LESSON 8.10 The Bill of Rights
Learning targets
(clear, understandable versions of
standards in student friendly language)


Identify the rights of citizens
guaranteed in the Bill of Rights
Understand the rights of citizens
guaranteed under the Bill of Rights
Language objectives
(identified cognitive functions correlated to
the learning targets, such as sequence,
compare/contrast, cause/effect, infer, and
argue, as well as the signal words to be
deliberately taught/used in discussion and
writing; sentence frames in support section)
Orally and in writing, the students will
use the following signal words to
describe and explane the Bill of Rights:

In other words (simple language)

Means (simple language)
 Consists of (sufficient language)

Characterized by (sophisticated language)
* See writing/discussion support
sentence frames below.
History Alive! Preview activity
(builds background; links to student
experience)
Comparing governmental power to
parental power is a good way for
students to connect to the upcoming
chapter material.
The preview activity is designed to get
students to compare their parents’
power to the government’s power
granted by the U.S. Constitution. The
student’s reflection is intended to give
them the opportunity to express their
ideas about how power should be
limited to create fairness and protect
their basic rights as individuals.
Pre-assessment
activities/documents
(serves as self-assessment for students;
informs instruction for teachers; charts or
documents may be used as a place to
gather concepts/information throughout
lesson through debriefing; may include
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
SUMMARY OVERVIEW
History Alive! lesson plan
Start with Preview Activity in ISN - comparing parental
power to governmental power (10 minutes)
Students then work in pairs to break down all the
rights/protections contained in the Bill of Rights. The
task is to read about the different amendments and
match them to illustrations in the ISN. They are then
instructed to record short explanations next to the
illustrations. (2 -3 days)
As part of a Response Group, the students then use
what they have learned about the Bill of Rights to
examine and debate four Supreme Court decisions.
Students next learn about the actual Supreme Court
decision. (2 days)
Recommended Changes to HA! lesson plan
Lesson is complete “as is”, but a supplementary video
can be used to help students practice identifying
specific rights (1 day)
 Video: “Future Fright: Losing the Bill of Rights”
(24 minutes) dramatizes the story of an American
family that had been living outside the U.S. and
their return to a country that has abandoned the
Bill of Rights. Shows the terrible things that
happen to them when they realize certain
protections no longer exist
o Partner activity: students discuss and
record 10 different rights that are violated
in the video and identify which amendment
guarantees that right.
If time is an issue, the Supreme Court case review
could be limited to two cases or different groups could
be assigned a different case and then share-out.
TAG extension: students independently research the
pre-revolutionary events that prompted the framers to
include each amendment
 Example: Quartering Act = 3rd Amendment
Flexible grouping pattern of the lesson
 Partnered-reading and notetaking
1
visuals, lesson questions, lesson
vocabulary, language objectives, and/or
learning targets)
Use the SWYAK and WIIFM
Lesson questions


Mixed-ability groups for review of Supreme Court
decisions
Use WRAPP reading strategy during Supreme
Court case review
(drive instruction; may create links to
previous learning; may be included in preassessment)
POST ON WALL

How are the people’s rights
protected by the Bill of Rights?
 How is the government’s power
limited by the Bill of Rights?
 How has the Bill of Rights been
interpreted by the courts?
Additional background building
(streaming video segments, DVD, map
review, read aloud of a related piece of
fiction, etc.)
Video: Future Fright: Losing the Bill of
Rights (24 minutes)
*Available on VHS video through PPS Multimedia
library or digitally through Discovery Education
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
Key content vocabulary (italicized
words assessed)
Bill of Rights
Constitution
Amendment
Separation of Church & State
Warrant
Self-Incrimination
Defendant
Criminal Trial
Civil Trial
Jury
READING SUPPORT
Lesson-specific instructional supports http://groups.teachtci.com/
* see Enrichment Plan for Compacting/Extensions
Suggested Strategies for
Focus pages/paragraphs for guided
Thinking or
Introduction Interactive
reading group
Process-Related
Read-Aloud
Words
(for example: Bloom’s,
etc.)
Image Analysis (p.132)
What things do you see in the
picture?
Patriot soldiers, bald eagle,
revolutionary flags, bell
What is the bell in the corner?
On “The Right to Worship Freely” (2
paragraphs)
 Page 135 – “The First Amendment
has two guarantees of religious
freedom…”
 Page136 – “The second religious
guarantee…”
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
Describe
Explain
Rewrite
2
Liberty Bell
What does it symbolize?
What does “liberty” mean?
Liberty = freedom,
independence, rights
On “The Right to Free Speech and
Press”
 Page 136 – “Freedom of the press is
important because…”
On “The Right to Assemble and
Petition”
 Page 137 – “The right to assembly
means that citizens…”
On “Second Amendment: The Right to
Bear Arms”
 Page 138 – “The meaning of this
amendment…”
On “Third Amendment: Quartering
Troops in Homes”
 Page 138 – “Before the Revolution,
Britain had forced…”
On “Fourth Amendment: Searches and
Seizures”
 Page 139 – “The Fourth Amendment
protects people and their
belongings…”
On “Fifth Amendment: Legal Rights”
 Page 139 – No good summary
paragraph available, focus on
highlighted vocabulary (selfincrimination and defendant)
On “Sixth Amendment: Criminal Trial
Rights”: (2 paragraphs)
 Page 140 – “The right to a speedy
trial means…”
 “”Public” means that trials…”
On “Seventh Amendment: Civil Trial
Rights”
 Page 140 – “Not all trials involve
criminal actions…”
On “Eighth Amendment: Bail and
Punishments” (2 paragraphs)
 Page 141 – “The Eight Amendment
protects an accused person’s
rights…”
 “ After trial, if the person is found
guilty…”
On “Ninth Amendment: Rights
Retained by the People”
 Page 142 – “The Ninth Amendment
says that even though…”
On “Tenth Amendment: Powers
Reserved to the States”:
Page 142 – The Tenth Amendment was
included to protect the states…”
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
3
WRITING SUPPORT
Lesson-specific instructional supports http://groups.teachtci.com/
* see Enrichment Plan for Compacting/Extensions
Sentence frames for parts of the
lesson
These sentence frames should appear in
the ISN notetaking assignment and/or the
“Future Fright” video analysis.
 The right to ______ means
____________________.
 The ____ Amendment says
________, in other words
____________________.
 The ____ Amendment is
characterized by
_________________. (sophisticated
language)
DISCUSSION SUPPORT
Lesson-specific instructional supports http://groups.teachtci.com/
* see Enrichment Plan for Compacting/Extensions
Sentence frames for parts of the
lesson
See Writing Support above
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS (for student and teacher use)
“Check for understanding”
Checkpoints in Interactive Student
Questions for
points during activities
Notebook
exit and entrance
slips


Can students correctly identify
and describe the different
rights/protections in the ISN
note-taking activity?
Can the students correctly
describe how different rights
are being violated in the
“Future Fright” video?
Processing Assignment
There are multiple opportunities for
the teacher to circulate and check for
understanding during the note-taking
activity.
 Notetaking activity
 Examination of Supreme Court
decisions processing assignment
REVIEW
Games
Which Amendment
is most important
to you and your
life? Least
important? And
why?
Other
(also serves as a formative
assessment)
Students create a comic strip
that tells a story about life in
their community without the
Bill of Rights.
RECOMMENDED LESSON ASSESSMENT AND KEY
Assessment
Key
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
4