Articles 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the United States Constitution

Often our instruction of the Constitution does not include a deeper look at Articles 4, 5, 6, and 7. The purpose of this lesson is to have students critically think about the significance of these Articles as they investigate their meaning. I have included the original text of these articles as well as an annotated version so students can understand the text in plain English. This is particularly helpful for students who are ESL learners, RSP students, and struggling readers. Students will work collaboratively with a partner or in a small group to discuss Articles 4-7.

This lesson is part of my unit: “Our Living Constitution” which is designed using the Into, Through, and Beyond model of lesson planning. This lesson can be taught independently, but it does set the foundation for future lessons in the unit. All of the lessons in my "Our Living Constitution" unit can be purchased independently or as a bundled product

Here is a summary of what is in the unit:

Into Lessons: Creating Schema

Lesson 1: Overview of the Constitution of the United States of America Slideshow and Notetaker

Lesson 2: Origins of the Constitution Essential Terms and Notetaker 

Lesson 3: The Seven Principles of the Constitution

Through Lessons: Learning the Content

Lesson 4: Preamble and Preamble Project

Lesson 5: The Three Branches of  Government: Articles 1, 2, and 3

Lesson 6: How a Bill Becomes a Law and Project

Lesson 7: Federalism and the System of Checks and Balances

Lesson 8: Articles 4-7

Lesson 9: The Bill of Rights Unit (and a LIttle About Amendments 11-27)

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  Extras (from the Unit: Every Four Years… The Presidential Election)

Lesson 10: What Are Your Political Viewpoints?

Lesson 11: Major and Minor Political Parties

Lesson 12: A Brief History of Who Can Vote

Lesson 13: Nuts and Bolts of the Presidential Election

Beyond Lessons: Summative Assessments

Study Guides and Tests are included with many of the lessons

Two Comprehensive Projects to Assess Knowledge and Understanding

• The Constitution is a Living Document Project

• The Bill of Rights Explained Project 

The lessons can be used independently as a supplement to what you already teach or as a whole. Every lesson includes the following: an Introduction or Purpose of the Lesson, Objectives, Learning Targets, Standards (California Common Core Standards), detailed Directions, and when applicable, charts, readings, questions, answer keys. Some lessons include summative assessments and rubrics. Opportunities for students to reflect on what they know are built into this unit and those can be used as formative and/or summative assessments.

Articles 4, 5, 6, and 7 includes the following:

--an Introduction or Purpose of the Lesson, Objectives, Learning Targets, Standards (California Common Core Standards), detailed Directions.

--the original text of these articles as well as an annotated version.

--questions relating to each article so students can show their understanding.

--real-world examples of Article 4 that require students to interpret Article 4’s solution is for each problem.

-- questions about the process for amending the Constitution in Article 5.

--questions about the key points of Article 6.

--questions about the requirements to ratify the Constitution.