EDIT 610 FINAL PROJECT 1

Michelle Pitoscia
Project Part II – Revised Lesson Plan
Title: Bill of Rights
SC Social Studies Standard: Standard 4-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the
beginnings of America as a nation and the establishment of the new government.
• 4-4.3 Explain how the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights placed
importance on the active involvement of citizens in government and protected the rights
of white male property owners but not those of the slaves, women, and Native
Americans.
Objectives: Students will:
A. Identify the 10 Amendments that make up the Bill of Rights
B. Understand the rights and freedoms granted through the Bill of Rights
C. Explain how the Bill of Rights affects us today
Materials:
• PowerPoint (Provided as additional file)
• Socrative Quiz (questions listed below)
• Bill of Rights Test
Warm-Up: Students will watch the following Flocabulary video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW11CDm7dq4
Procedures:
1. Ask students to answer the following question: "Because of the Bill of Rights, we enjoy
many freedoms that other countries do not have. What are some things we are free to do
that some people in other countries are not?" Students might come up with freedom of
religion, freedom to say what you think about the government, freedom to have a jury
trial, freedom to have your privacy protected, the necessity of warrants, etc.
2. As a class, we will go through a PowerPoint presentation that lists the official wording of
each amendment, as well as the “kid-friendly” version that describes the amendment in
language the students will understand. While going through the PowerPoint, we will
discuss what each of these amendments looks like in our lives today.
3. Following the PowerPoint, students will complete a short quiz through Socrative to
assess what they have learned so far.
4. After students complete the quiz, we will have another class discussion to address the
most common incorrect questions from the quiz.
EDIT 610 FINAL PROJECT 2

5. Students will be assigned one amendment from the Bill of Rights to create a video or
infographic that explains the meaning of it and gives current examples.
6. At the end of the week, students will complete the Bill of Rights test.

Closure: The Flocabulary video from the warm-up will be shown again for students to make
connections from the video to what they have learned. They will be asked to answer the following
exit ticket question: What is one thing from the video that you were confused about the first time
you watched but now understand? Explain.
Assessments:
• Bill of Rights Test
• Video/Infographic project

Quiz Questions
1. Which of the following is NOT a freedom granted in the First Amendment?
a. Religion
b. Schooling
c. Press
d. Speech
2. True or False: The Fifth Amendment grants the right for trial by jury in cases that involve
money up to a certain amount.
3. How many amendments are there in the Bill of Rights?
4. Which amendment grants powers to the states that are not granted to the Federal
Government?
5. True or False: The Bill of Rights are the only amendments to the Constitution.
6. Which amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure?
a. Second
b. Fourth
c. Fifth
d. Ninth
7. What does the Sixth Amendment grant citizens?
a. Freedoms of religion, speech, and press
b. Right to bear arms
c. Right to a speedy trial
d. Protection from soldiers taking over homes
8. What does the Second Amendment grant citizens?
9. True or False: Soldiers are allowed to take over citizen’s homes without permission only
during times of war.
10. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail or fines and __________________.
EDIT 610 FINAL PROJECT 3

Before & After Reflection

The initial lesson plan was found on the Scholastic website. There was no technology

involved and very little activities to ensure student engagement. Initially, the lesson had teachers

discussing the Bill of Rights with their students by reading through a handout of the amendments

and explaining each of their meanings. After this, students would take a test on the Bill of Rights,

though, it was up to the discretion of the teacher whether students completed the test individually

or in pairs or groups.

The first change that I made to this lesson was adding the warm-up activity. I chose to

show a Flocabulary video because students love the catchy songs, and it helps them to get

interested in the lesson topic. Oftentimes, students will dance along to the videos and sing the

songs throughout the day because they are so catchy. It is an effective way to introduce the

lesson and to get students engaged from the start. Following the video for the warm-up, I

retained the part of the original lesson that outlined a discussion to have with students to gauge

what they already know about the Bill of Rights. In this discussion, I would ask students about

the freedoms that we have in our country. We would also discuss how other countries may not

have these rights and what specifically gives the United States these rights.

Next, I added a PowerPoint presentation to go through each of the amendments in the Bill

of Rights. Instead of just reading the amendments on a piece of paper and then discussing them, I

felt it would be more effective to have the official wording written and then a more student

friendly version. This will help students to better understand the amendments and not be

immediately turned off because of the difficult language. I also thought this would be more

effective because students would only be viewing one amendment at a time, rather than all ten

being listed on a paper in front of them. This would help them to be focused on one amendment
EDIT 610 FINAL PROJECT 4

without getting overwhelmed having the rest of the amendments in front of them. After the

PowerPoint, I wanted to be able to assess what the students actually learned from it. To do this, I

added a quiz on Socrative for the students to complete individually on their iPads. With

Socrative, I would be able to see their results and the class results immediately, and then I could

address the most commonly missed questions to help clear up any confusion the students have.

The closure for this lesson involves showing students the Flocabulary video again. After

watching the video a second time, they will complete an exit ticket on Google Classroom to

identify something that was confusing to them the first time they watched the video but is clear

to them now. This helps me to see students’ growth and to identify if there is still any confusion

among the students. If there are students that are still confused, I can address it the following

day.

I wanted students to have a meaningful activity to do so that they were not just sitting

through a presentation and then taking a test, so I added the video/infographic activity. With this,

students can choose to create a video or infographic using Adobe Spark, PowToon, Piktochart,

Glogster, iMovie, or Lucidpress. The subject of their infographic or video would be an

amendment from the Bill of Rights that is assigned to them. In their videos and infographics,

students will have to explain the meaning of the amendment and provide relevant examples.

They will have two class days to complete this project, and I will be assisting them as needed.

This is a good project to have student work on their researching skills and to be sure that they are

properly citing their sources, as well as being sure their message is clear using the platform that

they choose. The final assessment for this lesson will be a test on the amendments in the Bill of

Rights at the end of the week. In this test, students will have to identify the ten amendments in

the Bill of Rights and explain what some of them mean.

EDIT 610 FINAL PROJECT 5

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2019). ISTE standards for students.

Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

Pafford, V. & Watkins, B. (n.d.). Bill of rights. Retrieved from

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/bill-rights/