Unit Title: The Creation of the United States

Grade Levels: 8th grade History

Subject/Topic Areas: Events leading up to the constitution. Important figures in history

that helped create the Constitution. What the Constitution contains within the document.
Key Words: Bill of Rights, Checks and Balances, Articles of Confederation, Branches of
Government under the Constitution, Shays Rebellion, George Washington, Edmund
Randolph, William Paterson, Alexander Hamilton, Roger Sherman, James Madison,
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, James Wilson, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington,
Supreme Court, Judicial Branch, Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, Delegates,
Commerce, Congress, Chief executive, House of Representatives, Southern States stance,
Northern States stance, Small State stance, Large State stance, Mayflower Compact.
Designed by: Alex Colville

Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals)

Students will be able to explain the challenges faced by the new nation and analyze the
development of the constitution as a new plan for governing. [Foundations for Civics HSCE
Standard 2.2.] Students will diagnose a variety of documents and conversations that helped the
creation of the United States and the government of today.

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Established goals:
Students will study documents, debates, and major events that led up to the Revolutionary War. Students will also
evaluate why the United States developed into the Constitutional Government we have today. Students will discuss
and recreate major debates, big questions the delegates had to answer, and major successes and failures that led up to
the creation of the Constitution of the United States. Students will develop a sequential understanding of all the
documents, discussions and major events that helped the development and ratification of the Constitution of the
United States.

What understandings are desired?

Students will have a deeper understanding of The Constitution and what is part of the constitution.
The students will have a greater understanding of why the original states values influenced their Constitutional
voting.
Students will be able to explain who exactly helped form the Constitution and what major topics were suggested the
ideas they did to have in the Constitution.

Students will be able to explain the significance of the Articles of Confederation and its pros and cons.
Students will be able to develop a deep understanding of the roles the three branches of government play on the laws
being passed and actions each branch can do.
Students will understand the significance of Shays Rebellion and how Shays Rebellion shaped the ideas of the
government.
Students will be able to identify the events the British opposed to the United States and why the United States
wanted to break away from British rule.

What essential questions will be considered?

1. What did the British do to the Americans that made the Americans want to start a
new country and government?
2. What was the significant influence of the Declaration of Independence on
establishing a new form of government?
3. How successful were the Articles of Confederation as our first form of
government? What major ideas made the Articles of Confederation fail?
4. During the creation of the Constitution, many debates happened on what should
go into the Constitution. What major compromises happened that allowed all
states to be happy with the new Constitution? Why were these compromises
necessary for the creation of the Constitution?
5. What is the Bill of Rights and why is it significant to the creation of the
Constitution?
6. What was the Bill of Rights and why were they added to the original
Constitution?

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know...

Students will be able to...

Important events that led up to the

United States seceding from British
control.
Important vocabulary that is important
to both the Constitution and the
Articles of Confederation.
Who the delegates who drafted the
Constitution were and what role each
member played in forming the

List all major events, documents, and

debates that went into forming the
Constitution in the order they
happened.
Tell who were big influences at the
Constitutional Convention and what
role they played in creating the
Constitution.
Explain what the three branches of

Constitution.
The three branches of government and
what role each branch plays in
everyday life.
All significant ideas discussed at the
Constitutional Convention.

government are that were established

and how each branch works.
Explain, using vocabulary discussed
in the unit, what the Constitution is,
and what significance it has on todays
world.
Explain what the Bill of Rights is and
its significant influence in todays
world.

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

What evidence will show that students understand?

Students will complete vocabulary word packets related to the Constitution,

Articles of Confederation, and the Bill of Right to use in group discussions.
The teacher will start the discussion with a research question for the students.
Students will have both small group discussions and large group discussions about
the Constitution, Articles of Confederation, and the Bill of Right and how each
topic is important to the creation of the United States.
Students will create a map of the original colonies and show where specific key
events happened and be able to explain why it was significant where the events
took place.
Students will have small group and large group discussions on primary and
secondary sources and how these sources played a role in establishing the United
States. (Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Articles of Confederation)

Other evidence (quizzes, tests, prompts, observations, dialogues, work samples)

Students will interact in a rendition of the Constitution Convention and help create
a new constitution for the United States to have.
Students will have packets to fill out about the Articles of Confederation, Bill of
Rights and the Constitution.
Students will fill out crossword puzzles and word search puzzles on vocabulary
words presented in the unit.
Students will have 5 quizzes on major events, major documents, delegates at the
Constitution Convention, branches of government and their role, and the creation of
the Constitution.
Students will have one major test at the end of the unit to summarize what the
students understand about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Articles of
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Confederation, and the major Delegates of the Constitution Convention.

Student self-assessment and reflection:

Students will create a footnote on items or activities that help the student remember the
information given.
Students will create a note on what ideas they really liked to learn about.
Students will create a list of ideas they did not find as informational or fascinating.
Students will create a list of ideas that may need more explanation for next time.

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Consider the WHERETO elements.
Reenact the Constitutional Convention to understand how people voted for the
constitution back in the 1770s.
Discuss what major events happened to the Americans from the British that led
to America wanting to leave British rule.
Discuss as a group why the Bill of Rights was created.
Discuss how the government is set up and the powers given to each branch of
government.
Discuss with students how they would set up a government.
Discuss with students why the nation was divided on major topics. i.e. Slavery
and making a national bank.
Watch a bit of a Presidential debate and ask the kids how this clip ties into what
we are learning.
Discuss with the class how they would handle the situation if they were put
through the same things the Americans had to go through with Britain in the
1770s.

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Reenacting the Constitutional Convention allows for creative thinking.
Reading primary sources to understand what was going on in history at this time.
Reading secondary sources to understand even deeper what is going on in this time
in history.
Teaching the students different tricks to remember the Bill of Rights and what each
amendment stands for.
Allowing both small group and large group discussions of major topics.
Allowing the students to make political cartoons to show their creative side.
As students, they will reflect multiple times throughout the unit on where the United
States started with the leaving of British rule to the major topics that were happening
in that specific time in history.
Students will constantly refer to their packets and be asked to review what the Bill of
Rights were and why they were added to the Constitution.
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Students will be asked to talk to their shoulder partners to review in their own words
major topics of debate.
Students will look back on their debate topic and relate that to how the delegates ran
their convention.
Beginning assignments will help gauge the students understanding of major topics as
they are initially presented.
A ticket out the door will help gauge the students understanding of major topics
taught of new materials.
Students will take 3 quizzes to make sure they understand the information.
Students will take one summative test to make sure the students understand the
accumulative information that was presented this unit.
Students will finish assignments that correlate with the lesson at hand.
I will change the processes of learning by giving them a live Constitution
Convention where the students get to make up their own Constitution.
I will change the product by allowing the students to create their own political
cartoon.
I will change processes by engaging the students in both large and small group
discussions.
I will be changing products by showing clips of presidential debates that are
significant in what we are learning in class at that specific time.
I will change content by the scores received from daily checks. I will focus more on
students who may need more help and create engaging assignments for the students
who understand the information more.
For the Constitution Convention, students will be group by states, which is displayed
by a paper on each desk. Each student is given a name and a state they represent and
are asked to sit in the correlating seats.
For the debate, Students will be separated into two groups and one side will debate
one side while the other team debates the other. I will choose the groups based on
who works well together and separate strong speakers into each group.
For small discussions, students will have the freedom to sit where ever they would
like but as soon as they get to distracted, I will move the students to appropriate
seats.

The teacher and the students will discuss how the British ruled over the Americans
and the relationship between the two sides using small and large group discussions.
Teacher will give out a packet about the relationship and the taxes implemented on
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the Americans and why the Americans didnt like the idea of being taxed. This will
be finished in small groups then discussed in a larger group.
The students will receive a packet for the Articles of Confederation and we will
discuss as a group why certain states would vote one way on major topics discussed.
Students will reflect why the Articles of Confederation was successful and a failure
and why Americans wanted to change the Articles of Confederation.
Students will be asked to create a reflective summary of the economic and political
questioning during this time. Students will then show and explain what they have
written.
Students will reenact the Constitutional Convention with their fellow classmates and
get to help create a new constitution for the classroom.
Students will refer to what they have learned about the Constitutional Convention
and write a reflexive paper on how the United States created the Constitution and the
process the United States debated major topics.
Students will watch School House Rock and Presidential Kid to understand more in
depth about what went into the Constitution. Students will be given a quiz after the
class.
Students will get a packet for the Bill of Rights and as a class we will fill out the
packet and I will give the students tips on remembering the Bill of Rights.
Students will discuss in small and large groups the Deceleration of Independence
and what was its significance.
Students will work on packets on the Deceleration of Independence and gain a
deeper understanding of what the Deceleration of Independence is about. The
students will be given a quiz at the end of the class.
Students will be given a packet on the Northwest Territory. Students will first use
their books to figure out the answers, then as a class, we will go over all the answers
and discuss what the Northwest Territory is all about.
The students will be given a packet over the Mayflower Compact. As a class we will
go over the packet with discussions built in for both small group and large group
discussion about different parts of the Mayflower Compact.
Students will take the class period and answer research questions that talk about the
historical and philosophical origins of the Constitutional Government.
The students will take an accumulative test on all the information on this unit.

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