Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction — Calvin College Education Program

Teacher Josh Sterenberg

Date November 8, 2018 Subject/ Topic/ Theme Constitutional Convention: The Process
Grade _______8_________

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This lesson contains a simulation on the Constitutional Convention engaging the students in the process used by the Founding Fathers to create the Constitution. The
lesson follows up the Articles of Confederation simulation which explains what the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were. This lesson’s simulation takes
the weaknesses found in the Articles of Confederation and allows the students to debate and discuss the best way of fixing the weaknesses, just like the Founding
Fathers would have at the Constitutional Convention.

cognitive- physical socio-

Learners will be able to: R U Ap An E C* development emotional
 Understand the voting process and key issues being debated in the creation of the Constitution. Understand X
 Analyze and debate key issues that came out of the Articles of Confederation that were solved by the Constitution. Analyze X
 Evaluate and discuss different viewpoints on the key issues debated during the Constitutional Convention.
Evaluate X X

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:

- U3.3.2 Identify economic and political questions facing the nation during the period of the Articles of Confederation
and the opening of the Constitutional Convention.

- C2 Explain Federalist v. anti-Federalists, loose union, limited federal powers as related to the development of American
democracy.

- E1.4 Discuss state currency v. federal currency (inter/intra-state trade.)

(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite Students need to know what the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were in order to
knowledge and skills. examine the connecting issues debated between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitutional
Convention.
Pre-assessment (for learning):

Formative (for learning):

Ask the students how the voting process during the simulation of the Articles of Confederation
worked, and how it compared / differed from the Constitutional Convention.

Outline assessment Formative (as learning):

activities
(applicable to this lesson) The students should all be able to participate in the simulation through comments and questions. The teacher
will be able assess how well the students understand the topic based on the amount of participation by the
students.
Summative (of learning):

Students will hand in their notecards at the end of class and will get credit if they wrote down
whether they supported the ratification of the Constitution or didn’t. This will help the teacher with
seeing who participated and listened to directions.

1-19-13
 Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of
Engagement Representation Action and Expression
Provide options for self-regulation- Provide options for Provide options for executive
expectations, personal skills and comprehension- activate, apply & functions- coordinate short &
strategies, self-assessment & reflection highlight long-term goals, monitor
progress, and modify
The students will receive strategies
Students will be expected to research information from discussion
their individual delegate and vote Short term goal: Students will
and researching their delegate.
accordingly. research a delegate and
understand their viewpoints
What barriers might this
lesson present? Long term: Students will
understand the process of
voting on the Constitution
Provide options for sustaining effort Provide options for language, Provide options for expression
What will it take – and persistence- optimize challenge, mathematical expressions, and and communication- increase
neurodevelopmentally, collaboration, mastery-oriented symbols- clarify & connect medium of expression
experientially, emotionally, feedback language
etc., for your students to do Students will be able to
this lesson? Students will work together as The copy of the Constitution listen to the teacher, use
delegates from a state to decide will be signed, symbolizing the their laptops, and write on
whether or not to vote or nominate real signing of the Constitution their paper.
an option.
Provide options for recruiting interest- Provide options for perception- Provide options for physical
choice, relevance, value, authenticity, making information perceptible action- increase options for
minimize threats interaction
Students will be able to use
Students will be their own delegate laptops, discussion and debates. Students will move around
and share their information with and greet one another.
one another as they great
- Name tags of the delegates
Materials-what materials - laptops
(books, handouts, etc) do - Writing utilities (pencil / paper)
you need for this lesson and - Whiteboard
are they ready to use? - Copy of the Constitution to sign

8 groups of 3 desks facing the front. (MA, NY, DE, CT, NJ, MD, PA, VA)
4 groups of 2 desks facing the front. (NC, SC, GA, NH)
1 desk for Rhode Island
1 desk in the front of the room for George Washington (yourself)
How will your classroom be
set up for this lesson?
(The states names will be on the front of the desk, and the students will be handed nametags at the
beginning of class with their delegate and their seat)

III. The Plan

Describe teacher activities AND student activities
Time: for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
5 prompts.
Components
0

m
Motivation
(opening/ Prepare the setting for the students. Tell them that your The students will walk in and be given a
introduction/ George Washington and that they have all been called for, nametag with the delegates name and state
engagement) shortly after Shays Rebellion, with the task to attempt to that they came from. They will find the
fix what is wrong with the Articles of Confederation. state and sit down.

1-19-13
 Explain that each one of them has the name of a delegate
and that they will need to embody their personality and
views in order to “become” them. Act like you’ve heard a
noise outside and quickly run out the door to check to see
if anyone has been eavesdropping in on the convention. The students will be interested on why you
Come back and say “I thought someone was ran out the room and one student will be
6m eavesdropping on this very confidential meeting.” Act like able to participate in closing the shutters on
you locked the door and ask a student to close the shutters the window.
on the window. Explain to them that this special occasion
should not be discussed or listened to outside this room.
Call a timeout and go out of your George Washington
personality.

Development
(the largest Tell the students that before the Constitutional Convention
component or can proceed they need to get into character and research
main body of their person.
15 m the lesson)
Tell the students to grab their laptops and learn about their
person through the link on the moodle page.
(http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/delegates/) Students will get up to grab their laptops and
begin to research their delegate, while
- Teaching with Technology: Using the writing important facts.
laptops lets the students see colored
pictures of their delegates and allows
1m them to dive deep into their delegates
beliefs. Students will put back their laptops and go
back to their seat.

1-19-13
 They should list some important facts of their delegate on
a piece of paper and whether they support or do not
support the ratification of the Constitution.

4m After the students are done researching their delegate the

teacher will ask them to put the laptops away and go back Students will walk around the room greeting
to their seat. Once seated tell them to get into character each other and share information about one
and practice for a minute. After the minutes passed another.
resume the simulation.

As George Washington tell the students to move around

the room and greet one another saying their name and
something they’ve learned about themselves. Then ask
the delegates to please return to their seats so that they can
vote on an issue.

Explain to the delegates that 9/13 states must vote for an

option to have it implemented in the Constitution.
- One state nominates an option.
- Another state seconds it.
- The option is discussed.
- Repeat the process if the vote does not have
the majority.

Pull up the screen projector and reveal the issue of How

should states be represented in the new government? Students will be participating in the
simulation thinking about how states should
be represented basing their information on
Option A: The number of representatives a state sends to the weakness of the Articles of
20 m Congress will depend on the state’s population. Confederation.

Option B: Each state will have equal representation in

Congress, regardless of the state’s size.

Option C: The number of representatives a state sends to

Congress will depend partially on the wealth of the
citizens of the state.

Proceed to vote and discuss.

(Because of time constraints you may need to call a

timeout and explain to them that the other issues will be
Students will hand around a copy of the
discussed tomorrow in a lecture and that your fast-
Constitution and sign or not sign it based on
forwarding towards the end of the convention.) their delegate.

Once the one option is passed tell them it is now time to

ratify and pass the Constitution. Pass around a copy of
the Constitution for them to sign OR not sign based on
whether or not their delegate signed it.

Closure

1-19-13
 (conclusion, Tell everyone to get out of character and Ask the students Students will discuss comparisons and
4m culmination, how the voting process during the simulation of the contrasts of both simulations.
wrap-up) Articles of Confederation worked, and how it compared /
differed from the Constitutional Convention.

Discuss and afterwards go around the room and collect

the notecards.
Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
I taught a very similar form of this simulation, however, It was more based upon notes and procedures which took away from
the engagement as a delegate. I wanted the students to really feel like they were participating in the Constitutional
Convention by diving deep into their personality of their delegate. Looking back on the simulation I taught I would definitely
want to add more time to actually vote and discuss multiple issues, maybe by splitting this lesson into two classes.

1-19-13