Lesson Plan : We the Kids

Teacher Name:
 Griffiths
Grade:
 Grade 5
Subject:
 Language Arts

Topic:
 We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
Content:
 6 Traits of Writing - Voice Preamble to Constitution of the United States We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Goals:
 Students will investigate the Preamble to the Constitution and make it more meaningful to them.
Objectives:
 Students will: * Read and discuss "We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States". * Relate to the text by using a thesaurus to investigate the traditional language. * Demostrate an understanding of the text by creating a more contemporary version of the text.
Materials:
 "We the Kids: The preamble to the Constitution of the United States: by David Catrow Overhead/Elmo Smartboard/ Butcher block paper Thesaurus Writing paper and pencils/ individual whiteboards
Introduction:
 Read aloud the picture book, "We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States" by David Catrow and display it on an Elmo.
Development:
 Discuss the changes in language from the 1700's to today and how much of it is used today. Discuss the important ideas in the Preamble based on the author's Preamble forward and the students own interpretations. On the Smartboard, display the glossary words from the front of Catrow's book. Ask the students to define the words they do know and make a good guess on the ones they don't know.
Practice:
 In small groups, have the students look through a thesaurus to look up a set of words from the Preamble. All groups can then list synonyms for their set of words on the Smartboard. As a class, rewrite the Preamble using contemporary words and phrases to replace the more traditional ones. Compare the two versions.
Accommodations:
 Students can work in small groups or pairs to come with a slang version.
Checking For Understanding:
 Teacher will question and conference with students.
Closure:
 Students can read and display their finished versions on a bulletin board. Have students explain the Preamble in their own words and discuss why it is so important.
Evaluation:
 Evaluation will take place during the lesson with participation in the discussion and small group work. Teacher will also evaluate the final product; slang version of the Preamble.
Teacher Reflections:
 What worked? What didn't work? What could be done better next time? Do I need to review any concepts?

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