Creating a Constitution Activity

Scenario: You found a new island and have made it your own. You are the new leader of this new nation. Everyone is looking at you to quickly create some rules that the society should base itself on and how to conduct its everyday life. If you do not put a good system in place from the beginning, the country could be unstable for the long run. You have plentiful resources which would mirror that of the United States.

Part One: Individually write 10 (can be more) rules that you would want the country to live by. Things that must be addressed/considered:  Freedoms/Rights of Citizens  Government Funding/Taxes  Crime and Punishment  Education  Health Care  How to balance and maintain control of the population  Who is responsible for what aspects of society?  Anything else? Feel free to use your textbook for ideas, etc.

Part Two: Now in your small groups you are to discuss all of your rules to come up with a system that everyone in the group is willing to sign their name to. Your rules can’t contradict each other and the system must be balanced that everyone in the group would want to live in the society. Type your rules/laws on a computer and design your constitution. Once you are completed, print out and have everyone sign indicating they agree to the document During the discussion, try to keep in mind some of the difficulties that your group was having and determine what could have made the process easier. Also try to remember how your group process occurred.

Group Jobs Heart: Speaker – will read the class your society’s “Constitution” Diamond: Recorder – will be responsible for writing the proposed “Constitution” Spade: Devil’s Advocate – your job is to try to come up with the negative aspect to everyone’s possible rules, try to make reasonable arguments to each statement Club: Group organizer – your job is to be responsible for coming up with a system to get this constitution done within time constraints.

Activity Discussion How did your groups go about writing this constitution?  What was the process you each had? What was difficult about writing this constitution? Did your group think a lot about long-term affects of your decisions? How did some of your group’s constitution compare with the government that was set up by the originators of the U.S.?

Chapter 2 Bookwork Read Ch. 2.2 Bring Books Tomorrow