By Lindsey Coleman Westmont College 2013

Unit Overview

5th grade students will have the opportunity to learn about the Constitution. This unit will

cover the people and events that led to the creation of the Constitution, the democratic ideals of

the Constitution, and the powers assigned to the branches. The unit will also include the role of

citizens under the Constitution and their duty to uphold the rights under the Constitution. Ideally

this unit would follow the Revolutionary War Unit. The goal of the unit is for students to have a

firm understanding of why the Constitution was created and what ideals it holds, the branches of

the government, the articles and amendments in the Constitution, and citizenship through

appreciation of the liberty under the Constitution. The students will focus on the importance of

the Constitution including its democratic ideals, checks and balances, and establishment of

branches of government. With the teacher, the students will read the articles and amendments to

the Constitution during reading time. The students will not have to memorize these, but will be

assessed for a cohesive knowledge of the importance of the articles and amendments to the

purpose of the constitution. Students will have to provide comprehension on how knowing about

the Constitution personally strengthens their appreciation of citizenship to the United States of

America. This unit will have to share with Language Arts if there is not enough social studies

time. I am estimating 45 minutes of social studies 3 times a week as the most idealistic schedule.

California State’s Standard 5.7 says, “Students describe the people and events associated

with the development of the U.S. Constitution and analyze the Constitution’s significance as the

foundation of the American republic”. The standards identify knowing the reasons for creating

the United States constitution, understanding the constitutional democracy that the constitution

established, recognizing the duties of all powers including the duties of citizen to follow the

Constitution, and lastly, appreciating American ideals by knowing patriotic songs. This unit will

cover all the standards, but will dive deeper into the powers of the Constitution with the study of

2

American government. Citizenship will also be stressed in this unit with current knowledge of

government today and people in leadership.

This unit will follow my vision for teaching social studies with real- world application. A

constitution unit is crucial because of the importance for an American citizen to know the

background of their country. Knowing the rights under the Constitution will also give my

students freedom to defend their rights. My goal is that this unit should make my students

appreciative to live in the United States of America and have a passion for standing up for rights

of all people. This unit should bring a new meaning to citizenship and a practical understanding

of how government runs. Students should become more competent in political affairs and show a

greater understanding and interest of decisions made by their own government. Hopefully this

unit will lead to a deeper awareness of how government plays a crucial part in every person’s life

and will encourage them to read the newspaper about current government decisions both local

and abroad.

Content

1. What people and events led to the creation of the Constitution?

2. What are the roles of each of the branches of government?

3. How does the president get elected?

4. How is the creation of checks and balances important the Constitution?

5. What is the Bill of Rights?

6. What rights does the Constitution uphold?

7. What were the amendments made to the Constitution?

8. How does learning about the Constitution help you become a better citizen?

3

Value outcomes1. Citizenship- One of the value outcomes of this unit is that students will learn the importance of

good citizenship. At the end of the unit, students will be taught specific ways that they can be a

good citizen and learn about citizenship further on our field trip to City Hall or the Hall of Justice

where students will ask government employees the importance of good citizenship and the steps

to be a good citizen. After the experience, students will write a five paragraph essay about the

importance of citizenship.

2. Freedom- The Founding Fathers desired the constitution to give citizens of the new nation

freedom. These freedoms are explicitly addressed in the Bill of Rights. Students will have a new

found respect for the constitution that gave them the freedoms that they have today. The

experimental exercise of the students needing to refuse to do certain imaginary activities because

it infers with their freedom under the U.S. Constitution will help students realize and appreciate

their freedoms.

5. Differences in Opinion- Students will be able to value differences of opinion after the debates

of the Constitutional Convention. The Founding Fathers had very different opinions of how a

government should run, but they put all their opinions together forming a compromise. Students

will respect each other’s opinion, and learn from the Founding Fathers that even though opinions

are different, they can be valuable in learning to look at problems from a different perspective.

4

Vocabulary Words1. Shay’s Rebellion2. Articles of Confederation3. Congress 4. Constitutional Convention 5. George Washington 6. James Madison 7. Thomas Jefferson 8. U.S. Constitution9. Judicial branch10. Legislative branch11. Executive branch12. Checks and balances 13. Preamble14. Amendments15. Articles 16. House of Representatives17. Senate18. President

I am going to create a progressive word wall on a bulletin board for my students. My

students and I will add a word when we come across one that is not familiar. These words will be

strongly encouraged in oral and written communication. Students will practice using these words

in context and make them into their own vocabulary. I will informally assess the students’

ability to use these words in the classroom during our unit, and will formally assess them in

summative assessments in the form of essays.

Room Environment

Student desks will be in a large square to easily switch from teacher instruction to

independent work and group work. It is important that all students can easily see the whiteboard.

There will be tables in the back of the room to do group work also and plenty of space for the

teacher to circulate from student to student.

5

Helpful information discussed in prior classes will hang on the bulletin board. The

Preamble, Bill of Rights, and summary of importance of the Amendments and Articles will be on

the bulletin board for students to review. The bulletin board will also contain a word wall with

Tier 3 Vocabulary (content terms) related to the Unit with a picture and sentence description next

to each word made by different students. One table group will be responsible for the bulletin

board each day choosing vocabulary words discussed that day to hang on the word wall with a

picture and sentence on an index card. Since the bulletin board will be different each day, the

information will remain current and helpful. After the students finish writing their Constitutions,

the Constitutions will hang on the bulletin board.

Objects

Some great concrete objects that students will have the pleasure of seeing are a feather

pen, a jar of ink, a petticoat jacket, a gavel, and a sample copy of the Constitution. Students will

be shown a copy of the Constitution before they begin their writing project in which they can use

the ink to write their Constitutions. Students will be allowed to dress up during our class debates

reenacting the Constitutional Convention. Some suggestions for dressing up are long jackets,

long socks, mustaches, and hats.

Introductory Activities

6

Students will start the unit with a KWL chart to assess students’ prior knowledge. Each

student will be given two sticky notes. On one sticky note the students will write anything they

know about the U.S. Constitution, citizenship, or government. On the other sticky note, students

will write a question or thought that they want to find out. The sticky notes will have each

student’s name on them and will be placed on a KWL chart which can be hung on the bulletin

board.

Related Literature

1. If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy and Joan Holub

This book could be used for the teacher to read aloud and pass around for the students to read.

Each student could be given copies. Since this book is divided into question and answers it

would be easy to read selected parts at a time. It gives great detail and is very simple to

understand.

2. Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz

This book is filled with information in a literature style. I would put this book on display for any

interested students to read. This book would be perfect for any students who take great interest in

social studies and want to read more about the Constitution. I found it too heavy with knowledge

to be enjoyable, but I think that some students might enjoy it.

3. A More Perfect Union: Story of our Constitution by Betsy and Giulio Maestro

This book is a simple introduction about the Constitution. It talks about the Constitution

Convention in detail so could be used as a read aloud during that day’s lesson. It would be

7

perfect for students to pass around and read because it is very simple text. This book would be

wonderful for an EL because it is very nonthreatening. This book would be recommended for

any students who have trouble understanding social studies or need a summary based book. It

seems like it is much easier than grade level so should be kept to students who are struggling

with social studies or with literacy skills.

Developing Skills in Geography and Government

Geography will taught in this unit with frequent showing of the map of the United States.

There will be a large pull down map in front of the classroom and the teacher will zoom in on

places on the map using technology. The map of the United States will help students differentiate

between big and small states which is referenced during the topic of the Constitutional

Convention. Throughout the unit, the teacher will show students on a map where the events are

taking place. When introducing the Constitutional Convention, the students will point to Virginia

on the map. During the topic of branches of government, the teacher use technology to show

students pictures of the White House in Washington D.C., home of the judicial branch,

legislative branch, and executive branch.

Towards the end of the unit, students will learn about the government of America

compared to the government in other countries. The students will also learn about current

government and a field trip to the City Hall or Hall of Justice will teach students more about

government.

Use of technology

8

Students will watch a School House Rock video clip introducing the three branches of

government shown on the overhead and streamed from the teacher’s computer. The teacher will

show images on the overhead in different times of the unit for visual discovery activities from

the teacher’s computer. The teacher will reference Brain Pop for fun videos. When students are

writing their constitutions, the teacher will play Patriotic and Constitution songs in the

background such as Wee Sing America or Schoolhouse Rock: America Rock.

Field Trips and Guest Speakers

Students could go on a Field trip to the San Diego City Hall with contact information

(619) 533-4000 located on 202 C St, San Diego, CA to learn more about American government

and good citizenship. Students would write a list of questions to ask the representatives in City

Hall about how the Constitution gives Americans freedom, what ideals the Constitution are

founded on, and what students can do to show good citizenship. Students could also go to the

Hall of Justice with contact information (619) 450-7275 located on 330 West Broadway San

Diego, CA 92101 to learn more about the branches of government. In the field trip, students

would learn more about the judiciary system and the different types of courts. Students will be

given a worksheet that they must fill out while they are on the field trip.

The teacher could contact local Congress people. House Representative Susan Davis

(619) 280-5353, Assembly member, Toni Atkins ( 916) 319-2078, or Senator Marty Block(916) 651-

4039 could speak to the students about the importance of citizenship. These Congress people

could also speak more about the branches of government especially Congress. Based on Susan

Davis’s website, she seems to take an interest in helping the local community so should be the

easiest and/or friendliest to contact if contacted in advance. I would contact Susan Davis and/or

9

other Congress people at the beginning of the school year to schedule an appointment ahead of

time.

Support for ESL students

An image or multiple images will be included in every lesson to give ESL students visual

support. The teacher will write sentence frames on the board and use graphic organizers to

display information in order to assist ESL form sentences and organize ideas for writing.

Students will create a word wall that will be helpful for ESL students who need visual

representation to understand new vocabulary words. These vocabulary words will remain on the

word wall on the bulletin board for students to practice throughout the unit. The teacher will be

especially mindful of showing information and not just telling by including objects and other

visuals to explain the lesson and not just words. In reciprocal learning teams, ESL students will

be placed in groups with bilingual peers.

Interdisciplinary learninga. language arts

The teacher will teach comprehension lessons with narrative literature and nonfictional

expository text on the Constitution. The students will make predictions, connections, give

summarizes, and analyze information provided in Constitution text. The students will read in

literature groups and be read aloud by the teacher modeling great fluency. Students will write

summaries and connection essays on major topics in the unit (Shay’s Rebellion, Constitutional

Convention, components of the Constitution, citizenship, and government).

b. math

10

Students will use math in this unit by graphing opinions shared in the class. Students will

graph results to what government they prefer and the amendment in the Bill of Rights that

students think is most important. Students can find the average, mode, and median of these data

sets and draw a statistical distribution.

c. visual/ performing artsStudents will listen, sing, and dance to a variety of patriotic songs and songs relating to

the Constitution such as songs provided by School House Rock and Wee Sing. The teacher will

think of movements to add to the songs so that students can remember the content using total

physical response.

Make and takeStudents write their own Constitutions on parchment paper and rub coffee beans on them.

Class Project

Students will independently write Constitutions on parchment paper. They will first right

drafts of the Preamble, Bill of Rights, and Summary of amendments and articles. Students will

have a short conference with the teacher to revise the drafts and they will begin writing on

parchment paper with ink. Patriotic music will be playing in the background during this project.

Students will work at different rates, but should be working the whole time.

Finished Product for Display

Each students’ constitution will be displayed on the bulletin board with their name under

their Constitution.

11

Culminating Experience

Students will get the opportunity to share their Constitutions and their cumulative

knowledge in the unit in a Constitution Museum. Students can dress professionally and explain

their Constitution and all their information of the Constitutions. Other grades and parents will be

invited to the Constitution Museum. There will be refreshments and a chance to share the hard

work of the students.

Assessment

Students will be assessed in group presentations of their reciprocal learning groups. Each

group member will say one to two sentences about the information he/she found in the group

according to his/her role. The teacher will grade the students with a rubric. English Language

Learners will be given preparation and extra scaffolding to speak in front of the whole class. The

teacher will progress monitor the students during each lesson by correcting handouts and writing

drafts at the end of the class period. The teacher will use these assignments to determine if

students need more work at one lesson before continuing on to the next lesson. After each major

topic in the unit, the students will be given a short picture identification or free response quiz.

The unit test will consist of 3 identification questions in which students will write what

major event is in the picture (Shay’s Rebellion, Constitutional Convention, and Bill of Rights).

There will also be 7 multiple choice questions covering the most important points of the unit, 3

free response questions, and two essay questions in which students will pick 1. This unit test

hopes to play to the different strengths of students. English Language Learners can be given

more picture identification questions instead of multiple choice questions. The test will be user

12

friendly and as low stress as possible. Students will be given 45 minutes to take the test and can

finish the test at their recess if desired.

Parent Letter

Dear 5th grade families,

It is with great pleasure that I announce our U.S. Constitution unit to begin November 4th

and continue until November 22nd. The students will have prior knowledge of the American

Revolution and all events prior to drafting the Constitution. Students will learn about democratic

ideals established in the Constitution, the importance of the Constitution, and the physical

makeup of Constitution. Each student will make a Constitution on parchment paper with ink

including the three components: the Preamble, Bill of Rights, and a summary of the importance

of the Amendments and Articles. Each student’s constitution will be hung in the class for you to

look at during our Constitution Museum on November 17th at 2-3pm. Students will be experts on

their Constitution and will share with you all they have learned. It is important that each student

works hard in writing his/her Constitution. Two periods of writing time will be given to students

who need extra time, but students may work on their Constitutions at home if they respect the

materials. I encourage you to ask your 5th grader daily what they are learning about the

Constitution and help answer any questions they have. We will also compare the government of

America with the government of other countries and focus on why knowledge of the Constitution

will help the students be great citizens. We will have a field trip to the Hall of Justice to learn

more about the judicial branch and what students can do to be good citizens in every day life. If

you can attend our field trip on November 23rd at 10-12am please write that on the feedback form

13

attached. Please contact me if you have any concerns or questions. I am very excited to see

students’ knowledge of the United States of America increase greatly after this unit.

Thank you,

Mrs. Lindsey Coleman

School Phone

School Email

Public RelationsStudents will take home a class newsletter every two weeks. Students will help create the

newsletter which will include current and upcoming events. Activities done for this unit will be

included on the newsletter along with any pictures of the students. I will also have an updated

website which will include current and upcoming events. Parents will also be notified by weekly

emails about what is happening each week in class and any necessary information.

A Reduced Unit

I would save the writing portion of the lesson and do it in a Language Arts block. The

students would write the Preamble, Bill of Rights, and summary of the importance of the

Amendments and Articles, and then transfer these to parchment paper and ink. I would also

include the differences between the US government and government of other countries in a

compare/contrast Language Arts lesson.

14

3 Week Plan

Day

Day 1 Constitution Overview

Teacher Plan 1. Teacher will make a KWLchart. (10 mins.)2. Teacher will read a nonfiction expository text exciting students about the Constitution.3. Teacher will introduce literature book about the Constitution.

Student Plan 1. Students will be given two sticky notes. On one sticky note they will write what they know about anything regarding the Constitution. On the second sticky note they will write what they want to know. They will put these sticky notes under the columns in the KWL chart. 2. Students will listen to the teacher. 3. Students will be assigned literature groups to discuss their literature book focusing on the Constitution.

Day 2Articles of Confederation and Shay’s Rebellion

1. Teacher will give instruction on Articles of Confederation and Shay’s Rebellion drawing a graphic organizer relating the two events. (10 minutes)2. Teacher will explain directions for reciprocal teaching groups and circulate around each group. (15 minutes for groups) 3. Teacher will assess groups with rubric during Reciprocal Teaching Presentations (10 mins.)4. Teacher will collect students’ notes and questions as a form of assessment

1. Students will listen to the teacher. 2. Students will read page 19 titled “Did Shay’s Rebellion lead to the writing of the Constitution?” in If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution in assigned reciprocal teaching groups. Each student will be assigned a role: questioner, predictor, clarifier, and summarizer. Each group of students will write their notes on a large poster board and share with the class. 3. Students will take notes during Reciprocal Teaching Presentations and write down 3 questions that they have.

Day 3Events Causing Constitutional Convention

1. Review Shay’s Rebellion and the Articles of Confederation and talk about how it caused the Constitutional Convention.

1. Students will write a paragraph to the prompt “How did Shay’s Rebellion led to the Constitution Convention?”

Day 4Debates in theConstitutional Convention

1. Teacher will lead a Visual Discovery with the picture of the Constitutional Convention. 2. Teacher will instruct the class on the Constitutional Convention by including text

1. Students will point out what they see in the picture and predict what they are going to learn based on the information in the picture. 2. Students will add ideas to the graphic organizer.

15

based evidence and student ideas in a Graphic Organizer. 3. Teacher will circulate around the class as students work in groups. 4. Teacher will facilitate a class discussion.

3. Students will be divided into 6 groups that each have a specific argument. Students will brainstorm ideas with their group on how to best present their argument in the whole class discussion. 4. Students will present their specific arguments with their ideas in a large group discussion.

Day 5Branches of Government

1. Teacher will play video clip of School House Rock on her computer.2. Teacher will teach students about the three branches of government using an interactive notebook activity using a document camera to show the teacher’s notes on the board.

1. Students will watch a School House Rock video on the three branches of government 2. Students will take notes in their interactive journal and add pictures to their notes to help them remember facts.

Day 6 Writing the Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights

1. Teacher will teach students a song about the Preamble of the Constitution. 2. Teacher will write the Preamble on the board for students to copy. 3. Teacher will call on students to read in the textbook for the bill of rights section.4. Teacher will summarize each Bill of Rights on the board

1. Students will learn a song about the Preamble of the Constitution.2. Students will write the Preamble word by word on regular paper then on parchment paper with ink 3. Students will read the Bill of Rights section in whole group instruction (popcorn style)4. Students will write the simplified Bill of Rights copied from the board.

Day 7Writing the Constitution: Summary of Importance of Articles and Amendments

1. Teacher will give students 10 minutes to finish writing the Bill of Rights while playing a Bill of Rights song for background listening.2. The Teacher will discuss the Amendments to the Constitution and summarize the Articles. 3. Teacher will lead students in a fun quiz game on the Amendments and Articles. 4. Teacher will circulate as students write a paragraph of the importance of Articles and Amendments on parchment paper.

1. Students will finish writing their Bill of Rights on paper then write with ink on parchment paper. 2. Students will write a paragraph about the importance of Amendments and Articles to the Constitution. 3. Students will play a fun whole class quiz game on Amendments and Articles. 4. Students will show teacher the summary and they will mark it up together before writing on parchment paper with ink.

16

Day 8Writing Day

1. Teacher will check work of students before they can move on writing on parchment paper. The students will be working this entire time. 2. Teacher will play patriotic or Constitutional music in the background.

1. Students will finish all their writing assignments so far and meet with the teacher when they are finished. 2. Students who finish early will read a nonfiction or literature book relating to the unit.

Day 9Writing Day

1. Teacher will assist students spilling coffee beans on their Constitutions. 2. Teacher will help students finish up. 3. Teacher will play patriotic or Constitutional music in the background.

1. Students will finish writing on parchment with ink today.2. Students who finish early will read a nonfiction or literature book relating to the unit.

Day 10Constitution Museum Day and Introduction to Citizenship

1. Teacher will display all the Constitutions in the classroom for other classes and parents to see. 2. Teacher will give the students papers with imaginary tasks that violate certain freedoms. Ex: “If you may not tell the teacher that she made a mistake grading your test, what freedom does this violate? What amendment in the Bill of Rights gives you this freedom?”3. Teacher will lead students in a discussion in how the Constitution makes them appreciate being U.S. citizens.

1. Students will view each Constitution. 2. Students will refuse to do the imaginary tasks based on their rights under the Constitution. 3. Students will form cooperative groups and discuss how the constitution makes them appreciate being U.S. citizens4. Students will share to the whole class.

Day 11Importance of Citizenship

1. The teacher will make a KWL chart about students’ knowledge of the current U.S. government compared to those of other countries. 2. Teacher will circulate around groups.3. Teacher will watch small group presentations and take notes.

1. Students will write their ideas on sticky notes.2. Students will form reciprocal teaching groups that focus on an article about the government of a certain country. 3. Students will write down ideas on a poster board and share to the whole class.

17

Day 12Jeopardy Review Day

1. The teacher will either create an original jeopardy PowerPoint or use an already made template from https://jeopardylabs.com/browse/ shown by plugging the computer into the overhead projector.

Students will be divided into 5 groups and one student from each group will keep score. The team that wins gets 3 points on their constitution test.

Day 13Assessment

1. The teacher will give students a unit test consisting 3 picture identification questions, 7 multiple choice questions, 3 free response questions, and 2 essay questions (chose 1)

1. Students will get 45 minutes to complete the unit test and can take time during their recess to finish the test if they chose to.

Applying Social Studies Alive

a. visual exploration- I would do a visual exploration of Shay’s Rebellion and the Constitutional

Convention, major topics in the unit plan. These pictures have great drama and detail so would

be easy for students to make predictions and connections based on the images. Students will say

whatever they see.

18

19

b. skill- builder activity: Students will work in small groups to summarize the Bill of Rights.

Students will be given a graphic organizer to fill out. Students will ask any questions that they

have in whole group instruction after.

c. experiential activity: Students feel what it is like to have rights under the Constitution. The

teacher gives the students papers with imaginary tasks, but the students must refuse and refer to

their rights under the Constitution.

d. writing activity: Students will be writing a Constitution on parchment paper with ink.

Students will write rough drafts of the Preamble, summarized Bill of Rights, and a paragraph of

the importance of the Articles and Amendments to the Constitution.

e. small- group project: Students form reciprocal teaching groups to read and discuss a paper

about Shay’s Rebellion. 4 students will be in each group with the tasks of the predictor,

questioner, summarizer, and clarifier.

f. pre- reading activity: Students will go on a picture walk in their textbooks and use the

information in the pictures to predict what they think is happening. This activity would be used

for teaching the Bill of Rights assuming that the textbook contains descriptive images. If a

textbook is not included, the teacher can print pictures that summarize each of the 10

Amendments and have students predict what the Amendment says according to the information

provided in the picture.

20

g. interactive notebook activity: Students will take notes with the teacher highlighting key

people and points. Note taking will be told in a narrative style and contain interesting facts about

the events. Students will take notes in their journals and create visuals in their notebooks.

Acknowledgements

1. Constitutional Convention Image. “Just Say No to a Constitutional Convention”. Outside the

Beltway. 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013 <http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/just-say-no-to-

a-constitutional-convention/>

2. Finkelman, Paul. The Constitution. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006.

Print.

3. Johnson, Matt. Jeopardy Templates. Web. 6 Nov. 2013 <https://jeopardylabs.com/browse/ >

4. Shay’s Rebellion Image. “William Carnac Journal— American Revolution— Shay’s

Rebellion”. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://blogs.isb.bj.edu.cn/16ryanb/files/2013/05/Shays-men-

rallying-to-begin-rioting1.jpg >

21

22