Lesson Plan: The Bill of Rights Today
Standards:
USI.8 Describe the debate over the ratification of the Constitution between Federalists and Anti-Federalists and explain the key ideas contained in the Federalist Papers on federalism, factions, checks and balances, and the importance of an independent judiciary. (H, C)
USI.9 Explain the reasons for the passage of the Bill of Rights. (H, C)
A. the influence of the British concept of limited government
B. the particular ways in which the Bill of Rights protects basic freedoms, restricts government power, and ensures rights to persons accused of crimes
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Explain amendments to the Constitution in their own words
- Apply the principles of the Bill of rights to a Court Case
- Identify connections from the Bill of Rights to today
Background:
Students have been introduced to the Bill of Rights in class. They marked up the text of the document and discussed its importance in the debate between the Federalists and Antifederalists. They identified the purpose, significance, and the main idea of the document in a modified “APPARTS” chart. They also made connections from the document to their personal lives/today/something they have learned.
Procedure:
- Students will be given a case study of a Court decision involving one of the Amendments to the Constitution. Based on the case (and the amendment it references) students will be given a couple of “Do Now” questions (labeled “Before Reading in their handout) to generate their own opinions on the limits of the particular amendment.
- After answering the opening questions, students should use technology (crocodoc, MS Word, etc.) to mark up the document with questions, comments, predictions, thoughts, etc.. Students will be graded separately on the document mark up.
- After marking up the case, students should write a 3-5 sentence summary of the case. Students should also explain (in 3-5 sentences) which Amendment the case pertains to and why.
Conferring/Collaboration:
- Students will be paired up with another student who had the same case as them (max 3 per group). They should pair/share their mark ups in a different color. This can be done using Word, their Wiki discussion, or another Collaboration tool. The goal is for each pair to synthesize the case working together.
- Together, the students choose a Web 2.0 tool and create a slide, glogor animoto that includes: the Amendment in their own words, a brief summary of the case they were given, examples of the amendment's implications today, and a visual to represent what the amendment means to them.
Follow Up:
- Students should embed all work onto their wiki, including their mark ups, before reading questions, and web 2.0 presentations. Students should do a brief “gallery walk” to look at other pairs’ presentations.
Note: Students are required to embed all work on their OWN wikipage even if done collaboratively.