ETE 335 Elementary Social Studies Lesson Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

ETE 335 Elementary Social Studies Lesson Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Jenny Stiles Social Studies-Government 4 th Grade The U.S. Constitution

ETE 335 Elementary Social Studies Lesson Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Goals: This government lesson is designed to teach students about the U.S. Constitution that grants them their citizenship. Students will learn about its various ideas and aspects. Once the lesson is complete, students will understand the importance of the Constitution as well as its individual components. Objectives: Content/Knowledge: Students will be able to explain the main purpose of the Constitution Students will be able to describe the various aspects of the Constitution Students will be able to create a timeline of important Constitutional events Students will be able to execute thorough research Students will be able to explain and describe important people involved Process/Skills: Students will be able to construct various projects based on information Students will be able to interpret various sections of the Constitution Values/Dispositions: Students will be able to organize the main events of the Constitution Students will respond to other students through activities

ETE 335 Elementary Social Studies Lesson Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Rationale: It is important for students to understand this lesson because The U.S. Constitution is an important part of the United States government. Students need to analyze and evaluate its purpose and meaning in order to understand the importance of their citizenship. Standards: State – Illinois Common Core or Learning Standards 14.A.2 Explain the importance of funda- mental concepts expressed and implied in major documents including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution. 14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to the individual, family, community, workplace, state and nation (e.g., voting, protection under the law). 14.F.2 Identify consistencies and inconsistencies between expressed United States political traditions and ideas and actual practices (e.g., freedom of speech, right to bear arms, slavery, voting rights). National – NCSS Themes Over the duration of this lesson, students will encounter many social studies themes. Students will spend a little bit of time on the theme of time, continuity, and change as they realize how The Constitution connects them with the past and that The Constitution brings continuity. One major theme students will come across is that of power, authority, and governance. With this theme, students will examine The Constitution through a lens concerning individual rights. In addition, students will work with the theme of civic ideals and practices in terms of citizenship and rights.

Logical/Mathematical

Logical/Mathematical In this activity, students will analyze a list of U.S. Constitution “Dates to Remember.” Once they have reviewed the list and descriptions of each date, they will decide which they believe are the 15 most important dates. They will then have to create a timeline on a strip of poster board labeling the date and event. Dates to Remember

Verbal/Linguistic

Verbal/Linguistic In order to complete this activity, students must write a biography research paper about one of the signers of the U.S. Constitution. Prior to the research, we will have discussed expository biography writing as well as research papers. I will provide the students with a list of names that had signed the Constitution, and I will also provide quality websites the students may use. Students will be required to brainstorm and create some sort of graphic organizer in order to move on to the writing stage. Once they have completed the paper, students will be required to read their paper in front of the class. Choose A Graphic Organizer Signers of the Constitution Signers of the Constitution 2

Musical/Rhythmic

Musical/Rhythmic For this activity, students will be focusing specifically on the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution. To begin, we will talk about the basic ideas that are in the Preamble. Students will have a U.S. Constitution handbook that has an entire section about the Preamble. We will have a class discussion about the Preamble and try to decode what it means. After the discussion, I will break the students up into 5 groups, and each group will be assigned one of the 5 basic ideas of the Preamble (establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty). Each group will have to write their own interpretation of their words as well as create a drawing that represents that interpretation. Preamble Song Preamble Information

Visual/Spatial

Visual/Spatial This activity will be exploring the Electoral College that is explained in the U.S. Constitution. To start, the students will watch a very interesting and helpful video that clearly explains the Electoral College. Once the students have viewed the video, we will analyze a chart that shows the number of votes each state receives. Students will also receive a blank map of the United States that they will have to color based on Democratic and Republican Electoral voting states (based on the 2008 elections). Electoral College Video Electoral Votes MapHow it Works State Electoral Votes Chart Blank Map

Body/Kinesthetic

Body/Kinesthetic In this activity, students will be acting like newspaper reporters and interview people who signed the Constitution. We will start by having a class discussion about important people that signed the Constitution from a previous activity. We will then talk about how to create an interview and interview questions. We will then talk about the signers being known as “Founding Fathers.” I will read the book If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution to the class that talks about Washington, Madison, Franklin, and Hamilton. I will the separate the class into 4 groups, and each group will be responsible for researching one of the Founding Fathers. The groups will have time to research their person. The groups will have to research the following questions: Who are you? When were you born? Where were you born? What was your contribution to history? On the following day each group will be set up at a table as the other students go around asking questions. The groups will have to answer the questions based on their research as if they were that Founding Father. Each group will have a chance to be the reporters, and they will have to take down notes as to what they learned. Summary of Book Library of Congress for student use

Interpersonal

Interpersonal In this activity, students will have a debate about a specific component of the Constitution: the jury system. I will start by asking the students what they already know about the system and write their ideas on the board. I will provide a copy of Article III Section 2, which specifically discusses the jury system. We will analyze the section and break it apart. We will also read the Amendments that mention the jury system. I will then hand out a chart to write the pros and cons of the jury system. Once they have completed the chart, I will break the class in half and the students will have a debate over the pros and cons. Chart Worksheet Amendment VII Article III Section 2 Amendment VI

Intrapersonal

Intrapersonal For this activity, students will write their own personal reflection on the Constitution as a whole. I will write a prompt on the board that says, “What do you believe is the most important aspect of the Constitution? Why do you feel this way?” I will provide students with about minutes to reflect on all we have learned about the Constitution and explain their opinion. Once all students are done writing their response, they will have to include one law they that would like to include in the classroom. I will collect the responses and write all the proposed laws on the board. We will go through a mini ratification process using the proposed laws like they did for the Constitution by following Article 7.

Naturalistic

Naturalistic For this activity we will, hypothetically, take a field trip to the National Constitution Center located in Pennsylvania. It has many museum exhibits in which we will be visiting and learning through. At each exhibit, students will be required to write a log about what they learned and found interesting. In addition, we will do the themed museum package of “Being An Active Citizen.” Through this package, students will learn about how they can be an active citizen in real life situations such as at school, home, community, and throughout their lives. National Constitution Center Themed Museum Packages

ETE 335 Elementary Social Studies Lesson Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Assessment: Over the course of this government lesson, students will be assessed in a variety of ways. Because most of the activities will produce a concrete product, I will assess the students using an appropriate rubric or checklist. I will also be observing the students as they work on their assignments, projects, and activities. For the research paper, students will be thoroughly assessed on their grammar and writing skills using a rubric. In addition, I will use a rubric to assess their speech produced from the research paper. Online Resources: Government Delicious Bookmarks