Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 20, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 20, Lesson 2: Putting the Constitution to Work (pp. 600-608)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Rights A wide variety groups have used the Constitution to obtain and protect their rights.

Review the basic rights spelled out in the Bill of Rights an describe the content and effects of the Fourteenth Amendment. Summarize the various rights movements, including black Americans, American Indians, and women.

Explain how the Constitution can be used to establish and uphold people's rights. Discuss situations when political reality has not matched political ideals, such as in the internment of Japanese Americans, and brainstorm with students ways citizens can work to eliminate them.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have each student write two paragraphs explaining how application of the rights set out in the Bill of Rights has changed over the past 200 years, including the groups who have been affected by these changes.
Have groups of students work together to create a chart, identifying different groups of people who fought for their rights in the 20th century, how they fought, and what they have gained.

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