On Monday, students will be taking The US Constitution Essay Test.  From the list below, students will have 3 on the board for their hour (They will not know which ones).  They will need to complete 2 of them by the end of the hour.  There is no time limit though, they can finish the test by going into the next hour or at lunch.

1.  Every amendment is important in their own way, each defining something that is important to America.  Looking at the Constitution, name the most important Amendment to you and give three reasons why.
2. The Constitution is called a living document because it can be changed at anytime.  Should the Constitution be able to be changed and give 3 reasons why or why not?
3.  The amendments have helped shape America.  If you were to propose the 28th Amendment, what would it be and give 3 reasons why it is necessary.
4.  Our Founding Fathers were some of the smartest men on Earth, but they were not perfect.  Instead of giving the state's the ability to decide rights, should they have decided them all themselves?  I.E. should we have a national driving age and national drinking age?  Give 3 reasons why or why not.
5. The US Constitution was first written and passed in 1791.  Since the world has changed since then, would the Founding Fathers have changed any of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) or Articles seeing how the world is today? Give 3 reasons why or why not.

Today, students will learn about The US Constitution's Articles and Amendments.  Each student will present their Constitutional Amendment to the class starting today in numerical order.  This will culminate with an essay test on Thursday.

This week, the students will be working on a project on The US Constitution.  Each student has chosen an amendment and they must present it to the class in a meaningful way using technology.  This project will be due after Easter Break, but students will only get this week to work on it in class.  Below are the essential questions that must be answered, followed by the rubric.

WHAT-What is the amendment (This should be a lot of information and pictures)?

WHEN-When was it created?

WHY-Why was it created?

WHERE-This is answered only if it originated in a state.

HOW- How does this affect me?

Finally, there should be a 1 sentence note in student friendly terms for the class.  

Constitution Rubric

NAME: ___________________________________ Amendment # ______  HR _____

Category	4	3	2	1
Individual Score: Content Double this Score!!	The facts included in the paper are all accurate and well developed. The project explains with concrete reason what the amendment is.	The facts included in the paper are mostly accurate (1 or 2 mistakes) and well developed. The project kind of explains but has left the audience to figure out the meaning on their own.	The facts included in the paper are not accurate (3-4 mistakes) and well developed. The Project does not really explain the amendment.	The facts included in the paper are not accurate (5-6 mistakes) and well developed.  The audience has to infer their own meaning as about this amendment.
Individual Score: Resources	The sources for both pictures and information were sited.		The sources for either pictures or information were sited.	No citations were done.
Individual Score: Presentation Style Double this score!!	Student consistently used gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and a level of enthusiasm in a way that kept the attention of the audience.	Student usually used gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and a level of enthusiasm in a way that kept the attention of the audience.	Student sometimes used gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and a level of enthusiasm in a way that kept the attention of the audience.	Student had a presentation style that did not keep the attention of the audience.
Individual Score: Conventions	0-1 Small Errors	2-5 Small Errors	6-8 Errors.  A couple big errors.	8or more errors and several big errors.
Individual Score: Work Days	Student used all their time well on every work day.	Students used their time well most of the class hour.	Students used their time wisely half of the time.	Students did not use their work time at all.
Individual Score: Respect for other people	All statements, body language, and responses were respectful and were appropriate in language.	Statements and responses were respectful and used appropriate language, but body language was sometimes wasn’t respectful.	Most statements and responses were respectful and appropriate in language, but there were a few sarcastic remarks.	Statements, responses and/or body language were consistently not respectful.
Individual Score: Time	Speech is within 3 seconds of the 1 Minute Limit or more time requirement.	Speech is within 5 seconds of the 1 Minute Limit or more time requirement.	Speech is within 10 seconds of the 1 Minute Limit or more time requirement.	Speech is over 10 seconds of the 1 Minute Limit or more time requirement.

                        TOTAL: _______/ ­­­___36____           Letter Grade: _____

Declaration of Independence Assignment-Due Monday, April 7

Preamble        

            Students will explain in a short paragraph why they should be independent from ________.  The focus should be on student ability to make choices, maturity, and understanding.

Declaration of Natural Rights

            List of rights that teenagers should have (explain if needed)  Should be a minimum of 15.

List of Grievances

            Students will write 2-3 sentences to describe the thing that is their biggest grievance.  After the students described their grievance, they will list all the reasons that they have an issue with this (minimum 10).

Resolution

            1-2 sentences on how the students will resolve this issue.

  

Extra Credit Current Event-Due Friday April 4th by 3:00 P.M.

Students need to find a current event not talked about in class and answer the following questions in a complete sentence(s).  Please do this in a Google Doc and share with me when it is completed.

Who is involved in the current event?

What was the current event talking about?

When did this event take place?

Where did this event take place?

Why is this event important?

How does this effect you?

Please put the hyperlink to the story on the Google Doc.