Constitutional Convention Web Resources Summer Institute July 21-25, 2008 |
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| Primary Sources | |
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p1.cfm Digital History |
Digital History has a wide variety of annotated documents, including those written by George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others of this era. Scroll down to "Creating a New Nation" to find these transcriptions and their annotations. |
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/community/cc_wethepeople_kit.php Library of Congress Learning Page - Primary Source Set: The Constitution |
The Learning Page's Primary Source Set on the Constitution also contains downloadable files and a Teacher's Guide for using these documents. Examples include a Philadelphia map from 1752, diaries of George Washington from 1786-1789, and Thomas Jefferson's notes on the Constitution. |
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=milestone Our Documents – 100 Milestone Documents |
The Our Documents site contains 100 "Milestone Documents" that have "helped shape the national character, and they reflect our diversity, our unity, and our commitment as a nation to continue to work toward forming 'a more perfect union'." If you click on "Tools for Educators" on the right hand side of the page, you can find creative teaching suggestions, ideas for librarians, and ways to integrate this site into your classroom. |
| Creation of the Constitution | |
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=425 National Endowment for the Humanities – Edsitement Lesson Plan |
This lesson entitled, "The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments" contains background information, activities, and all of the links that you need to teach about the positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. |
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/ Teaching American History at the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs |
To start with, this terrific website has articles that give background knowledge about the Constitution, summary of each day of the Convention, and major themes. It also contains an interactive map of Philadelphia from around the late 18th century, and the Constitutional Convention as a four-part drama. |
http://www.jmu.edu/madison/gpos225-madison2/adopt.htm James Madison University – Constitutional Convention Overview |
This website will provide quite a bit of background on the Articles of Confederation, delegates at the Convention, the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, the Great Compromise, and more. |
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html National Archives and Records Administration – Constitution of the United States |
NARA's online exhibit provides images, articles, and information on amendments to the Constitution. |
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/lessons/broad/resource.html Library of Congress – The Learning Page |
This site is a list of links to resources on Constitutional issues and documents important to teaching the Constitutional Convention. Near the top of the page there is a link to a Teacher Guide that includes lesson plans and the links to the required resources. |
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=233 National Endowment for the Humanities – Edsitement Lesson Plan |
This lesson entitled, "The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?" was designed for grades 3-5. Students will explain the purposes, values, and principles of the U.S. Constitution as identified in the Preamble. |
http://babylon.k12.ny.us/usconstitution/ We Were There: A WebQuest on the U.S. Constitutional Convention |
This WebQuest asks students to try to place themselves in the late 18th century United States. They are delegates to the Convention who are appearing on a talk show to present their position or who are covering the Convention for a local newspaper. A long list of websites for student research are included. |
http://www.lesdwebquests.org/conindex.html United States Constitution WebQuest |
Another WebQuest asks students to report on the Constitutional Convention to the public. Students work in groups and are given various jobs to complete. Click on their "Resources" section to find another list of resources for you and your students. |
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/webtheconsde.html The Constitution WebQuest |
Acting as a Supreme Court Judge, Constitutional Lawyer, or Constitutional Historian, secondary students research information to decide how the Constitution affects our everyday lives, and how it changes to meet modern needs. |
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/rev-nation.htm The History Place: A New Nation Timeline |
A timeline of important events from 1784-1790. Links are provided for more background information or portraits of important individuals. |
| Influential Individuals of the Time | |
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=402 National Endowment for the Humanities – Edsitement Lesson Plan |
In this lesson plan entitled, "The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said," students in grades 6-8 will discuss the important ideas debated during the Constitutional Convention. |
http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/aea/index.html The Massachusetts Historical Society – Adams Family Papers |
This is a wonderful website for anyone studying John and/or Abigail Adams. Their family papers include corespondence between the two, John Adams' diary, and John Adams' autobiography. You'll find the scanned image of each letter and a transcription. |
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers.html National Archives and Records Administration – America’s Founding Fathers |
This section of NARA's online exhibit contains a biographical overview of all of the Convention delegates. |
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=561 National Endowment for the Humanities – Edsitement Lesson Plan |
This lesson plan, entitled, "James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President" is designed for grades 9-12. Students will study Madison's role in the creation and implementation of the Constitution, constitutional issues that arose during his presidency, and Madison's positions on these issues. As with all Edsitement lesson plans, links are provided for any required documents. |
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=401 National Endowment for the Humanities – Edsitement Lesson Plan |
In "The Constitutional Convention: Four Founding Fathers You May Never Have Met," students in grades 6-8 will study some "lesser known" contributors to the Constitution - Oliver Ellsworth, Alexander Hamilton, William Paterson, and Edmund Randolph. |
http://www.foundingfathers.info/ Founding Fathers |
This page includes several founding documents. Your students can also browse the Founding Fathers Image Gallery or read the Federalist Papers Online. |
http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/fathers.htm The American Revolution Home Page: Founding Fathers of the United States of America |
(Beware - music will start as soon as you hit this page!) Find biographical information on Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton, Hancock, and Franklin. |
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/notable/ Archiving Early America: Notable Women of Early America |
This site includes information on many women who you may or may not recognize from your History textbook! Click where it says, "Continue to Early America's Notable Women" for a list that includes Dolley Madison, Lucretia Mott, Mercy Warren, and several others. |
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/aa2.html The White House – Abigail Adams |
The White House biography of Abigail Adams. |
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1999/summer/pitcher.html National Archives and Records Administration – Will the Real Molly Pitcher Please Stand Up? |
From NARA, an article about Molly Pitcher that raises the question: When speaking about Molly Pitcher, what is fiction and what is reality? |
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm4.html The White House – James Madison |
The White House biography of James Madison. |
| American Revolution | |
http://www.americanrevolution.com/ American Revolution.com |
A full set of resources for teaching the American Revolution. Click on "A History" for information about various phases of the war; "Documents" to find the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and many others; and "Resources" to find more links to sites on the American Revolution. |
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/revolution-images/ National Archives and Records Administration Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan |
This NARA lesson plan, "Images of the American Revolution," includes background from the beginnings of conflict through the Treaty of Paris. All required documents are linked at the bottom of the page. |
http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/home.html Memorial Hall Museum Online |
With more than 2000 artifacts and documents, this website allows you to explore American History through their digital collection, fun activities, and detailed classroom activities. |
http://colonialancestors.com/revolutionary/women.htm Colonial Ancestors |
This particular link allows readers to learn about specific women and many women's roles during the Revolution. The left side of the page contains links to information on specific battles from 1775-1781. |
http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/default.aspx The American Revolution |
A nice site for your own background knowledge or that of your students, this site contains links to information about specific battles, important people, documents, a timeline, and even music of the era. |
http://www.crews.org/curriculum/ss/amrev.htm American Revolution WebQuest |
Imagining that the British have won the Revolutionary War, students in this WebQuest must conduct research (as a historian, politician, reporter, or economist) on the war to identify a list of turning points that could have led to this result. They then offer a proposed course of action to support a trip back in time to change history. |
| Miscellaneous | |
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=190301916 Tech Learning – FREE Resources: The Constitution |
A long list of websites for further research on the Constitution. The "Interactive Constitution" link would be especially helpful for students trying to interpret different sections of the Constitution. |
http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids4.html The Constitution for Kids |
Broken up into elementary and secondary sections, this site gives background knowledge on the history of the Constitution, including information about women's roles, slavery, and the Bill of Rights. |
http://edsitement.neh.gov/Const_Resources.asp National Endowment for the Humanities – Resources on the Constitution for grades K-12 |
Edsitement's list of lesson plans on the Constitution for grades K-12. |
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ National Constitution Center |
Through their "Education" link, teachers and students can find lesson plans and online activities for teaching and learning about the Constitution. Their "Exhibits" link includes the Interactive Constitution site mentioned above as well as an interactive timeline of the Constitution. |
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/constitution/quiz/ White House for Kids – Quizzes and Games |
A fun site for your students, this quiz tests your knowledge about the Constitution. |
| WebQuests | |
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/templates/lesson-template1.htm WebQuest Template |
A variety of templates from the San Diego State University WebQuest page. These can help you design your own WebQuest. |
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/templates/TL/mywebquest/index.htm WebQuest Template |
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http://webquest.sdsu.edu/templates/TT/mywebquest/index.htm WebQuest Template |
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