11 Grade AmeriCon Inquiry by Alex Furlow

Did we create a just

government?

Supporting Questions

1. How democratic is the New Constitution?

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 11 Grade AmeriCon Inquiry by Alex Furlow

Did we create a just government?

Inquiry Standard Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence
Civic Participation

Staging the
Compelling Did we create a just government?
Question

Supporting Question 1

How democratic is the New Constitution?

Formative Performance Task

I will develop a claim supported by evidence that explains how democratic I consider the New Constitution to be.
Featured Sources

ARGUMENT
Did we create a just government? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay)
Summative that addresses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from our
Performance Task New Constitution while acknowledging competing views of our peers.
EXTENSION
N/A
UNDERSTAND
Research efforts made since 1787 to make the Constitution by political scientists and anticipate
unintended consequences.
ASSESS
Taking Informed Evaluate the extent to which our efforts in creating a New Constitution could have contributed to
Action
a more just Constitution.
ACTION
Debate and discuss solutions. Ask questions in order to make informed decisions and bring out
the best potential in our modern pursuit of a more perfect union.

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Overview

Inquiry Description
As members of our very own Constitutional Convention at the Davis School for Independent Study, we
embarked on a quest to remake the Constitution. After close examination of each branch of government, we
found various debilitating flaws ranging from underrepresentation to unequal power. The convention was
called and we set off to create an even more "perfect union."

Structure
In our Constitutional Inquiry, we focused on the most controversial constitutional issues brought to our
attention by the political scientist Larry Sabato in his book A More Perfect Union. We divided into committees
to present and later vote to accept or reject solutions. The end result will be a New Constitution, to which we
will apply a critical lens.

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 Staging the Compelling Question
Compelling Did we create a just government?
Question

Staging the compelling question

At the conclusion of our convention, we will create the New Constitution. This living document will be
examined on multiple levels by each student and used as evidence to answer the compelling question.

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 Supporting Question 1
Supporting How democratic is the New Constitution?
Question
Formative I will develop a claim supported by evidence that explains how democratic I consider the New
Performance Task Constitution to be.

As We developed a New Constitution and enter the next phase of the historical inquiry, we will examine the
results through careful analysis.

Formative Performance Task

N/A

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 Summative Performance Task
Compelling
Did we create a just government?
Question
Did we create a just government? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay)
Argument that addresses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from our
New Constitution while acknowledging competing views of our peers.
Extension N/A

Argument

N/A

Extension
N/A

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 Taking Informed Action
Research efforts made since 1787 to make the Constitution by political scientists and anticipate
Understand
unintended consequences.
Evaluate the extent to which our efforts in creating a New Constitution could have contributed to
Assess
a more just Constitution.
Debate and discuss solutions. Ask questions in order to make informed decisions and bring out
Action the best potential in our modern pursuit of a more perfect union.

The New Constitution was debated, discussed, and resolved by DSIS students. Special thanks to Mrs. Sandoval
and Mr. Kinder for their support and feedback during our ambitious undertaking.