Learners examine the rights guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights, as well as the responsibilities we have to protect those rights for our personal well-being and the common welfare. Students show value for those rights by promoting the common welfare as an involved citizen.
Focus question: What is a citizen's responsibility to participate in civil society?
The learner will:
- explain the purpose of the Constitution and the Preamble to the Constitution.
- identify the Bill of Rights as the origin of our guaranteed rights and explain why it was added to the Constitution.
- describe the social contract between cities and their government and give an example of how nonprofit organizations and their government carry out this contract.
- identify and describe five rights guaranteed to citizens in the Bill of Rights.
- evaluate whether desired actions are constitutionally guaranteed rights.
- state reasons for protecting guaranteed rights.
- explain and defend views regarding reasonable limits for guaranteed rights.
- describe the role of nonprofit organizations in preserving and promoting guaranteed rights.
- describe sources of responsibilities.
- list responsibilities associated with corresponding rights.
- predict the consequences of fulfilling or not fulfilling responsibilities.
- identify ways of fulfilling responsibilities to protect the rights of all and promote the common welfare through voluntary action.
- demonstrate how the guaranteed rights in the Bill of Rights promote the common welfare.
Students use their time and talent to create posters that illustrate ways in which guaranteed rights ensure the well-being of all people. On their own time, students present the poster to administration and get permission to post it somewhere on school grounds.
The unit assessment contains three parts which require higher level thinking and responses from students. In the first part, the student must identify one of the five basic guaranteed rights from a written description. In the second part, students must decide whether or not an action is protected by a guaranteed right as well as recall important ideas regarding founding documents. Finally, in part three, students must construct a written response regarding a right and associated responsibilities, and then take a stand regarding the right to vote. A point value for each part is not given. Teachers may decide how they wish to evaluate the assessment. Equal or "weighted" value may be assigned to the three parts of the assessment
This activity, included in Lesson Two: The "Right" Ideas, is intended to provide an opportunity for students to reflect upon and apply their understanding of rights. This activity has two parts. The first part will encourage dialogue between parents and students, reinforcing the learning which took place in class. Part two will provide students an authentic opportunity to defend a personal action they believe to be a right, convincing their parents that it relates to a guaranteed right in the Bill of Rights.
The Instructional Procedure of the lessons in this unit emphasizes the use of cooperative grouping as a predominant approach. Teachers can alter this approach, yet maintain the content necessary for teaching the concepts. The assessments in the lessons also rely on student collaboration and teacher involvement as the learners acquire a firm grasp of the objectives. The final unit assessment provides the opportunity for individual assessment of learning.
See individual lessons for benchmark detail.
Lessons Developed By:
Cedar Springs Public Schools
Cedar Springs Middle School
204 E Muskegon St
Cedar Springs, MI 49319
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