EDUC 2220- Educational Technology Lesson Plan

The Founders and Us

Cody Benedetto

10th Grade - American History

Common Core Standards:

 Problems facing the national government under the Articles of Confederation led to the drafting of the
Constitution of the United States. The framers of the Constitution applied ideas of Enlightenment in
conceiving the new government.
 The Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers structured the national debate over the
ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
 The Bill of Rights is derived from English law, ideas of the Enlightenment, the experiences of the
American colonists, early experiences of self-government and the national debate over the ratification
of the Constitution of the United States

Lesson Summary:
This lesson entails that students will get an understanding on how documents like the Constitution and
Declaration of Independence were created and what the writers meant in those documents. They will use any
forms of research to learn about the founders. The purpose of this lesson is to connect these “old, white men”
to the student’s lives.

Estimated Duration:
This lesson will be no more than four days. It will be divided into three 40 minute class periods and one 50
minute class period.

Commentary:
I plan on getting these students hooked onto this lesson by tying what the founding fathers said and believed
in historical American documents with the student’s own lives and beliefs. My hope is to get these students to
understand the tough language of early America. We are not able to pull up a video of the actual founder. The
only way to really know what they meant is to look in depth at their writings. Just like the students, these were
just regular people who wanted change in their lives and were tired of being ruled by a tyrannical ruler.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
I will introduce the topic of the founding fathers without going into too much detail (5 mins)
I will show pictures of some of the founding fathers and documents then I want a student to tell me what they
know about them. I want to know who he is and what he did (5 mins)
Students will then grab a laptop or tablet. I will have a random selection of founding fathers in a top hat.
These will range from George Washington to Button Gwinnett. Students will choose at random one name.
That is who they will research (10 mins)
Students will research independently while I walk around to answer any questions and to help when needed.
While researching students will need to type/write down some notes for themselves (20 mins)
When there is 5 minutes left in class, I will tell them to save their work and put their technology away (5 mins)
 Day 2:
We will start off class with finishing up our research from the day before (5 mins)
Students will then present to the class, the research that they have gathered on their topic. (10 mins)
Once everyone has presented then I will teach them what I know about each of founder. The students may
have the same things as me or they may learn something new (20 mins)
I will then ask the students to connect their founder with someone in their life whether they are a family
member, friend, or even a celebrity. (5 mins)
Day 3:
Students will start off the class by sharing who they connected with their founding father. They won’t get into
details though (5 mins)
I will introduce the topic of historic documents (5 mins)
Students will do the same as they did for the founding fathers on Day 1 but they will be divided into three
groups. One group will research the Declaration of Independence, another group will research the
Constitution, and the last group will research the Bill of Rights. (30 mins)
Students will then put away technology when there is 5 mins remaining in class (5 mins)
Day 4:
Each group will present their topic to the class (10 mins)
I will teach the students what I know about all three documents (15 mins)
We will then analyze major parts of each document to understand what is being said (20 mins)
I will then assign the post assessment assignment to the class and answer any questions (5 mins)

Pre-Assessment:
Students will be given a quiz on basic facts of US historical documents and the founding fathers.
Scoring Guidelines:
Students will not able to lose points with this quiz. They will only be given points if the answer is correct. Also
the points that they will be given cannot affect their grade because they are extra credit points. I just want to
know what they know.

Post-Assessment:
The Post-Assessment will be a project in which students will make a poster board about their founding father
and how they are connected to their life. I want to see why these two persons from two completely different
times are the similar. (Ex. If Alexander Hamilton was who you had, and you were once orphan or immigrant,
connect why that reason connects you with Hamilton). Before presentation day, students will give me a written
copy of what is said on their projects. I will then take what they wrote and make questions for students to
answer. On presentation day, everyone’s project will be around the room and students can walk around and
read each one. They must do this in order to answer the questions given to them. If a student can prove they
are actually related to a founding father then they will receive bonus points.
Scoring Guidelines:
I will grade these based on if students followed the guidelines of the project and that they found ways to
connect themselves to the founders. Students will also be graded on the questions. If they answered the
questions correctly then they did read the posters and learned from them.
Differentiated Instructional Support
For those who are struggling then they will be given a student partner to work along with and to help them
when they need it. I will still expect a single project from each student as the post-assessment
For those who are accelerated with the lesson then they be expected to research on an additional founder
and additional connection to their life.
I will work with these students myself if they still are struggling even with a student partner

Extension
This site will help you out in researching your founding father (Not all founding fathers are listed on here)
https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-founding-fathers/about-the-founding-fathers/
This site list all of the founding fathers and briefly describes them
https://www.ranker.com/list/best-founding-fathers/amylindorff

Homework Options and Home Connections

Students are encouraged to ask their family members about their relatives and ancestors in order to find
ways to connect themselves to the founding fathers.

Interdisciplinary Connections
Art - I expect the post-assessment projects to not be plain and boring. Be creative and fun!
Literature/Fine Arts - There are many resources like fictionalized books and even broadway musicals that
they will teach you more about the founding fathers.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers Powerpoint, Flash drive, Google account

For students Pads, Laptops, notebooks, Flash drive, Posterboards, Glue, Scissors, Markers,
Printer

Key Vocabulary
Bill of Rights, US Constitution, Founding Father, Declaration of Independence, American Revolution,
Monarchy, Democracy