Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 4, Lesson 3

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 4, Lesson 3: The Bill of Rights (pp. 124-127)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Rights The promise of a bill of rights led many people to support the new Constitution.

Review the movement by states to include a bill of rights in the federal Constitution. Be sure students understand that the federal Bill of Rights is based on similar bills of rights included in many state Constitutions.

Review the process for amending the Constitution. Discuss with students the problems of an amendment process which is either too easy or too hard.

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 students write an essay on why many people wanted the Bill of Rights included in the Constitution. Why did many people want the rights written down, and why did they want them included at the national level?
Have each student create a picture chart to represent how the Constitution is amended. Encourage students to show steps with arrows and arrangement on the page. (You might want to do a partial sample.)

Social Studies Center | Houghton Mifflin Social Studies | Grade 8 Home
Education Place | Site Index

You may download, print, and make copies of Lesson at a Glance pages for use in your classroom, provided that you include the copyright notice shown below on all such copies.