Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
AOB Lesson 3
Part II: Lesson Plan Template
Lesson Topic/Focus: Constitutionalism: Beginnings of the U.S. Government
Target Unit Essential Question(s): (taken from unit framework)
 EU2-EQ1: Why is the U.S. Constitution considered to be a social contract
codified by laws between the people of the United States and the government?
(aligns: SS-H-GC-U-2)
 EU2-EQ2: Why did the framers of the U.S. Constitution organize the government
into three branches with powers that are separated, shared, checked and
balanced? (aligns: SS-H-GC-U-3)
Lesson Essential Question(s):
1. How did the British and American colonists influence the Founders
to establish a government that is both constitutional and representative?
2. How is the U.S. Constitution a social contract that reflects principles of
representative democracy?
Estimated duration of lesson: 2 days (60 minutes)
Template Key:
Constant/ Should not be differentiated.
May be/Should be differentiated.
Targeted Lesson Standards:
Academic Expectations:
2.14
2.15
Students understand the democratic principles of justice, equality, responsibility, and
freedom and apply them to real-life situations.
Students can accurately describe various forms of government and analyze issues
that relate to the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy.
Program of Studies Understandings
SS-H-GC-U-2
Students will
understand that the
Government of the
United States,
established by the
Constitution,
embodies the
purposes, values and
principles (e.g. liberty,
justice, individual
human dignity, the
rules of law) of
American
Program of Studies - Skills
SS-H-GC-S-2
Students will examine issues related
to the intent of the Constitution of the
United States and its amendments:
a) explain the principles of limited
government (e.g. rule of law,
federalism, checks and balances,
majority rule, protection of
minority, separation of powers)
and how effective these principles
are in protecting individual rights
and promoting the “common good”
SS-H-GC-S-5
Core Content for
Assessment
SS-HS-1.2.2
Students will interpret
the principles of limited
government (e.g. rule of
law, federalism, checks
and balances, majority
rule, protection of
minority rights,
separation of powers)
and evaluate how these
principles protect
individual rights and
promote the “common
good” DOK 3
1
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
representative
democracy.
AOB Lesson 3
Students will analyze and synthesize
a variety of information from print and
non-print sources (e.g. books,
documents, articles, interviews,
Internet, film, media) to research
issues, perspectives and solutions to
problems
Other: English Language Proficiency, Kentucky World Languages Framework, Technology Student
Standards, Kentucky Occupation al Skill Standards
Targeted Lesson Essential Question(s):
1. How did the British and American colonists influence the Founders
to establish a government that is both constitutional and representative?
2. How is the U.S. Constitution a social contract that reflects principles of
representative democracy?
Alignment to End of Unit Assessment: Lesson will assist students to be able to
identify and explain how his/her selected organization’s social contract reflects
constitutional principles.
Students will know…
the U.S. government is both constitutional
and representative.
the U.S. government was influenced by
British and American colonies.
influential documents:
 Magna Carta
 Rights of Englishmen
 Massachusetts Constitution
 Articles of Confederation
 Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
influential events:
 Quartering Act
 Tea Act
 Intolerable Acts
Students will be able to…
explain British and American colonies’
influences on America’s government as
constitutional and representative.
identify and explain examples of
constitutional principles being practiced in
historical & current events.
evaluate the U.S. government’s
effectiveness in fulfilling the purposes of
government as stated in the Preamble of
the U.S. Constitution.
constitutional principles:
o popular sovereignty
o checks & balances
o separation of powers
o limited government
o individual rights
purposes of government (Preamble):
o form a more perfect Union
o establish justice
2
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
o
o
o
o
AOB Lesson 3
insure domestic tranquility
provide for the common defense
promote the general welfare
secure the blessings of liberty
Student Friendly Learning Target(s):
1. I can explain British and American colonies’ influences on America’s government as
constitutional and representative.
2. I can identify and explain examples of constitutional principles being practiced in
historical & current events.
3. I can evaluate the U.S. government’s effectiveness in fulfilling the purposes of
government as stated in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
Lesson Summary: Brief overview of the lesson
This lesson will focus on the influence of the British and American colonies (events/acts)
on the formation of the U.S. government as both constitutional and representative as
articulated in the U.S. Constitution, which is a social contract. Students will examine
documents and events from the British and American colonies and explain how they
reflected democratic principles and influenced the development of U.S. government.
Students will also evaluate the effectiveness of the U.S. government in fulfilling the
purposes of government as stated in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
Lesson Detail: Detailed description of lesson includes:
1. Detailed description of previous instruction
2. Instructional set/bell ringer
3. Transition
4. Assessment/assessment task
5. Activity
6. Wrap-up
7. Additional lesson notes
Day 1 of 2 day lesson.
1. Previous instruction: Students have been exposed to the ideas of natural
rights and classical republicanism through examination of Enlightenment
thinkers. Students have identified how the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers
(Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Montesquieu) are reflected in founding
documents of the United States such as the Declaration of Independence.
2. Instructional Set/Bell Ringer: The teacher will need to group together 3 to 5
students to play “the dice game.” The purpose of the dice game is for students to
determine how to best govern themselves (eg. what rules do they need to
establish to work effectively with their small group?). The teacher may group
students by choice. See Resource 3A for supplies and directions for the dice
game. Students will have 6 minutes to develop and play their game using the
supplies and directions in the envelope. They will then share their game with the
class.
3
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
AOB Lesson 3
Note: The teacher should review the directions (Resource 3A), make a copy for
each student group, and place in an envelope with supplies. Supplies for each
group include: one die; 12 colored paper clips (randomly chosen colors); poem
with game directions; and one small manila envelope. Modify supplies based
upon availability.
3. Transition: The class will discuss what influenced the development of the
rules for their game and consider how their experience with the game is similar to
that of the Founding Fathers in forming the government for the United States.
This will lead to a discussion of what influenced the Founders and will allow for
the introduction of the influence of important British and colonial documents and
events on the U.S. government.
The teacher will then introduce the student friendly learning targets which can be
posted:
 I can explain British and American colonies influences on America’s
government as constitutional and representative.
 I can identify and explain examples of constitutional principles being
practiced in historical & current events.
 I can evaluate the U.S. government’s effectiveness at fulfilling the
purposes of government as stated in the Preamble of the U.S.
Constitution.
4. Lesson Assessment: At the end of this two day lesson, students will
complete an open response question (Resource 3F) about constitutional
principles practiced and evaluate their effectiveness by citing two historical
and/or current events. Evidence for that argument will be collected over the two
days’ activities. Students will choose a constitutional principle (Popular
Sovereignty, Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers, Limited Government,
Individual Rights), state an example of how the constitutional principle is
practiced in the government today, and decide if the principle is effective or not
by citing at least two historical and/or current events.
5. Lesson Activity: To prepare students for completing the lesson assessment,
the teacher will divide students into seven groups (smaller classrooms may have
to use smaller groups and multiple documents/events). When assigning students
to groups, the teacher should consider learner readiness. Learner readiness
could be determined orally by asking students what they know about each of the
following documents/events listed below or the teacher could have students
place a check mark on a list to indicate which documents/events the students
feel they know and what they know about them (Resource 3B).
Documents –
Magna Carta
Rights of Englishmen
Events Quartering Act
Tea Act
4
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
Massachusetts Constitution
Articles of Confederation
AOB Lesson 3
Intolerable Acts
Once students are in a group they will receive their document or event
assignment (determined by the teacher) and matrix (Resource 3C). This
information is collected using the Jigsaw method. Students will be assigned a
home group where they are provided with an event/document. They will leave
their home group to work with other students who have the same assigned
event/document. Documents or event readings (Resource 3D) will be given to
the common groups to collect the needed information for the assigned section of
the chart. Students will then return to the home group to share their information
and assist their group in completing their matrix.
If the teacher would like to use actual primary sources for the various documents,
he/she can go to the following websites for copies of the text:
Quartering Act Tea Act Intolerable Acts Mass Constitution Magna Carta Articles of Confederation Rights of an Englishman -
http://www.usconstitution.net/quarteringact.html
http://ahp.gatech.edu/tea_act_bp_1773.html
http://www.historywiz.com/intolerable.htm
http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm
http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.htm
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm
http://www.constitution.org/eng/eng_bor.htm
6. Lesson Wrap Up: Teacher will walk around during home group sharing at the
end of the activity to correct any obvious mistakes and quickly run through chart
information to assist students in making any corrections. Students will consider
which document or event they think was the most influential to the Founders in
forming the American government and why? They will vote and results will be
shared tomorrow.
Teachers can poll the class by completing a manual poll using index cards and
counting the various answers before tomorrow’s activity. Another option is to use
free online resources such as Polldaddy or a blog for students to share their
choices. The online poll can be set up at www.polldaddy.com/. Registration is
easy and free but the teacher will have to set this up before the start of class to
share the information for accessing the site with students.
7. Additional Lesson Activity Notes: If the teacher is teaching more than one
section of the course, the teacher could combine data for all classes and share
results for all students and for each class.
Day 2 of 2 day lesson
5
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
AOB Lesson 3
1. Previous instruction: Students have learned about the influence British and
colonial documents and events had on the Founders and the formation of
America’s government. They have also explained which of the selected
documents/events they think were most influential.
2. Instructional set/bell ringer: Class will open as poll results are shared and
findings are discussed. The teacher will ask the follow questions:
“Are you surprised?”
“Why do you think this document/event was #1?”
“Would the results be different at another period in history?”
3. Transition: The teacher will use the idea of influences from Britain and the
American colonies to transition to how the Founders described the purpose of
government in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
1. Read it aloud to students.
2. Ask why do they think we have a Preamble? What does it mean? What is
its purpose?
3. Repeat the key phrases and point out how they are posted around the
room (Directions for these signs are included in the activity section of this
lesson).
4. Assessment/assessment task: At the end of this lesson students will be
asked to complete an open response question (Resource 3F) about
constitutional principles being practiced, and to evaluate their effectiveness by
citing two historical and/or current events. Evidence for that argument will be
collected over the two days’ activities. Students will choose a constitutional
principle (Popular Sovereignty, Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers,
Limited Government, Individual Rights), state an example of how the
constitutional principle is practiced in the government today and decide if the
principle is effective or not by citing at least two historical and/or current events.
5. Activity: Six pieces of chart paper will need to be placed around the room.
Each piece of paper will have one of six phrases from the Preamble:
 To form a more perfect union
 Establish justice
 Insure domestic tranquility
 Provide for the common defense
 Promote the general welfare
 Secure the blessings of liberty
There should also be a long strand of masking tape for each group to use to fold
or roll up and tape their answer so the next group cannot see their responses.
The students will be numbered off by 6 and each group will be placed at one of
the phrases with a different color marker. Their group will have 3 minutes at
each phrase to do the following 3 things:
6
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
AOB Lesson 3
1. Define the phrase in their own words
2. Give an example of when the US government has done this
3. Give an example of when the government has not done this
The groups should start writing at the very bottom and fold or roll up the paper
and tape it with a small piece of tape when they are done. This way the next
group will have to think about their responses to the questions and each group
will be identified by their marker color. The teacher needs to keep track of time
and move students when the 3 minutes is up in the same direction until all
groups have completed the 6 phrases. The teacher should also stress that each
student participate in the activity and monitor that the handwriting isn’t the same
for every entry.
When everyone is finished, the students will be asked to return to their home
groups from the Jigsaw activity the previous day. Each student will be given a
Constitutional Principles Chart (Resource 3E) and be asked to define the
principles using their textbook. The teacher may want to provide the definitions
as given in the second chart within the resource.
Once everyone in the group has a definition written down and understands what
each principle means, each group will use its chart to collect information from
previous class notes/information as well as the posted sheets on the Preamble.
To assist students, the teacher may want to provide the placards from lesson 1
(Resource 1H) and lesson 3 (Resource 3D). The teacher will ask students to list
how these constitutional principles are reflected in specific parts of the
Constitution, historical documents/acts/thinkers, and in current events. Students
should be given roughly 15-20 minutes to complete this activity.
The teacher may want to model this activity to ensure that students understand
the task. The teacher can use the second sheet on the resources for examples,
however; the guide is not meant to be absolute and other answers may be
acceptable based on teacher judgment.
The teacher could differentiate the activity by student readiness by scaffolding
the assignment and leaving portions of the chart partially completed, having
students fill out the rest.
6. Wrap-up: Once a consensus has been reached within each group the
students can begin their homework assignment. For homework they will be
given the open response question (Resource 3F) and asked to brainstorm and
write their response using class notes and charts.
Students will also be asked to reflect in their journal or on a sheet of paper that
will be submitted to the teacher, how their selected organization’s governing
document(s) reflects constitutional principles.
7
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
AOB Lesson 3
7. Additional lesson notes: Have everything prepared and posted around the
room before class; additional posters can be easily rolled up and put aside for
later classes.
For the open response, students could brainstorm and prepare a response for
homework, or the questions could be answered in class as a formative or
summative assessment.
Part II: Lesson Plan Template
Instructional Activities/Assessment: Plan strategies and activities that are equitable
and reflect best practices:
Differentiation: (check all that apply)
X Content
Process
X Readiness
X Interest
Product
Learning Profile
Using Strategies: (check all that apply)
X Multiple Intelligences
X Jigsaw
Taped Materials
Varying Activities
Varied Texts
Varied Supplementary Materials
Cubing/ThinkDots
Choice Boards
RAFT
Tiered Lessons
Tiered Centers
Tiered Products
Learning Contracts
X Small-Group Instruction
Independent Study-Orbital
Varied Journal Prompts
X Other: Dice Game
Simulations
Parts-to-Whole
Whole-to-Parts
Varied Questioning Strategies
Interest Centers
Interests Groups
Varied Homework
Compacting
Literature Circles
Split Journals
X Group Investigation
Varied Homework
Reading Buddies
X Graphic Organizers
Think Alouds
Highlighted Texts
Evaluation/Assessment
Formative: (check all that apply)
X Pre-Assessment aligned with learning
targets
Anecdotal Records
Students monitor progress to reaching
learning targets
Students using feedback to set goals
X Journals/Learning log
Students revise assessment answers
Running Record
X
Class discussions
Conferences and interviews
Students develop assessment items
Self-Assessment/Reflection
Other
8
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
Summative: (check all that apply)
X Open Response
Oral examination
Multiple Choice/Selected Response
Essay
AOB Lesson 3
On-Demand
Writing Portfolio Tasks
Performance Tasks
Other
Click here for Kentucky General Scoring Guide, Holistic Scoring Guide, and Rubric Template.
Another useful resource is English Language Proficiency Standards for Kentucky Schools
Instructional Companion
Resources/Technology: Think about practical issues and materials needed for lesson
implementation. (check all that apply)
Assistive tools: Text Readers,
Autosummary,
etc._________________
Interactive technology: Smart boards,
Quick Response Systems
X Productivity tools: Web sites, Power
point, spreadsheets, word process,
graphic organizers, concept mapping,
_________________________
Content Resource: Web sites (Marco
Polo, United Streaming, Web Quests,
virtual museums), content software
resources, supplemental resources on
CD, blogs, etc.
__________________________
Other:
X
Communication tools: Blogs, Wikis,
Podcasts, Email, Web Page,
___________
Research online: Encyclopedias, KY
Virtual Library, ________________
Digital Imagery: Digital Camera, Clip
Art, Movie Clips, etc
Equipment: TV, Tape Recorder, CD
Player, Videos, MP3 Players, Video
Cameras, Educational Software
_______________________
Other:
Explanation of use of technology (if needed): Suggested the use of Polldaddy and/or a
blog. Teacher will need to set these up prior to lesson and review with students how to
use and access
Part III Unit/Lesson Reflections and Questions
Reflection:
Questions and reflections that the teacher and students identify as they explore the
unit/lesson.
After delivering your unit/lesson, reflect on its success.
 What evidence/data demonstrates that students met goals and objectives?
 In what areas did students exceed goals and objectives?
 What might you do differently next time?
9
Standards-Based Unit Planning Template
AOB Lesson 3
Additional Notes/Attachments
Resource 3A
Resource 3B
Resource 3C
Resource 3D
Resource 3E
Resource 3F
10