Title – Classroom Bill of Rights

By – Olivia Naxon

Primary Subject – Social Studies

Grade Level – 6-8

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Social Studies Standards:

• Citizenship (16A) – The student is expected to summarize rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights
• Citizenship (17B) – The student is expected to describe the importance of free speech and press in democratic society

Learning Objectives:

The student will be able to:
• Describe what the Bill of Rights is
  
• Create the Classroom Amendments – our class rights amendments to the first ten state’s rights amendments

Introduction:

• The purpose of this lesson is to help students fully understand the Bill of Rights and why it was created.
• This will also be a good way to make a set of class rules that everyone will agree on.

Materials Needed:

• Poster
  
• Markers
  
• Worksheets
  
• Bill of Rights Poster

Pre-activity Preparations:

• Write an historical overview of the Bill of Rights.
• List all ten amendments on a poster to hang up in the room.
• Make and copy worksheets. Color-code the worksheets so that the number of colors equals the number of groups and the number of copies in that color equal the number of kids in the group.
• Put bell ringers on the board.

Transition:

• Students grab a worksheet as they walk into the classroom and sit at a desk marked with that color.
• The desks will already be broken into the four groups with color paper marking them so the students will know what group to go to.
• Before group work, the students need to answer the bell ringers on the board on a separate sheet of paper.

Hook:

• When students walk into class, they will have to answer two bell ringers as a review from the day before.
• The questions are:
  • What was the reason for making the Bill of Rights?
  • Who made the Bill of Rights?

Procedure/Learning Experiences/Method of Explanation:

1. As a class, conduct a short review over what was learned the day before about the Bill of Rights by asking students to explain what they remember.
   
2. Call on one student to answer the bell ringers.
   
3. Bill of Rights Poster:
   • A student reads the poster, explaining the Bill of Rights.
     
   • Pick on ten students to read off the ten amendments from the poster in front of the classroom
   • Ask if everyone understand each amendment
4. In groups of five, discuss five amendments that would relate to the classroom.
   • They will have five minutes to do this. The classroom volume should not be louder than a 6-inch voice.
   • Give examples of good classroom amendments like, freedom to use the restroom when needed (inform the teacher first), will be able to receive an A on a late paper (5 point deduction per day), etc.
5. Next, the groups choose two of the five amendments they wrote, taking another five minutes to decide.
   • They then pick someone in the group to read them aloud
   • They also pick another person to write it on the board.
   • One person from each group reads aloud the two amendments they have chosen for the class.
6. As a class, narrow down the list to the best three amendments and explain that those amendments will become the new class rules. Have three students come up and write the amendments they chose on a poster.
   
7. Each class period will pick two to three amendments and they will add theirs to the list of amendments the other classes have came up with.
   
8. Then as a class, discuss how the classroom amendments relate to the states’ first ten amendments. Call on students to answer questions like:
   • Why do you think the first amendment was freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly?
   • Do you think our amendments can be followed and why do you think we can do it?

Closure:

• Pass out a note card that the student will use to answer a culminating question the teacher will read aloud to them, such as “Our class has put much effort and thought into creating our Bill of Rights. If someone violates these rights, how would you feel? What should the consequence be?”
  
• They will answer it in two to three complete sentences.

E-Mail

Olivia Naxon

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