Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution Lesson Plan
Subject: High School/ U.S. History
GPS:
SSUSH5 The student will explain specific events and key ideas that brought about the adoption
and implementation of the United States Constitution.
a. Explain how weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and Daniel Shays’ Rebellion led to a
call for a stronger central government.
c. Explain the key features of the Constitution, specifically the Great Compromise, separation of
powers (influence of Montesquieu), limited government, and the issue of slavery.
Learning Goal(s):
Students will know:

why the Articles of Confederation failed

the key differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
Essential Question:

How did the Articles of Confederation and Constitution shape our current government and
society?
Activate Learning:
On the board, create a Know-Want to Know-Learned chart. Fill in what students know and want to
know about the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, thus activating prior knowledge.
Teaching Strategies:
Power point Lectures
Summarizing:
Review worksheets that accompany power point lectures
The Task/Activity:
Critical
Thinking Skill(s) Included
1. Pass out the worksheets that students will fill in during the power point lectures.
2. Deliver the power point lectures
3. Review the worksheet at the end of each lecture for understanding and accuracy.
Authentic Culminating Assessment:
Short Answer Document Based Questions from Bank provided