The Bill of Rights Essential Question How does the Bill of Rights guarantee the individual rights of a United States citizen?

What is The Bill of Rights? Essential Question How does the Bill of Rights guarantee the individual rights of a United States citizen? Teacher Notes: This should be brief. Do NOT make them copy this down as the information is provided in The Bill of Rights handouts which you will be giving out later today.

What is The Bill of Rights? Vocabulary Amendment- changes to the Constitution Ratify- (a verb) that means to officially approve something by signing or voting for it. Rights- legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement owed to people, according to the Constitution Teacher Notes: This should be brief. Do NOT make them copy this down as the information is provided in The Bill of Rights handouts which you will be giving out later today.

What is The Bill of Rights? The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution (changes). It was written to protect the freedom and rights of the individual. There are now a total of 27 Amendments to the Constitution, but only the first 10 are called The Bill of Rights. Teacher Notes: This should be brief. Do NOT make them copy this down as the information is provided in The Bill of Rights handouts which you will be giving out later today.

Amendment Analyzation We will be splitting up into 10 groups. Each group will be given ONE of the ten Amendments in the Bill of Rights. Your task is to translate the amendment into something that is simple and easy to understand. We will then discuss these as a class. Teacher Notes: This assignment, including the previous slide and the discussion, should take around 15 minutes. Cut out the 10 Amendments from a copy of The Bill of Rights - Original Language handout. Either laminate one set to use in each of your classes or cut out one set for each class in case the students write on them. You may want them to write on them, and you can even give them a highlighter to highlight key words. Circulate the room to answer questions as needed. Try not to give them the definition or a synonym for the difficult words in the text. You can allow the students to use cell phones if they have them and if that is allowed in your classroom. When you come back together as a class, have the students read through their wording of the Amendments. Discuss each as needed – ask for clarification or if the other students in the class would add anything/ change any of the wording to make it easier to understand. Once the discussion is over, give the students The Bill of Rights – Original Language & Student Friendly Language handouts.

The Value of Rights Read over the original 10 Amendments in The Bill of Rights. Choose the 5 Amendments you believe are the most important and list them in the chart. Then answer the questions in complete sentences. Why did you select these rights? How would life change without the other rights? Teacher Notes: This assignment should take around 15 minutes. Have the students do this on their own. Write the Amendment numbers on the board so that you can tally the students’ choices for the most important Amendments. Circulate the room to answer questions as needed. When the students are finished, tally using a show of hands. Rank the Amendments in order. This should take no more than 5 minutes.

Class Discussion What similarities do you find among the rights people generally ranked as most important? How do you think responses might change based on… Age; Place in History Do you think there are times when the government should infringe on one of these rights? Explain. Teacher Notes: This assignment should take around 10 minutes. For each question have them discuss their thoughts in small groups (2-3 students) first and then have a whole group discussion. Once the discussion is over, move on to the next question and use the same technique. If this seems to be taking longer than 10 minutes you have two options: (A) Eliminate questions for discussion to move on to the next activity; (B) Keep the discussion going, realizing that some portions of the day’s plans may be moved until tomorrow (and that should not be considered a bad thing if you are having in depth and thoughtful discussions). Collect The Value of Rights handout to read and respond to student answers.

What’s the Problem? We will be splitting up into groups of three or four. Each group will be given 3 Scenario Cards. After you read one of the scenarios, you will answer the following questions using The Bill of Rights Is a RIGHT being violated? Which AMENDMENT (if any) offers protection for that right? Give the reason for your choice. Teacher Notes: This assignment should take around 20 minutes. Split the class up into groups of 3 – 4 students. Give each group 3 scenario cards – There are 12 different scenarios so some groups will have the same scenario cards depending on the size of your class. Give the students 10 minutes to read their cards, and using their Bill of Rights handouts, answer the questions on their handout (also on the slide). Then have the students read their scenario cards and share their group’s response. If two groups have the same 3 scenarios, have each group discuss at least one. Discuss when necessary. This should take around 10 minutes. If you run out of time you can always leave the reading of the scenario’s and group responses until the next day – or continue them on the next day.

HOMEWORK The U.S. Government has decided to narrow down the number of Amendments we currently have in the Bill of Rights. They have determined that either the 1st Amendment or the 4th Amendment must be eliminated. The President has asked you, a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, to give him your opinion on which is more important to keep. You will write the President an email justifying your opinion. You must write in complete sentences (This is going to the President, after all). Teacher Notes: This has been typed up on a handout so that it can be given out even if there is not time at the end of class for the students to copy it down. It also gives the students a specific location to write their response for easy submission. I would still give this assignment at the end of this class even if I had to move the discussion of the scenarios until the next day. You could either have the students turn the assignment in the next class period or give them an extra day for them to complete the work. If you choose to have the students hand in their assignment the next day, once they are collected you can debate which of the Amendments is the better choice to keep (hopefully there would be some students who chose each). If you choose to give the students an extra day to turn in the assignment, some time the next class could be offered for the students to continue their work. As you will see on the next slide, I have a story quiz that I would give to the students the next day. If they finish that early they could continue to work on this assignment. Then once they are submitted, you could have your class debate.

Other Possible Activities A Bill of Rights Story (could be used as an assessment) Students read the story of Johnny Q. Public and underline or highlight where Johnny’s rights are violated. They number each one and at the bottom, identify the right being violated and the Amendment that offers protection for each of those rights. Close Read – Article: More than 1,000 Boston students march to protest cuts Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights Amendment I- People have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the government. Amendment II- People have the right to have a weapon to protect themselves. Amendment III- citizens do not have house soldiers in time of war or peace. Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights Amendment IV- The government cannot arrest a person or search their property without just cause. Amendment V- the government must follow the law before punishing a person. The government cannot take your property unless it pays for it. Amendment VI- A person has a right to a fair and speedy trial Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights Amendment VII- a person has the right to a jury trial for civil cases. Amendment VIII- The government cannot demand excessive bail or fines, or any cruel and unusual punishment. Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights Amendment IX- The Constitution does not include all of the rights of the people. Any other rights are given to you. Amendment X- Any powers that the Constitution does not give to the federal government belongs to the states. Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights XII- The President and Vice President are elected on a party ticket. (1804) XIII- Slavery is illegal. (1865) XV- All US male citizens can vote. (1870) XVI- Congress can tax income. (1913) XVIII – Alcohol is illegal. (1919) XIX- All US female citizens can vote. (1920) XXI- Alcohol is legal. (1933) XXII- The President cannot serve more than two terms. (1951) Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights XXV- if the president dies, the VP becomes president. If both die, the Speaker of The House becomes president. (1967) XXVI- US citizens who are 18 or older can vote. (1971) XXVII- Congress must limit when and how much its members are paid. (1992) Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.

The Bill of Rights Summarizer 3- List three parts of the 1st Amendment 2- List the two Amendments that give citizens rights to a jury trial. 1) What is the reason for the Bill of Rights? Teacher Notes: These could replace an activity already on this day, or be an activity they do the next day. Personally, I would consider these additional assignments and I would use the Bill of Rights Story as a quiz where they can use their handouts.