Timeline: 2-4 weeks depending on computer availabilty.

Standards Covered (for Arizona- grade 5, but this could  be used up to grade 8):

Social Studies:

1SS-E1. PO 2. Identify primary and secondary sources historians use to construct an understanding of the past, using such sources as letters, diaries, newspaper articles, archaeological evidence, maps, and government records.

2SS-E1. Describe the narrative of the people and events associated with the development of the United States Constitution and describe its significance to the foundation of the American republic, with emphasis on:

• PO 3. The purpose of the Constitutional Convention.
• PO 5. The contributions and roles of major individuals, including George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.

2SS-E2. Describe political philosophies and concepts of government that became the foundation for the American Revolution and United States government, with emphasis on:

• PO 1. The fundamental principles of American constitutional democracy, including how the government derives its power from the people and the primacy of individual liberty.
• PO 2. How the Constitution is designed to secure our liberty by both empowering and limiting central government.
• PO 3. Struggles over ratification and the creation of the Bill of Rights.
• PO 4. The separation of powers between the Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court.

Technology:

T5-E1. Locate information from electronic resources.

• PO 1. Identify electronic research resources.
• PO 5. Identify the author, copyright date and publisher of information located in electronic resources, including Internet resources.

T5-E2. Evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, and comprehensiveness and bias of electronic information sources.

• PO 1. Create citations for electronic research sources following a prescribed format.
• PO 5. Identify the author of the information found for electronic resources and determine whether the author is an authority, displays bias and is primary or secondary sources.

Language Arts:

W-E1. Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage, along with varied sentence structure and paragraph organization, to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks

• PO 1. Spell correctly.
• PO 2. Punctuate correctly.
• PO 3. Apply rules of capitalization.
• PO 4. Apply standard grammar and usage.
• PO 5. Organize paragraphs with a variety of sentence structures.

W-E3. Write a summary that presents information clearly and accurately, contains the most significant details and preserves the position of the author.

(these are for grades 6-8, but are covered with this project)

• PO 1. Use own words except for material quoted.
• PO 2. Preserve the author's perspective and voice.
• PO 3. Contain main ideas of event/article/story plus the most significant details.
• PO 4. Present clearly written and organized information.

W-E8. Demonstrate research skills using reference materials such as a dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks.

• PO 1. Implement a research strategy that includes: selecting appropriate source for a specific research purpose, utilizing reference materials, writing a paraphrase of information from a source, recording relevant information, organizing notes an integrating notes into a finished product, incorporating notes into a finished product.

Workplace Skills:

1WP-E3. Demonstrate correct grammar and punctuation in writing.

• PO 1. Spell correctly.
• PO 2. Punctuate correctly.
• PO 3. Apply rules of capitization correctly.
• PO 4. Apply standard grammar and usage.
• PO 5. Organize paragraphs with a variety of sentence structures.

1WP- E7. Identify the relevant details and facts of written materials.

• PO 1. Identify the purpose of written material and response expected from reader.
• PO 2. Identify relevant facts contained in selected written material

1WP-E8. Write formal communications that have a definite audience and clear purpose; contain no gaps, omissions or assumptions which impede comprehension; and follow the proper form whether it be a personal or business letter message, memo, manual directions or applications.

• PO 1. Write a formal communication in an appropriate format for a specific audience and purpose.
• PO 2. Organize ideas in a meaningful sequence using transitional words or phrases.
• PO 3. Write ideas that are clear and directly related to the topic.

3WP-E1. Utilize information acquired from several sources and transfer information learned in on situation to another.

• PO 1. Research a designated topic using a wide array of information sources.
• PO 2. Analyze the information obtained from the research.
• PO 3. Classify the information obtained from the research.

4WP-E3. Exert a high level of effort and perseverance toward goal attainment, as a team member.

• PO 1. Identify the team goal
• PO 2. Identify the team members roles and responsibilities.
• PO 3. Develop tools to measure effort and perseverance of individual team members.

Teacher Websites

History Firsthand http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/97/firsthand/main.html

What are Primary Sources? http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/psources/stufile.html#mind

Lessons in Core Democratic Values http://www.michiganepic.org/coredemocratic/index.html

The United States Constitution by the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/3/82.03.03.x.html

The Learning Page "What are Primary Sources?" http://learning.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/discover/primary.html

Teacher Resources

CD-ROM Kit "Shh! We're Writing the Constituion" by Jean Fritz.

Video "Shh! We're Writing the Constitution" by Jean Fritz.

Relevant Reading: Investigating Historical Documents in Today's World by Delana Heidrich, Instruction Fair, 1999.

Video "Equal Rights for All", Schlesssnger Video Productions, 1996.

Video "United States Constitution: The Story of the Constitution", Schlessinger Video Productions, 1996.

Materials Needed

Paper supplies to make newspapers.

Markers, colored pencils & scissors.

Access to a word processing program and printer for newspaper articles.

2/8/07 kmw