We the People Framework for Middle Schools and High Schools
We the People Framework for Middle Schools and High Schools
The We the People Text introduces students to the study of constitutional government in the United States. The curriculum is organized around ideas that form part of the common core of civic values and concepts that are fundamental to the understanding of democratic citizenship in the United States. The framework below is simply a suggestion. Instructors can teach all or part of the lessons and they can certainly change the order and time frame to meet their students’ needs.
The text is divided into six units with various lessons to expand upon the theme of each unit. The beginning of each describes the unit’s purpose with a timeline at the bottom of the page. This is followed by six to seven lessons in per unit. Each lesson’s purpose is followed by key Terms and Concepts to Understand. Some of the best practices to use with the key terms are to have students define the terms. The teacher can assess students’ understanding of these terms in quizzes such as multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, or using the term or concept correctly in a sentence or statement – to test their knowledge of terms and concepts.
Each unit’s key terms and concepts are followed by the key concepts of the lesson with bolded subheadings interspaced with Critical Thinking Exercises that can be used in cooperative learning activities in the classroom. At the end of each lesson there are a series of What Do You Think? questions. These can be used to assess student understanding by having students prepare essays, write position papers, or engage in classroom debates or discussions. These questions are immediately followed by Reviewing and Using the Lesson questions. This feature can be used as a quiz at the end of each lesson to evaluate whether students have mastered the material covered in the lesson.
Week / Activity/Lesson / Directions/Suggestions/Resources1 / High School
Unit One: What are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System?
· Lesson 1: What did the Founding Fathers Think About Constitutional Government? (pg. 1-10)
· Lesson 3: What Historical Developments Influenced Modern Ideas of Individual Rights? (pg. 19-26)
· Lesson 4: What Were The British Origins of American Constitutionalism? (pg. 27-34)
Middle School
Unit One: What were the Founders’ Basic Ideas about government?
· Lesson 1: What were the British Colonies in America like in the 1770s? (pg. 1-12)
· Lesson 2: Why do we need government? (pg. 13- 20)
· Lesson 3: What is republican government? (pg. 21-30) / See additional websites for sample lesson plans and resources:
WTP Instructional guideline.pdf
Teaching Strategies.htm
We The People _ EDSITEment.htm (many additional lessons)
iCivics- Who Rules
WTP Lesson 4.pdf
The Enlightenment
WTP Unit lesson and questions
FLREA Inspiration for a New Nation
There are instructional videos available at:
http://www.civiced.org/resources/multimedia/featured-videos
Note: To access additional lessons from the Florida Law Related Education Association (FLREA), teachers will have to request a password and wait 24-48 for authorization. Once authorization is granted, teachers will receive information via email.
Note: To access the answer keys for iCivics lessons, teachers will have to go to iCivics.com and create an account.
Week / Activity/Lesson / Directions/Suggestions/Resources
2 / High School
Unit One: What are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System?
· Lesson 5: What Basic Ideas about the Rights and Constitutional Government Did Colonial Americans Hold? (pg. 35-42)
· Lesson 7: What Basic Ideas about Government and Rights Did the State Constitutions Include? (pg. 49-56)
Middle School
Unit One: What were the Founders’ Basic Ideas about government?
· Lesson 4: What is constitutional government? (pg. 31-40)
· Lesson 5: How can we organize government to prevent the abuse of power? (pg. 41-45) / The American Revolution
Enlightenment Ideas
FLREA Enlighten Me Lesson
FLREA Enlighten Me powerpoint
https://www.superteachertools.net/jeopardyx/answerkey.php?game=1409241026
3 / High School
Unit Two: How Did The Framers Create The Constitution?
· Lesson 8: What Were The Articles of Confederation, and Why Did Some of the Founders Want to Change Them? (pg. 57- 66)
· Lesson 11: What Questions Did the Framers Consider in Designing the Three Branches of the National Government? (pg. 79- 86)
Middle School
Unit Two: What shaped the Founders’ thinking about government?
· Lesson 8: What Basic ideas about government are in the Declaration of Independence? (pg. 67-74)
· Lesson 10: How did the states govern themselves after the Revolution? (pg. 83- 92) / Basic ideas of Government handout (WTP teachers’ edition D1)
Creating the constitution
Checks and balances
Branches of government
Branches of government Handout (to be used with Branches of government powerpoint)
Branches of government powerpoint (to be used with Branches of government handout
FLREA Foundations of Government- What is a Constitution powerpoint
4 / High School
Unit Two: How Did The Framers Create The Constitution?
· Lesson 12: How Did the Delegates Distribute Powers Between National and State Governments? (pg. 87- 92)
· Lesson 14: What Was the Federalist Position in the Debate about Ratification? (pg. 99- 104)
Middle School
Unit Two: What shaped the Founders’ thinking about government?
· Lesson 11: How did the Articles of Confederation organize the first national government? (pg. 93 – 102) / Federalism Graphic Organizer
Week / Activity/Lesson / Directions/Suggestions/Resources
5 / High School
Unit Three: How Has The Constitution Been Changed to Further The Ideals Contained in The Declaration of Independence?
· Lesson 15: How Have Amendments and Judicial Review Changed the Constitution? (pg. 107- 112)
· Lesson 17: How Did The Civil War Test and Transform the American Constitutional System? (pg. 119-124)
Middle School
Unit Three: What happened at the Philadelphia Convention?
· Lesson 13: How did the Framers resolve the conflict about representation in Congress? (pg. 113- 120)
· Lesson 14: How did the Framers resolve the conflict between the Northern and Southern states? (pg. 121- 128) / Judicial Review Marbury v. Madison DBQ
Flow chart Political Parties
Political Parties timeline
6 / High School
Unit Three: How Has The Constitution Been Changed to Further The Ideals Contained in The Declaration of Independence?
· Lesson 18: How Has the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment Changed the Constitution? (pg. 125- 130)
· Lesson 20: How Has the Right to Vote Been Expanded since the Adoption of the Constitution? (pg. 137- 142)
Middle School
Unit Three: What happened at the Philadelphia Convention?
· Lesson 15: How did the Framers resolve the conflict about the powers of the legislative branch? (pg. 129- 136)
· Lesson 16: How much power should be given to the executive and judicial branch? (pg. 137- 144) / ABA Lesson Plan for 14th Amendment
ABA Handout For 14th Amendment
Affirmative Action Lesson Plan
Brown v. Board power point
Segregation Power Point
Voting Rights timeline
FLREA Making Amends 3.5 lesson
FLREA Making Amends 3.5 powerpoint
Checks and balances
7 / *Break up students into groups of six for student led presentations of remaining lessons and state hearing questions for competition.
*Go to www.flrea.org to view High School State Hearing Questions
Assign One Question Per Group
*Student groups will use this week to prepare for the three lessons that they will present and to simultaneously research for their state hearing question.
Students Prepare for Hearing Questions
Give each Unit group their set of hearing questions (3 questions total). Although each individual student can write an answer (also called the opening statement), emphasize that they are answering each question as a group. There are two options as to how students can approach them:
1) Each group would work on answering one question for the week. By the end of the week (or other designated time) students should have a rough draft finished for question #1. The following week, students would prepare for question #2, with a rough draft at the end of the week again, and the same for the third week.
2) Teacher can pass out handout titled Areas for Research to assist students in beginning their research.
• Teacher facilitates preparation each week, giving whatever help necessary.
• Rough drafts are continuously re-submitted until all criteria has been met
2) Students can write the answers to each question individually. For example, question #1 can be written by one student, while another student in the group can write question #2, and another for question #3. This may help to speed up the process in general, and keep one person from being the designated as the sole writer; however, what works for one group may not work for another.
• Since each of the three questions have several sub-questions within them, it may be better to have the group divide those sub-questions for quicker results. Additionally, this would give the team more ownership over the entire question for each week.
Students Prepare for We The People Unit Presentations for the Week
· Each group should present their corresponding unit to the entire class with a 10-12 slide power point.
· Each group is responsible for creating five multiple choice questions for the assessment that will be administered by the teacher on week 14.
· The other students in the class should be taking notes and asking questions. Students who take notes will be allowed to use them for this assessment.
Week / Activity/Lesson / Directions/Suggestions/Resources
8 / High School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Four: How Have the Values and Principles Embodied In The Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices?
· Lesson 21: (30 minutes) What is the Role of Congress in American Constitutional Democracy? (pg. 145- 152)
· Lesson 23: (30 minutes) What is the Role of the President in the American Constitutional System? (pg. 161- 172)
Middle School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Four: How was the constitution used to establish our government?
· Lesson 17: (30 minutes) How did the Constitution create a federal system of government? (pg. 147- 154)
· Lesson 19: (30 minutes) How did congress organize the new government? (pg. 165- 170)
*For the remainder of class time student groups work on editing/revising state hearing questions / • Teacher facilitates preparation each week, giving whatever help necessary.
• Rough drafts are continuously re-submitted until all criteria has been met
Law Studies Lesson 8- Structure of U.S. Government
Law Studies Lesson 9: Federal System
Federalism Graphic Organizer
· Federalism handout (WTP teachers’ edition D3)
Week / Activity/Lesson / Directions/Suggestions/Resources
9 / High School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Four: How Have the Values and Principles Embodied In The Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices?
· Lesson 24: (30 minutes) How Are National Laws Administered in the American Constitutional System? (pg. 173- 178)
· Lesson 26: (30 minutes) How Does American Federalism Work? (pg. 185- 192)
Middle School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Four: How was the constitution used to establish our government?
· Lesson 20: (30 minutes) How did political parties develop? (pg. 171- 180)
· Lesson 21: (30 minutes) How does the U.S. Supreme Court use the power of judicial review? (pg. 181-186)
*For the remainder of class time student groups work on editing/revising state hearing questions / • Teacher facilitates preparation each week, giving whatever help necessary.
• Rough drafts are continuously re-submitted until all criteria has been met
Flow chart Political Parties
Political Parties timeline
Judicial Review Marbury v. Madison DBQ
10 / High School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Five: What Rights Does The Bill of Rights Protect?
· Lesson 27: (30 minutes) What Are the Bills of Rights and What Kinds of Rights Does the U.S. Bill of Rights Protect? (pg. 193- 202)
· Lesson 29: (30 minutes) How Does the First Amendment Protect Free Expression? (pg. 211- 218)
Middle School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Five: How does the Constitution protect our basic rights?
· Lesson 23: (30 minutes) How does the constitution protect freedom of expression? (pg. 195- 206)
· Lesson 24: (30 minutes) How does the constitution protect freedom of religion? (207- 214)
*For the remainder of class time student groups work on editing/revising state hearing questions / • Teacher facilitates preparation each week, giving whatever help necessary.
• Rough drafts are continuously re-submitted until all criteria has been met
FLREA Bill of Rights 2.4 lesson
FLREA Bill of Rights 2.4 powerpoint
Law Studies lesson 6: The Bill of Rights
Deciding Issues using Constitutional guidelines ((WTP teachers’ edition D6)
11 / High School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Five: What Rights Does The Bill of Rights Protect?
· Lesson 30: (30 minutes ) How Does the Frist Amendment Protect Freedom to Assemble, Petition, and Associate? (pg. 219- 224)
· Lesson 32: (30 minutes) How Do the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments Protect Rights within the Judicial System? (pg. 235- 242)
Middle School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Five: How does the Constitution protect our basic rights?
· Lesson 26: (30 minutes) How does the constitution safeguard the right to equal protection under the law? (pg. 225- 232)
· Lesson 27: (30 minutes) How does the constitution protect the right to due process of law? (pg. 233- 240)
*For the remainder of class time student groups work on editing/revising state hearing questions / • Teacher facilitates preparation each week, giving whatever help necessary.
• Rough drafts are continuously re-submitted until all criteria has been met
ABA Lesson Plan for 14th Amendment
ABA Handout For 14th Amendment
Equal Protection Timeline handout (WTP teachers’ edition D9)
Due Process in the Constitution handout (WTP teachers’ edition D10)
12 / High School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Six: What Challenges Might Face American Constitutional Democracy in the Twenty-First Century?
· Lesson 33: (30 minutes) What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen? (pg. 243- 254)
· Lesson 36: (30 minutes) How Have American Political Ideas and American Constitutional System Influenced Other Nations?* (pg. 271- 278)
Middle School
*Student Groups Present:
Unit Six: What are the responsibilities of citizens?
· Lesson 29: (30 minutes) What are the rights and responsibilities of citizenship? (pg. 253- 262)
· Lesson 30: (30 minutes) How might citizens participate in civic affairs? (pg. 262-274) / • Teacher facilitates preparation each week, giving whatever help necessary.