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Bill of Rights Activities
- 2. Agenda 1. Lessons that guide students to understand why and how the Bill of Rights was created. 2. Activities include: texts, interactives, movie clips, primary sources, etc. 3. All materials are on the Stavros Center website http://stavros.coedu.usf.edu/
- 5. Rights in the Classroom • What specific protections for individuals apply to students? • What specific protections for individuals apply to teachers? • Are these sets of protections distinct from one another or shared to some degree? • What limits are placed on the authority of teachers? • What limits are placed on the authority of students? • What limits on authority do they share? (For instance, school rules and class policies limit student's authority to decide certain issues, while contracts and school policies limit certain actions by teachers.)
- 6. Analyzing the Bill of Rights
- 7. Exploring the History of the Bill of Rights Proposed Amendments by the House Proposed Amendments by the Senate
Editor's Notes
- James Madison understood that in order for the new government to be successful it needed the overwhelming allegiance of the people rather than the narrow majority support won in many of the state ratification conventions. Madison began to see how the addition of a bill of rights might calm some of the fears about the powers invested in the new national government. Madison worked to gain support for the Constitution by creating a list of proposed amendments drawn from various Anti-Federalist and Federalists sources. Elected as a representative to the First Congress in 1789, he took the lead in writing and speaking on behalf of legislation to amend the Constitution. By August of 1789, the House of Representatives passed a list of proposed amendments derived from Madison's list. Due in large measure to his leadership, Congress passed the Bill of Rights in 1789, and the states ratified it by 1791.
- 1. Rights in the classroom: (45 Minutes) Begin a class discussion about rights in which students consider two dimensions of rights: specific protections for individuals and general limits on authority. Direct the class to draw from information they listed on Worksheet 1 to create a bill of rights for the classroom. Important topics to consider include: What specific protections for individuals should be guaranteed? What limitations on authority should be included? How will the class determine what to include in this Bill of Rights? Simple majority? Super-majority? Unanimous vote? What vote does the teacher or administration have?
- 2. Analyzing the Bill of Rights (30 minutes) Ask students to draw upon their work in Activity 1 as they analyze the list of amendments ratified by the states in 1791. Divide the students into small groups and assign each group to carefully read the text of the Handout 3. Have each group complete Worksheet 2 to delineate the individual protections and limits on authority contained in the Bill of Rights. Begin a discussion in which the class compares or contrasts their class Bill of Rights with the amendments ratified by the states.
- Students have the opportunity to view proposed amendments by the House and Senate. The House document shows Senate mark-ups that led to the Senate version.
- Overview Preparation – 2 documents; also Primary Documents in US History link Procedure – the lesson guides students to analyze John Beckley’s copy of the Bill of Rights as sent to the states in 1789. Students answer the questions: What is the specific right articulated in this amendment in your own words? Do you think this amendment should be included in the Bill of Rights? Why or why not?