Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution

This lesson engages students in a study of the Constitution to learn the significance of “Six Big Ideas” contained in it. Students analyze the text of the Constitution in a variety of ways, examine primary sources to identify their relationship to its central ideas, and debate the core constitutional principles as they relate to today’s political issues. (Duration: 45-minute segments, up to 4.5 hours.)

http://www.archives.gov/legislative/resources/education/constitution/
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Resource provided by National Archives and Records Administration

Standards

Common Core, C3, National Standards for Civics and Government, NCSS

Grades

11, 12, 8, 9, 10

Subjects

Federal Government

Issues

Technology, Taxes, National Security, Foreign Policy, Economy

Resource Types

Modules (Teaching Unit), Lesson Plans, Primary Sources

Teaching Strategies

Current Event, Whole Class, Whole Class Discussion, Whole Class Deliberation, Small Group, Small Group Discussion, Small Group Deliberation, Debate, Analysis, Primary Source, Case Study

Civic Days

Constitution Day

Duration

180 minutes

Constitution Articles

Constitution Day, Meaning of Constitution

Tags

ratification, separation of powers, three branches, Republic, federalism, compromise, popular sovereignty, national government