Working in small groups, to be chosen by your teacher, these are the items that are to be covered in your newspaper.

1. What is the U.S. Constitution? Summarize and explain this to your readers.

2. What does the Constitution do for the citizens of the United States? What about slaves?

3. Write a short biography on the delegate(s) from your state. Did your delegate(s) play an important role in the writing of the constitution?

Your newspaper must contain headlines, illustrations and text in columns. Each person in your group must choose from the following jobs.

1. Reporter- this person gathers the information and reports back to the group.

2. Feature Writer- this person gathers information on the delegates and puts together a biography.

3. Illustrator- draws pictures of the event.

4. Layout Editor- this person decides the layout of the newspaper and coordinates the final product.

Remember that all the people in this group must work together to create your final product.

Don't forget to cite your sources!

Some points to ponder:

What three government bodies did the constitution create and how do they work together?

What are articles? What are amendments?

What events led to the writing of the constitution (this would be consider background information)?

What are the five freedoms of the first amendment?

Why is the constitution called a "living document"?

How do you find the information?

11/13/01 kmw