An Investigation of the Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments

 

P.S. 125 -- The Ralph Bunche School

 

Donna Marhold & Brenda Fox

dmarhold@ralphbuncheschool.org/bfox@ralphbuncheschool.org

 

 

INTRODUCTION-

Many people, adults and children, are unaware of the particulars of the Bill of Rights and the other constitutional amendments.  Do you know that in some countries around the world people don’t have the right to vote, make their own life choices, go to a public school, or even practice a religion of their choice?  Well if it weren’t for the Bill of Rights and Constitutional amendments we would be in the same predicament in America. 

 

TASK:

Student groups will create a PowerPoint and an essay about the Bill of Rights and constitutional amendments.

Upon completion of the task each group will understand:

·      What the Bill of Rights/amendments consists of

·      When they were developed and why

·      What groups of people were omitted and why

·      How those omissions were rectified

 

 

PROCESS:

Use the resources below by clicking on the hyperlinks to research your topics. Groups should read the information together while taking notes.  Working as a team you must remember to work cooperatively with one another and share your findings.  The group must collaborate and agree upon the findings and the final product.

·      Identify the Problem-What is the problem that your team is researching?

·      Gather Evidence-How do you know this is a problem?

·      Determine Cause-What are the causes?

·      Evaluate the Policy-What policies are in place to rectify the problem?

·      Develop Solutions-What new policies/amendments were created to address the problem?

·      Select the Best Solution-Make a group decision to remedy the problem.

 

 

RESOURCES:

·      The Constitution for Kids

·      Congress for Kids

·      Constitution Facts

·      Ben’s Guide to US Government for Kids

·      White House Kids

 

 

EVALUATION:

·      Powerpoint-50%

·      Research paper-50%

Writing Rubric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION:

Congratulations, you have completed your group PowerPoint and research paper highlighting the Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments.  With the work that you have generated you should be able to articulate the main ideas of the Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments.

 

 

STANDARDS

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.