Download Lesson Topic: Preamble

Lesson Topic: Preamble
Subjects: Social Studies, Language Arts, Art
Materials:
* We the People: The Constitution of the United
States of America By Peter Spier
* Copy of the Preamble
* 10 pieces of poster board
* Preamble cut into phrases and placed in a bag
"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"; "provide for 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"
Procedures:
* Explain to the students that the Preamble of the
Constitution is the introduction that states the main
purpose of the Constitution.
* Show the students the pictures from We the People
and explain what each phrase of the Preamble
represents.
* Have the students read the Preamble together as a
class.
* Separate the students into groups and assign each
group a phrase of the Preamble. Each group should use
resources in the classroom as well as We the People to
create a poster board (phrases, illustrations, etc.) of
what they think the phrase means. Each group will
present their phrase and explain what they believe it
means.
* Keep students in the same group and pass out a
bag filled with the phrases of the Preamble to each
group. Each group should be able to put the strips in
the proper order. After each group has completed their
Preamble, they will read it aloud as a group to the
class.
Assessment:
* The teacher will evaluate the student's
participation in the Preamble activity by monitoring
their group work while creating an illustration of
their Preamble phrase.
* The students will complete an illustration of a
Preamble phrase.
* The students will also be required to put the
phrases of the Preamble in the correct order and read
aloud to the class.