Constitution Hands-on Lesson Plan for Kids

Author:
Shannon
Updated:
Dec 12, 2024

This is the 13th lesson in a series of 27 hands-on lessons covering American History through 1865. This lesson focuses on the Constitution. I used this plan while teaching a 45 minute history class for children in Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grades. I used this plan while teaching a 45 minute history class for children in Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grades. Each lesson includes a biography report, history notebook page, history song, our favorite children's books, YouTube video, a joke, & a variety of hands-on activities to make each lesson engaging & memorable. Use these fun lessons with your classroom, homeschool, after-school program, or co-op!

Student Biography Presentation: James Madison

1. Welcome everyone back from Winter Break & ask each child to share something nice that they did or got over the break.

2. Student biography presentation on James Madison

The Need for Rules

3. Before the break we learned that America had to fight a war for 8 years in order to win its independence from England. Now they needed to come up with rules for the country.

What is a rule you have in your home?
Why do your parents make up rules?
Can you think of a rule we have in our country?
Why do you think the government makes rules?
A rule or law is a guideline that helps people live safely and considerately together.

4. Read Writing the U.S. Constitution (Our American Story) by Lori Mortensen.

You will need:

Writing the U.S. Constitution (Our American Story) by Lori Mortensen or other book on the U.S. Constitution

Preamble

5. Show a copy of the Constitution. Tell the children that the beginning is called the Preamble, & it explains why they are writing the constitution.

You will need:

a copy of the Constitution (a paper copy or a picture in a book or from the Internet)

6. Learn the Preamble using a song, singing through it a few times. Do note that the SchoolHouse Rock song leaves out "of the United States" after "We the people," so we quickly added that in each time. You can either show the video from a monitor, or flip through We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow each time you sing the Preamble.

You will need:

We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow or We the People: The Constitution of the United States by Peter Spier (which also has words to illustrate the text of the Preamble -- though the pictures are smaller) OR a monitor or projector to show the SchoolHouse Rock video

SchoolHouse Rock Preamble Song

Making Laws: Big Candy States vs. Small Candy States

How many votes will each state get? Candy used to create 3 separate "states"

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7a. One of the biggest issues discussed while creating the Constitution was determining how many votes each state would get when making laws.

Say, "I'm going to give you each TWO pieces of candy. Which type of candy do you want?"
[Get 3 types of candy. Put one in each corner.] Each student should go to a different corner of the room based on what they want. (If the groups are all equal, join one of the groups.)
Now, let's take a vote. Remember, you're only going to get one type of candy. Each group gets one vote. Who thinks we should have Sweet Tarts? Smarties? Gummy Bears?
Oh no, we had a tie. Everyone had one vote. Do you think this is a fair way for us to vote? Do you think it's fair that Gummy Bear State only got 1 vote even though they have 9 people even though the Sweet Tart State group gets the same 1 vote and there are only 3 people in that group?
What's another way we could do this vote? Should Gummy Bear State get 3 votes since they have 3 times as many votes as Sweet Tart State? Sweet Tart could get 1 vote. Smarties State will get 2 votes since they have 6 people. Well, Gummy Bears State will always win whatever they want, won't they?
What should we do? What about if we have two ways to make the decision? This was called the Great Compromise.
Since Gummy Bear State has the most people, everyone will get one Gummy Bear. [Pass out a gummy bear to each child.] This is the way the House of Representations is set up. States with more people get more votes.
Now each state will get to vote and it doesn't matter how many people are in your group. You each get one vote. Sweet Tart States gets a vote, so you each get a Sweet Tart. [Pass one each out just to the Sweet Tart group.] Gummy Bear State gets one vote, so you each get a gummy bear. [Pass a gummy bear out to each one in that group.] Smarties State gets one vote, so you each get a Smartie. [Pass out a Smartie to each child in that group.]

YOU WILL NEED:

3 types of candy (or other treat or toy)

The Great Compromise

7b. One of the biggest issues discussed while creating the Constitution was determining how many votes each state would get when making laws.

This was an issue when our Founding Fathers were writing the Constitution. The smaller states, like New Jersey, said that everyone should get 1 vote.
Let's look again at the map of the 13 Colonies, now the 13 States. Which states are large? Which states are tiny?
The bigger states, like Virginia, said you should get votes based on how many people lived in your state. Bigger states would get more votes and smaller states would get fewer votes.
Do you think the smaller states liked that? They didn't! Who has older brothers and sisters? How would you feel if your big brother or big sister always got to decide what games you played and where you went for fun and your parents never agreed to do what you wanted to do? You wouldn't like it, would you?
The Founding Fathers created the Great Compromise. They said they'd make two law-making/legislative groups.
All states have the same number of votes in the Senate. Big states like New York get 2 votes. Small states like Rhode Island get 2 votes. Every single state has 2 votes, whether they have lots of people or only a few people.
In the House of Representatives, different states get a different number of votes. Bigger states get more votes. Smaller states get fewer votes. New York gets 27 votes. Delaware gets 1 vote.

YOU WILL NEED:

3 types of candy (or other treat or toy)

Founding Fathers & Review

Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States

Key to figures in the painting coloring sheet

8. When the men, including James Madison, who made up the rules for our country are called our Founding Fathers.

Our Founding Fathers spent lots of time praying and trying to apply what is said in the Bible when they created our government & the rules for our country.
What does the Bible say about the government? In 1 Peter 2:13-14 it says, "Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."
Are we supposed to obey those in authority over us? (Yes)
Who heard the 2 purposes of government as laid out in those Bible verses? (punish those who do wrong & commend those who do right)

9. After our Founding Fathers agreed on how the government should be run, representatives from each state had to sign it. Show Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States & hand out the coloring sheet. Have children color the main figures (numbers 1 -4) on their coloring sheet while going through them on the bigger painting or picture. Have the children put this in their History Notebook.

You will need:

Copy of Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States (from a book or online)
This coloring sheet of Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States punched with a 3 hold punch
Student supplies: Crayons

10. Review: What is the document we learned about today that tells the rules for how America's government will run? (Constitution) Who is called the "Father of the Constitution"? (James Madison) What do we call the first part of the Constitution? (Preamble) Let's sing it one last time. [Sing it again while flipping through the book.]

11. Assign next week's student biography on Alexander Hamilton.