Forming the Constitution Unit

Lesson 1: We the People Authentic Project

Lesson Overview:
(Prior to beginning the unit, students will be given the guidelines for their
authentic projects. They will be working on their project throughout the unit)
Students will be introduced to the Preamble of the Constitution and will
analyze what the framers meant by each phrase. Students will create an
authentic representation to illustrate their vision of who “We the people of
the United States” are, and what the phrase means to them. Finally, students
will create museum exhibit and invite the elementary school students,
parents, and the community.
Timeframe: Roughly 3 weeks- a few in-class days will be set aside for the
project, but the bulk of the work will be done outside of class.
Essential Questions:1
Who are “We the People?”
Is the Constitution relevant to you today?
Learning Objectives:

 Explain how the guiding principles of the Constitution have created “a

more perfect Union” and resulted in a government that can adapt to
changing times
 Analyze and explain the meaning of the Preamble of the Constitution
Learning Steps:

1. The Hook ~ What is the Preamble?

Students will watch the Preamble School House Rock video on YouTube.
Then they will be asked to read the Preamble as a class. Students will
explain what the framers meant by each section of it. This activity will be
done individually, then students will regroup and discuss their responses as a
whole class

2. Student Experience ~ “We the People” Authentic

Project & Museum Exhibit
The teacher will write it on the board and lead a discussion of the phrase
“We the people of

1
Creating meaningful essential questions inspired by Obenchain et al, 2011
the United States,” and how it plays into the basic definition of democracy.
The teacher should explain that in 1787, when the Constitution was written,
primarily white men were included in the idea of “We the people.” Today,
that notion has changed to include women
and people of all races and ethnicities.

The teacher will introduce the authentic project guidelines to the students.
Students will be working on their projects throughout the unit. As they
continue to learn more about the Constitution and the framer’s intentions,
they will be able to use this information to guide their final projects.

The students will display their final projects as a museum exhibit and will
invite community members, elementary students, and parents to attend
their exhibit. The exhibit will take place during two days of school and one
evening.

The Materials ~ Authentic Project

1. YouTube Video: Preamble School House Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKPmobWNJaU
2. Preamble Breakdown Document
..\Preamble Breakdwon Document.docx
3. Project Instructions
4. Project Rubric

3. Wrap-Up ~
Students will complete a self-evaluation after the project exhibit is
completed. They will assess how they believed they did on the project. Then,
students will meet with their teacher to discuss their self-evaluation. The
teacher will grade student on their discussion, along with taking into
consideration the students self-eval and how well the student followed the
project rubric.