Source Analysis

Bill of Rights

1789

Lesson Plan

Getting to Know the Bill of Rights

Author: Christine J. Valenti
School: Lakelands Park Middle School
Grade Level: 8th
Time Estimated: 4 days (50 minute periods)

Brief Overview

The purpose of this extended lesson is to familiarize students with the rights guaranteed in the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution (the Bill of Rights). Students will analyze the Bill of Rights as a primary resource, in addition to several pivotal U.S. Supreme Court cases.

Enduring Understanding

During the summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to create a new framework of government for the United States. This new framework, the Constitution, created a new federal government based on three branches of government. The relationship between these branches and structure of each of them was clearly defined. The Framers of the Constitution even included the process of how to change or amend the Constitution. Even though many heated debates ensued before the Constitution was written, the topic of including of a bill of rights was not seriously debated since most of the Framers believed that each state’s declaration of rights would be adequate protections of individual rights. Eventually, once the Constitution had been written, the next step for these delegates was getting nine out of the thirteen states to approve of it.

During the ratification debates on adopting the US Constitution, opponents voiced their concerns that the federal government, as created by the Constitution, would become too powerful and minimize the freedoms and rights of citizens. These Anti-federalists proposed that a “bill of rights” be included. Despite their concerns, the Constitution was eventually ratified by September 1787. Anti-federalists were still concerned about the lack of protection from the power of the federal government. By September 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed to the state legislatures that twelve amendments be added to the Constitution. Eventually, on December 15th, 1791, ten amendments were added to the Constitution. These ten additions or changes to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. The first eight amendments establish the freedoms and rights of citizens, and the ninth and tenth amendments help to establish the general rules governing the relationship between the people, state governments, and the federal government. Even though the Bill of Rights embraces the protection of individual rights, our nation has faced the struggle of extending these rights to all American citizens. Court decisions, such as ones from the Supreme Court, have helped and continue to help clarify and extend these rights to Americans who have been deprived of them in the past.

MCPS Unit

Eighth Grade Social Studies, Unit Two: Creating a National Political System and Culture; Lesson Sequence Two, Session 5 and Others (8.2.2.5)
Content Focus: The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, protects important rights, including speech, press, religion, and due process.

Mastery Objective

Students will analyze key elements of the Bill of Rights and apply their knowledge about this document to situations in their daily lives by using a Close Reading strategy and by completing a graphic organizer. In addition, students will examine a variety of resources based on pivotal US Supreme Court cases to recognize how the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights are applied to situations that occur in everyday life and to determine how these rights continue to be changed through the Court’s decisions.

Materials

Consider booking the computer lab to research current news events related to the Bill of Rights.

In addition, students may be interested in visiting the US Supreme Court website (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/) to enhance their understanding of jurisprudence and the judicial process.

Procedures

This extended lesson plan is formatted to be taught for a period of four to five academic classes. Each lesson sequence will include an activator, readings, various assessments, approaches to differentiation, and homework assignments.

Lesson Sequences One and Two: The Bill of Rights

1.   Before Reading – Activating Prior Knowledge

    Ask the class:

  • What is the difference between a responsibility and a right?
  • What responsibilities do citizens have?
  • What rights do citizens have?

    • Answers may include:
    Responsibilities are duties that citizens must perform that benefit the whole society. Four major responsibilities include the responsibility to participate (staying informed about issues and getting involved), the responsibility to vote, the responsibility to respect the rights of others, and the responsibility to fulfill legal duties (obey laws, pay taxes, defend the nation if drafted, serve in court as a juror or a witness, and attend a school or be home schooled).

    Rights are freedoms that citizens are guaranteed. Four basic rights include the right to freedom of expression (speech, press, assembly, and petition), the right to freedom of religion, the right to equal treatment, and the right to vote.

    Source: MCPS Eighth Grade Social Studies guide: Unit 8:2.2.5 (p.97).

2.   Vocabulary Preview

    Before reading the Bill of Rights, introduce these terms to your students. Students should take notes by writing these terms on a lined piece of paper or in their history journals.

  • Establishment clause: The purpose of this clause is to prohibit the federal government from establishing one or more official religions for the nation.
  • Free exercise clause: The purpose of this clause is to prevent the federal government from interfering with a person’s right to practice his/her beliefs.
  • Probable cause: A good reason for suspecting that a person has broken a law.
  • Warrant: A written document giving permission for a search or seizure.
  • Unreasonable searches and seizures: Those that are without a cause, without probable cause.
  • Grand jury: A group of people who first decide if there is enough evidence to have a trial for a person charged with a very serious crime.
  • Right against self-incrimination: The right not to testify against oneself.
  • Double jeopardy: When a person is put on trial for a crime and the trial ends, that person may not be tried for the same crime. If a person is convicted and served time, or if the person is not found guilty, he/she may not be put on trial again.
  • Right to counsel: A person accused of a crime has a right to a lawyer, and if the accused cannot afford one, the court will appoint one.
  • Capital punishment: This refers to the death penalty.
  • Enumerate: to list
  • Unenumerated: unlisted

3.   During Reading – Using a Close Reading Strategy (Differentiation)

    In preparing to analyze the Bill of Rights, it is important to note that students may be unfamiliar with the language and phrasing of words in this document. The Close Reading Strategy may be useful when reading a difficult text, such as the Bill of Rights. This means that the reader should read more slowly than his/her normal pace, consider the meaning of each word or phrase before moving on, and reread frequently.

    Consider doing a Think-Aloud to model this strategy.

  • Suggest that students read each amendment listed in the chart one by one.
  • Replace unfamiliar words with ones that you know.
  • Reread the sentence or phrase with the replacement words.
  • Skip words or phrases that are not necessary.
  • Connect the sentence to what you read before and what you know about the topic.

    • Source: MCPS Eighth Grade Social Studies guide: Unit 8:1:3:5 (p.125)

4.   Independent Practice – Bill of Rights Organizer and Summary Sheet

    Direct students into pairs to try the Close Reading strategy. Students will complete the Bill of Rights Organizer by selecting summaries of each amendment from the Summary of the Bill of Rights and thinking of examples to show an application of these rights from the past or present.

    Suggestion for differentiation: In order to accommodate all learners, the teacher may want to create another sheet with examples of the rights being used in everyday life, whether in school or outside of school. Additionally, some students may need to cut and paste the summaries in the chart instead of writing them in the chart. Be sure to give students enough time to complete this activity. Review answers with students by having students volunteer their information. Teacher may want to make a transparency of the Bill of Rights Organizer to capture student responses.

    Note: Students will need this organizer to complete the Formative Assessment, “Analyzing the Bill of Rights.”

5.   Formative Assessment – Homework: “Analyzing the Bill of Rights”

    Check for Understanding: Be sure that students have a firm understanding of the rights protected by the Bill of Rights before assigning this assessment.

    Suggestion for differentiation: This formative assessment is challenging to complete. It is the discretion of the teacher to use the entire activity or just parts of it in order to highlight some of the more basic rights, such as freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition, and freedom of religion.

    Download the “Analyzing the Bill of Rights” assignment

Lesson Sequences Three and Four: The Bill of Rights in Action – Landmark Supreme Court Cases

1.   Engaging Students

Check the formative assessment, “Analyzing the Bill of Rights,” by having students volunteer their responses orally. Select several students to write their own examples (questions 16-20) on the board or on an overhead transparency. At this point, the teacher may choose to re-teach any key concepts, as necessary.

2.   Before Reading – Vocabulary Front-loading of Legal Terms

Tell students that they will be examining a variety of resources based on pivotal US Supreme Court cases to recognize how the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights are applied to situations that occur in everyday life and how these freedoms and rights continue to be changed through the Court’s decisions.

Students will be reading summaries of US Supreme Court cases as prepared by the Oyez Project (http://www.oyez.org/), in addition to selections from headnotes (syllabi) to U.S. Supreme Court opinions. These documents can be challenging to analyze. Most students will be able to gather sufficient information from the Oyez Project summaries. The headnotes to US Supreme Court opinions have also been provided for each case to familiarize students with legal terminology and formatting. It is the teacher’s discretion to use one or both of these sources for each Supreme Court case, depending on the needs of each student.

Before reading the summaries of these landmark Supreme Court cases, introduce these legal terms to your students. Students should take notes by writing these terms on a lined piece of paper or in their history journals.

  • Affirm: To uphold a decision of a lower court
  • Case: A legal dispute or controversy brought to a court for resolution
  • Concurring opinion: An opinion that agrees with the result reached by the majority, but disagrees as to the appropriate rationale for reaching that result
  • Defendant: A party at the trial level being sued in a civil case or charged with a crime in a criminal case
  • Dissenting opinion: A formal written expression by a judge who disagrees with the result reached by the majority
  • Immunity: An exemption from prosecution granted in exchange for testimony
  • Plaintiff: The party who brings a legal action to court for resolution or remedy
  • Remand: To send a case back to an inferior court for additional action
  • Reverse: An action by an appellate court setting aside or changing a decision of a lower court
  • Vacate: To void or rescind

    • Source: The Oyez Glossary of Legal Terms, the Oyez Project
    http://www.oyez.org/glossary/

3.   During Reading – Using the Close Reading Strategy

Remind students that court opinions are difficult to read. Encourage students to use the Close Reading strategy from Lesson Sequences One and Two.

This means that the reader should read more slowly than his/her normal pace, consider the meaning of each word or phrase before moving on, and reread frequently.

Consider doing a Think-Aloud to model this strategy.

  • Suggest that students read a small section of the text.
  • Replace unfamiliar words with ones that you know.
  • Reread the sentence or phrase with the replacement words.
  • Skip words or phrases that are not necessary.
  • Connect the sentence to what you read before and what you know about the topic.

    • Source: MCPS Eighth Grade Social Studies guide: Unit 8:1:3:5 (p.125)

4.   Independent Practice – Cooperative Learning: The Bill of Rights in Action – Landmark Supreme Court Cases

For this activity, students will be divided into eight groups of three to four students.

Each group will be given a specific set of court documents to analyze.

Each group is to record their information on the Graphic Organizer. Each group should select a “Moderator,” to keep the group on task, and a “Presenter,” to share their group’s information with the class. All students will add this information to their charts.

5.   Extending Understanding/Homework – Debriefing Questions

Check to ensure that students can relate the right (amendment) being examined in these Supreme Court decisions. At this point, the teacher may choose to re-teach any key concepts, as necessary.
Students will need the Graphic Organizer for the “Bill of Rights in Action” to complete this assessment.

Direct students to individually complete the Debriefing Questions for the “Bill of Rights in Action: Landmark Supreme Court Cases.” Remind students to support responses with specific details.

Resources

Books

With Liberty and Justice for All: The Story of the Bill of Rights
A publication of the Center for Civic Education

Websites

The Oyez Project:
http://www.oyez.org/
“The Oyez Project is a multimedia archive devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. It aims to be a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. The Project also provides authoritative information on all justices and offers a virtual reality ‘tour’ of portions of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of some of the justices.”
Cornell University Law School:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/
“The Legal Information Institute (LII) is a research and electronic publishing activity of the Cornell Law School.”
The Supreme Court of the United States
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/