Foundations Intro US American Government Inquiry Unit - Activities & Projects

Lay a strong foundation for your American Government and Civics students by exploring the founding documents and principles of American democracy and the nation's quest to fulfill those ideals this inquiry-driven, primary source-based unit that asks, “How is our American democracy defined?”

This unit covers:

• 8 Principles of the US Constitution
• Declaration of Independence
• Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
• Excerpts from the Federalist & Anti-Federalist Papers
• 9 Other Types or Forms of Government
• Data Analysis of Americans' Views on Government
• Make-You-Own Mission Statement Project
• End-of-Unit DBQ-Style Essay

Check out the Preview for a detailed look at this compelling unit!

This unit comes in two formats: print PDF and digital Google files.

Greatness is having a clear vision that reflects one’s core values.

At the crux of American democracy is the balance of liberty and equality. While it is not foolish to strive for both, it has been easier in our history to declare these paired values than to actively hold them up in unison.

Additionally, the Constitution is said to be a living document, but what if American democracy itself is too? As everyday Americans hold this nation accountable to the theoretical words of our founders, they demand "We the people..." to mean more two centuries later.

This year, let’s leave the way-out-of-date government textbook behind and take students straight to the basis for all political debate and discourse: our founding documents. The words of genius, but also of owners of fellow Americans. The lofty ideals that have become the beacon of the world's modern era, but one's Americans struggle to uphold every day.

The strength of an inquiry unit like this is your ability to immediately make abstract concepts into intriguing and relevant lessons: each engaging activity builds towards the unit's driving question with its own focused question and has students exploring current issues and relevant examples.

This unit can be done well in about three weeks and has been crafted to support the standards of various states.

Included in this complete unit:

Overview

• Teacher Unit Overview with general notes, links, standards, and a pacing guide
• Daily Lesson Plans with step-by-step details, planning, and lesson takeaway notes
• Detailed Answer Keys for each activity
• Instructional Slide Deck 60 slides to support activities and essay writing
• Student Unit Review and Skills handouts with self-checking questions and "I Can..." statements
• Student Unit Notes sheet for building deep and nuanced mastery of concepts over the course of the unit using powerful graphic organizers
• Student Skill Handouts that include Analyzing News Media Sources, Analyzing Political Cartoons, Deciding a Precise Position, Creating a Thesis Statement, and Including Evidence

Student Activities

• America's Mission hook students in with this overview of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution through the lens of the qualities of a strong mission statement
• Principles of Democracy brainstorm, discuss, research current political news, and display using gummy bears the main aspects of American democracy: popular sovereignty, republicanism, individual rights, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and rule of law
• Declaration of Independence Podcast Notes get the backstory of this equally complicated yet well-organized document using an engaging Civics 101 episode
• Declaration of Independence Analysis closely read the words that shook the world and tie them to the principles
• Preamble Analysis revisit the nation's mission statement with an eye for its inclusion of the principles
• Preamble in Political Cartoons / News Media connect to how issues today continually call back to these famous words
• Federalists & Anti-Federalists Podcast Notes get the overview of the debate that democracy made possible by using an engaging Civics 101 episode
• The Federalist & Anti-Federalist Papers Analysis closely read key excerpts from arguments supporting and expressing reservations about the proposed Constitution and tie them to the principles
• America Wants a Government That... analyze recent survey findings of what Americans feel is the responsibility of the federal government
• Other Forms or Types of Government brainstorm, discuss, and display using gummy bears the other common forms of government worldwide to contrast against American democracy (autocracy, monarchy, theocracy, unitary, etc.)
• Print PDF & digital Google version of all student sheets included!

2 Summative Assessments

• End-of-Unit Essay support your students with a collaborative brainstorm review activity, detailed instructions, outline template, sentence stems, step-by-step PPT slides, and rubrics that encapsulate their complete understanding by arguing their answer to the not-so-simple question, “How is our American democracy defined?”
• Mission Statement Project after brainstorming one's core values, students carefully develop their mission statement for the year, using the Preamble and other modern exemplar statements as their guide

ELL & Neurodiversity Supports

• Icon images versions included in Principles & Types of Government activities to assist in concept understanding
• Collaborative, small-group activities that utilize spatial and kinesthetic skills and promote low-stakes student talk
• How-to skill sheets for essay writing skills
• Clear fonts and visual organization best practices used assignment sheets

Note to Homeschoolers

Though the included teacher lesson plans are written to fully support a traditional classroom teacher, this resource is also a great fit for your teenage homeschooler:

• the inquiry, thematic structure of this unit is driven by critical thinking, reading, and writing skills and a central high-interest question
• a wide ability range can easily access the rich variety of sources utilized in this unit,
• your student’s voice is central to each activity, through talking out their learning, maximizing the one-on-one
• most activities can be completed independently and aren’t solely reliant on group or whole-class work
• all utilized sources are free and easily obtainable; either included or accessible online (links provided)
• this unit is independent of a textbook, though one could be used for greater background knowledge
• any one activity can easily be left out to customize for your student’s skill level or personal interest

Looking for more Civics & Government inquiry units?

• Voting & Elections Unit explore a variety of voting issues; universal for any upcoming election
• Three Branches Unit contrast how the federal government works in theory and in practice
• Constitutional Rights Unit determine exactly how our rights translate into daily American life

Want to browse the full curriculum?

Civics & American Government course bundle teach this inquiry-driven and project-based semester course with confidence!

This listing is for one license for regular, non-commercial classroom use by a single teacher only. Commercial use like online teaching (ex. Outschool) or sharing with other teachers (ex. shared drive, in a Facebook group, in a professional development training) is strictly prohibited.

By purchasing a license to this resource, you have access to all future updates at no cost, available under “My Purchases." Multiple and transferable licenses are available for purchase. PDF files are uneditable, other files have editing abilities, unless otherwise stated. All files are protected under federal copyright laws.