Unpacked Content
Knowledge
Students know:
- Key principles of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights as well as their meaning.
- Key arguments given by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
- The Constitution is an evolving document through both formal and informal means.
- The process by which an amendment can be added to the U.S. Constitution.
Skills
Students are able to:
- Outline the possible paths taken to ratify an amendment to the Constitution.
- Interpret how constitutional principles are embedded in current and past issues in US history and politics.
- Interpret primary documents from both Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
- Analyze a given passage of the U.S. Constitution to identify how it relates to a key principle of American government.
Understanding
Students understand that:
- Many key principles of the Constitution, including judicial review, federalism, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, rule of law, and popular sovereignty, are embedded in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and that their meaning has been debated throughout U.S. history.
Vocabulary
- rule of law
- federalism
- limited government
- popular sovereignty
- judicial review
- separation of powers
- checks and balances
- ratification
- Anti-Federalist
- confederation
- amending
- Federalist
- article of the Constitution
