1. Chapter 4 The Constitution
4.1
Discuss with a partner the questions below. Be prepared to share your answers.
• Why did Dwight Lopez file a lawsuit against his school district?
• Is the issue Lopez presented a constitutional issue? In other words, is it a case in which the Constitution will be consulted in order to make a decision?
• If you were the lawyer assigned to represent Lopez in this case, on what grounds might you argue that his constitutional rights were violated?
In class 4.1

2. Put your name on your copy of the Constitution!
Use these terms to complete your reading notes for the chapter.
Open the Outline of the Constitution handout on the History Homepage. Fill it in.
Read Section 4.1 online or text pp59-60
4.1

3. 4.1 Examine the Outline of the Constitution on the Handout from the
previous slide.
Then answer these
questions in your Student
Online Interactive
Notebook: SION
1. What observations can you make about the way
the framers organized the Constitution?
2. Which branch of government did the framers give
the greatest number of specific (expressed) powers
to? What might be some reasons for that?
3. What inferences can you make about how the
framers intended to distribute power within the
federal government?
15 minutes

4. Structure of Government. 4.2
Video
Structure of Government.
4.2
Assignment:
As you read 4.2, use the Articles handout available on the History Homepage www2.sjs.org/Beniretto site to take notes on the reading.
Read pages in your Graphic Novel The US Constitution
Go to Topics page in Civics on SJS.org and respond to the prompt.
Online and text p 60-61
Note the structure of the Constitution carefully.

5. The Preamble
Analyze the Preamble as you watch the video Schoolhouse Rock: Constitution Preamble Lyrics on closed caption.
Jigsaw with a partner then larger group to discuss:
• What is this song about?
• How would you describe the music? Happy? Sad? Why?
In the lyrics, what words are unfamiliar to you? Where did these words come from? Look them up online.
• Why are 200 year old words meaningful?
4.2

6. Get Preamble Hand out #2 available online and work on it.
Directions:
Read each excerpt below.
2) Define each underlined term in the second column using your own words.
3) Create a visual or find a picture that illustrates the underlined concept(s).
4) Write 1 complete sentence on why the excerpt is important.
Be prepared to share with a partner, then a group of four.
If you missed class, do all the words. 4.2

7. Use Preamble Handout # 3 (available online) as a guide for the group discussion. Be prepared to have one person in your group share a response to the discussion items related to the excerpt. Be a good listener and add to the ideas, do not just repeat them.
If you missed class, answer the questions on your own. 4.2

8. in Wordle or Word it out, Make your own word cloud of the Preamble
in Wordle or Word it out, Make your own word cloud of the Preamble. Don’t forget the more times you enter a word, the larger it gets.
If you did not finish this for homework, read pp in Graphic Novel, then do your Civics Topics page on the SJS webpage

9. Outline of the US Constitution (HINT: see handout from lesson 1!)
Preamble
Articles
Amendments
Purpose
List each article in this section
List amendments in groups in this section
Example
Example Just one
Example : just one

10. The Bicameral Congress: Crash Course Government and Politics #2
Article 1
The Bicameral Congress: Crash Course Government and Politics #2
video

11. Read GN 38-41 How a bill becomes a law
I’m Just a Bill
Article 1 clause 2
Read GN How a bill becomes a law

12. Article 1 Clauses 3-8 see video
Read GN pp 42-52
The Legislative Branch
4.3 online and 61 in text

13. The Executive Branch Video
Article 2
The Executive Branch Video
Read pp in your graphic novel and respond on the topics page.
Online 4.2 text p 62
RESEARCH: Using 3 online newspapers, find a news article example of at least 3 of the President’s Jobs, one from each site. Set up a Noodle tools project Executive Branch. Use Newspaper/website Annotate each article with brief summary and how it shows a role of the President listed above.

14. The Judicial Branch Read pp 65-73
Article 3
The Judicial Branch Read pp 65-73
Using an authoritative website, detail one case the Supreme court has ruled on Submit to drop box on assignment page.
The National Judicial Branch is mirrored in the State Judicial systems.
Video
Online 4.3 text p 62

15. Articles IV, V, VI, and VII
IV pp V pp78-81; VI pp 81-82; VII pp 82-84
You will be divided into groups. Each group will be assigned a section from the Graphic Novel.
You will teach your section to the rest of the class. (BE creative)
Give the Article number
Then carefully explain the purpose of each Article
Finally, give an example that illustrates the purpose.
You may need to do some research here
Be sure that you can explain the Supremacy Clause
Online 4.4 text 62-63
You can use the Article Hand out on the history homepage to help organize your work. Or to take notes.

16. Amending the Constitution
The Amendment Process Is Not Easy Do the Ted Lesson on Amending the Constitution
The First Ten Amendments: The Bill of Rights The first ten amendments were proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the states in The rights listed in the Bill of Rights outline the freedoms guaranteed to the people and the states.

17. and write a response on the Forum
4.3
Why is a Constitutional Convention not necessarily a good thing? Agree or Disagree. Read this Article
and write a response on the Forum
Article
Be sure to use information from the article in your 3 paragraph response.
Use the question as your thesis statement. Then, define a Constitutional Convention.
Give reasons you agree or disagree. Support your responses with factual information pulled from the article.
Give a concluding statement.
Online 4.3 Pages 63-66

18. Checks and Balances Video
Online 4.4 text pp 61-63

19. The Seven Principles of the Constitution or Why is it a living document?
Video
Online 4.5 text pp 66-70
4.4

20. Interpreting the Constitution video
4.5
Interpreting the Constitution video
Americans remain divided on how the Supreme Court should interpret the Constitution
Pew Research
Read article
Judicial Review video
McCullough vs Maryland
video
Court Cases online 4.5 text 72-75
United States vs Nixon
video
Goss vs Lopez video

21. Summary
The framers developed the U.S. Constitution more than 200 years ago with the hope that it would remain relevant and effective for future generations. One way they sought to accomplish that was through the provisions of Article V, which spell out how the Constitution can be changed. In recent years, Congress has fielded many proposals for changes to the Constitution.
Read this article , then respond in the SION for the summary of Chapter 4 to the following question.
If you had the opportunity to change the Constitution in one way in order to improve it, what would you propose? In a short paragraph, explain your proposal and discuss why you think the Constitution will be a stronger, better document with this change.