Subjects: Civics/government

Grade Level(s): 6-8

Time Frame: 3, 50-minute periods

Objectives [What the student should know and be able to do at the end of the lesson]:

1.0 Overall: In this lesson, students read Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and create a poem, rap, cheer, or song that presents the powers of Congress creatively. As a wrap-up, students justify which Congressional powers they believe are most important. Students will explain specific powers of Congress, evaluate which powers are of particular importance and explain why, and use dictionaries to understand the language of the Constitution.

Bloom's Taxonomy: CongressLink lesson plans are built around Bloom's taxonomy. The purpose of the taxonomy is to provide a coherent format for lessons and to make it easier for teachers to design them according to CongressLink's standards.

2.0 Knowledge: Students recognize Article I Section 8 as the section that details the powers of Congress. Students recognize that Congress is our primary law-making body.

3.0 Understanding: Students paraphrase the powers of Congress.

4.0 Application: Students can give examples of specific actions that Congress has taken that match the powers they read about (ie, post offices exist, they have heard of specific taxes).

5.0 Analysis: Students examine each power of Congress and how it could be portrayed.

6.0 Synthesis: Students design rap, etc. that includes and shows they understand specific powers of Congress.

7.0 Evaluation: Students justify which 3 powers they think are most important.

Procedure/Sequence

Class 1: Introduction
Give students copies of the Constitution. Brainstorm quickly as a class to alert students to the fact that this is our nation's government and it is organized into sections. Point out that each section discusses different branches of the government-we will be focusing on Article I, which discusses the legislative branch. Read Article I, Section 1 together as class. Ask students what this means. (Congress has the power to make laws; Congress is made up of Senate and House of Representatives). In partners, kids read Section 8. They should use the dictionary liberally to help them wade through the language! They should paraphrase the main ideas of each power and write them in the "Powers of Congress-what does it all mean?" organizer.

Class 2
In journals, students brainstorm examples of specific actions Congress has taken that match powers they read about the previous day. As class, discuss Congressional powers using organizers completed previous day and brainstorms. Make sure students understand powers 1 and 18 in particular. (ask them: what are taxes used for? What are the implications of 18-the necessary and proper clause?) Students then work in groups. Their task: Create a rap, song, poem, or cheer that explains all the powers of Congress.

Class 3
Students finish working in groups. Students present raps, etc.

Homework: Students write response to-Which 3 Congressional powers do you think are most important? List the 3 powers and justify your choice of them.

Materials:

Dictionaries
Prentice Hall's Constitution Study Guide (Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1989)-has annotated Constitution at the back which is highly understandable Optional but recommended
"Powers of Congress-what does it all mean?" (handout)

National Standards Addressed by Lesson [based on National Standards for Civics and Government, Center for Civic Education, 1994. Citation based on section, subsection, standard of the document]:

5-8 Content Standards
I. C. 2. Purposes and uses of constitutions
II. A. 1. The American idea of constitutional government
III. A. 1. Distributing, sharing, and limiting powers of the national government
III. B. 2. Financing government through taxation

Evaluation/Assessment [List ways of assessing students' success in meeting the objectives or learning the skills of the lesson]: See http://www.congresslink.org/rubric/pdf

Author(s):
Hilary G. Conklin

This project is supported by a Robert H. Michel Civic Education Grant sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin, IL.