the
power of taxation in order to create financial stability (document 1). The
Federalists disagreed with the Anti Federalists about the inclusion of the Bill of
Rights. They did not think it was needed in the Constitution because citizens were
guaranteed these rights already (document 5).
Possible answer in support of the Anti-Federalists: If I were living in this time
period I would choose to side with the perspective of the Anti-Federalists. The
Anti-Federalists wanted a weak central government and for the states to retain the
powers to govern themselves. The Anti-Federalists felt that the Articles of
Confederation allowed the states to remain sovereign and in control of their own
government. Anti-Federalists feared that a strong central government would turn
into a tyranny and that the peoples rights would not be protected. This idea is
demonstrated in document 4; the state legislatures fear a powerful and strong
central government. Anti-Federalists believed that in order for the Constitution to

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Seminar 2

be ratified that a Bill of Rights had to be included. They felt that this was necessary
because they wanted the rights of citizens to be protected under a large national
government. Anti-Federalists such as George Mason believed that the rights of
citizens would not be protected unless there was a Bill of Rights with the
Constitution because he believed that each individual states laws would not offer
protection for the nation as a whole. Anti-Federalists believed that a national Bill of
Rights would protect people regardless of their social status or where they lived
(document 5).
A mix of a possible concluding paragraph: Major belief differences in how
government should function between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists led to a
debate over the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Each governing
document grants different powers to the state and federal governments. One of the
major belief differences between the two parties was how the power would be
divided among the branches of government. (I chose to side with the Federalists
because) Federalists wanted three equal branches whereas the Anti-Federalists
thought this gave the national government too much power and wanted a strong
legislative branch only. (I chose to side with the Anti-Federalists because) AntiFederalists felt that a strong central government threatens the rights of the citizens
and the state governments, and demanded a Bill of Rights be included in the
Constitution. (Another reason I chose to side with the Federalists is because) The
Federalists believed that the federal government needed to have the power to tax
and regulate things such as trade in order to keep the states in uniformity, and
prevent problems from arising between states.

Instructional Procedures/Steps

Each portion of this section should be aligned with learning objectives. Note when you are addressing a learning objective and when enacting an assessment.

Middle Childhood Education

Teacher will

Include instructional practices, questions you will ask, checks for

understanding, differentiation, evidence of culturally responsive
teaching practices.

Opening
____6___ Minutes
-

Hook?
Activate prior
knowledge?
Communicate LOs?

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Student will

What will students be doing?

What evidence of learning will students demonstrate?
Student-centered learning/opportunities for practice and application.

Teacher greets students as they enter the room and

asks each student to draw a card from a deck of playing
cards. Teacher has tables set up with numbers that
correspond to the playing cards in order for students to
sit in groups of three to four students/group. Teacher
has opening activity displayed on the Smartboard. The
opener is used to engage the students and transition
into todays lesson.
1. Opening Activity: Video:
http://www.history.com/topics/federalistpapers/videos/america-gets-aconstitution?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&f
ree=false
After video teacher explains that the problems that
arose under the Articles led the American people to
realize that the government needed changing. But
when it came to revising the Articles, two very
different views emerged based on differing opinions
about what the governments role should be. The two
predominant parties that formed were the Federalists
and the Anti-Federalists.
(4 minutes)

1. Students enter the classroom and sit at the table that

matches their playing card. Students will follow along
during the opening activity.

2. Reviewing Agenda and LOs (Teacher will display

the class agenda and the LOs on the Smartboard and
communicate them with students): Today, we will be
working with document based questions (DBQ) in
order to gain a greater understanding of the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists points of view about
government. Using the DBQ will help us meet our
learning objectives for today:

2. Students will listen to the review of the agenda and the

LOs.

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Seminar 2

1) I can explain the views of the Federalists and the

Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the U.S.
Constitution using document based questions.
2) I can compare the views of the Anti-Federalists and
the Federalists using document based questions.
(2 minutes)

Instruction
___36___ Minutes
Procedures and steps to
the lesson.
Strategies?
Assessments?
Q & A?
Evidence of learning?
CRP?
Planned supports?
Transitions: Identify when
you are transitioning and
how you will make that a
smooth transition?

The opening activity is used to connect to learners

prior academic knowledge from the previous two
lessons. The learning objectives are communicated to
students in order for them to understand the purpose of
todays lesson.
Teacher will have folders, each with a different
document from the DBQ (a total of 10 folders, two for
each of the 5 documents), with 4 copies of the
document in each folder. Teacher has packets made up
of the answer sheets for each of the five documents, for
each student. Teacher asks paper out managers (predetermined jobs for each nine weeks) to pass out
packets to each student.
1. Transition:
What is a primary source document? (remember)
What are the benefits of examining primary sources?
(remember)
Paper out managers are giving each of you an answer
packet. Teacher has folders with documents ready for
lesson. Teacher sets expectations for class once paper
out managers are finished passing out packets.
(1 minute)
2. Setting Expectations: Each of you have been given
a DBQ packet with two parts. Part A contains five
documents with two questions to answer for each
document. You are to record your answers to the
questions in your own packet. Even though you are

1.
A first-hand account, from someone that experienced or
witnessed an event
They provide us with accurate information and help us
understand events of a particular time period
Students will receive an answer packet to complete the DBQ
and write their names on the top.

2. Students listen to expectations and directions for

completing the DBQ within their groups.

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Seminar 2

working in groups to complete the DBQ, you are each

individually responsible for recording your answers
in your packet and turning the packet in to me. We
are going to do a folder swap activity in order to
complete the DBQ. Part B of the DBQ contains an
essay prompt, Imagine you are an American living in
the U.S. during the 1780s. Consider how each party,
the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists feel about
how the government should be run. Choose a
perspective, Federalist or Anti-Federalist to support.
Include at least three major beliefs about government
that support the party you choose and explain the
significance of these three beliefs. Include evidence
from the documents above to support your writing.
You will write your essay once your group has
completed part A.
(2 minutes)
3. Folder Swap Activity (A1, LO1&LO2): Each group
will receive a folder with one of the five documents in
it. Each group will have four minutes with each
document. During the four minutes, you need to
analyze the document. Discuss the guiding questions
within your groups and write your responses in your
packets. I will set the timer for 4 minutes at the
beginning of each rotation. I will give you a one
minute warning so that you can wrap up your
thoughts and put the documents back into the folder.
At the end of four minutes, the folders must be
rotated in a clockwise fashion. We will do this five
times until each group has seen all five of the
documents in the DBQ.
Teacher will give a folder to each of the groups, and
notify the students to begin working. Teacher will set
timer for four minutes and monitor the time while
each group is working, giving one minute warnings to

3. Students begin working in their groups on the DBQ

documents. Groups will be given one of the five documents
at a time and will need to respond to the questions in their
answer packets. Each individual student is responsible for
recording their answers to the questions in their own
packet.
Student answers should resemble the following:

Middle Childhood Education

students and then notifying them when it is time to

switch folders.
The purpose of doing the DBQ as a folder swap activity
is to set the work pace and ensure that each group is
spending enough time on each document. Each group
will have four minutes with each document folder, but
each student also has the documents in their DBQ
packets that they can refer back to if needed.
As students are working, teacher is walking around,
monitoring student progress and learning, as well as
keeping tabs on the time. Teacher notifies students
when they need to rotate the folders to another
group.
Teacher will have extension questions and questions
to guide student thinking for each document.
Document 1: Is the success of the government based
upon its wealth? Why or why not? (analyze)
Document 2: Do you agree that the government is
responsible for declaring the rights of citizens? Why?
Can you think of times when the government has not
protected the rights of citizens? (analyze)
Document 3: Do you agree with James Madisons
statement? Why or why not?
Are there reasons to doubt him? (evaluate)
Document 4: Does this cartoon make you want to
sympathize with the little guy? Why or why not?
(analyze)
What features of this cartoon stand out to you? What
do you notice? (Use of color, size of figures,
background colors, etc.) (understand)
Document 5: What do the facial expressions on the
two figures communicate to the reader? (analyze)
How does the way that the text is written affect the
overall message of the cartoon? (analyze)

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DBQ Questions
Document 1:
1. Based on this document, identify one reason that
1. It would restore trust between the people and the
Alexander Hamilton believes the national government government, people cannot depend on a national
should have the power to tax. (understand)
government that has to depend upon thirteen individual
governments itself

2. What does this excerpt suggest about trust between 2. The financial situation of a country and the governments
the people and the government? (analyze)
ability to control the economic system will affect the trust
between the people and the government
Document 2:
3. According to the document, why does George
Mason believe there must be a national Bill of Rights?
(understand)
4. Why should declaring the rights of citizens be a
responsibility of the national government? (analyze)

Document 3:
5. Based on the document, what type of powers does
James Madison believe the national government
should be armed with positive and complete
authority? What are two examples of these powers?
(understand)
6. Does James Madison support or oppose the
Constitution? How do you know? (analyze)

3. A Bill of Rights in 13 separate states does not protect the

people of the country as a whole nation

4. In a representative government, or a democracy, the

people should be able to depend upon their government to
protect them under the law. Putting a Bill of Rights into law,
helps to ensure that the people cannot be treated
unconstitutionally
5. Madison believes that the national government should
have authority over powers that require uniformity across
the states, two of these powers include regulating trade and
taxing imports and exports
6. James Madison supports the Constitution because it
strengthens the power of the national government, and
grants them the powers he is referring to

Middle Childhood Education

Document 4:
7. Why is Uncle Sam drawn large in this cartoon?
What does he symbolize? (analyze)
8. Why is the little guy upset with Uncle Sam?
(analyze)

Document 5:
9. What event is this cartoon a representation of?
(understand)
10. What does the figure on the right mean when says
you dont need it because you already have all these
rights? (analyze)

4. Part B, Essay (A2, LO1 & LO2): Once students

have answered the 10 questions pertaining to the five
documents, they will write their essay response in
part B of their DBQ.
(30 minutes)

Seminar 2

7. Uncle Sam symbolizes the federal government, he is

drawn largely to represent a strong, national government
8. The little guy is representative of the state governments
and he is unhappy with Uncle Sam because he feels that the
national government is infringing upon states rights to
govern themselves

9. This cartoon represents the debate over the ratification of

the Constitution between the Federalists and the AntiFederalists
10. The Federalists believed that it was not necessary to
include a Bill of Rights in the Constitution because they
believed that people were automatically give these rights
under the law and the government. The Anti-Federalists
found it to be imperative that a Bill of Rights be included.
Possible introduction: The Articles of Confederation caused
problems to arise within the states. The Articles limited the
amount of power that the federal government had and
allowed each individual state to govern the way they saw fit.
Eventually people realized that the Articles needed revising
and began to formulate a plan as to how the revision would
happen. During this time, two parties with opposing
viewpoints emerged, the Federalists and the AntiFederalists.
Possible answer in support of the Federalists: If I were
living in this time period I would choose to side with the

Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

perspective of the Federalists. The Federalists believed that

a strong central government was necessary in order for the
United States to function as a nation. The Federalists felt
that the Articles did not grant the federal government
enough power to handle duties such as taxation. James
Madison, one of the most well-known Federalist supporters,
wrote that the national Government should be armed with
positive and compleat [complete] authority in all cases
which require uniformity (document 3). Federalists such as
Alexander Hamilton felt that in order for the country to be
successful, and for the people to restore trust in the
government, the federal government needed the power of
taxation in order to create financial stability (document 1).
The Federalists disagreed with the Anti Federalists about
the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. They did not think it was
needed in the Constitution because citizens were
guaranteed these rights already (document 5).
Possible answer in support of the Anti-Federalists: If I were
living in this time period I would choose to side with the
perspective of the Anti-Federalists. The Anti-Federalists
wanted a weak central government and for the states to
retain the powers to govern themselves. The AntiFederalists felt that the Articles of Confederation allowed
the states to remain sovereign and in control of their own
government. Anti-Federalists feared that a strong central
government would turn into a tyranny and that the peoples
rights would not be protected. This idea is demonstrated in
document 4; the state legislatures fear a powerful and
strong central government. Anti-Federalists believed that in
order for the Constitution to be ratified that a Bill of Rights
had to be included. They felt that this was necessary
because they wanted the rights of citizens to be protected
under a large national government. Anti-Federalists such as

Middle Childhood Education

Seminar 2

George Mason believed that the rights of citizens would not

be protected unless there was a Bill of Rights with the
Constitution because he believed that each individual states
laws would not offer protection for the nation as a whole.
Anti-Federalists believed that a national Bill of Rights would
protect people regardless of their social status or where
they lived (document 5).
A mix of a possible concluding paragraph: Major belief
differences in how government should function between the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists led to a debate over the
Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Each
governing document grants different powers to the state
and federal governments. One of the major belief differences
between the two parties was how the power would be
divided among the branches of government. (I chose to side
with the Federalists because) Federalists wanted three
equal branches whereas the Anti-Federalists thought this
gave the national government too much power and wanted
a strong legislative branch only. (I chose to side with the
Anti-Federalists because) Anti-Federalists felt that a
strong central government threatens the rights of the
citizens and the state governments, and demanded a Bill of
Rights be included in the Constitution. (Another reason I
chose to side with the Federalists is because) The
Federalists believed that the federal government needed to
have the power to tax and regulate things such as trade in
order to keep the states in uniformity, and prevent
problems from arising between states.

Middle Childhood Education

5. Wrapping up the folder swap activity: Teacher

explains to students that they worked with the DBQ in
order to gain a greater understanding of the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists points of view about
government.
1) After examining the opposing views of the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists, describe the major
concerns of the two groups (understand)

Closure
___6___ Minutes
-

Assess?
Wrap up?
Set-up?

Seminar 2

5. Students will finish responding to their essay in their

DBQ. Students will place their documents back into the
folders and place them at the middle of their tables.

1) Anti-Federalists fear a big national government, and fear

that citizens rights will not be protected under such a large
governing body. Federalists are concerned that if the
national government is not given powers to tax and regulate
trade that the people will not trust the governments
2) How is trust built between the people and the
authority
government? What happens if this trust is broken?
2) Trust is built between the government and the people
(analyze)
when the government protects the people, the people have a
voice in the government, and the government makes the
economy successful. If the trust is broken people may revolt,
and demand change, it can be hard for the government to
3) Do you think both sides of the debate were trying
regain trust
to create trust between the people and the
3) Yes both sides were attempting to build trust between
government and how? (analyze)
the people and government but each side had different ideas
(3 minutes)
about how that trust should be built. Since some feared a
strong government, they felt that small federal government
would build trust among the states and the people, but the
opposing side felt that the governments ability to control
the economy and other aspects of life, would help them gain
the trust of the people
1. Exit Ticket
1. Students respond to the essential question Is the best
Teacher passes out blank sheets of paper for students to government the government that governs the least? on a
respond to the essential question.
slip of paper and leave them at the center of their tables
Respond to our essential question on your piece of
before they leave
paper and leave them at the center of your tables
Student answers will vary based upon their understanding
before you leave the classroom.
of the information presented in the lesson and their
interpretation of the essential question.

Middle Childhood Education

Modifications/Accom
modations/Enrichme
nt
Differentiation: How will
you provide students with
specific learning needs
instructional support? How
will you provide students
access to learning?

Seminar 2

IEP Students: n/a

504 Plans: (Specific 504 plan for particular student) extended time is allotted if needed, student is allowed to sit
separate from other classmates in order to avoid distractions if needed, bolded words in the questions on DBQ,
explanation of directions verbally as well as written
ELL Students: Students are working in groups to examine the documents during the folder swap activity, the DBQ
packets that students are given contain the five documents for the students to refer to, there are footnotes with
definitions provided in the DBQ, the video has closed captions that the teacher will turn on to help students
understand the content
Gifted/Talented: Teacher has extension questions ready for each of the five documents within the DBQ for students
who are ready for enrichment
Struggling Students: Students are working in groups to examine the documents during the folder swap activity, the
DBQ packets that students are given contain the five documents for the students to refer to, there are footnotes with
definitions provided in the DBQ

Academic Language
What language function do
you want students to
develop in this lesson?
What vocabulary do
students need to support
learning of the learning
objective for this lesson?
What supports do you have
in place to assist students
with AL?

Identify
Language Function: Analyze

Vocabulary: perspective, support, evidence,

Federalist, Anti-Federalist

Syntax or Discourse? syntax

Planned Supports
Language Function: Students have been grouped in order to
support analysis of primary and secondary documents,
questions are scaffolded to help students build upon their
analysis of each document, discussion between students and
teacher and students is built into instruction
Vocabulary: Footnotes are provided in the DBQ for
vocabulary terms that help students understand the
meaning of the documents that is required for students to
respond to the essay prompt and reference the documents
in the DBQ, key words are bolded in the guided questions in
the DBQ to guide students analysis of the five documents in
order to successfully refer to the documents in their essay

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writing, key vocabulary terms are bolded in the essay

prompt to help students understand the purpose for writing
the essay and to help students organize their thoughts when
writing

Syntax or Discourse? The documents are available for

students to refer to when citing textual evidence in their
essay writing, a graphic organizer is available for students
to use to organize their thoughts before writing the essay,
the essays format follows the conventional paragraph
format