Constitution Day Rap

http://gresyn0.100webspace.net/lessons/download.php?file=2008LsnCnstnDay1-2LR.pdf 



This lesson plan can be used with first and second graders to help them learn important facts about the Constitution and its history. Students create a thirteen-star flag and read or perform the Constitution Day Rap. This downloadable 18-page lesson booklet outlines creative ways to get first and second grade students learning fun facts about the Constitution and about what America looked like when the document was first signed.
 

How do you use it?


The lesson booklet is geared to teachers, but could be adapted for judges or other presenters.

This lesson plan incorporates the entire class doing something together; the resource is both informative and interactive. Rap is a creative way to teach students this age and the fun-facts at the end are a valuable component, in part because they are brief, but significant. 

Cautions:
While elementary education teachers are trained to "translate" data to language young children can understand, judges using the information may have some problems.  

Also because of the cutting, copying, etc necessary to produce all of the flag materials and “fun facts,” this resource isn’t “road ready.”


Who is the audience?

This resource is informative and educational, and tailored toward the strengths of children at an early primary level. The lesson plan, however, may be rather complex and multi-step for an elementary school classroom. Yet even young students will likely enjoy the component parts, such as drawing or "rapping" together as they learn basic facts about the Constitution.

Caution:
The Rap project that is outlined in the booklet may be rather sophisticated for first and second graders, as some of the terms in the rap, such as “authority," may be above a first-grade level.


What other resources will complement this?

  1. Amazing Amendments — Document from Scholastic.com (P, M) 
  2. Argument Wars — Game from iCivics (H)
  3. Courts in the Classroom — Videos from the Judicial Council of California and the Administrative Office (P, M, H)
  4. Matching Game with the Constitution — Lesson Plan from the Center for Civic Education (P)
  5. The Constitution: The Country's Rules — Lesson Plan from the Center for Civic Education (P)
  6. U.S. Constitution Fact Sheet — Document from Scholastic.com (M)  
  7. What Basic Ideas Are In the Preamble to the Constitution? — Lesson Plan from the Center for Civic Education (P)

Additional Recommended Resources | Off-Site Links
  1. A Constitutional Timeline
    • Multi-aged audience timeline that highlights key dates in history of Constitution, with links to text, audio and video clips. From National Constitution Center's Constitution Day site. 
  2. Interactive Constitution
    • Multi-aged audience site that enables users to search Constitution by keyword or topic, with access to explanatory materials throughout. From National Constitution Center.   
  3. The Annenberg Guide to the United States Constitution
    • Multi-aged audience site that lists the text of each section of every article in the Constitution, and provides explanation of what the text means in plain language.  From the Leonore Annenberg Institute of Civics. 
  4. Understanding the Federal Courts
    • Multi-aged online textbook-type document that includes sections on Article III, the Federal Court system and the geographical boundaries of the Courts of Appeal and the District Courts, the code of conduct for judges, juror qualifications, exemptions and terms of service, as well as categories of bankruptcy cases.  From the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.
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