Meeting the "Father of the Constitution"
Objectives:
SOL:
Materials:
Procedures of Learning:
Introduction- (about 5 minutes)
1. The teacher will start this lesson similar to the lesson taught on George Washington. The teacher will hand out picture of a painting of James Madison to the students and see what students know about James Madison. The teacher will only provide Madison's name to students to start out with.
2. After a couples of minutes the teachers will ask for some students to share about what they know or think they know about James Madison.
3. The teacher will explain to the students that "like George Washington, James Madison was also a Founding Father of our country, which means that he help shape the government we still have today. During the Constitutional Convention, James Madison took very detailed notes on, which is one reason why he is called the "Father of the Constitution".
Instructional Learning Activities- (about 15 minutes)
The teacher will then proceed to have students sit on the rug to be read the picture book We the People, by Lynne Cheney. This book will walk the students through the process of forming the constitution, looking at who was there, quotes from men who attended the convention , the disagreement in what it should state (the 3/5 law), and members who disagreed with the final draft still. The teacher will stop to ask students discussion questions throughout the book such as:
Summary- (about 15 minutes)
1. After reading the book, the teacher will have the students review the content of the book and the years, by breaking up into small groups of 5 and making a group timeline of the constitution. The students will be asked to retell the story and make a timeline on poster paper, at least mentioning the American Revolution (start and finish), James Madison and the Constitution, George Washington, and the ratification of the Constitution. Students will be able to either write what they know in a few sentences, or write a sentence and draw a picture to go on their timeline. If time is available the students will share their timelines with the other groups.
Assessment: The teacher will be assessing many parts of this lesson. The first assessment will be during the prior knowledge activity with the painting in the beginning of the lesson. The students will be able to write what they know about Madison and any questions they have. The teacher will walk around the room and observe what students are writing. The teacher will write down anything that the students are confused on and try to address these in the lesson. The teacher will collect these prior knowledge paper and review them after the lesson. The teacher will also be assessing through class discussion as they read the book. The teacher will be assessing students comprehension of the book by providing the questions above. After reading the book or the lesson is taught the teacher will write down anecdotal notes on the book discussion. The last assessment will be the timeline made by students. The teacher will be assessing this assessment through a check list, looking for those key people, periods in time, and events mentioned by the teacher. The students will be able to get extra points with more events on their timelines if provided.
Differentiation: Students who are visual learners will benefit from looking at the James Madison painting in the beginning, the picture book read to the students, and the timeline made by the students. Auditory learners will benefit from listening to the discussions and the picture book. Interpersonal learners will be able to work in same groups and have enriched discussions.
SOL:
- VS 6- The student will demonstrate knowledge of the role of Virginia in the establishment of the new American nation by
- Mathematics 4.4 The student will
- The students will be able to identify important people, events, and ideas of the United States Constitution.
- The students will be able to retell a nonfiction story.
- The students will be able to solve word problems relating to other content areas (Virginia Studies).
Materials:
- Painting of James Madison
- We the People, by Lynne Cheney
- Poster paper to make timeline
Procedures of Learning:
Introduction- (about 5 minutes)
1. The teacher will start this lesson similar to the lesson taught on George Washington. The teacher will hand out picture of a painting of James Madison to the students and see what students know about James Madison. The teacher will only provide Madison's name to students to start out with.
2. After a couples of minutes the teachers will ask for some students to share about what they know or think they know about James Madison.
3. The teacher will explain to the students that "like George Washington, James Madison was also a Founding Father of our country, which means that he help shape the government we still have today. During the Constitutional Convention, James Madison took very detailed notes on, which is one reason why he is called the "Father of the Constitution".
Instructional Learning Activities- (about 15 minutes)
The teacher will then proceed to have students sit on the rug to be read the picture book We the People, by Lynne Cheney. This book will walk the students through the process of forming the constitution, looking at who was there, quotes from men who attended the convention , the disagreement in what it should state (the 3/5 law), and members who disagreed with the final draft still. The teacher will stop to ask students discussion questions throughout the book such as:
- If the American Revolution started in 1775 and ended in 1781, how many years did war last? (p. 5)
- Why do you think James Madison thought the current government, the Articles of Confederation, was about to fall apart? (p. 9)
- What character traits does this book portray George Washington having? (p. 10)
- Why do you think that James Madison took those eleven days to inform his fellow Virginians his ideas on the government, "for the people" and "of the people?" (p.12)
- Why do you think the small states didn't want the larger states more powerful? (p.15)
- Why do you think Southerns at the convention wanted their slave to count, even though they couldn't vote in elections? (p.21)
- What does that mean when the book says that "the convention decided to count three fifths of the slaves?" (p.22)
- Why do you think that some delegates signed the constitution, even though they didn't agree with everything in it? Why do you some didn't sign at all? (p.28)
- If the American Revolution ended in October 19, 1781, but the Constitution wasn't ratified, or passed, until July 4, 1788, about how many years did it take to put in place the Constitution of the United States? (p.30)
Summary- (about 15 minutes)
1. After reading the book, the teacher will have the students review the content of the book and the years, by breaking up into small groups of 5 and making a group timeline of the constitution. The students will be asked to retell the story and make a timeline on poster paper, at least mentioning the American Revolution (start and finish), James Madison and the Constitution, George Washington, and the ratification of the Constitution. Students will be able to either write what they know in a few sentences, or write a sentence and draw a picture to go on their timeline. If time is available the students will share their timelines with the other groups.
Assessment: The teacher will be assessing many parts of this lesson. The first assessment will be during the prior knowledge activity with the painting in the beginning of the lesson. The students will be able to write what they know about Madison and any questions they have. The teacher will walk around the room and observe what students are writing. The teacher will write down anything that the students are confused on and try to address these in the lesson. The teacher will collect these prior knowledge paper and review them after the lesson. The teacher will also be assessing through class discussion as they read the book. The teacher will be assessing students comprehension of the book by providing the questions above. After reading the book or the lesson is taught the teacher will write down anecdotal notes on the book discussion. The last assessment will be the timeline made by students. The teacher will be assessing this assessment through a check list, looking for those key people, periods in time, and events mentioned by the teacher. The students will be able to get extra points with more events on their timelines if provided.
Differentiation: Students who are visual learners will benefit from looking at the James Madison painting in the beginning, the picture book read to the students, and the timeline made by the students. Auditory learners will benefit from listening to the discussions and the picture book. Interpersonal learners will be able to work in same groups and have enriched discussions.
Extension
Students could work more with their timelines in math. Formulating word problems from the periods in time and events in this unit. For example, the temple to help students scaffold how to make a word problem might look like, "In 1781 (year 1) America won the American Revolution (history event on timeline). If George Washington was elected president in 1789 (second history event and period in time) about how many years did it take to elect our first president?" The teacher could provide paper for students to make their word problems, then display them in the hall or around the school so other students can try to solve their word problems.