Scott Luepke

RED 414
Social Studies Lesson Plan
Fall 2015
Constitution Day
Standard
3.4.1.1.1
Reference different time periods using correct terminology, including the terms decade,
century, and millennium.
3.4.1.1.2
Create timelines of important events in three different time scalesdecades, centuries
and millennia.
3.4.1.2.1
Examine historical records, maps and artifacts to answer basic questions about times
and events in history, both ancient and more recent.
Objectives
Content: The student will be able to explain what the Constitution is.
Language: The student will be able to state why the Constitution is important to Americans.
Materials
SMART Board Lesson
Sentence frames exit slip
Social Studies books (may not need them, depending on how much time other activities take)
Instructional Plan
Teacher:
Great job coming over and sitting on the carpet right away when you came in from
break! This is great. As you can see from our Learning Target, were going to be talking about the
Constitution today. So, lets put our Social Studies thinking caps on. Everyone take twenty seconds to
think about this question: What is a constitution?...Ok Justin, what is a constitution?
Student:

Its something that has rules on it.

Teacher:
I like your answer. A constitution does have rules on it, in fact, our Constitution lists the
laws that Americans need to follow. We can even compare the Constitution to the rules we have at
school. The Constitution tells Americans how they can be responsible and respectful to themselves and
others, so that everyone can be safe.
The lesson will continue by going through the SMART Board lesson. Key points:
James Madison is nicknamed The Father of the Constitution because he wrote the document
and worked very hard on it.
George Washington oversaw the convention when the document was written; he later became
our first president.
Benjamin Franklin was the oldest person to sign the document.
Other key terms: Independence Hall, Philadelphia, We the People,
Listen to the audio file James Madison speaks; especially tracks 1, 2, 7, and 8
Play the Matching Game within the SMART presentation

Evaluation
With five minutes of class time remaining, hand out an exit slip to each student. Explain that they must
fill out numbers one and two, and they should fill out number three if they have time. If they finish all
three before its time to go, they may sit quietly and read a book at their level. The sentence frames will
be:
1. The U.S. Constitution is __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. The Constitution is important to Americans because ___________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________(Name) was important when the Constitution was written
because he/she_________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.