6 Lesson Plan: Articles of Confederation Name: Olivia Foor Subject: 7/8th grade Social Studies Date: 04/10/2013 Student

Objectives: Students will identify the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by analyzing the consequences it had on the colonies. Students will apply their knowledge of the challenges in forming a new government by forming a constitution as a class. Students will propose and modify amendments to the class constitution and then decide whether to ratify the class constitution or not. Content Standards: IL 14.C.3: Compare historical issues involving rights, roles and status of individuals in relation to municipalities, states and the nation. IL 15.E.3a: Identify the types of taxes levied by differing levels of governments (e.g. income tax, sales tax, property tax) IL 15.A.3a: Explain how market prices signal producers about what, how and how much to produce Materials/Resources/Technology: Whiteboard Markers Computer Projector Lecture Notes Handout Photocopied and edited textbook passages (from p. 200-204) handout Colony Fact Sheets Handout Teachers Goals: I want students to understand the difficulties in forming a new government and how it took some trial and error to form the lasting constitution we have today. I want students to put themselves in the position of the representatives forming the new government through a role play activity in which they will form a class constitution. I want students to experience on some level the process of proposing, amending and ratifying a constitution through the class activity. Start of Class: To start the class, I want to illustrate the difficulties that the newly independent colonies faced trying to agree about what shape the new government should take. To do this, we will take a poll at the beginning of class; students will respond to this question: We are going to have an ice cream party and we can only have one flavor of ice cream, what flavor will it be? I will give

7 them the options of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cookie dough and oreo and then everyone will have to vote for the one they want to be the ice cream at the party. After we find out which ice cream won, I will ask if all the students are happy with the outcome. I will ask them next if they think it would be possible to get everyone to agree. If they say yes, ask them how. Ask them how it would be possible to satisfy everyone, even if their flavor wasnt the one chosen. Ask the students who did not get their flavor what they think about having to compromise and if they were happy about having to do so.

Modified: This was part of my original lesson plan but I think it does a great job of creating a basis for the knowledge that we will be building upon throughout the lesson. This makes the lesson relatable for the students and makes connections to similar concepts that will be a central theme of the lesson. For Richard, this will activate prior knowledge and he will be better able to use this example to organize his thoughts around the historical event that could seem very abstract.

Introduction of Lesson: This discussion will get the students thinking about the difficulties in getting a group of different people to agree and the importance of compromise. I will use this to segue into the lesson topic and how the colonies had the same troubles agreeing and compromising about the form their new government should take. The challenges we faced in trying to agree on one ice cream flavor to have at our party is similar to the challenges the colonies faced in trying to form a new government. The colonies all had different needs, different sizes and the people had different opinions. The Congress had a hard time trying to bring all these different interests together to form a working government. We are going to talk about the Congresss first attempt at a constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and why the Articles did not work in the colonies. Lesson Instruction: For the lesson instruction, I will go over the main ideas and ask the students questions as we go along to engage them in the content. The lesson instruction will be most important to give the students background knowledge in order to complete the activity at the end of the lesson.

Modified: In the original lesson plan, the students were expected to have read the chapter that goes along with this content prior to class. With that already done, this lesson was going to give a little more detail but be more review of what they already read. That is why I did not have a PowerPoint or any sort of notes outlined for the students. In accommodating the lesson for Richard, I created an outline of the content as a source of notes that will be handed out (Appendix 1). By handing out the notes before starting the lesson, if Richard has trouble paying attention to the instruction, he will still have the important information from the lesson. I made sure the notes were simplistic and direct so that they could be

8 best utilized by Richard. I also will display relevant visuals throughout the lesson on the projector (Appendix 2). I thought this would be a good way to capture Richards attention (and really all my students attention) and it will create something different to do rather than just listen. In activating another sense, it will break up the lesson instruction so it can better keep his attention. The visuals also cater to Richards interest in art. I also decided that it would be best to have students read small portions of the text in class and then discuss what they read as I give more context and ask the students questions to create deeper understanding about what they read. I will modify the portions of text that the students have to read so that it will be easier for Richard to comprehend (Appendix 3.1). I will also explain that if the students do not understand a portion of the text that we will go over it after they read, so there will be multiple opportunities to comprehend the information. Through this method, Richard will be able to read the text as the other students do, but will also have the opportunity to utilize his skills in verbal comprehension, by listening to the other students and myself explain the passage, in order to build on what he read and clarify anything that he didnt understand. I will also ask questions that about the passages in a way that relates to the students so that they can use prior knowledge to make connections to the abstract ideas presented in the text. The separated, italicized, Arial font bulleted points below are specific things that have been added to the lesson in order to better accommodate Richard.

Have the students read text Section A (Appendix 3.2) highlighted in the photocopied version handed out to the students. o Ask the students about the passage to clarify ideas in order to make sure all students comprehend the passage. What is the importance of a constitution? It creates laws and organizes the government so that the citizens and those people in charge are held to the same standards. Since these laws are written down, it is easier to hold people accountable as well. After independence from the British, the 13 colonies could not agree on anything. Each state was printing their own money, making their own rules, had their own armies and navies, and taxing other states for their goods. o Have students read Section D (Appendix 3.5) to supplement this idea. o Suppose you are in the mall and you wanted to get a taco from Taco Bell but also wanted fries from Great Steak and Potato and an egg roll from Panda Express; however, all three dont accept the same form of money. Taco Bell only accepts Taco dollars, Great Steak and Potato only accepts Potato dollars and Panda Express only accepts Panda dollars. What kind of problems would this create? Would you be frustrated? Would you be more likely to only buy food from one place?

9 Let students discuss these ideas and give their opinion about the situation. o Now relate that to what the states were going through at this time. What are the problems with each state making their own money? Makes it extremely hard to trade between states and made goods going between states very expensive. Made the money the Congress was printing obsolete. Supply and demand: the more money being printed causes the value of that money to decrease. That means that something that used to cost a few dollars to buy, now costs much morecalled inflation.

o Now imagine that you did have the different forms of dollars to buy all the different kinds of food you wanted, but when you went to each restaurant, they charged you extra for also having food from other restaurants? What kind of problems would this create? Again, relate that to what the states were going through. Each state was taxing various goods that other states were making. Whats so bad about this? What problems would the states encounter? Again makes goods extremely expensive for the states and people trying to buy them. Was this any different than the taxes that the British imposed on the colonies? Do you think the states asked each other if they wanted their goods to be taxed?

Have students read Section B (Appendix 3.3) and then ask questions to follow up and clarify the reading. What do you think some of the biggest concerns colonists had about the new government? o Do you think the colonists wanted the government to have more or less power? Less power, they had a bad experience with British Parliament and King so they were weary of giving the new government very much power. Didnt want a repeat of that situation. o Another concern was the amount of freedom, the same freedom they had just fought for and won, they would have to give up in order to form a government strong enough to accomplish anything. What was enough power or too much power? What freedoms were people willing to give up in order to create this new government. Have students read Section C (Appendix 3.4) and then discuss the passage to clarify and enhance the content.

10 The Second Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation, which were ratified in 1781. This was the first constitution and attempt at forming a new government after independence. The problem with the government formed under the Articles of Confederation was that it was too weak. People identified more with their states and the states didnt take the government or Congress seriously. The government did not have the power to enforce laws (not a large army) or pay for services (no way to collect taxes so no way to pay soldiers, for example). There was no President and the President of the Congress had no power. o So what to do? No one can agree, government has no power, and states are acting independent of each other rather than working together. o How does this relate to us trying to decide on an ice cream flavor at the beginning of class? Do you see how difficult it would be to create all new laws for thirteen different colonies with all different wants and needs? o The colonies discovered how hard it was to build a new government and the Articles of Confederation made it possible to form a stronger constitution later because of the lessons learned from the weaknesses of the Articles. Have students read Section E (Appendix 3.6) to wrap up the content and supplement this last point about how the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to the formation of a new constitution.

Assessments/Checks for Understanding: To assess the student knowledge of the formation of a new nation and the Articles of Confederation, the students will have to form their own constitution. Students will be paired and assigned a colony. I will provide a fact sheet for each colony describing their unique situation and interests that they will have to look out for when forming the constitution (Appendix 4.1). Modified: In my original lesson, the students were paired up to complete this activity, but that was only because the class size was 12. To better accommodate a larger class size, students will be put in groups of 3-4, depending on the class size. In pairing up the students, I will be sure to pair Richard with students who have strong reading and writing skills so that Richard will not have the pressure of having to put his thoughts into writing. Each group will be assigned a colony and will have a worksheet that they will have to record their amendments on to be turned in (Appendix 4.2). By only requiring one worksheet per group to be turned in, the students with stronger writing and organizational skills can be in charge of the worksheet, while Richard can still contribute his thoughts and opinions without the pressure of writing them down. His group members will be able to put his thoughts onto the worksheet, keeping him as an integral part of the group. In addition, I am going to modify the colony fact sheets. I am going to make each description more direct and clear so that it will be easier to comprehend what each colony believes is important. I will also

11 add guiding questions to help each group come up with amendments while also adding one example of an amendment to model what I expect from them. The other students in the group will be able to read these aloud, which will help Richard with comprehension and will also aid the entire group, as they will all have a better idea of what their amendments should look like. Students will discuss a the most important things they want to see in a new constitution and come up with 2-3 propositions for the constitution (e.g. all states should have equal number of votes or state votes should depend on population). The students will write those propositions on their fact sheet for reference. After the partner discussion, the class will discuss their propositions as a group. I will be the mediator so that all groups have a chance to talk and respond to each other. The students will discuss their propositions and then try to come up with compromises that they can all agree should be in the constitution. I will write their amendments on the board. The students will have to come up with 4-5 amendments to be written on the board. After the students have 4-5 amendments on the board, we will vote on whether to ratify our constitution or not. Each group will have one vote and can either vote yes to ratify or no to reject.

Closure/Wrap-up: To close the class, students will discuss the troubles they had in compromising with other groups when they had such different interests and opinions. I will then explain that these disagreements and frustrations were the same ones felt by those trying to come up with a new government for America. Depending on whether the class constitution was ratified or not, I will talk about how it may take more than one constitution in order to find one that works for the country. I will explain that the Articles of Confederation were only the first attempt at a constitution, but it was a good learning experience so that the colonies were able to later ratify a constitution that better fit the unique needs of the population. To assess what the students learned about during this lesson, they will be required to write a reflection about the constitution making process we modeled during class (Appendix 5.1). They will be asked to write about what they learned about conflict and compromise, the difficulties we faced, how we decided on the amendments and the eventual constitution. They will also be asked to relate that to the content we discussed in the lesson and discuss whether they believe they understand the process better, how difficult it was for the people creating the Articles of Confederation, and why it would take more than one attempt to get it right. Modified: Since Richard has trouble organizing his thoughts into written work as a result of the difficulties he faces in reading comprehension and text decoding, I decided to give him the option to create a poster or cartoon displaying the same type of knowledge and comprehension (Appendix 5.2). He will be required to either create a poster or political cartoon either promoting or condemning the new constitution we created for the rest of the student body. He will still be required to convey what he learned about the creation process of the constitution and the difficulties it poses. He will have to use the content about the Articles of

12 Confederation as well as our classroom modeled attempt. I wanted to make sure he is still being assessed based on what was covered in the lesson, but understanding that writing is more difficult and that he is very talented artistically, this will give him the best opportunity to display his comprehension. It will be a more credible assessment of his comprehension because it will be executed in a medium that he enjoys and that he excels at. Self-Assessment: Students will turn in their fact sheets that they wrote their amendment proposals on at the end of the class. In addition to the contribution of proposals and amendments each group contributes to the class, I will be able to further assess the student understanding of the content through the reflection (and Richards poster or cartoon). I want to make sure that the students understand some of the fundamental issues that the colonies were having trouble agreeing on when they were forming a new government so that will be the type of comprehension and synthesis I will look for in the student responses.

Appendix 4.1 13 Colony 1 Has a large population Economy based on agriculture Not a large slave population Located along the Atlantic Ocean In conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want to ban slavery in new nation

Colony 2 Has a large population Economy based on agriculture Large slave population Located along Atlantic Ocean Not in conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want to protect slavery in new nation

Colony 3 Has a small population Economy based on agriculture Not a large slave population Land-locked In conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want equal number of representatives for all states

Colony 4 Has a large population Economy based on manufacturing Not a large slave population Located along Atlantic Ocean Not in conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want representation based on population

Colony 5 Has a small population Economy based on manufacturing Not a large slave population Land-locked In conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want free trade between states

Appendix 4.1 14 Colony 6 Has a small population Economy based on agriculture Large slave population Located along Atlantic Ocean Not in conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want to maintain treaties with Native Americans

Colony 7 Has a small population Economy based on manufacturing Not a large slave population Located along Atlantic Ocean In conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want to ban slavery in new nation

Colony 8 Has a large population Economy based on manufacturing Large slave population Land-locked Not in conflict with Native Americans Proposed Amendment: want representation based on population

Appendix 4.2 15 Modified Colony 1 Your colony has a lot of people in it. Your colony relies on farming to make money. Your colony does not have slaves. Your colony is along the East Coast, close to the ocean. Your colony fights a lot with the Native Americans. What is important for your colony? How does your colony make money? Would your colony like an amendment that hurt farmers?

Example Amendment: The new nation will not allow slavery in any colony. Amendment 1: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 2: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 3: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 16 4.2 Colony 2 Your colony has a lot of people in it. Your colony relies on factories to make money. Your colony does not have slaves. Your colony is along the East Coast, close to the ocean. Your colony has peace the Native Americans. What is important for your colony? How does your colony make money? Would your colony like an amendment that hurt factories?

Example Amendment: The new nation will not allow slavery in any colony. Amendment 1: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 2: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 3: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 17 4.2 Colony 3 Your colony does not have a lot of people in it. Your colony relies on farming to make money. Your colony does have a lot of slaves. Your colony is not near the coast; it is not close to any big bodies of water. Your colony fights a lot with the Native Americans. What is important for your colony? How does your colony make money? Would your colony like an amendment that hurt farmers? Would your colony want laws that favored colonies with more people?

Example Amendment: The new nation will allow slavery in all colonies. Amendment 1: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 2: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 3: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 18 4.2 Colony 4 Your colony does not have a lot of people in it. Your colony relies on farming to make money. Your colony does not have slaves. Your colony is along the East Coast, close to the ocean. Your colony is at peace with the Native Americans. What is important for your colony? How does your colony make money? Would your colony like an amendment that hurt farmers? Would your colony want to hurt Native Americans?

Example Amendment: The new nation will not allow slavery in any colony. Amendment 1: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 2: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 3: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 19 4.2 Colony 5 Your colony has a lot of people in it. Your colony relies on factories to make money. Your colony does not have slaves. Your colony is not close to the ocean. Your colony fights a lot with the Native Americans. What is important for your colony? How does your colony make money? Would your colony like an amendment that hurt factories? Would your colony like an amendment that helped only colonies along the ocean?

Example Amendment: The new nation will not allow slavery in any colony. Amendment 1: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 2: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 3: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 20 3.2 Section A Original: In forming a government, most states wrote constitutions. A constitution is a document that sets out the laws, principles, organization, and processes of a government. States wrote constitutions for two reasons. First, a written constitution would spell out the right of all citizens. Second, it would limit the power of government. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 8.5

Modified: Most states wrote their own constitutions. A constitution is a set of laws for a new government. States wrote their constitutions for two reasons. First, they wanted to protect the rights of their people. Second, they didnt want the government to have too much power.

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 4.5

Appendix 21 3.3 Section B Original: As citizens formed state governments, the Continental Congress was drafting a plan for the nation as a whole. Delegates believed that the colonies needed to be united by a national government in order to win independence. It was hard to write a constitution that all states would approve. They were reluctant to give up power to a central government. Few Americans saw themselves as citizens of one nation. Instead, they felt loyal to their own states. Also, people feared replacing the tyranny of British rule with another strong government. After much debate, the Continental Congress approved the first American constitution in 1777. The Articles of Confederation created a very loose alliance of 13 independent states. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 10.1

Modified: States created their own constitutions. There was a group of men that made the Continental Congress. They wanted to create one constitution for all the states. They thought it would make the new nation stronger. The people did not like this idea. The people did not want one person to have all the power. They had been ruled by an unfair king before. The states did not want that again. People liked their own state more than the other states. In 1777, the Continental Congress made the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation made the first laws for all the states to follow. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 4.5

Appendix 22 3.4 Section C Original: Still, compared to the states, Congress had very limited powers. Congress could pass laws, but nine states had to approve a low before it could into effect. Congress could not regulate trade between states or between states and foreign countries. Nor did it have the power to tax. To raise money, Congress had to ask the states for it to borrow it. No state could be forced to contribute funds. The Articles included no president to execute laws. It was up to the states to enforce the laws passed by Congress. There was also no system of courts to settle conflicts between states. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 5.1

Modified: The new government had little power. It could pass laws but the laws had to be accepted by the states. It could not control trade in the country. It also could not tax the people. To make money, the government had to ask the states to borrow it. The states did not have to though. The Articles of Confederation did not make a president. The states had to make people follow the laws. There was also no way to solve problems between states because there was no court. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 3.7

Appendix 23 3.5 Source D Original: As Continental dollars became nearly worthless, states printed their own currency. This caused confusion. How much was a North Carolina dollar worth? Was a Virginia dollar as valuable as a Maryland dollar? Most states refused to accept the money of others. As a result, it became very difficult to trade. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 7.4

Modified: States printed their own money. This caused confusion. How much was a dollar from North Carolina worth? Was a dollar from Virginia the same as a dollar from Maryland? States did not accept money from other states. It became very difficult to buy and sell products to each other. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 5.0

Appendix 24 3.6 Section E Original: To avert a crisis, leaders from several states called for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. They met in Philadelphia in May 1787. In the end, however, this convention would create an entirely new framework of government. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 10.9

Modified: People wanted to change the Articles of Confederation. They did not work. They caused a lot of problems in the nation. In 1787, a group met in Philadelphia to fix them. They made a whole new constitution instead. Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 4.2