WEBQUEST:

DISSECTING THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

By: Mrs. Carmen Gonzalez

Mott Haven Village School PS 220,

Literacy and Social Studies

Introduction:

The US Constitution is the foundation of our laws in the United States. It has influenced the laws of many other nations. It is called the “living Constitution” because our current laws are based on its interpretation. The goal of this webquest is to gain a greater understanding of the Constitution before we evaluate major historical court cases.

Task:

You are a journalist for the school newspaper. In your research you have discovered that many of your classmates do not know anything about the US Constitution. Your goal is to use this webquest to understand the Constitution so that you can teach your classmates its origins, significance and relevance to our society.

You will use the resource section in this webquest to answer the following questions. These questions will be used to help you construct an essay about the US Constitution, discussing its origins, creators, and implications in our lives.

• When was the US Constitution written?

• Who created the Constitution?

• Why was it written?

• What events led to its creation?

• Where was it written?

• The Constitution was modeled after several major historical documents? Describe these documents and their significance.

• What problems in our society did the Constitution solve?

• What are its limitation?

• How would you improve the US Constitution?

• Do you feel it is as relevant today as it was when the Constitution was first created?

Use this information to create a PowerPoint presentation explaining your findings. Be sure to include its origins, significance and relevance to our society.

Process:

1. You will brainstorm what you think the Constitution is
2. You will join in a group to discuss your ideas.
3. You will present your ideas to the class.
4. You will use the resource section to guide your search.
5. You will answer all of the questions in the task section.
6. You will present your findings in a PowerPoint presentation
7. Make sure your sources are cited

Resources:

TIPS Conlaw site

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/conlaw.html

US Constitution

http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html

History of the US Constitution

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3048/usconstitution.html

US Constitution and linking documents

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0101025.html

US Constitution Online

http://www.usconstitution.net/constfaq.html

Evaluation:

RUBRIC	BELOW STANDARDS	MEETS STANDARDS	EXCEEDS STANDARDS
INFORMATION	INFORMATION NOT RELEVANT TO LESSON	INFORMATION RELEVANT TO LESSON	INFORMATION RELEVANT TO LESSON WITH RESOURCES
PRESENTATION	INCOHERENT LACK OF VISUALS GROUP WAS NOT ORGANIZED	HAS SOME UNDERSTANDING OF INFORMATION HAS VISUALS COHERENT MOST OF THE GROUP MEMBERS PARTICIPATED	COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF INFORMATION HAS VISUALS COHERENT GROUP WORKS WELL TOGETHER

Conclusion:

You will understand what are the US Constitution’s origins, why is the US Constitution important, why does it work, and what are its strengths and weaknesses. You will also learn how to use the Internet to conduct research and present your findings.

New York State Standards

ELA

E1C Read and comprehend informational materials

E2a Produce a report of information

E3b Participate in group meetings

Social Studies Standards

Standard 1-History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the US and NY.

Standard 5-Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Student will use a variety of intellectual skills demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the US and other nations; the US Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.