Lesson Plan #27 for Danielle Dallof _________

Date:___3/1/17________ Class:___US History_____________ Grade:__8___ Period:__3___

Strengths of the Class: This topic will be more interesting for at least some of us. I have had a few
students asking about Alexander Hamilton because of the musical Hamilton. We are finally there! We
are finally going to talk about him. I think that will bring up engagement.

Unique Needs of the Class: We have had some new behavior problems lately. It can be frustrating
because we didnt use to have these problems. There is a group of boys who love to talk to each
other and I may need to ask some of them to move to a new seat.

Subject: United States History

Curriculum Standards:

Standard 6 Students will understand the structure and function of the United States government
established by the Constitution

Objective 1: Assess the foundations and principles that led to the development of the Constitution,
and to the United States form of government, a compound constitutional republic

a. Analyze the factors involved in convening the Constitutional Convention

Objective 2: Analyze the compromises that led to the ratification of the Constitution

b. Examine the Constitution ratification compromises i.e. 3/5 Compromise, Great Compromise,
Bill of Rights

Lesson Topic: The Constitutional Convention

Prerequisite Knowledge: They students have studied the Articles of Confederation and identified
what their weaknesses are. This is a new topic though.

- Content Objectives for the Lesson:

- SWBAT identify why the Constitutional Convention was significant

- Learning Objectives for Students: SWBAT explain why some Americans wanted a stronger
central government
 - SWBAT explain why representation in the government was a big issue for the Constitutional
Convention

Language Objectives for Students: SWBAT write answers to guiding questions and write a RACE or
TEES paragraph

Starter: The Articles of Confederation created a _______________ central Government.

Class Procedures: Passing out papers down the middle row. Passing papers in.

Class Work (Questions/Activities: Do Now

1. Do Now and this day in history (3 minutes)

a. Do Now:
2. Hook: (2 minutes) Have the statement Effective September 17, 2017 schools will close in
honor of Constitution Day.
a. Students can choose to sign their name on the board to this statement
b. Talk about: why did you choose to sign your name to the statement? What does it
mean that you signed or did not sign?
c. Signing your name to something is taking a risk. It means you are taking a stand
about something and maybe risking your reputation.
d. Our Founding Fathers were doing this when they signed the Constitution. They were
taking a stand and risking their reputations. People still do this today when they sign
petitions.
3. Read Constitutional Convention reading 4 minutes
a. Answer questions individually 4 minutes
b. Go through answers 2 minutes
4. Think-Pair-Share: The issue of representation was one of the main issues of the Constitutional
Convention. We have seen two plans that were suggested to address the issue. How would
you solve the issue of representation? Can you think of a good way to make sure everyone is
represented?
a. Think: 1 minute
b. Pair: 2 minutes
c. Share: 2 minutes
5. Go through the chart 3 minutes
a. Answer questions individually 4 minutes
b. Go through answers 2 minutes
6. Compromises for the Constitution reading

Closure: Recap as a class what we talked about today (last minute of class)

Plans for Assessment: Collecting all student work for today

Homework assigned and due date: none

Plans for Enrichment (i.e., What is my plan for students who finish early?):

Plans for Remediation (i.e., What is my plan for students who need additional support?): Circulating
the room to help individuals. Paraphrasing instructions and answers a second time after giving them.
Having students paraphrase instructions

Plans for English Language Learners: auditory and written language delivery of materials.

Reflection on preparation, execution, student learning, behavior, etc. (Here are ideas as to how to
think through the lesson. This list of questions is NOT exhaustive.)

--What went well? Why? What didnt go so well? Why?

--What will you definitely do again next time? What will you definitely modify/eliminate next time?
--What insights do you have about the content? The worksheet/graphic organizer? The quiz?
--Did the students meet the objective(s)? Which students? Which objectives? How will you proceed
tomorrow?
Today was a lot better than the last couple of days. I am really happy about it! Student engagement
was way up and I am feeling really optimistic about tomorrows lesson. We got through everything
that I wanted to today which is great. We dont have any leftovers for tomorrow so now I can start a
new lesson tomorrow and keep moving forward with this topic and standard. I have been using the
timer a lot lately to structure how much time we spend on each activity and that is extremely helpful.
It keeps us all honest about how much time we need and how we use our time in the classroom. It is
making it easier for me to make sure we are completing the activities and not wasting time being off
task.
The issue of representation was one of the main issues of the Constitutional
Convention. We have seen two plans that were suggested to address the issue.

Do you think the Virginia Plan or the New Jersey Plan is a better solution for the
problem of representation? Why?

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The issue of representation was one of the main issues of the Constitutional
Convention. We have seen two plans that were suggested to address the issue.

Do you think the Virginia Plan or the New Jersey Plan is a better solution for the
problem of representation? Why?

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 Constitutional Convention

In September 1786, Alexander Hamilton called for a convention in Philadelphia to discuss

trade issues. He also wanted the delegates to consider possible changes to the Federal
Government. George Washington was not going to attend until he heard about Shays
Rebellion. His attendance made the meeting more important.

The Convention began in May 1787 and continued through the entire summer. The 55
delegates included planters, merchants, lawyers, physicians, generals, governors, and a
college president. There was a wide range of ages as well. Three delegates were younger
than 30 years old and one, Benjamin Franklin, was over 80. Having George Washington
and Benjamin Franklin at the Convention guaranteed public trust. Trust was important
because the convention was not just to amend the Articles of Confederation. It was to
produce a new constitution. Some people questioned if the Convention had the authority
to create a new constitution, but the work went on anyway.

The delegates chose George Washington to lead the meetings. All decisions would be
based on a majority vote of the states in attendance and each state got one vote. The
meetings were private and the windows were even closed to keep anyone from listening
in. This made it possible for the delegates to talk freely.

Two plans for a new government were presented. One favored states with larger
populations and the other favored states with smaller populations. Both plans gave the
federal government more power than the Articles of Confederation had.

1. What was the significance of the Constitutional Convention?

2. Why do you think the presence of George Washington would make people trust
the Conventions work?

3. Why was trust important for the Constitutional Convention?

Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan

Edmund Randolph presented the plan at William Paterson presented the plan to the
the convention but it was created by convention
James Madison

Legislative Branch Legislative Branch

- Two houses, with membership in - One house with equal

both houses proportional to representation for all states
states population - Could collect taxes from states and
- Could tax, regulate trade, and regulate trade
veto state laws - Elect an executive branch made up
- Lower house elected by people of more than one person
- Upper house elected by the lower
house
Executive Branch Executive Branch

- Chosen by legislature - Chosen by Congress

- Limited power - Would serve a single term
- Could veto legislation, subject to - Subject to recall
override
Judicial Branch Judicial Branch

- Would serve for life - Would serve for life

- Could veto legislation, subject to - Appointed by the executive branch
override
Both Plans

Both had three branches legislative, executive, and judicial

Both gave the government more powers than it had under the Articles of
Confederation

1. Why do you think the issue of representation was so difficult to resolve?

2. How did proportional representation favor larger states?
 Compromising for the Constitution

The delegates had to decide whether to revise the Articles of Confederation or write a new
constitution. They voted to work toward a new constitution based on the Virginia Plan.
They still had to deal with the difficult issue of representation that divided the large and
small states.

The Great Compromise: A compromise is a settlement of a dispute in which each party

has to give something up. The Great Compromise was a plan that allowed different
representation in the two house legislature. In the upper house (the Senate) each state
would be equally represented with two members. In the lower house (The House of
Representatives) the number of members would be based on the states population.
Larger states would have more members than smaller states in the House of
Representatives.

The Three-Fifths Compromise: Delegates from the North and South disagreed on how,
or even if, they should count slaves toward population. Including enslaved people as part
of a states population would increase every Southern states size. This would give them
more members in Congress. Southern states liked this but Northern states did not.
However, counting enslaved people would also increase the taxes in the Southern states
since those are also based on population. As a solution to this problem, the delegates
agreed to the three-fifths compromise. As part of this compromise every five enslaved
people would count as three people in the population total of that state.

The Bill of Rights: Some state constitutions had a list of key rights and freedoms called a
bill rights. Some delegates worried that if the nations constitution did not have a bill of
rights, the new national government might abuse its power. However, most delegates
thought that Constitution carefully defined the powers of the government and provided
enough protection for citizens, so a bill of rights was denied.

Approving the Constitution: On September 17, 1787, the delegates met to sign the
Constitution they had created. Three delegates refused to sign it. Elbridge Gerry of
Massachusetts and George Mason of Virginia refused to sign because the Constitution
did not have a bill of rights. Edmund Randolph did not sign because he thought the
Constitution was too different from his own beliefs. Everyone else did sign the document.
The approved draft went out to the states for their approval. The delegates decided that
the Constitution would go into effect if 9 of the 13 states approved it.

Name: __________________________________________________ Period: ________________

Citing evidence: Provide two pieces of evidence from the text supporting the
statement, Representation was a major issue at the Constitutional Convention.

Evidence 1:

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Evidence 2:

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Be Creative: Draw a cartoon showing the results of the Great Compromise