Download Standard USI.7 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the

Standard USI.7
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the challenges faced by the new
nation by:
a) identifying the weaknesses of the government established by the Articles
of Confederation;
b) describing the historical developments of the Constitution of the United
States;
c) describing the major accomplishments of the first five presidents of the
United States.
Essential Skills
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Identify and interpret primary and secondary source documents to
increase understanding of events and life in United States history. (USI.1a)
Interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives. (USI.1d)
Analyze and interpret maps to explain historical events. (USI.1f)
Sequence events in United States history. (USI.1c)
Interpret excerpts from notable documents. (USI.1h)
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“Building America”
This activity can be used to teach Standard USI.7. The standard correlates to The United
States, Unit 5.
Resources
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Project an interactive timeline titled “Confederation to Constitution”
Project a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation
and the Constitution.
Project a chart titled “Accomplishments of the First Five Presidents”
Show the First Presidents timeline on pages VA10 and VA11 of the textbook.
Activity
Explain to students that as leaders of the young nation, the Founding Fathers struggled
to find the right combination of power for the country’s laws and the documents that
guided the country. Review the following vocabulary terms: Articles of Confederation,
legislature, federal system, Supreme Court, ratify, bill of rights, and
amendment.
Project an interactive timeline titled “Confederation to Constitution” and complete as a
class. Ask students to correctly position the following items on the timeline:
Constitutional Convention, Great Compromise, Ratification, and Bill of Rights.
Remind students that George Washington was elected president of the Constitutional
Convention.
Project a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the
Constitution. Complete the diagram as a class. First, instruct students to make a list of
the main points of each document. Explain to students that the Articles of Confederation
had many weaknesses and provided for a weak national government. The government
could not tax citizens or regulate trade and commerce between the states because there
was no common currency. There was no provision for executive or judicial branches of
government in the Articles of Confederation. Lastly, the document gave each state only
one vote regardless of the population size of that state. These weaknesses led to the
drafting of a new constitution.
Remind students that the first ten amendments of the Constitution were called the Bill of
Rights.
Show the First Presidents timeline on pages VA10 and VA11 of the textbook. Point out
the dates of each President’s term of office and make a list of each President’s
accomplishments. Remind students that during Washington’s term, the Bill of Rights was
added to the Constitution of the United States of America.
Next, project a chart and complete as directed below:
“Accomplishments of the First Five Presidents”
War of 1812
Lewis and Clark explored new land
west of the Mississippi River.
The Bill of Rights was added to the
Constitution of the United States of
America.
Plans were created for development of the
national capital in Washington, D.C.
United States bought Louisiana
from France.
Warned European nations not to interfere
in the Western Hemisphere.
A two-party system emerged.
Federal court system was established.
Ask individual students to complete the following tasks:
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Highlight in
presidency.
Highlight in
Adams.
Highlight in
Jefferson.
Highlight in
Madison.
Highlight in
yellow the events that occurred during George Washington’s
orange the events that occurred during the presidency of John
red the events that occurred during the presidency of Thomas
blue the events that occurred during the presidency of James
green the action(s) of James Monroe.
After completing the activity, students should be able to answer the following questions:
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How does a legislature work?
What are the features of the federal system?
What is the purpose of the Supreme Court?
What does it mean to ratify?
What are some of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights?
What were the basic weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
What events led to the development of the Constitution of the United States?
What is an amendment?
What people helped develop the Constitution of the United States?
What were the major national issues and events faced by the first five
presidents?
What were the major accomplishments of the first five presidents?