THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES WEBQUEST
Mr. Coriale
Problem:
The Federal Government Is Too Weak
Policy: The Articles of Confederation
& Constitution of the
“Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and
then we shall find the way.”
-Abraham Lincoln, 1848
“We are either a United
people, or we are not. If the former,
let us, in all matters of general concern act as a nation, which have national
objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act a farce
by pretending to it.”
-George Washington, 1785
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Image Sources:
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=587
http://www.londonlady.hubpages.com
http://www.elcivics.com/constitution_civics_1.html
http://www.classic-literature.co.uk/american-authors/19th-century/abraham-lincoln/
INTRODUCTION
Following the American Revolution and our independence
from
TASK
You will meet in groups of four to
discuss the historical problems caused by creating a weak national government
and the actions taken by the Founding Fathers in response to this issue. You will write a letter to the editor of the
local newspaper and then debate your views at a local town hall meeting
describing the problems you found with the current structure of government under
the Articles of Confederation and the policy(ies)
that was (were) enacted to overcome the problem. You are to examine the success of the policy(ies) adopted.
PROCESS/ RESOURCES
1. You will be
assigned into groups of four and you will need to develop a list of concrete,
specific examples demonstrating the weaknesses of the national government under
the Articles of Confederation.
In your group, each member will have a
specific role to complete the task correctly:
“Researcher” (3) - Will
research the provided linked documents by examining websites on the topic. Develop possible solutions to the problem.
“Writer” (1) – Will take
the notes for the group and write the group’s letter to the editor explaining
the problem and suggesting solutions.
“Speaker” (1) – Will
lead the debate for the team presenting the problems with the current
government and provide meaningful, thoughtful solutions to address the problem.
Keep in mind that although you are
assigned one of the above roles, you need to actively assist the other group
members in completing the task.
2. Your letter
to the editor should show specific evidence of weaknesses with the Articles of
Confederation from the document itself and other events in the history of the
3. You are to
use the four-step American History Public Policy Analyst (AHPPA) to complete
the above task and incorporate these findings in your letter to the editor and
in your debate. Every group member will use the text and websites listed below
to complete the information on each of the four worksheets. Your letter to the editor and the arguments
used in your debate should include specific examples demonstrating the
weaknesses of the current government under the Articles of Confederation. Proper citation is expected. Each group’s debate will be limited to five
minutes plus a one minute rebuttal for each of the two rounds. Additionally, each group will be expected to
make a three minute opening and closing statement. You will be graded by the rubric listed
below.
4. Your group’s
debate arguments should show specific evidence of weaknesses with the Articles
of Confederation from the document itself and other events in the history of
the
5. Each group
will create a graphic organizer for all of the steps of your research according
to the steps of American History Public Policy Analysis (AHPPA). Each organizer will show the information
gathered in the PPA worksheets. This should assist you in writing your letter
to the editor and structuring your debate.
6. Every group
needs to complete and submit the following AHPPA worksheets, which are
hyperlinked below:
a. Identify
the Problem Worksheet #1
b. Gather
the Evidence Worksheet #2
c. Determine
Causes Worksheet #3
d. Evaluate
the Policy Worksheet #4
7. You need to
use the TIPS AHPPA worksheets as a guide to your creating your letter,
developing the structure of your debate argument, and as a way to analyze the
problem.
8. You must
organize the nature of your debate and be fully prepared PRIOR to the actual
day of the debate. Your three minute
opening and closing statements, your five minute main arguments noting the
problems of the current structure of the national government along with
possible rebuttals should be reviewed, organized, and planned out ahead of the
debate day. Your group should have at
least 2 specific, concrete examples demonstrating the weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation as well as 2 – 3 specific solutions to overcome this
problem.
Sources:
Be sure to check the following links
prior to examining the websites below or your own websites.
LINKS:
Articles
of Confederation Summary
Weaknesses
of the Articles of Confederation
Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation #2
Weaknesses
of the Articles of Confederation #3
Weaknesses
of the Articles of Confederation #4
Weaknesses
of the Articles of Confederation Video
The United States Constitution
The
Making of the United States Constitution
EVALUATION
Below is a rubric that I will use to grade your
completed web quest. You are expected to
review this rubric prior to and throughout the creation of your letter to the
editor and your debate.
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4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Total |
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Level of
Involvement |
All members within the group are performing
the task and are actively involved. The group consistently
stays focused on the task and what needs to be done. Very self-directed. |
All but one member within
the group are performing the task and are actively involved. All but one member focuses on the task and
what needs to be done most of the time. |
More than half of the group
are not performing the task and are not actively involved. More than half of the group members must sometimes be reminded to stay on task. |
Only one group member is
performing the task and actively involved.
All other group members must be constantly reminded to stay on task. |
None of the group members
are performing the task or actively involved.
The activity is not done. |
_____/ 4 |
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Completed
Graphic Organizer |
The organizer is completely and accurately
done. |
For the most part, the
organizer is completely and/ or accurately done with the exception of one
error. |
Only half of the organizer
is completed and/ or contained three or less errors. |
The
majority of the organizer is not complete and/ or contained more than four
errors. |
The organizer is not
complete. |
_____/ 4 |
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Writing |
The letter to the editor is
well written and researched, is historically accurate, contains no
grammatical/ spelling errors, has correct citations, and/ or contains a
higher level of vocabulary. |
The letter to the editor is
well written and researched for the most part, has only two or less
historical inaccuracies, contains two or less grammatical/ spelling errors,
has correct citations with only two or less errors, and/ or has some higher
level vocabulary. |
The letter to the editor is
only averagely written and researched, has three or more historical
inaccuracies, contains five or less grammatical/ spelling errors, has three
or more errors in citation, and/ or has average vocabulary. |
The letter to the editor is
poorly written and researched and, is historically inaccurate, contains more
than six grammatical/ spelling errors, has no citation, and/ or has a poor
choice of vocabulary. |
The letter to the editor is
not written. |
_____/ 4 |
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Presentation
(Debate) |
The debate presentation
exceeds the requirements, demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
content is well rehearsed and organized, and demonstrates the group’s full
potential. |
The debate presentation
meets the requirements, demonstrates a good understanding of the content, is
well rehearsed and organized for the most part, and demonstrates the group
has some potential. |
The debate presentation
meets the requirements with the exception of one of the elements,
demonstrates an average understanding of the content, is not well rehearsed
and organized, demonstrates limited group potential. |
The debate presentation did
not meet two or more of the requirements, demonstrates little or no
understanding of the content, is not rehearsed and organized, and
demonstrates no group potential. |
The debate presentation was
not done. |
_____/ 4 |
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Completed
On Time |
All aspects of the activity
are completed on time. |
All but one of the aspects
of the activity is completed on time. |
Two or more of the aspects
of the activity are not completed on time. |
The activity was completed
more than two days beyond the due date. |
The activity is not done. |
_____/ 4 |
TOTAL _______/ 20 x 5 =
________
CONCLUSION
When you have finished this
web quest, you will be able to:
ü
Identify and
discuss how the federal government was weak under the Articles of
Confederation, unable to deal with the problems facing the new nation
ü
Discuss the
problems caused by establishing a weak national government
ü
Analyze and
evaluate the effectiveness of the response by the Founding Fathers to the issue
of the weaknesses of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation
(Source: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/standards.html)
SOCIAL STUDIES
Standard 1: History of the
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
Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental
system of the
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Standard 1: Language for Information and
Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and
understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and
ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge
generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers
and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted
conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit
information.
Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and
Expression
Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced
texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and
performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse
social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances
represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language
that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for
self-expression and artistic creation.
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and
Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and
evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas,
information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established
criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that
follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a
variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas,
information and issues.
Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students
will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the
English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of
people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of
others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.
MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION
Standard 5: Technology
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design,
construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and
environmental needs.
Standard 6: Interconnectedness: Common Themes
Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect
mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other
areas of learning.
Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
(Source: http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf)
The following Common Core Standards are reflected in this webquest activity:
Reading Standards for Informational Text
6-12:
RI-11-12-1, RI-11-12-2, RI-11-12-3, RI-11-12-8, RI-11-12-9, RI-11-12-10
Writing Standards 6-12:
W-11-12-1a, W-11-12-1b, W-11-12-1c, W-11-12-1d, W-11-12-1e, W-11-12-2a, W-11-12-2b, W-11-12-2c, W-11-12-2d, W-11-12-2e, W-11-12-2f, W-11-12-4, W-11-12-5, W-11-12-6, W-11-12-7, W-11-12-8, W-11-12-9b, W-11-12-10
Speaking and Listening Standards 6-12:
SL-11-12-1a, SL-11-12-1b, SL-11-12-1c, SL-11-12-1d, SL-11-12-2, SL-11-12-4, SL-11-12-6
Language Standards 6-12:
L-11-12-1a, L-11-12-1b, L-11-12-2a, L-11-12-2b, L-11-12-3a, L-11-12-4a, L-11-12-4b, L-11-12-4c, L-11-12-4d, L-11-12-6