Lesson 1:

Learning Stations: Why a Constitution?

Lesson Overview:
In groups, students will move through learning stations to understand the
weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why James Madison, along
with other prominent leaders wanted to revise the Articles, which ultimately
led to the formation of the Constitution. Each station will consist of primary
or secondary sources for students to analyze that will be available to them in
digital versions and print versions.
Timeframe: 3 Days/50-minute class periods
Essential Questions:1
Did the Articles of Confederation provide the United States with an effective
government?
What events led to the development of the Constitution?
Learning Objectives:

 Analyze the effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation.

 Explain how the Northwest Ordinance helped establish new territory for
the United States.
 Determine the causes of Shays’s Rebellion and its effects on the new
nation.
Learning Steps:

1. The Hook ~ Drawing a Concept Map Part I

Using the word “government,” students will draw a concept map with their
table members. They will brainstorm as many components or purposes of
government as possible. Students will have 3 minutes to complete this task.
The teacher will bring students back together and ask each table to share an
idea with the class to make a class concept map on the board that shows the
purposes and parts of government

2. Student Experience ~ Learning Stations2

Students will be physically moving around in the classroom to different
learning stations with their table members. At each station, students will be
analyzing the events that led to the formation of the Constitution. They will
be answering questions and solving problems at each station using primary
1
Essential questions that focus on the process of historical thinking inspired by Obenchain et al., 2011
2
Using student-centered teaching methods to engage students in history inspired by Maloy & LaRoche, 2010
and secondary sources. Students will have roughly eight minutes at each
station. If students do not compete the required work in that amount of time,
they will have an opportunity to go back and complete their work once all
students have hit each station. Students will be responsible for self-directing
themselves around the stations.
As the students are engaged in the learning experience, the teacher will act
as a facilitator. The teacher should be moving around to each station to gage
student performance. During this time, the teacher should be asking groups
additional questions to spark further critical thinking.

The Materials ~ Station’s Content

There will a total of six stations. Each station consists of different medias for
students to engage in. The stations and their content are listed below:
1. Background on the Articles of Confederation
..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\AOC
Background.docx

2. Excerpts from the Articles of Confederation

..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\Articles of
Confederation.pdf

3. Articles of Confederation Political Cartoon

..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\AOC Political
Cartoon - Rough Sailing.docx

4. Background on the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\Northwest
Ordinance Background.docx

5. Excerpts from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\Northwest
Ordinance 1787.pdf

6. Background of Shay’s Rebellion

..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\Background on
Shays Rebellion.docx

7. Shay’s Rebellion Image

..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\Shays Rebellion
Image.docx

All students will receive a packet they will carry to each station and answer
the corresponding questions.
 ..\..\..\US History\Constitution\Gallery Walk for Introduction of Chapter 8\Gallery Walk
Questions.docx

3. Wrap-Up ~
On the first day of the activity, students will be asked to answer the following
question on a post-it note prior to leaving class. The question, “Write down
one interesting thing you learned in one of your learning stations.”
On the second day of the activity, students will be asked to answer the
following question on a post-it note prior to leaving class. The question,
“Write down one thing you still have questions about regarding what you
have learned so far in your learning stations?”
On the last day of the activity, students will be asked to break up into new
groups. In these groups’ students will reflect on the Station’s Activity.
Answering the essential questions with their group members:
1. Did the Articles of Confederation provide the United States with an
effective government?
2. What events led to the development of the Constitution?