Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Constitutional Questions

Objective: Students ask and answer questions about the Constitution of the United States.

What You Need:

• copies of the Constitution of the United States
• Constitution Question Generator worksheet

Suggested Time:
2-3 class periods

Building Background:
The Constitution of the United States was written to last. In Chief Justice John Marshall's words, it was "meant to endure for ages to come, and to meet the various crises of human affairs" (McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819). Its original articles lay out the basic principles of the United States government: the form and structure of the government; the separation of powers and the built-in checks and balances among the three branches; and the federal system, that is, the division of power between the states and the federal government. The Bill of Rights and other amendments address the safeguarding of personal rights.

What To Do:

1. Distribute copies of the Constitution and the Constitution Question Generator worksheet. Tell students that the Constitution is a complicated document, written in formal language. But it can made easier to understand by breaking down the content into the most important topics, then asking and answering questions about those topics.

2. Have students form small groups to study the Constitution and generate a list of the topics that are covered by this document. Students' suggestions may include the following topics:

• the type of government
• powers of the federal and state governments
• three branches of government and their powers
• the system of checks and balances
• the two houses of Congress and the powers of each
• election of representatives and senators
• election of the president and vice president
• foreign affairs
• amending the Constitution

3.Tell students to choose the five topics that they consider the most important for U.S. citizens to know. For each topic, have students list several important terms, and then write a question for each term. Use the topic, terms, and questions below as an example.

4. When groups complete their worksheets, have them exchange with another group and answer that group's questions.

• If you have Internet access, students can explore these sites for information:

The Constitution of the United States
http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/constitution/index.html
This site offers an exact-size reproduction of the first public printing of the Constitution as it appeared in the September 19, 1787, issue of the Pennsylvania Packet. You can also find the text of the Constitution.

Ben Franklin: Glimpses of the Man
http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/rotten.html
Learn more about an important leader of the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin, with primary sources, images, a timeline, a glossary, and more at this site.

National Archives and Records Administration: The Constitution of the United States
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters_downloads.html
Read the text of the Constitution, find biographies of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, and uncover fun facts about the Constitution at this site.

Wrap-Up

Bring the groups together and create an outline of the seven articles of the Constitution. Include the basic topic of each article and some of the key points under each article.

Extension:

• With their study of the Constitution fresh in their minds, students can create a Constitutional IQ test. Suggest that they choose five to seven questions that they believe most citizens should be able to answer, such as "How many branches of government do we have in the United States and what are they?" Then have students give the test to students in other classes and to adults that they know and compute the results. Suggest that they identify participants on their interview forms only in a general way, such as "sixth grade boy" or "adult businesswoman." Discuss the results in class.