At the beginning of the year I started off by setting a foundation for the class. I decided the bast way to start would be teaching about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I assigned each student a different section of the constitution. Their task was to read it, then write it in their own words. I told them to write it as if they had to explain their section to their best friend; summarize it. Afterwards. They had to go around to all their classmates and write their section summary as well. At the end of the day they would have the whole constitution in short and easily understandable terms. I plan to have them u this as a quick reference. Hopefully they will be able to tell me what part of the constitution (and eventually the amendments) that a particular idea or viewpoint stems from. Then we can discuss how different interpretations of the constitution affect history in different ways.
The next day I had them GIST the amendments to the constitution. They had to write about each amendment but they can only use 5 words maximum. This keeps them from just rewriting it, and they have to think about what is actually important. It helps them pull out meaningful words and gives them a quick reference guide.
The next day I had them GIST the amendments to the constitution. They had to write about each amendment but they can only use 5 words maximum. This keeps them from just rewriting it, and they have to think about what is actually important. It helps them pull out meaningful words and gives them a quick reference guide.
