Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: The U.S. Constitution Name: Carlos Kimball

Content Area: Social Studies Grade Level: 8th Grade
CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

8.2 Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S. Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied powers of the federal
government.
2. Analyze the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and the success of each in implementing the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
3. Evaluate the major debates that occurred during the development of the Constitution and their ultimate resolutions in such areas as shared power
among institutions, divided state-federal power, slavery, the rights of individuals and states (later addressed by the addition of the Bill of Rights), and the status
of American Indian nations under the commerce clause.
5. Understand the significance of Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom as a forerunner of the First Amendment and the origins, purpose, and
differing views of the founding fathers on the issue of the separation of church and state.
6. Enumerate the powers of government set forth in the Constitution and the fundamental liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights.
7. Describe the principles of federalism, dual sovereignty, separation of powers, checks and balances, the nature and purpose of majority rule, and the
ways in which the American idea of constitutionalism preserves individual rights.

Big Ideas/Unit Goals:

Why is the U.S. Constitution such an important document in the United States?
Why is the U.S. Constitution a revolutionary document both when it was created, and now?
How does the U.S. Constitution affect me, and what rights does it give me?

Unit Summary:

In this unit, students will learn about the beginnings of the U.S. Constitution, from the struggle of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a stronger federal
government, along with modern day issues that are still being discussed due to the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the rest of the Amendments. During this unit students
will learn about the purpose behind why the Articles were created to be so weak, such as creating a weak central government so as to never let anyone person (or
government) take too much control over people’s lives. Additionally, students will learn about the Checks and Balances system of government that we cherish today as
Americans, and where the rules for the government are created and found in our Constitution. Students will also learn about how the Constitution, our founding document,
has lasted over 200 years as a central piece of the American government due to its ability to change with the times, even if it is hard to do so. Towards the end of the unit,
students will learn how the limitations of government work in their own lives and how they can even be seen as working in a classroom setting by comparing individual
liberties of students and teachers, along with what rules need to be followed in order for a “peaceful” classroom environment.

Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level: Formative: Summative:

Quizlet; Articles of Confederation to the Bill of Rights
overview quiz. This quiz will consist of basic
information from the creation of the Articles of
Confederation to the reasons for creating the Bill of
Rights and what they stand for.
Carousel Activity: Weaknesses of the Articles
of Confederation
Matching Activity: U.S. Constitution (original),
students match article numbers with their
purpose
Matching Activity: Bill of Rights, students
match amendment numbers with their purpose
Socratic Seminar: Students discuss the
influence the Constitution and Bill of Rights
have on their daily lives
Essay: Students will write a 4 paragraph essay
about how the Constitution and Bill of
Rights influence their lives today (one
body paragraph for each topic)
Exam: Students will complete a timeline,
matching the Amendments from the Bill
of Rights, and answer a short response
about how the Electoral College works
(from Article 2 of the Constitution)

Lesson 1 (Teacher Lecture)

Student Learning Objective:
Students will reflect their
understanding of the
strengths/weaknesses of the Articles
of Confederation by short response.
Lesson 2 (Webercise/ iPad Lesson)
Student Learning Objective:
Students will recognize the
importance of the Constitution and
how it creates the government that
we live in today, along with the
system of Checks and Balances
Lesson 3 (Graphic Organizer)
Student Learning Objective:
Students will recognize the
importance of the Bill of Rights as
amendments to the Constitution and
how they relate to their current, and
future, lives.
Acceptable Evidence
(Assessments):
Acceptable evidence for this
lesson will be achieved by
having the students fill out an
exit slip addressing the
following prompt:
1) List 2 strengths of the Articles
of Confederation
2) List 3 weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation.
Acceptable Evidence:
Acceptable evidence for this
lesson will include having the
students present short
descriptions about the Articles
of the U.S. Constitution along
with images of how they are in
effect today.
Acceptable Evidence:
Students are able to reflect the
complication in having to
protect liberty and citizens’
rights, while also balancing
needs for the “greater good” or
society at the cost of some
Lesson Activities:
Students will work on guided notes as my lecture on the Articles of Confederation is given to them.
These guided notes will reflect one or two missing words from sentences, along with an occasional
summary of a main idea by the students. Students will engage with the lecture by following along in
both writing down the missing words, and answering recall/analysis questions that pertain to why
the Articles of Confederation were created, what they did, and why it eventually failed.
Lesson Activities:
Students will create a presentation in small groups of 3-4 that cover all of the Articles of the
Constitution and give brief descriptions of what the Article says about how the U.S. government
should work. In addition to the description, students will also attach an image to each slide that will
show how the government follows this Article today, or, an image that clearly represents what the
Article says. After creating the presentation, students will then submit them to me via e-mail for
grading using the assigned slide rubric.
Lesson Activities:
This lesson activity will be followed as directed by the lesson plan created by the National Archives:
1. Rights in the classroom: (45 Minutes)
Begin a class discussion about rights in which students consider two dimensions of rights: specific
protections for individuals and general limits on authority.
 liberty by filing out a graphic
organizer about how “The Bill of
Rights” in the classroom would
look like, such as what students
want vs. what teachers could do.
Discussion questions should include:
 What specific protections for individuals apply to students?
 What specific protections for individuals apply to teachers?
 Are these sets of protections distinct from one another or shared to some degree?
 What limits are placed on the authority of teachers?
 What limits are placed on the authority of students?
 What limits on authority do they share? (For instance, school rules and class policies
limit student's authority to decide certain issues, while contracts and school policies
limit certain actions by teachers.)

Ask students to summarize the discussion by completing Worksheet 1.

Direct the class to draw from information they listed on Worksheet 1 to create a bill of rights for
the classroom.

Important topics to consider include:

 What specific protections for individuals should be guaranteed?

 What limitations on authority should be included?
 How will the class determine what to include in this Bill of Rights? Simple majority?
Super-majority? Unanimous vote? What vote does the teacher or administration have?

Unit Resources:
Constitution Primary Source Documents:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-constitution/id915841986#

Library of Congress Constitution Interactive:

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/interactives/constitution/overview.html

The Gihlder Lehrman Institute of American History:

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/articles-confederation

Articles of Confederation Graphic Organizer:

http://images.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/GA/DouglasCounty/LithiaSpringsHigh/Uploads/Forms/The_Articles_of_Confederation_graphic_organizer_answ
ers.pdf

Do I Have A Right? – Game

https://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/new-do-i-have-right-extension-pack
The Electoral College Explained:
Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained - Christina Greer - YouTube

Useful Websites:

ICivics: This website is a great resource that helps make learning about the U.S. government easy to understand and simplifies the content to appropriate
grade levels. From learning about the earliest American documents, like the Declaration of Independence, to modern day times, this website goes ahead
and brings the American government to a basic understanding.
https://www.icivics.org/search-results?keywords=Constitution

Constitution Center: This is a great website that allows visitors to read the Constitution of the United States, along with activities, and scenarios that can
be used to help students of all ages learn more about the Constitution and the impact it has on all Americans today.
https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/hall-pass

Library of Congress: This resource hub (stored information) includes many different primary and secondary sources that begin from before America was
even a nation, all the way to today. From letters, to pictures, to political cartoons, and even the documents that govern our country in the past, and
present.
https://www.loc.gov/teachers/constitutionday.html

National Archives: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created
in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they
are kept by the NARA forever. Those valuable records are preserved and are available to everyone, including students, whether they want to see if
they contain clues about family history, need to prove a veteran's military service, or are researching a historical topic that interests them.
https://www.archives.gov/legislative/resources/education/bill-of-rights

Teaching American History.org: This site gives summaries and timelines that occurred from the beginning of America to today. It also divides the sections of
American history into important sections, that allow for an easier grasping of information since it is organized based on details of each section. If looking for
specific time periods of American History, this website would be a great resource to use.
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/constitution/