PROJECT TEACH
-LESSON PLAN OUTLINETEACHER: Anna Marie Amendola
SCHOOL DISTRICT: Millcreek Township School District
LESSON SUBJECT: Mock Constitutional Convention
GRADE LEVEL: 7
TEACHING TIME: 3 days
LESSON OBJECTIVES
BIG IDEAS: Conflict and Compromises that Shaped the Constitution
The students will have an understanding of the main compromises – The Great Compromise,
slavery and the 3/5 compromise, trade issues, the Executive, and the issue of impeachment.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. How did the Constitutional Convention create the basic structure of the U. S. government?
2. Why did the states disagree about the make up of the Legislative Branch?
3. Why is the Constitution a document of compromise?
PA STATE STANDARDS: Civics
5.1 principles and Documents of Government – A, C
5.2 How Government Works – A
5.3 Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship - C
STUDENTS WILL KNOW…
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO…
Meaning of compromise
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
Great Compromise
Other compromises including slavery, trade, and
the branches of government
Explain why the Constitution is a document of
Compromise.
Describe how the background of delegates
influenced their decisions
PROCEDURAL SUMMARY
MATERIALS:
 Copies of the Constitution
 Standard American history text covering reading level appropriate information on the
Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, The Great Compromise, 3/5 compromise, and the other
issues of the time
 Note Cards – for research and to be used during the mock session
 On-line and traditional library research materials
ANTICIPATORY SET: Imagine you are back in the day… of the Constitutional Convention. You
are a delegate representing your state at this most important event. As you enter the room and see
Gen. Washington and other distinguished gentlemen in the room and you realize the magnitude of
your task. You must think about your state, background, fellow countryman, and how far this
young country has come. Where will you go from here? How will you help form this new
government? Not everyone will agree on how it should be done. How do we work it out so
everyone gets some of what he/she wants?
The instructor will ask students to provide examples of how they compromise in every day life.
ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Ask students to return in their imagination to the Constitutional Convention. As they imagine, have
them think about why they are there to create a new Constitution? Review Articles of
Confederation – discuss why it didn’t work. Possible answers should include no ability to tax at the
federal level and no executive to carry out the laws.
PROCEDURE:
1. Divide the class into states/delegates present at the Constitutional Convention. The
instructor will act in the role of George Washington in order to facilitate the proceedings of
the Constitutional Convention. The following list is from the book Founding Fathers by
M.E. Bradford, and could also serve as a wonderful research resource for students:
a. New Hampshire- John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
b. Massachusetts- Elbridge Gerry, Caleb Strong, Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
c. Connecticut- Roger Sherman, William Samuel Johnson, Oliver Ellsworth
d. New York- Alexander Hamilton, Robert Yates, John Lansing
e. New Jersey- William Livingston, William Paterson, William Churchill Houston,
David Brearly, Jonathan Dayton
f. Pennsylvania- Benjamin Franklin, Gouverneur Morris, George Clymer, Thomas
Mifflin, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, Jr., James Wilson, Robert Morris
g. Delaware- John Dickinson, Gunning Bedford, George Read, Richard Bassett, Jacob
Broom
h. Maryland- Luther Martin, James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel
Carroll, John Francis Mercer
i.
Virginia- George Washington, James Madison, George Mason, George Wythe, James
McClurg, John Blair, Jr., Edmund Randolph
j. North Carolina- William Richardson Davie, Hugh Williamson, Richard Dobbs
Spaight, William Blount, Alexander Martin
k. South Carolina- John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Pierce Butler, Charles
Pinckney
l. Georgia- Abraham Baldwin, William Few, William Leigh Pierce, William Houstoun
2. Adequate time should be arranged for the students to research their delegate and state so
they are prepared to role-play. Students should be assessed according to the following scale
and should provide one note card for each category:
i. Content Information On State Priorities
1 2 3 4 5
ii. Content Information On State Statistics
1 2 3 4 5
iii. Content Information On Individual
1 2 3 4 5
iv. Variety of Sources
1 2 3 4 5
3.
4.
5.
6.
The instructor should note that it is important for students to think as residents of the state
they now represent. Delegates from Southern states will need to look at the slavery issue –
3/5 compromise and trade. Delegates from Northern states will need to think about trade
and Executive power. All delegates will need to research the population, as that will be an
important issue for representation. Certain delegates will have special roles; for instance, E.
Randolph will introduce the VA Plan, W. Patterson and R. Sherman will each introduce their
plans. The instructor will meet with these students to make sure they are directed to primary
source documents appropriate to their roles. Students should find information on how the
background of their delegate influenced their decisions during the Constitutional
Convention.
On Presentation Day – The instructor, as George Washington, will call the Constitutional
Convention to order and guide the student delegates in debating the primary issues that must
be decided (Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, and Great Compromise). Since this is a difficult
topic, the teacher will need to encourage debate and continue to question.
Votes should be taken after each Plan and Compromise. The instructor will need to step
outside the role-play of George Washington from time to time to facilitate the students as
observers of the historical event of the Constitutional Convention. In this role, the
instructor will need to continue to emphasize the importance of compromise. During the
presentation, as students resolve an issue using the technique of compromise, it will be
important to stop and explain how it is a compromise. The instructor can lead students to
discuss how the 3/5 compromise, although a compromise, would not be considered a good
compromise today. Students should be encouraged to explore if it might be considered a
good compromise for that time period (why or why not?).
The instructor, as George Washington, can ask delegates to debate other important issues of
the Constitutional Convention dealing with slavery, trade, and the roles of the three branches
of government.
The Convention will come to a close with the instruction to the delegates to take the
document back to their states and work toward ratification. The instructor will need to step
outside the role-play of George Washington again to help the students understand this
concept of ratification. Students can Think-Pair-Share the following questions: What does
it mean to be a delegate and represent? How did you become delegates? How will you
convince your state to agree to this new Constitution? What will happen if they don’t agree
to this new Constitution?
CLOSURE ACTIVITY:
Ask students to complete an exit card responding to the following:
 What was the most important compromise that the founding fathers made during
the Constitutional Convention? Why?
 How did the background of the delegate I role-played influence his decisions during
the Constitutional Convention?