Biography First Person, Complete

FACEBOOK INSTRUCTIONS

The organizers of the Federal Convention decided to take advantage of a newfangled piece of technology – computers. A Facebook or social network has been created for your convention, and you will create a delegate page that contains information you will need to get your point across and succeed at the convention.

Getting started …

ó Go to Mr. Schild’s Wiki website and click on the link for your class and find the convention homepage.

ó Begin to create your profile. For your member name, type in your delegate name and hometown. As you complete your delegate research, you will be able to add a profile picture and complete your profile questions.

ó Begin to research the views of your delegate and the topics that influenced the delegates at the convention. Use the packet of information given to you and reliable online resources.

ó After you have finished you delegate’s profile, you will participate in a Socratic Circle debating the ideas and principles in the US Constitution representing the viewpoint of your delegate.

You are expected to complete the following for your delegate Facebook page …

q Biography – Your biography should be pretty general and cover the most important aspects of your background, and it must be written in first person. You should limit this entry to between 100 and 150 words. Check out General Washington’s page for examples.

q Answers to profile questions – Use your delegate handouts and online sources to complete these questions. Each answer should be written in first person and should be understandable to you (in other words, you may say it in the convention). For two of the questions, you must have an actual quote from the convention AND be able to explain the quote in your own words. Your profile responses will be evaluated on accuracy, clarity, and use of quotes. You may want to type these on Word or Google Docs and cut and paste them into your page. You also want to print these, since they will serve as your “script” for the convention. This section is the most important part of the preparation process.

q Photos Album – While there are no photos of your delegate, there are certainly images of the delegate and other historical material relevant to your delegate. You should have at least three (3) pictures in your photo album, each with a caption written as a first person quote historically describing the picture. Each image should have one meaty historical tidbit of info that lets the delegates know about you. Each image should also be cited as a comment to the photo. Check out General Washington’s page for examples.

q Blog – Questions will be posted on the Convention blog and you must respond to each question in first person based on your viewpoints. Your responses must be written in first person and will be evaluated on perspective, detail, and effort. Try to interact with other’s responses as well!

q Friends – You should browse the other delegates’ pages and determine with whom you will be friends. Think about location, size of state, and views on the strength of the government.

q Groups – There are a few groups already created that you can join, depending on your perspective. You can even create an additional group if you can think of a valid topic! (Big States, Small States, Pro-Slavery States, Anti-Slavery States, Refused to Sign, Princeton Grads, Virginians, College Grads, Signers of DOI, Enlightened Ones, Did Not Attend College, etc)

George Washington’s Profile Question Responses …

Q: How about a brief biography? What is your background?

A: I have been told that I am the most respected man in the young nation, due to my leadership of the Continental Army during the revolution against the crown. I grew up in Virginia and served as a surveyor before going off to war in the conflict with the French and Indians. I was nominated to lead the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress, and we suffered some early defeats and great challenges in the war for independence. After our victory at Yorktown and eventual independence, I resigned my position as general. I was very content to retire to Mount Vernon and live my life as a gentleman farmer, but the events of Shays' Rebellion (and my feeling of civic virtue) convinced me that I must attend this convention. As the presiding officer of the convention, I will be distinctly neutral in all debates ... and I will run the show with a firm hand. I will only speak twice during the convention.

Q: Which should be stronger, the state government or the national government? Why?

A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let my personal opinions be known. I also do not plan to speak much, so there will be no quotes in my section. My fellow delegates should make sure they have at least two quotes in their profiles.

Q: How should we determine the representation of the states in Congress? By population, money, equality...?