Spring Arbor University School of Education Lesson Plan Essential Elements Title: The Constitutional Convention Subject: Social

Studies Grade Level: 8th Time Allotted: 60 min

Materials Required: Textbook, PowerPoint, Case study Sheet, Case Study documents Michigan Curriculum Framework: GLCE, 8 U5.1.6 Describe how major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention such as disagreements over the distribution of political power, rights of individuals (liberty and property), rights of states, election of the executive, and slavery help explain the Civil War. (National Geography Standard 13, p. 169) Objective(s): The student will be able to: -Describe the major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention -Conclude how these issues explain the coming of the Civil War -Argue which issues were the most influential towards the problems surrounding the United States in the middle of the nineteenth Century 1. Anticipatory Set (7 min): To begin class, I will show a clip by Charlie Brown about the basic facts of the Constitutional Convention. Shortly after the video takes place, I will utilize the Wallpaper Poster Instructional Strategy (#10 in profile) in order for students to grasp the main ideas of the video. Students will be sitting in groups and each group will be given a specific topic discussed in the video (states rights, federalism, nationalism etc.). After the video has taken place,students will work together to define the concept in their own words, create a symbol of the concept to represent it visually, and then give supporting ideas and examples of the concept. This will all be done on one sheet of blank paper. Groups will then have one minute to display their wall paper poster, and explain their topic from the video. This will lead directly into the instructional period for the day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BgnTdR4n_k 2. State Purpose and Objective of Lesson (2 min): While this lesson mainly focuses on the Constitutional Convention which took place much earlier in our nation's history, students will explore the connection between this event and the problems surrounding the United States before the Civil War actually takes place. 3. Plan for Instruction and Assessment (40-45 min): After the video has been shown, and a short discussion as a class takes place, I will instruct the students to break up in to 4 groups, which ideally will contain around 6-7 students. In these groups, students will complete a case study examining the Constitutional Conventions and its implications on tensions in the United States before the Civil War. I will first read the introductory

paragraph to all of the students. Next, each student will be given a Case Study Worksheet, and one document to analyze. This group activity will be a Jig Saw (#6 in profile) activity. Every student will spend around 10-15 minutes reading their own document, and answering the questions on the sheet. After this takes place, a sharing period will ensue. Each student will go through the main points in their document, giving/teaching the information to the other students in their group. While this takes place, the listening students will fill out that particular section of the sheet. Simply looking at another student's worksheet and copying down the information is prohibited. I will be monitoring this part of the assignment by walking around and listening in on the conversations of the students. this period will take around 20-25 min. Every student must present, and the completed worksheet will be turned in at the end of class. Once the top section of the worksheet is finished, students will focus on the bottom of the worksheet which contains the critical thinking questions which relates the Constitutional Convention with the issues surrounding the U.S. before the Civil War. http://web.wm.edu/hsi/cases/constitution/constitution_student.html There is basically one assessment in this lesson, which is the completion of the Case Study worksheet. Obviously, after the worksheet has been completed, I will take some time go over the critical thinking questions with the class. This will allow me to gain a general observation and understanding of how closely the students were able to match my objectives for this lesson. The completed worksheet will be their ticket out the door. 4. Differentiation Consideration (accommodations): -Video clip for anticipatory set instead of having students read an article or document -I will read the instructions to the Case Study assignment -I will partner students with learning disabilities up with other students during the case study in groups where there are more than seven students 5. Closure (6 min): After the necessary amount of time has been given to my students to complete the Case Study worksheet, I will turn off the lights, and reconvene the class. Students will be instructed to return to their seats. I will then go over the critical thinking questions as a class. A 5 minute discussion will take place. Next, I will let my students gather up their belongings, but tell them to remain in their seats until the light has been turned off. As they leave the classroom, they will hand me their completed worksheet. Things I need for this lesson: 1. Video 2. Case Study 3. All seven documents 4. Case study worksheet, with modified questions

6. Explanation of Identified Instructional Strategies Wallpaper Poster Video on Constitutional Convention discussed a number of different important topics pertinent to this lesson. Because I used a video, I wanted to continue with a nonlinguistic representation so I decided to have students complete the wallpaper poster. It not only allows them come up with their own definition, but it instructs students to create a symbol for concepts like nationalism and state's rights. Wallpaper posters gives students the ability to use their artistic skills and is a great memory strategy. Cons = it may be hard for some students to visualize/draw some of the important concepts from the Constitutional Convention. It will also be more difficult for non-creative students. Jigsaw There were a number of documents that worked well for this lesson. I did not want the students to have to read every single document. Jigsaw allows a student to focus on one piece of selected reading. Furthermore, understanding has truly been achieved when a learner is able to explain and teach that information to others. While students are in a group, they are working on specific articles by themselves. The rest of the group is counting on another student to provide him/her with information to complete the worksheet. Cons = explaining some of the documents may be tough for some students. This type of activity could take a long time and may have to spill over into the next lesson. I will have to monitor the groups so students are not simply copying down what other students have written.