This lesson followed a unit review of the Constitution, principles behind it, general vocabulary, and discussion of the Bill of Rights. We finished with a short play about Wisconsin v. Yoder (religious freedom) and some case studies of how the Bill of Rights applies in certain circumstances such as being arrested for shoplifting. By the end of the review, students are versed in their rights and what they consider to be fair. This follow up exercise is to delve into our social history a bit and see that certain groups have had to fight for rights that most of us take for granted. After the exercise was done, I was pleased to note that most students have a solid opinion that they are willing to share with the group and in the class. They are also able to denfend their position upon follow up questioning. At the end of this students were more fully appreciative of how our country has evolved socially and culturally over this time frame. I believe in the end, students did have a broader understanding of how we changed over time.
(Ref:Standard 5- key idea 1)

Day 1
Passed out United Nations Universal Human Rights. Students were to read throught the principles and higlight which ones they could identify as corresponding to our own Constitution and Amendments. Students then discussed their choices in a whole class discussion.

The political cartoon about suffrage was then passed out and discussed.


Students were asked to list some American values which the teacher listed on the board. They were then presented with the 1965 list. We discussed those, many of which have to do with fairness, equality, and freedoms.


Days 2 and 3

Students were assinged groups of three each(random selection). They were given one of the five packets and specific questions surrounding each of the documents. They were each responsible for writing down the answers on individual sheets, however, I told them that only one would be collected as a grade, therefore, it was important that all students be participating(It worked). We then rotated the groups so that each one had a chance to review each minority group.

Assessment Tools:

The assessment was based on class discussion as well as the worksheets. There was not test planned as the real learning came from their opinions and discussion in class and within the groups.

Materials Used:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights(1948)
  
• 1965 American Values Sheet(from Cornfield Publications- 1993)
  
• Political Cartoon on Suffrage (from NYS Historical Society Voter Info Brochure)
  
• Focus on Five Minority Groups Document Sets(used primary sources including speeches, cartoons, pictures, lwas, and excerpts to show how our country has evolved.
  

Key Idea 3: Study about the major social, political, economic, cultural, and religious developments in New York State and United States History involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups.

Standard 5 Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Key idea 1: The study of civics, citizenship, and government involves learning about political systems; the purpose of government and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across time and place regarding power, authority, governance, and law.

Key Idea 3: Central to civics and citizenship is an understanding of the roles of the citizen within American constitutional democracy and the scope of a citizen's rights and responsibilities.