Constitutional Law Competition

We have spent the past week studying the Constitution. Students reasearched the three branches; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial, and also learned about the system of Checks & Balances, the Amendment Process, and how the Federal System works. On Thursday, we took the "Bar Exam", a quiz on what we have learned so far. Based on the results of their "Bar Exams", students were placed into "law firms." The "law firms" then participated in a Constitutional Law Competition in which they were presented with a number of legal dilemmas. They had to use their knowledge to come up with a solution to the problem, as well as cite where in the Constitution the anwer can be found.

Here are some pictures of the law firms at work:

Is It Really This Bad?

Wally Cleaver explains school:

Particle Man

Here is the video that I told the Core D students I would post:

The Preamble

We are now beginning our study of the organization of the Constitution. the first thing we will discuss is the Preamble. The Preamble is the introduction to the Constitution, it states six specific goals of the U.S. government. Here is what it says:

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty, to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Here is a fun video about the Preamble from the Andy Griffith show (if you've never heard of the show, ask your parents or grandparents):

Constitutional Convention - The Final Day

As our Constitutional Convention came to a close, delegates showed their support for the document by signing it. Some delegates, however, chose not to sign it and had to explain their reasons. Some delegates did not sign the Consitution because they felt it gave too much power to the federal government, and they feared the return of a monarchy. Others felt that the document talked too much of the powers of government, and did not have anything in it to protect the rights of the people.

After the Constitution was written, it had to be sent to the states for ratification (official approval).

Constitutional Convention - Day 2

On the second day of the Convention, classes finished up debating the issue of how representation in the national legislature (congress) would be determined. A 2/3 majority was needed in our convention for a motion to pass. Some classes were able to agree and voted to adopt a compromise, others were not able to gather enough votes to pass any resolution.

We also began debating Issue 2 which dealt with slaves. Soouthern states wanted slaves to count as part of their poplulation so that they could have more representatives in Congress. Northern states did not agree with the South, and instead felt that the southern states should have to pay taxes on their slaves.

We will conclude the debate on this issue on Day 3. Hopefully some of the classes will be able to reach a resolution on this issue.


Delegate Alexander Hamilton of New York:


Delegate George Read of Delaware address the convention about the role of slaves in determining a states representation in Congress:

Delegates request permission to speak from the President of the Convention, General George Washington:

Delegate Charles Ellsworth of Connecticut addresses the Convention:

Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania uses a metaphor to make his point:

Delegates read about the issues before they debate:

Constitutional Convention - Day 1

On Monday we began a mock Constitutional Convention in class in order to better understand the issues that faced the delegates from each state in creating the actual Constitution. Each student has been assigned a delegate, and must act and vote the way that that person did, while I preside over the Convention as George Washington.

To open up the convention, we first discussed the rules of order and parliamentary procedure. We then took a “vow of secrecy”, to remind us that the original delegates were not allowed to speak about the convention to the public.

The first issue we discussed was about how the people would be represented in our new government. Delegates from the larger states wanted a legislature (congress) with representation based on the population of each state. Other delegates felt that all of the states should be represented equally.

None of the classes were able to reach the majority vote needed to adopt either idea. Some of them, however, were able to reach a compromise solution.


Delegates confer with each other before a vote:

Holiday Videos

In honor of Mrs. Cook, I am posting some classic holiday videos. Enjoy!

Declaration of Indepence, Illustrated Children's Versions

As a part of our study of the American Revolution, we recently translated parts of the Declaration of Independence into words that a third grader could understand. We are now creating illustrated children's books that convey the main ideas of the Declaration.

The Declaration of Independence

Here is a video of the Declaration of Indpendence being read by a number of well known celebrities with an introduction by Morgan Freeman:




And here is Sesame Street's take on the writing of the Declaration:

Extra Credit: 1776

In the movie 1776, delegate Caesar Rodney of Delaware is portrayed as being very sick during the debate on Independence. So sick that he went home to Delaware so that he might die in his own bed, only to be brought back to Philadelphia so that he could cast a tie breaking vote, within his delegation, in order to make sure that Delaware voted for Independence.

While Rodney did suffer from skin cancer during much of his adulthood, that is not the reason he had to leave Philadelphia in June of 1776. He was in Delaware in order to stop Loyalist activity there, when he recieved word that the Delaware delegation was deadlocked on the issue of independence. To break that deadlock, Rodney rode eighty miles through a thunderstorm on the night of July 1, 1776, dramatically arriving in Philadelphia "in his boots and spurs" just as the voting was beginning.

Here is the extra credit opportunity:

I am looking for a picture of Caesar Rodney on his horseride back to Philadelphia. It is a very specific picture, one that you have probably had in your possesion before without even knowing it. In fact, you might have a copy of it in your house right now.

The first person to bring me this picture will recieve 25 points extra credit (there is another clue in this sentence).

Each person after that will recieve 10 points extra credit.

I will be accepting these up until Friday.

1776

We are currently watching the movie 1776, a musical about the Second Continental Congress and the debate on idependence. I was able to find video on the web of some of my favorite scenes. Below is one of the first scenes in the movie, it shows how many of the other delegates did not care much for John Adams. They disliked him for his ego, and the way that he always voiced his opinions so strongly. Because of this, Adams had a hard time getting Congress to even talk about the issue of independence from Great Britain , until it was proposed by a more well-liked delegate.



"The Egg" is probably my favorite song from the movie. As the rough draft of Declaration of Independence is being read in Congress, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin discuss what they think should be the symbol of the new nation being created. An interesting note: Benjamin Franklin did actually propose the idea of the Turkey as the national bird.

Founding Fathers League

We are about to begin our study of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. In honor of the famous men who were involved in these events, I am posting this video I found that introduces the "Founding Fathers" using the theme of the Justice League.

Colonial Town Meeting

On Nov. 27 and 28th we held a Colonial Town Meeting in order to better understand the debate over colonial independence in early 1776. Students were each assigned a specific historical figure. They were given a description of that person's view on independence and were told whether they were a Patriot, a Loyalist, or if they were Neutral at that time. Each student had to create a poster they would use to present their "Key Ideas" at the Town Meeting

The Patriots and Loyalists switched off presenting their ideas to the Neutralists. After each presentation, Neutralists were given the opportunity to question the presenter, and the opposing side was given an opportunity for rebuttal.

The students really liked this activity and most of them did a good job of representing their side. Many students got into their character, which sometimes led to a heated, but good spirited, debate.

At the end of the meeting, the Neutralists had to declare whenter they would side with the Patriots or Loyalists.

History of Thanksgiving

The History Channel website has a lot of interesting information about the history of Thanksgiving, check it out www.historychannel.com.

History Channel: Desperate Crossing

The History Channel (usually ch 74 in the Harbor) has a cool new special this month about the Mayflower and how the people journeyed on it both flourished, and failed, in the "New World." I highly recommend that you check it out. View a preview of it here:

Extra Credit: The Boston Massacre

Below are two very different depictions of what took place at the scene of the Boston Massacre. they are written from two very different points of view. One of them is from a Patriot's point of view, the other is more likely from a British, or neutral, point of view. Using what we have learned in class (section 5.5 in your textbook), try and determine which is which. For extra credit, write up a brief statement (2 paragraphs) that explains which picture was drawn from which point of view. Your explanation must be supported with details from what we have read/discussed in class.

This statement must be neatly written on lined notebook paper, with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. It must be turned in to me by Monday, Nov. 27th to get the extra credit.

Illustration 1:

Illustration 2:

Taxation Without Representation

On Thursday, students participated in a history simulation in which most of them played the role of colonists being taxed by the "King" and "Parliament". The "Colonists" were taxed on things such as hair color, clothing, and accesories. The "Colonists" had no say in the taxes and, though they were not happy about it, the "King" and "Parliament" kept demanding more money.

Colonists had a hard time parting with their hard earned money Parliament, the King, and the Tax Collectors discuss whether or not they have collected enough from the Colonists:

The King and Parliament definitely enjoyed seeing the money roll in:
The Colonists were not very happy with the Tax Collectors

Colonial Travel Fair Part 2

Here are some pictures from the afternoon classes.

Colonial Travel Fair Part 1

The Colonial Travel Fair was a big success! Here are some pictures of the morning classes.

My Pumpkins

Here are the pumpkins I carved for Halloween this year. If you can't tell just by looking at them, the first one is Abraham Lincoln and the second one is George Washington.

Preparing for Our Colonial Travel Fair

As part of our study of the 13 English Colonies in America, students are currently working on preparations for our Colonial Travel Fair. The fair will have several booths designed to entice others to move to their colony.

The Fair will be held on Wednesday Oct. 18th in the North Prairie library. The morning Social Studies classes will be presening their booths between 9:40 and 11:00. The afternoon classes will present theirs between 1:30 and 3:00. Parents and family members are welcome to come check it out (make sure you check with your student to find out when they have social studies class).

The Mayflower

Below are some videos I found of a re-creation of the original Mayflower ship. Notice how small it actually was.