Rush Strong School 2011-12
TEAM Lesson Plan Template
Teacher: Leah E. Hill
Grade/Subject: 4th Social Studies
Unit: The Constitution
Lesson Title: The Preamble to the Constitution
Reference State GLE's, SPI's, Checks for Understanding, and/or Common Core
STATE STANDARD(S)
Standards
4.4.02.c- Explain the purposes of the United States Constitution as identified in the
Preamble to the Constitution.
4.5.08.c-Summarize the events that led to the creation of the United States Constitution.
Clear, Specific, and Measurable – NOT ACTIVITIES
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Student-Friendly: "The student will…"
Explicitly Stated for Students
Includes Sub-Objectives
I can summarize the events that led to the creation of the United States Constitution in a class discussion.
I can make an illustration to explain a phrase from the Preamble to the Constitution.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Measures Student Master In More Than Two Ways
Aligned with the Lesson Objective
Includes Measurable Formative and Summative Assessments
Requires Written Task
Assessment for this lesson will be both formative and summative. The formative assessment will be observation of the
students working in groups and monitoring through the discussion. The summative assessment will be the illustrations
the students will create in their groups. They will also have a “ticket out the door” question to answer.
MATERIALS
Aligned with the Lesson Objective
Rigorous & Relevant
School House Rock! Video- “ Preamble”
10 pieces of paper with a phrase from the Preamble on it (attached)
Pencils
Crayons
Dictionary for each group of students
Index cards
ACTIVATING STRATEGY
Motivator/Hook
Essential Questions (Higher Order)
Activating Prior Knowledge
Real-World Connections
1. I will remind the students of the previous lessons we have had on the Constitution. We will discuss the
importance of creating the Constitution.
2. I will explain that the Constitution has a section at the beginning called the Preamble. This part of the document
tells why the Congress wrote the Constitution.
3. I will explain to the students that today they will be working together in groups to make illustrations of the
different phrases in the Preamble to the Constitution. We will be watching the School House Rocks! Video
“Preamble” to help us better understand the meanings of the words in the Preamble to the Constitution.
Essential Questions:
What was the first government of the Unites States called?
Did it give the federal government much power?
Was this a problem? Why or why not?
Why did the Articles of Confederation not work?
Why did the Congress think the country needed a Constitution?
Rush Strong School 2011-12
INSTRUCTION
Step-by-Step Procedures/Sequence
Discover/Explain – Direct Instruction
Modeling Expectations – “I Do”
Planned Questioning That Encourages Higher Order Thinking
Grouping Strategies
Differentiated Instructional Strategies to Provide Intervention & Extension
1. I will divide the class into ten groups.
2. I will hand out the papers to each group. I will tell them to look at the words on the paper. They will need to
listen for these words in the School House Rock! video we are going to watch. They will need to pay attention
and listen for their phrase. The illustrations in the video will help them to better understand the phrase they
have.
3. We will watch the video.
4. I will point out to the students that in the creators of the video had to do the same thing they are going to do.
They had to decide how to best illustrate the different parts of the Preamble.
Essential Questions:
Are the words in the Preamble easy to understand? Why or why not?
What should you do if you do not know a word in your phrase?
How did the creators of the video illustrate your part of the Preamble?
Can you think of another way to illustrate it?
GUIDED & INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
“We Do”-“You Do”
Student Work Encourages Higher Order Thinking & Problem Solving
Relevance to Students' Lives
Differentiated Strategies for Practice to Provide Intervention & Extension
1. Now I will ask them to look at the words on their papers. If they do not know what a word means they will look
it up in a dictionary.
2. After they figure out what their phrase means, they will begin illustrating the phrase that is on the top of their
paper. I will remind them that they have to work together to complete this assignment.
3. As the students are completing the activity, I will be circulating the room and helping the different groups.
4. When the students finish their illustration, they will put it at the front of the room in front of the dry erase
board.
5. After all eight papers are turned in, each group will choose a speaker to explain what their phrase means.
6. The speakers will stand at the front of the room in order, and explain what the phrase they have means. They
will also explain why they chose to draw the illustration they made.
Essential Questions:
Do you understand your part of the Preamble any better after watching the “Preamble” video?
Brainstorm with your group and create an illustration of the phrase on your piece of paper.
Differentiated Strategies
The students will be grouped in way that is most helpful to them. I will have students who struggle with social studies in
groups with students I feel will be most helpful to them. I will also choose which group gets which phrase of the
Preamble based on the ability of the group. The higher achieving students will get “harder” phrases than those who
struggle.
Rush Strong School 2011-12
CLOSURE
Reflection/Wrap-Up
Summarizing, Reflecting, Restating, Connecting
Student Engagement
1. I will ask the students the following questions to wrap up the lesson:
Do you better understand the different parts of the Preamble after this activity?
What was the purpose of the founders writing the Constitution?
Why did they write the Preamble?
2. I will then have the students bring their illustrations into the hall. We will put them in order on the bulletin
board.
3. When we return to the room, I will have the students answer the following questions on an index card.
Explain why the writers of the Constitution decided to write the Preamble.
What is the purpose of the Preamble?
CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS
This lesson can be modified and used in Language Arts. I will also use this lesson as a springboard for writing prompts.
NOTES/ SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
This lesson works well with larger classes. If you have a smaller class, you may need to have students work in pairs
instead of groups, or have each group do more than one illustration.
Rush Strong School 2011-12
We the People of the United States
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In order to form a more perfect union
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Establish justice
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Ensure domestic tranquility
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Provide for the common defense
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Promote the general welfare
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And secure the blessings of liberty
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To ourselves and our posterity
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Do ordain and establish this Constitution
Rush Strong School 2011-12
For the United States of America.