Lesson # 1 Articles of Confederation and the constitution

simulation.
Summary: The first lesson we taught detailed the origins and failings of the
Articles of Confederation, and then was followed by a Constitution
convention simulation that would have students take a role of an individual
attending the convention at which point they would debate on the issues
that were of high importance in the 18th century.
Colorado Content Standards
History Standard 1.1 a Formulate appropriate hypotheses about United
States history based on a variety of historical sources and perspectives.
History Standard 1.2 d The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and
themes from the origins of the American Revolution through Reconstruction
and their relationships with one another.
Civics Standard 4.1. e Analyze elements of continuity and change in the
United States government and the role of citizens over time.
Civics Standard 4.2 The place of law in a constitutional system.
responsibility, individual rights and the common good.
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
How important was the role of compromise during the drafting and
ratification of the Constitution?
What are examples of successful and unsuccessful compromises in United
States history?
How have various people from different eras in our nations history promoted
change in the face of opposition and what democratic principles were
advanced?
To what extent are the ideas of the United States Constitution still affecting
the world today?
Learning Targets
I can recall three flaws and one success of the Articles of Confederation.
I can draft a constitution based on opposing viewpoints in order to apply the
idea of compromise in a Constitutional Democracy.
Lesson # 2 Federalists vs Anti-federalists the origins of our political
parties

Summary: We followed up the constitution simulation with a lesson that

detailed the people that the students were roleplaying as in the simulation.
We detailed the Federalist and anti-federalist parties through Shays
Rebellion and the issue of representation of the legislative branch. Shays
Rebellion helped establish the parties, while the issue of legislative
representation was the hot topic issue that was resolved through the Great
Compromise.
Colorado Content Standards
History Standard 1.2: The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and
themes from the origins of the American Revolution through Reconstruction
and their relationships with one another
History Standard 1.1: Formulate appropriate hypotheses about United States
history based on a variety of historical sources and perspectives
Civics Standard 2.2: Analyze the origins, structure, and functions of
governments and their impacts on societies and citizens.
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
How important was the role of compromise during the drafting and
ratification of the constitution?
What were the stances of the Federalists and Antifederalists?
Learning Targets
Understand why Shays Rebellion pushed the Americans to reform their first
constitution.
Express the Anti federalist and Federalist arguments in my own words.
Lesson # 3 Constitution intricacies game
Summary: For our Constitution intricacies lesson we split up the students
into teams of two and had them compete against another team in a game of
constitutional jeopardy. The goal of the game was to get the students
familiar with the process of naturalization.
Colorado Content Standards
Social Studies Standard 4:1 Analyze and practice rights, roles, and
responsibilities of citizens.
B. Analyze the changing definition of citizenship and give examples of the
expansion of rights.

Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals

Why do people create governments and law?
What does it mean to be an American citizen?
What rights and responsibilities are required of American citizens?
What information is deemed important for American citizens to understand?
Why would this information be valuable to know as an American citizen?
Learning Targets
I can build background knowledge about the U.S. government by answering
questions new citizens are required to know.
Lesson # 4 Three branches of the Govt chart activity
Summary: The three branches lesson dealt with a project activity where
students were split into groups at which point they needed to identify the
specific conditions, powers, and jobs of our branches of government. The
students did not receive an extensive lesson beforehand, so the students had
to access their prior knowledge in order to infer which specifics belonged to
each branch.
Colorado Content Standards
Civics standard 4:2 The place of law in a constitutional system
Civics standard 4:1. Analyze elements of continuity and change in the
United States government and the role of citizens over time
History Standard 1:1. Formulate appropriate hypotheses about United States
history based on a variety of historical sources and perspectives
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do people create governments and laws?
Learning Targets
Make inferences to build background knowledge of the 3 branches of
government.
Give examples of how each branch checks and balances each other and why
our founders added this feature to the constitution.

Lesson # 5 Slavery in the declaration of independence and

constitution
Summary: The Slavery in the declaration lesson dealt with identifying the
stances of our founding fathers on the inclusion of slavery in our newly
formed country. Half of the lesson would be dedicated to analyzing Thomas
Jeffersons stance on slavery that was removed from the declaration of
independence, while the second half of the lesson would deal with the
compromises the constitutional convention made in order to even ratify the
document that sealed our countrys history.
Colorado Content Standards
H: 1.1 Develop an understanding of how people view, construct and interpret
history; Formulate appropriate hypotheses about United States history based
on a variety of historical sources and perspectives.
a. Use and interpret documents and other relevant primary and secondary
sources pertaining to United States history from multiple perspectives.
H: 1.2 Analyze key historical periods and patterns of change over time within
and across nations and cultures; The historical eras, individuals, groups,
ideas and themes from the origins of the American Revolution through
Reconstruction and their relationships with one another.
F. Analyze ideas that are critical to the understanding of American history
and give examples of the ideals involved in major events and movements.
C: 4.1 Analyze and practice rights, roles and responsibilities of citizens;
Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States government
and the role of citizens over time.
d. Evaluate the result of various strategies for political change over time.
E. Analyze primary sources supporting democratic freedoms and the
founding of our government. Documents to include are: Declaration of
Independence.
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do people create government and laws?
What role does the issue of slavery play in the Declaration of Independence?
What role did compromise play in deciding to keep the issue of slavery in the
Constitution?

Learning Targets
1. I can build background knowledge of slavery terms and construct a
timeline of slavery.
2. I can explain why the Founding Fathers kept slavery in the Constitution
and some chief compromises about slavery.
Lesson # 6 executive branch
Summary: The executive branch lesson dealt with detailing the specific
powers and jobs of the president, vice president, and 15 cabinet members,
as well as informing the students of the current members of our executive
branch.
Colorado Content Standards
Civics Standard 4.1. Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United
States government and the role of citizens over time
Civics Standard 4.2. The place of law in a constitutional system
History Standard 1.2. The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and
themes from the origins of the American Revolution through Reconstruction
and their relationships with one another
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do we create government and laws?
Learning Targets
Understand the roles of the executive branch and how it functions.
Lesson # 7 Legislative branch
Summary: Similar to the executive branch lesson, we picked up the
Legislative branch lesson by one again detailing the specifics of a branch
while keeping an eye on the checks and balances that the government has in
place.
Colorado Content Standards
Civics 1.1: Analyze and practice rights, roles and responsibilities of citizens;
Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States government
and the role of citizens over time.
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals

Why do people create governments and laws?

What makes each house of Congress distinct?
What is the purpose of having a bicameral Congress?
Learning Targets
I understand how the House of Representatives functions in the legislative
branch.
I can explain the steps of how a bill is passed in Congress becoming a law
and why it is an example of compromise between the Senate and House of
Representatives.
I understand the role the Senate plays in the Legislative Branch.
Lesson # 8 Judicial Branch
Summary: We wrap up our triple branch lessons with the judicial branch. For
this lesson we walked through the different types of courts by following the
course of the marriage equality case from the district to supreme courts.
Finally we concluded the lesson by overviewing a number of famous
Supreme Court decisions.
Colorado Content Standards
Civics 4.1 Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States
government and the role of citizens over time.
Civics 4.2 The place of law in a constitutional system.
History Standard 1.2. The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and
themes from the origins of the American Revolution through Reconstruction
and their relationships with one another
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do people create governments and laws?
Learning Targets
I can draft the process of a supreme court ruling
I can explain three Supreme Court cases regarding civil rights
Lesson # 9 Elections in the modern day
Summary: As we taught the constitution unit during an election year, we
believed it would be a shame if we didnt cover the election process for the

legislative and executive branches. We covered primaries, caucuses, and

how they differ from the general election.
Colorado Content Standards
4.1 Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States
government and the role of citizens over time.
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do people create governments and laws?
In what ways do citizens play a role in Democracy?
Learning Targets
I can summarize how candidates are selected through primaries and
caucuses.
I understand how the Electoral College works when electing the President.
I can identify my position on the political spectrum.
Lesson # 10 Bill of Rights and Amendments
Summary: The final lesson introducing new content to the students was the
bill of rights lesson that once again stressed the role of compromise between
the political parties. We also covered the significance and rarity of a
constitutional amendment.
Colorado Content Standards
Civics 4.1 Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States
government and the role of citizens over time.
Civics 4.2 The place of law in a constitutional system
History 1.2. The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and themes from
the origins of the American Revolution through Reconstruction and their
relationships with one another
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do people create governments and laws?
Learning Targets
Understand the individual rights and freedoms granted to citizens by the Bill
of Rights

Understand the importance of the addition of the Bill of Rights to the

constitution.
Recall how many amendments there are total and within the bill of rights.
Lesson # 11 Review and Unit Assessment
Summary: Our final lesson, was a two day lesson that covered both our
review day and the test day. On the review day we had the students
complete a socrative review while filling out a study guide. On the test day
the students completed a summative assessment covering the three
branches, citizenship test, and other aspects of the constitution unit.
Colorado Content Standards
C 4.1 Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States
government and the role of citizens over time.
C 4.2 The place of law in a constitutional system.
Inquiry Questions/Unit Goals
Why do people create governments and laws?
What functions of the government are run by the federal government/state
governments?
Does Federalism make American democracy distinct?
Learning Targets
I understand the concept of Federalism and can give an example of state and
federal powers as well as shared powers.
I can review to perform proficiently on the U.S. Constitution summative
assessment.