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Summary and Objective
The students will understand that the United States Constitution is a very old document that still is the basis for our government today. In observance of Constitution Day on September 17th, the students will view a copy of the United States Constitution. They will learn of its importance in setting the rules of our three branches of government and their main functions.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
As a soft start to the lesson the students will be asked to brainstorm what they already know about the United States Constitution. They will write their responses on the board.
Step 2.
A brief "Time of Trivia" will be played to peak the students' interest. The students will be asked trivia questions about the Constitution in a game setting, for example: How many presidents signed the Constitution? How many words make up the Constitution? Where was the Constitution signed? Who has the largest and most recognized signature? What are the first 10 ammendments to the Constitution called? (Trivia questions may be found on line at www.constitutionfacts.com or in the book The U.S. Constitution and Fascinating Facts About It (Oak Hill Publishing).
Step 3.
The cd School House Rock's Preamble to the Constitution song (available on the Internet) will be played for the students. It's catchy; they'll want to hear it again. On a copy of the Constitution, the Preamble will be pointed out to the children. The students will view the attached primary source documents from the American Centuries website. They can sense the excitement about the ratification from the newspaper article and see a later ammendment to the written Constitution.
Step 4.
The students will be given a few minutes to look at the entire Constitution (Free pocket sized editions are available on line)and each child may say one thing that they observe about the document. This encourages other students to look further to find what their neighbor found.
Step 5.
The students will be directed to the first three articles of the Constitution. It is within Article I that the Legislative branch (Congress) of government is described. Article II is devoted to the Executive (President and Cabinet)branch and Article III speaks to the Judicial branch.
Step 6.
The document is complicated, so to simplify it, the teacher may put a copy of the first three Articles on an overhead page or smart board to highlight the requirementss and main work of each branch of government. Use of a different color for each branch is recommended.
Step 7.
In conclusion,to help the students to relate the 200+ year old document to our government of today, show pictures of our current President, Senators, Representatives, or Supreme Court Justices. The students can put a face of today with the rules of two centuries ago.
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