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Content Area: Social Studies
Index: 6.2C Grade 4 CPI 1
Standard: 6.2 - Civics
Strand: C - The Constitution and American Democracy
Cumulative Progress Indicator: 1 - The student will discuss how the Constitution describes how the United States government is organized and how it defines and limits the power of government.
Grade: 4
Sample Activities:
· Discuss the way in which the Constitution of the United States is a plan for government. The class should go over each article separately. Explain what a rule is. Divide the class up into cooperative groups, in which students draw pictures (or cut out pictures from magazines) of people following rules. Each group should focus on rules being followed within different settings, such as at home, in school, while driving a car, or while playing games.
· Tell the students that they are going to an imaginary planet. Brainstorm characteristics and natural resources that they would like to find. Inform them that they will take along with them everything that they will need to establish a settlement there. Not long after arriving, they will need to write a constitution so that they, as citizens of this planet, will be able to plan how they will be governed. Encourage students to use their imaginations to think of the issues that they may need to face in order to establish this government.
· Discuss with students the concept of rights. What does it mean to them? Do they have rights within their own families? What rights do they not have in the family context? What rights do they have in school and in the community? Develop with students a list of responsibilities corresponding to each of the rights they have at home, in school, and in the community. Colonial Context. Explain the following points: King George III of England had dominion over the American colonies and levied a tax on sugar, stamps, and other essentials used by colonists. The colonists objected to what they considered unfair policies, including taxation and the quartering of troops in their homes. The colonial governments were not entirely democratic. Out of this context came the basic philosophy of the Bill of Rights. Students develop a questionnaire for colonists soliciting their reaction to the taxes and other unfair policies of the British crown.
Kidspiration Activity:
· Brainstorm ideas in picture view · Go to writing view to organize ideas and add details · Use symbols and links to create concept maps that explore relationships in history · Use symbols and links to show relationships among groups. |
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