Constitution

Submitted by Koch/OlsenGrade: 4th Standards: 1D, 2C, 3B, 4B Materials: Butcher block paper for teacher and large tag poster for Constitution Time: 2 hours Goals: Students will make connections and comparisons between the read aloud book of what a Constitution is for our country and why having a Constitution is important. Students will work collaboratively together in a small group to identify to brainstorm a list of 4-6 constitutional rules that they need in order to have the best learning environment possible. Students will create the the final product beginning in the positive.

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Describe Lesson Steps: Read _ as a read aloud to help students make connections and deepen their understanding of what a constitution and what is its importance. During the read aloud stop at opportune places to question and have kids make connections to why rules are important and what the process of a constitution is. Bring all children together and explain that they are to come up with a list of 4-6 rules that they believe are important to have in order to have the best community possible. Break children up into groups of 4 by letting them choose one person and teacher choosing the other two. Using one piece of paper per table group have each student share a rule that is important to them. Each person must contribute one rule and write one rule (15-20 minutes). Have children gather in whole group staying with their work group. Using a piece of very large butcher block paper to record on have one member from each group stand and state their constitutional rule. Ping pong around the room giving each group opportunity to share. When one group shares somewhat the the same idea that another group shares put a check next to that rule. Always check with the class that they agree it is the same rule instead of you making that decision. More ownership that the children have the better. Make sure that everyone’s thoughts and ideas are recorded. At this point there will be quite a few rules. This is the hard part. Each group must now go back to their table using a new piece of paper choosing 4-6 rules they believe are most important from the list off the butcher block paper. When they record they have two criteria’s to meet 1) The rule must be stated in the positive and 2) use the least amount of words. Modeling this with one of the rules is a good idea to do before you send them off. Giving the group 30 minutes have them complete this task. Have children gather again staying in their work group. Using a new piece of butcher block paper have one person from each group state their rule in the positive form. When one group shares somewhat the the same idea that another group shares put a check next to that rule. After tallying the results of which rules were recorded the most have pairs of students begin creating the constitution on poster board. When the poster is done every student signs the constitution. I usually place the constitution near the flag.