THE CONSTITUTION

 

ENRICHMENT TOPICS/SUGGESTIONS FOR HISTORY PACKETS

The following items are suggestions for ways to take an *active role* in your learning with this unit. Almost all of the questions listed here were student-created!

Remember, you must include enrichment items and/or show additional effort in your history packet submissions to earn any grade higher than a C. Options include any of the items listed here, but you are not limited to what is listed below. Please take them and change them to suit your interests, or come up with your own ideas for enrichment. You may create your own version of anything listed, but DO NOT take pre-made activities, images, ideas, or items without citing your sources.

Grades will be based on overall effort and thoughtfulness in addressing the content and standards for this unit.

As always, you can check out the links for each topic on the topic "info" page for more ideas and resources. You can also download a copy of the Packet Grading Guidelines and the Packet & Journal Enrichment Guidelines.

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THE CONSTITUTION

  • What happened to the original Articles of Confederation? Did it get thrown in the trash after the delegates decided to create the Constitution?
  • Where is the actual document of the Articles of Confederation?
  • How many representatives did each state send to the Continental Congress to work on the Articles of Confederation?
  • Create a doctor's note for the men that didn't come to the Convention because of SCG-ophobia.
  • Write Hot Sweaty Men: The Musical! Create an ad or a script or an actual play!
  • Create an advertisement for HSM deoderant
  • Compare and contrast the hot sweaty men with High School Musical.
  • Write a series of tabloid articles exposing the "truths" about the founding fathers.
  • Create an illustration of Ben Franklin and how he was "delivered" to the Convention each day.
  • Create some Constitution MadLibs.
  • How many Federalist Papers were there? Who wrote them?
  • Research the military draft policies of the U.S. government, post WWII/Vietnam
  • Research Gouverneur Morris. What's with the peg-leg?
  • The founding fathers were afraid that giving Congress the power to elect the president would make the president a flunky to Congress. What is the origin of the word "flunky"?
  • Which presidents were impeached? What were the impeached for?
  • What is the origin of the word "impeach"?
  • Why is Puerto Rico not a state? How does it benefit from being a territory instead?
  • Who are the California Representatives in the House of Representatives? What districts do they represent?
  • How much are senators and representatives paid?
  • Who are our Senators?
  • What do senators and representatives get paid? How much did they get back in the 1790s? Who pays them?
  • What is the punishment for counterfeiting money?
  • How many bills are reviewed and passed each year?
  • How long does it take for a bill to become a law--from the time it is introduced until the President signs it?
  • Why are the elephant and donkey symbols for the Republican and Democrat political parties?
  • How large is Washington, D.C., and why does it not have representation in the House/Senate?
  • Why is Washington called the District of Columbia?
  • How does California distribute its electoral votes? How do other states do it?
  • Why are the U.S. territories not states?
  • What laws does California have about voting?
  • Do children of veterans have the right to be buried in a federal cemetery with their parents?
  • What executive department does the Secret Service fall under? What about the U.S. Postal Service?
  • Describe what happened during the election of 1824 (John Quincy Adams).
  • James Madison was the first president to use the pocket veto--what bill did he veto with this?
  • Which president was elected with the least amount of electoral votes? Find out which elections were the "closest".
  • What would happen if no one ran for president?
  • Who was the first woman to run for president of the U.S.? What were the election results?
  • Who are California's electors? How do they get chosen?
  • What is the complete order of succession for President?
  • Why does the Speaker of the House get to be the president before the Senate Majority Leader?
  • Which elections have been considered "landslides"--elections where there was one overwhelming winner?
  • Which person was president for 10 years?
  • Was President Calvin Coolidge a member of the KKK?
  • Why is Monrovia named after James Monroe? How did Liberia get its name?
  • What are the origins of the Secret Service? Are they part of the Executive or Legislative Branch?
  • Find out basic info about the Department of Homeland Security--the newest addition to the Executive Departments.
  • Who was the oldest/youngest Supreme Court Justice?
  • How come you can't videotape the Supreme Court during a hearing? How can you find out what happened in a case?
  • In the U.S. District Courts, what place has the initials "MP" (it's an island in the 9th circuit of appeals)?
  • When was the 18th Amendment passed? How long was it before it was repealed? What happened in the time in between?
  • Do District and Appeals Courts have sessions like the Supreme Court does?
  • What is the definition of a "speedy" trial?
  • What is a felony? What is a misdemeanor?
  • By the 1950s (during Brown v. Board of Education), were there any African-American senators or representatives?
  • Who was Wade in Roe v. Wade, and what role did Wade play in the trials?
  • Why was Wade the defendant in the case and not the state of Texas?
  • What happened to Miranda after the Supreme Court verdict?
  • Did Jane Roe end up having the baby?
  • Who came up with the "John/Jane Doe" name? Why is it used? Why is Jane Roe called "Roe" instead of "Doe"?
  • Why is a lawsuit called a lawsuit?
  • If the Supreme Court makes audio and written records of its sessions, why doesn't it make video recordings of its sessions?
  • How many cases did the Supreme Court hear last year? The year before? In what year did they hear the highest/lowest number of cases?
  • In Plessy v. Ferguson, who is Ferguson? Also, what were third-class railway cars like? How were they different from first-class cars?
  • Do children of veterans have the right to be buried in federal cemeteries with their parents?
  • Does the Transcontinental Railroad still exist?
  • What is the 23rd Amendment?