THE CONSTITUTION LEARNING PLAN

(Last update: July 19, 2005)

Introduction: The purpose of this lesson is to look at a primary source document, the Constitution of the United States, and through careful reading and group study, interpret its meaning for us today. Through this study, students will become better acquainted with the Supreme Law of the land. The electronic text which accompanies the Constitution is a summary document useful as a study guide. It is strictly expository informational text for government or American History classes. It is located at http://www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html. The author, Steve Mount, holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Vermont and has served as an editor for several news publications in Vermont. He has done some study of Constitutional Law at the Community College of Vermont. The website was last updated April 30, 2004.

The text which students will use along with the Constitution is entitled The Constitution Explained. The readability of this text, based on the Fry index, is at a high school level, 9-12th grade range. This range is broad because it includes the more difficult language of the Constitution (12th grade readability) as well as the Articles of Confederation, both more challenging reading material. The simplified summary makes the text of the Constitution more accessible to students as it explains unfamiliar terms and provides background knowledge to connect readers to the text. Throughout the summary document, main ideas are explained and less essential details are omitted. The text has numerous links to useful learning tools like a glossary of terms and biographical information, which make this an appropriate literacy teaching aid. Sometimes reference is made to current US government policies and procedures, but not enough for students to make connections to contemporary government practices. The summary is approximately the length of a 5 page document, however the multiple links including those to the primary source, The Constitution of the United States, extend it to over 50 pages of text.

Though it is a good document for aiding comprehension of the meaning and structure of the Constitution, a few drawbacks must be mentioned. One is concept density. There are a lot of concepts packed into brief sentences. Concrete connections and details would help "unpack" some of the ideas into more comprehensible chunks of text. Changing the vocabulary to a lower grade level does not necessarily make it easier to understand. In the sketchy explanatory document the student misses some important details, but with the links which go back to the original document, the details can be filled in with further explanatory links. It just may get confusing as to where you are in the electronic text - the original text or the explanatory text. It also lacks graphic elements which could be used to provide some cognitive links between the historical document and government in action. It is a complex undertaking and will probably work best in a cooperative learning group activity.

The following Standards and learning goals are addressed in this lesson:
Because the Constitution is broad, this lesson will focus only on the Preamble and the First III Articles which outline the Branches of Government.

I Students will understand the principles of the United States Constitution and the unique democratic republic that it established. (AL COS SS10.15)

    • Features
        - Preamble
        - Separation of Powers
        - Federal System

II Students will describe the purposes, organization, and functions of American government as outlined in the Constitution. (AL COS SS 12.7)

• Legislative Branch • Executive Branch • Judicial Branch

The Capitol The White House The Supreme Court

Pre-reading-vocabulary study

1.    Students will begin by collecting difficult vocabulary from the primary source: http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
        by skimming the text beginning with the Preamble, then move on to the first three Articles.
2.    For each section, students will work first independently then with small groups to build understanding of the vocabulary of the Constitution.
3.    Students may use the summary document and glossary links to aid understanding: http://www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html
4.    Students will create a vocabulary chart or use the one provided, to build an understanding of constitutional terms.

Use this chart to build vocabulary meaning.

During reading-organization:

Students will work alone, while reading, to build an Organization Chart for each section of the Constitution.
The chart will identify the structure of each branch of government, the responsiblities of the branch, the characteristics,
limitations, and other important enumerated responsibilities. Jot down the details which you find while reading.

Use the links for ready made Graphic Organizers or create your own.

Preamble

Article I Legislative Branch

Article II Executive Branch

Article III Judicial Branch

After reading-putting it together

1. Students will refer to pre-reading definitions, organization charts, and online text http://www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html
for the after reading activity.

2. Students will list any further questions they still have to bring up in the discussion group.

3. Students will work with small groups to connect the sections of the constitution with historical events which we have studied,
current events, and current day government in action to link the present with the past they are familiar with.

4. Students will raise questions they still have from the reading, to get peer input or teacher explanation.

Sample Connections Grid

Directions: Divide paper into four columns to create a grid. Fill in as many connections to historical events or current events
for each section of the Constitution you have read and studied. The more connections you make, the more points you will earn.
At this time, list any questions you want to ask the group or your teacher that you are unclear about.

Constitutional Ideas	Connecting Ideas	Things I'm still unclear about	What I learned from the discussion
Example Preamble: We the people . . . in order to form a more perfect union	The Articles of Confederation didn't allow Congress to tax the citizens and it didn't allow the people to elect a president, so they needed a better plan.	I don't know what the word preamble means.	Somebody said it's just the introduction which tells the purpose for writing it. The Constitution Explained says its the "Why" of the Constitution.

Resource links:

Primary US Government Documents

US House of Representatives

Text and Links for
The Constitution Explained

Below is the text from the web address: http://www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html

The Constitution Explained

The Constitution is often hailed as a marvel of brevity and of clarity. It was, however, written in the 18th century, and many of the ideas, concepts, words, phrases, and euphemisms seem odd to us today, if not down right foreign. Some of the more obscure words are defined in The Glossary.

But what of the Constitution itself? What does it mean? What does each article, each section, say?

This page is like a synopsis or summary of the Constitution, article by article, amendment by amendment. This should not be taken as a substitute for the Constitution, but more like a study guide.

The Preamble to the Constitution has no force in law; instead, it establishes the "Why" of the Constitution. Why is this document in existence? It reflects the desires of the Framers to improve on the government they currently had (to be "more perfect" than the Articles of Confederation), to ensure that that government would be just, and would protect its citizens from internal strife and from attack from the outside. It would be of benefit to the people, rather than to its detriment. And, perhaps as importantly, it intended to do the same for the future generations of Americans.

Article 1 establishes the first of the three branches of the government, the Legislature. Section 1 establishes the name of the Legislature to be The Congress, a bicameral, or two-part, body.

Section 2 defines the House of Representatives, known as the lower house of Congress. It establishes a few minimum requirements, like a 25-year-old age limit, and establishes that the people themselves will elect the members for two years each. The members of the House are divided among the states proportionally, or according to size, giving more populous states more representatives in the House. The leader of the House is the Speaker of the House, chosen by the members.

Section 3 defines the upper house of Congress, the Senate. Again, it establishes some minimum requirements, such as a 30-year-old age limit. Senators were originally appointed by the legislatures of the individual states, though this later changed. They serve for six years each. Each state has equal suffrage in the Senate, meaning that each state has the exact same number of Senators, two each, regardless of the population. This Section introduces the Vice-President, who is the leader of the Senate (called the President of the Senate); the Vice-President does not vote unless there is a tie.

Section 4 says that each state may establish its own methods for electing members of the Congress, and mandates, or requires, that Congress must meet at least once per year.

Section 5 says that Congress must have a minimum number of members present in order to meet, and that it may set fines for members who do not show up. It says that members may be expelled, that each house must keep a journal to record proceedings and votes, and that neither house can adjourn without the permission of the other.

Section 6 establishes that members of Congress will be paid, that they cannot be detained while traveling to and from Congress, that they cannot hold any other office in the government while in the Congress.

Section 7 details how bills become law. First, any bill for raising money (such as by taxes or fees) must start out in the House. All bills must pass both houses of Congress in the exact same form. Bills that pass both houses are sent to the President. He can either sign the bill, in which case it becomes law, or he can veto it. In the case of a veto, the bill is sent back to Congress, and if both houses pass it by a two-thirds majority, the bill becomes law over the President's veto. This is known as overriding a veto.

There are a couple more options for the President. First, if he neither vetoes a bill nor signs it, it becomes a law without his signature after 10 days. The second option is called a pocket veto. It occurs if Congress sends the bill to the President and they then adjourn. If the President does not sign the bill within 10 days, it does not become law.

Section 8 lists specific powers of Congress, including the power to establish and maintain an army and navy, to establish post offices, to create courts, to regulate commerce between the states, to declare war, and to raise money. It also includes a clause known as the Elastic Clause which allows it to pass any law necessary for the carrying out of the previously listed powers.

Section 9 places certain limits on Congress. Certain legal items, such as suspension of habeas corpus, bills of attainder, and ex post facto laws are prohibited. No law can give preference to one state over another; no money can be taken from the treasury except by duly passed law, and no title of nobility, such as Prince or Marquis, will ever be established by the government.

Section 10, finally, prohibits the states from several things. They cannot make their own money, or declare war, or do most of the other things prohibited Congress in Section 9. They cannot tax goods from other states, nor can they have navies.

Article 2 establishes the second of the three branches of government, the Executive. Section 1 establishes the office of the President and the Vice-President, and sets their terms to be four years. Presidents are elected by the Electoral College, whereby each state has one vote for each member of Congress. Originally, the President was the person with the most votes and the Vice-President was the person with the second most, though this is later changed. Certain minimum requirements are established again, such as a 35-year minimum age. Presidents must also be a natural-born citizen of the United States. The President is to be paid a salary, which cannot change, up or down, as long as he in is office.

Section 2 gives the President some important powers. He is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and of the militia (National Guard) of all the states; he has a Cabinet to aid him, and can pardon criminals. He makes treaties with other nations, and picks many of the judges and other members of the government (all with the approval of the Senate).

Section 3 establishes the duties of the President: to give a state of the union address, to make suggestions to Congress, to act as head of state by receiving ambassadors and other heads of state, and to be sure the laws of the United States are carried out.

Section 4 briefly discusses the removal of the President, called impeachment.

Article 3 establishes the last of the three branches of government, the Judiciary. Section 1 establishes the Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States. It also sets the terms of judges, of both the Supreme Court and lower courts: that they serve as long as they are on "good behavior," which usually means for life (no Justice and only a few judges have ever been impeached). It also requires that judges shall be paid.

Section 2 sets the kinds of cases that may be heard by the federal judiciary, which cases the Supreme Court may hear first (called original jurisdiction), and that all other cases heard by the Supreme Court are by appeal. It also guarantees trial by jury in criminal court.

Section 3 defines, without any question, what the crime of treason is.

Article 4 concerns the states. Section 1 mandates that all states will honor the laws of all other states; this ensures, for example, that a couple married in Florida is also considered married by Arizona, or that someone convicted of a crime in Virginia is considered guilty by Wyoming.

Section 2 guarantees that citizens of one state be treated equally and fairly like all citizens of another. It also says that if a person accused of a crime in one state flees to another, they will be returned to the state they fled from. This section also has a clause dealing with fugitive slaves that no longer applies.

Section 3 concerns the admittance of new states and the control of federal lands.

Section 4 ensures a republican form of government (one where the state derives its power from the people) and guarantees that the federal government will protect the states against invasion and insurrection.

Article 5 details the method of amending, or changing, the Constitution. Please see The Amendments Page for more information.

Article 6 concerns the United States itself. First, it guarantees that the United States under the Constitution would assume all debts and contracts entered into by the United States under the Articles of Confederation. It sets the Constitution and all laws and treaties of the United States to be the supreme law of the country. Finally, it requires all officers of the United States and of the states to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States and the Constitution when taking office.

Article 7 detailed the method for ratification, or acceptance, of the Constitution: of the original 13 states in the United States, nine had to accept the Constitution before it would officially go into effect.

The Bill of Rights

The 1st Amendment protects the people's right to practice religion, to speak freely, to assemble (meet), to address the government and of the press to publish.

The 2nd Amendment protects the right to own guns. There is debate whether this is a right that protects the state, or a right that protects individuals.

The 3rd Amendment guarantees that the army cannot force homeowners to give them room and board.

The 4th Amendment protects the people from the government improperly taking property, papers, or people, without a valid warrant based on probable cause (good reason).

The 5th Amendment protects people from being held for committing a crime unless they are properly indicted, that they may not be tried twice for the same crime, that you need not be forced to testify against yourself, and from property being taken without just compensation. It also contains due process guarantees.

The 6th Amendment guarantees a speedy trial, an impartial jury, that the accused can confront witnesses against them, and that the accused must be allowed to have a lawyer.

The 7th Amendment guarantees a jury trial in federal civil court cases. This type of case is normally no longer heard in federal court.

The 8th Amendment guarantees that punishments will be fair, and not cruel, and that extraordinarily large fines will not be set.

The 9th Amendment is simply a statement that other rights aside from those listed may exist, and just because they are not listed doesn't mean they can be violated.

The 10th Amendment is the subject of some debate, but essentially it states that any power not granted to the federal government belongs to the states or to the people. See the Federalism Topic Page for more information.