Government Part 1: Origins of the U.S. Constitution
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How did the founding fathers come up with the concepts embedded in the U.S. Constitution?Workbook: 124 pages: 68 lessons, 145 test questions
Classroom activities, brain games, thinksheets – and the “Mother of all tests.”
All based on Bloom’s taxonomy.
Why students love these lessons: lotsa games.
Why teachers love this book: brief lectures, great graphic organizers, major documents, famous quotations, and tests that hit everything on your state test.
Introduction
What is constitutional democracy?
What is the character of American democracy?
The origins of the U.S. Constitution
How did the founding fathers come up with the concepts embedded in the U.S. Constitution? Well, there were two trends of thought . . .
The main purpose of government is to promote the public good
During the Classical Age, the Greeks invented democracy and the Romans invented the republic.
The main purpose of government is to protect individual rights
In medieval England, the Magna Carta established the principle of limited government.
The Judeo-Christian ethic - the importance of the individual.
The Glorious Revolution - A constitutional monarchy and the English Bill of Rights.
John Locke - Natural Rights and the Social Contract.
Montesquieu - Three Branches, Separation of Powers, Checks & Balances
The Mayflower Compact - Consent of the Governed.
The Great Awakening - Separation of Church & State.
The Declaration of Independence - Political equality (“All men are created equal”).
Make those abstract concepts memorable
“Name that Enlightenment Philosopher!”
Can you talk like a revolutionary?
What if your school were run like the Articles of Confederation?!
Who am I?
Rank! (Rank the famous people)
Mars / Venus
Life is like a rock group
Great debates
Honk if you hate civics
And, of course, the ubiquitous and ever-popular “The Gong Show!”