Teacher: Wymore/Martinez/Chacon

Date: 1/26-27
School: Blevins
Content Area: U.S. History
Title: Constitutional Convention Simulation

Grade Level: 8th

Lesson #: 1 of 11

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

H.S. 1.1 a Formulate appropriate hypotheses about United States history based on a variety of
historical sources and perspectives.
H.S. 1.2 d The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and themes from the origins of the
American Revolution through Reconstruction and their relationships with one another.
C.S. 4.1. e Analyze elements of continuity and change in the United States government and the
role of citizens over time.
C.S. 4.2 The place of law in a constitutional system.
c. Describe and engage in various means of conflict management
g.
Use a variety of resource to identify and evaluate issues that involve civic
responsibility, individual rights and the common good.
Inquiry Questions:
1. How important was the role of compromise during the drafting and ratification of the
Constitution?
2. What are examples of successful and unsuccessful compromises in United States
history?
3. How have various people from different eras in our nations history promoted change in
the face of opposition and what democratic principles were advanced?
4. To what extent are the ideas of the United States Constitution still affecting the world
today?
Concepts and skills students master:
1. What role does compromise play in creating a government?
2. Interpretation of primary documents.
3. Identify relevancies between historical and present day political ideals.
4. Apply knowledge of the Constitutional Convention through a simulation.
Evidence Outcomes:
Every student will be able to:
1. I can recall three flaws and one success of the Articles of Confederation.
2. I can draft a constitution based on opposing viewpoints in order to apply the idea of
compromise in a Constitutional Democracy.
Assessment of Evidence Outcomes:
1. Role/State question sheet
2. Convention question sheet
3. Collective class Constitution

4. Learning Target reflection

Planned Lesson Activities

Activity Name

Constitutional Convention Simulation

Approx. Time

1 hour and 15 minutes

Anticipatory Set

Students will be able to draft a Constitution based on opposing

viewpoints in order to apply the idea of compromise in a
Constitutional Democracy.
RAP: Failure of the Articles of Confederation Crash Course video.
Take note of 3 flaws and 1 success of the Articles of Confederation.

Teaching/
Presentation:
(Select the most
appropriate teaching
model.)
-direct instruction
-presentation model
-concept teaching
-cooperative
learning
-inquiry

Teaching Strategy:

Includes: Input, Modeling and Checking for Understanding

1.
Input: Introductory lecture on background knowledge
needed for simulation including: Article of Confederation, need for
stronger federal government, branches of government and areas of
dispute during Constitutional Convention.
2.
Modeling: .Annotated powerpoint to demonstrate the key
points of the lecture for students to then fill out on their note takers.
3.
Checking for Understanding: Check for completion of
background knowledge note taker. Check in with delegate groups
during the 1st part of the simulation. Debrief after the delegate
groups decide on their stance on the issues to be addressed in the
Convention. Check in with convention groups for proper
communication of stances and fair state concessions. Debrief
discussion after drafting a class Constitution to gauge students
understanding of the issues addressed at the Constitutional
Convention as well as the role compromise played in drafting the
Constitution.
4.
Questioning Strategies:
1: Remember: Can you list the four issues addressed at the
Constitutional Convention?
2: Understanding: Can you discuss how your convention group
came to a decision on an issue?
3: Applying: Using your state/ role description, can you present your
stance on the issues in your Convention groups as an individual
state delegate?
4: Analyzing: How does your class Constitution compare/contrast
to the decisions made at the actual Constitutional Convention?
5: Evaluating: Predict what decisions were made at the actual
Constitutional Convention.
6: Creating: Formulate a class Constitution based on the four issues
faced at the actual Constitutional Convention.

Workshop model

Guided Practice
&
Differentiation

2 Goup discussions:
1st: Delegates from the same state/role will read through their role
descriptions, fill out their questionnaire and come to a consensus on
what issues they deem important to their state to maintain in the
convention debate. Teachers will circulate to provoke conversation
on why states should support or oppose issues addressed in the
convention.
2nd: 1 delegate from each role/state participate in a Constitutional
Convention simulation in which each state poses their stance on the
four issues proposed in the convention. Each convention group
must come to a consensus on the four issues. Teachers will facilitate
productive discussion during the conventions to ensure learning
targets are being addressed, students know when and when not to
concede and how compromise works in a collaborative setting.
The four issues are:
1. How will state be represented in the Legislative Branch?
2. Describe the powers given to the Executive Branch.
3. Who will be able to vote and/or hold office?
4. Will the Federal Government be superior or equal to state
governments? Explain why.

Teaching Strategy:
(Independent
Practice)

The following lesson on federalists vs. anti-federalists will draw on

knowledge gained in this lesson and address the first of the four
issues debated on in the convention simulation. The second issue
will be expanded upon in the upcoming lesson on the Executive
Branch. The third issue will be addressed in the citizenship and
election lessons later in the unit. The fourth issue will be expanded
on in the Federalism lesson at the end of the unit. The unit will
unpack the Constitution with various references made to the initial
four issues addressed in this lesson. Student understanding will be
assessed through learning target reflections throughout the unit.

Closure

After the representatives from each mini convention have drafted a

class constitution we, as the teachers, will ask guiding questions to
evaluate students decision making process in compromising on the
issues addressed in the convention. Questions will include but are
not limited to:
1. Who agreed/ disagreed with the compromises declared by
the Massachusetts delegates?
2. How did groups come to compromise on issues?
3. What are the benefits/ flaws in this form of decision-making?
4. Do you see any flaws in the Constitution your class has
drafted due to certain compromises made by state
delegates?

Materials

Crash Course video

Constitutional Convention background knowledge note taker
State/Role briefing sheets. 3-5 each for delegates of each role
Modified(differentiated) convention tally sheet. 5 copies for 5 specific
students in 3S. 4B, 5B classes.

State/Role question sheets for all students

Convention question sheet for all students
Background knowledge lecture powerpoint
Smartboard blank Constitution
Accommodations
&
Modifications

To modify: Yes/No tally sheet on four issues addressed in the

Constitutional Convention to track student engagement at a
differentiated level.
To extend: Purposeful grouping will place higher level students as
the Virginia and Massachusetts delegates so that they may
moderate the debate.
Alaya and lexi and Collin 3S
Matt Wagner 4B
Elmunder 5B

Purpose of Lesson/
Standard Addressed

H.S. 1.1 a Formulate appropriate hypotheses about United States

history based on a variety of historical sources and perspectives.
H.S. 1.2 d The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and
themes from the origins of the American Revolution through
Reconstruction and their relationships with one another.
C.S. 4.1. e Analyze elements of continuity and change in the
United States government and the role of citizens over time.
C.S. 4.2 e The place of law in a constitutional system.

Co-Teaching
Strategy and
Rationale

For this lesson we used the one teach, one assist coteaching strategy. The lesson began with a Crash Course
video on the Articles of Confederation followed by a
discussion of the video led by the lead teacher. Following the
video, the class took notes on a mini-lecture about the
articles and the Constitutional Convention. This lecture was
ran by the lead teacher while one support teacher monitored
engagement and the other support teacher assisted specific
students. These two activities took up close to half of the
period. The other half of the period was a Constitutional
Convention simulation which was student ran. For these two
reasons the one teach, one assist co-teaching strategy was
chosen. The support teachers were able to address
individual students needs while the lead teacher lead the
class through the introductory material and delivered
direction for the simulation.

Would you use this

strategy for this

Although this strategy worked well for allowing one-on-one

guidance for specific students during the lecture portion of

lesson again? Why?

the lesson, the co-teaching strategy would have been helpful

as well. While the lecture and video could have been lead by
any specific teacher, or all three teachers, the convention
could have had teachers assigned to teach convention jigsaw
group to help guide productive and engaging conversation.
All three teachers circulated the room and asked guiding
questions to all of the convention groups. It would have been
beneficial to the level of discussion if one teacher had been
assigned to each convention group to gauge understanding
and ask questions that would challenge the students thinking
and level of engagement.

Were there any other

co-teaching
strategies used in
this lesson. If so,
Why?

During the lecture portion of the lesson, a loose replication of

the supplemental co-teaching strategy was implemented.
One support teacher worked closely with one student in
certain classes who needed one-on-one focus in order to
engage with the lecture and record the notes needed from
the lecture. The support teacher acted as a source of
refocus and encouragement through the lecture portion and
monitored the student for note taking completion and
engagement.

Post Lesson Reflection

1.
To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to
justify your level of achievement) Based on the reflections that the students provided on
the subsequent day, the learning targets or lesson objectives were adequately
accomplished. The second learning target about forming their own constitution dealt
more with the actual issues that the constitutional convention had to deal with, so the
students while unable to draft a constitution could identify the hot topic issues of the
post-revolutionary days.
2.
What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you
were to teach again? If I were to teach this lesson again, I would structure the
groups more purposefully as to assign students to roles that suit them better.
Better structuring would also prevent some of the loss of focus that was
experienced during the actual simulation.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach
content, etc.) The students were able to complete their learning targets with
considerable ease, so there is little to no need for reteach. Moving on well continue
speaking of the origins of the constitution in order to understand the political parties that
were present at the actual constitutional convention.

Direct
Instruction

Presentation
Model

Concept
Teaching

Cooperative
Learning

Inquiry