Formation of State Constitutions

This lesson plan opens with reflective question that asks students to reflect the development of laws in the United States. Students then watch, analyze, and respond to an introductory video clip that details the goals of the writers of the first state constitutions. Next, students view for videos that provide historical background information, including uncertainty during the revolutionary era, what the colonists agreed upon, and how citizenship and society were viewed in the wake of the Enlightenment. Students then are assigned to study either Virginia’s, Pennsylvania’s, or Massachusetts’ first state constitution. After viewing the video clip for their assigned constitution, students then choose another first state constitution of choice and prepare a presentation comparing the two. The lesson concludes with a reflective video clip before students respond to a summative writing prompt.