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Students will be able to present information to classmates.
Students will build on previously learned material by using non-fiction materials to come up with their own class Bill of Rights
Locate the 13 colonies on a map
Research information concerning the collaboration and collective bargaining of the colonies
Understand the importance of Taxation without representation in the development of New York State and the nation
Generate interest in the research process.
Build students’ confidence in their ability to learn and use information skills.
Motivate students to continue using information skills.
Encourage students’ on-going confidence in their ability to learn and use information skills.
Book - Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz and Tomie dePaola
This book includes discussions on what the framers were doing and how they did it. The text of the Constitution and numerous illustrations about the proceedings while drafting the Articles of Confederation.
We the Kids: the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow
With only a foreword and a page of definitions this cartoonist uses bold illustrations and the actual words from the preamble to tell the story of a backyard camping adventure. Although this book is for younger students the Preamble is a very important part of the Constitution and learners of all ages enjoy a good political cartoon.
Website – The Constitution for Kids (grade 4-7) http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids4.html this site is created and maintained by a reporter who is careful about citation of sources and the disclaimer that he is the author of any un-cited information. I liked this site because the information is accurate and it is easy to read. You can find information appropriate to a variety of reading/interest levels and the webmaster even provides an entire page to teaching students how to properly cite the materials they may use from the site.
PBS’s Liberty! The American Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/index.html
Colonial Williamsburg’s “Loyalty or Liberty” interactive Web site
http://www.history.org/History/teaching/revolution/loyalty.html
The Bill of Rights:
Book - If you were there when they signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy
This book presents the basic facts of the framing of the Constitution in a question and answer sequence. The book skims over the American Revolution, and discusses the Articles of Confederation.
A kid’s guide to America’s Bill of Rights. Curfews, Censorship and the 100 pound giant by Kathleen Krull
What is the Bill of Rights? How does it affect your daily life? These questions and more are answered in this book.
The Constitution by Marion Prolman
This book discusses the need for unification in a growing country and the problems and decisions of the men who drafted the U.S. Constitution.
The Constitution by Suzanne Levert
Provides information about the writing of the Constitution, the three branches of the federal government, the Bill of Rights, and how the Constitution can be amended
Website – http://bensguide.gpo.gov this site is a good guide to the US government and its processes. The site is divided into sections by grade level and is a good resource for teachers. There are lessons for teachers to follow as well as activities and facts for students. For the purposes of this unit the Historical documents section of the grade 3-5 section includes both the Articles of Confederation and the Bill of Rights.
PBS’s Africans in America, Part 2: The American Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2narr4.html
Kid Info’s Reference Resources: The American Revolution
http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/American_Revolution.html
AmericanRevolution.org
Students will discuss what kinds of mistreatment and abuses led to the Revolutionary war. How did the Colonies react? What rules governed life in the colonies.
Students will then begin to discuss the first ten Amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. After a brief discussion of the Amendments and their importance to the formation of our nation Students will then use several reference materials including Books, and Web sites to determine a Bill of Rights for their class.
