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Course: Constitution 101 > Unit 1
Lesson 5: Methods of Constitutional Interpretation- Methodologies | Constitution 101
- Background: Constitutional Methods
- Background: Constitutional Methods—Examples
- Activity: How Do We Interpret the Constitution?
- Understand: Methods of Constitutional Interpretation
- Apply: Methods of Constitutional Interpretation
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Activity: How Do We Interpret the Constitution?
Make the Constitution come alive in your classroom with this free hands-on investigative activity about the United States Constitution.
Activity: How Do We Interpret the Constitution?
The Founding generation ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1787, over two hundred years ago! One of the longest-lasting Constitutions in the world, constitutional scholars, politicians, and judges work every day to interpret the Framers' words and apply it to modern times. The Constitution isn’t a particularly long document, and the Founding generation wrote it so that everyone—lawyer and non-lawyer alike—could read it, understand it, and lay claim to it as their own.
In this hands-on activity, students learn the skills necessary to engage in constitutional conversations. That means:
- building a historical foundation through storytelling
- learning how to interpret the Constitution like a constitutional lawyer
- developing the skills of civil dialogue and reflection.
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Overview
This activity is designed to be completed in two 45-minute class periods. The activity consists of the following parts:
- Setting the stage—Students re-watch the videos on the Walkthrough of the Original Constitution and the Walkthrough of the 27 Amendments to remind themselves of the various parts of the Constitution (30 minutes).
- Background—Review the traditional methods for interpreting the Constitution in this worksheet (15 minutes).
- Apply—Review the list of quotes from Supreme Court cases in Activity Guide: Constitutional Interpretation Method Identification. Identify the constitutional methodology that connects to each quote (20 minutes).
- Build norms for civil dialogue—With the rest of your class build a list of norms for your classroom to ensure civil dialogue as you dive deep into interpreting the Constitution (25 minutes).
Related National Constitution Center Content
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