Class: 8th Grade US HST
Date: 10/14/13 Monday
Topic(s) :
 US Constitution
Lesson Focus Questions:

How are political and philosophical ideas and the experiences of the colonists and Founders
reflected in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, United States
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights?
 How did the concept of freedom influence critical issues debated at the Constitutional Convention
(e.g., distribution of political power, conduct of foreign affairs, rights of individuals, rights of
states, election of the executive, and slavery)?
Key Concepts/Questions/Vocabulary:
 See last Friday’s HW questions
Materials:
 Almost Painless blacklines 16-18
 I’m Just a Bill Clip
Activities:

Collect Almost Painless HW
o Discuss the questions on the Bill of Rights
 Watch I’m Just a Bill to quickly go over how a bill even becomes a law
Assessment(s)/Assignment(s):
 Almost Painless questions
 Class discussion
Homework:
 N/A
Standards:
8 - F1.3:
Describe the consequences of the American Revolution by analyzing the
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8 – U3.3.6:
birth of an independent republican government
creation of Articles of Confederation
changing views on freedom and equality
and concerns over distribution of power within [and between]
governments, between government and the governed, and among
people.
Explain how the Bill of Rights reflected the concept of limited government,
protections of basic freedoms, and the fear of many Americans of a
strong central government
Class: 8th Grade US HST
Date: 10/15/13 Tuesday – 10/17/13 Thursday
Topic(s):
 Wrap-up Unit 1 Foundations of New Nation
Lesson Focus Questions:
 See Essay Rubric
Key Concepts/Questions/Vocabulary:
 See Essay Rubric
Materials:
 Essay Rubric
 Library
Activities:
 Collins Type 3 Writing
o Pass out the essay rubric (expectation is 1-2 pgs)
 Discuss expectations (done individually)
 Students will have all class Tuesday & Wednesday to write their essays
 Thursday will be a peer review day
 Friday Essays are due
Assessment(s)/Assignment(s):
 Founding Ideals Essay
Homework:
 Essays due Friday
Standards:
8 – U3.3.7:
Using important documents (e.g., Mayflower Compact, Common Sense,
Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance, Federalists Papers),
describe the historical and philosophical origins of constitutional
government in the United States using the ideas of social compact1,
limited government, natural rights, right of revolution, separation of
powers, bicameralism, republicanism, and popular participation in
government.
8 - F1.1:
Describe the ideas, experiences, and interactions that influenced the
colonists’ decisions to declare independence by analyzing
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8 - F1.2:
colonial ideas about government (e.g., limited government,
republicanism, protecting individual rights and promoting the common
good, representative government, natural rights)
experiences with self-government (e.g., House of Burgesses and town
meetings)
changing interactions with the royal government of Great Britain after
the French and Indian War.
Using the Declaration of Independence, including the grievances at the
end of the document, describe the role this document played in
expressing
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
8 - F1.3:
colonists’ views of government
their reasons for separating from Great Britain.
Describe the consequences of the American Revolution by analyzing the
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


birth of an independent republican government
creation of Articles of Confederation
changing views on freedom and equality
and concerns over distribution of power within [and between]
governments, between government and the governed, and among
people.2
8 – U3.3.1:
Explain the reasons for the adoption and subsequent failure of the
Articles of Confederation (e.g., why its drafters created a weak central
government, challenges the nation faced under the Articles, Shays’
Rebellion, disputes over western land).
8 – U3.3.2:
Identify [the major] economic and political questions facing the nation
during the period of the Articles of Confederation and the opening of the
Constitutional Convention.
8 – U3.3.3:
Describe the major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention
including distribution of political power, conduct of foreign affairs, rights of
individuals, rights of states, election of the executive, and slavery.3
8 – U3.3.4:
Explain how the new constitution resolved (or compromised) the major
issues including sharing, separating, and checking of power among
federal government institutions, dual sovereignty (state-federal power)4,
rights of individuals, the Electoral College5, the Three-Fifths Compromise,
and the Great Compromise.
8 – U3.3.5:
Analyze the debates over the ratification of the Constitution from the
perspectives of Federalists and Anti-Federalists and describe how the
states ratified the Constitution.
8 – U3.3.6:
Explain how the Bill of Rights reflected the concept of limited government,
protections of basic freedoms, and the fear of many Americans of a
strong central government
Exploring American Ideals: Essay Question
In Unit 1, you explored the development of core American ideals
in the colonial period and how those ideals affected the founding
of the United States and the writing of the Constitution. Now you
will use what you learned to write a short essay. As you frame your
response to the essay question below, keep these pointers in mind:
• To discuss means to make observations using facts, reasoning,
and arguments.
• To describe means to provide details about something.
• To explain means to make relationships between things clear or
to give reasons for something. Creating a Nation Based
on Ideals The Declaration of Independence established a
vision of a new nation based on five core ideals:
•
equality
• rights • liberty
• opportunity • democracy
Choose one of these five ideals to focus on in your essay.
Then do the following:
• Write a thesis statement explaining why the ideal you chose was
important to the creation of the new nation.
• Discuss the roots of this ideal in colonial America.
• Describe one way that Americans worked toward achieving this
ideal during the Revolutionary War Era (1763–1787).
• Explain one way that this ideal is either promoted or protected
in the Constitution.
Class: 8th Grade US HST
Date: 10/18/13 Friday
Topic(s):
 Unit 1 Part 2 Test Review
Lesson Focus Questions:
 See Unit 1 focus questions following mid-unit test
Key Concepts/Questions/Vocabulary:
 See Unit 1 focus questions following mid-unit test
Materials:
 DI Review Project Criteria
 Jeopardy hard copy format example
Activities:
 Collect Essays (Collins type 3)
 Explain jeopardy/mock test review criteria
 Place students in groups
 Each group comes will decide what to create & questions to create
o Due Monday so that they can share out with other groups & challenge each other
Assessment(s)/Assignment(s):
 Essays
 Review project
Homework:
 Review project if not done for Monday
Standards:
 See standards after mid-unit 1 test