Connections Constitution – Articles of Confederation Description: Students take two or more terms and express the historical connection between the terms in a topic sentence The student supports the topic sentence with specific evidence in the form of a paragraph. Connections function as “mini-essays.”

Connections Connection A Description: Connection B Description: Connecting Sentence: Explain the Relationship:

Articles of Confederation Connection - Example Constitution Three branches: Legislative, Executive, Judicial Federalism Supremacy clause Checks and Balances Power to tax Power to enforce laws Articles of Confederation One branch: Legislative Federalism States could ignore national government No power to tax No power to enforce laws

Connecting Sentence The Constitution repaired many of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Relationship Because the authors of the Articles of Confederation feared a strong national government that would treat the states as Great Britain had, they created a loose confederation with a weak national government and strong states. Under the Articles of Confederation the national government was unable to effectively raise taxes or enforce laws. The Constitution addressed these weaknesses by first dividing power between three separate branches of government, thus setting up a system of checks and balances. The Constitution gave the national government the power to tax and enforce laws. Finally, the Constitution included the Supremacy clause which made it clear that national law was superior to each individual state’s law.  

Why Connections? Connections help students recognize continuities and contingencies in history. Practical applications: Recognizing the continuities of history will help students “chunk” large amounts of information into manageable sections. Essays require students to make comparisons across time periods. Connections help students recognize historical links, practice writing topic sentences, and apply specific evidence to support a thesis.