The U.S. Capitol, the White House, the National Mall & Memorial Parks, the Supreme Court and the National Archives provide the perfect setting for learning about our nation’s Constitution. The We the People Constitution Program is an exciting curriculum-based learning experience that familiarizes Washington, D.C. public school students with their city and their government.
To date, We the People tours have reached over 4,000 students and teachers in 28 different public and public charter schools and educational centers in the District of Columbia.
Now students and teachers from all over the country can use We the People’s complementary curriculum materials posted here.
We the People Tour
Available to Washington, D.C. public school 8th grade classes.
This day-long tour educates students about the first three articles of the Constitution by visiting “monumental” Washington, ending at the National Archives where students view the original documents -- the Constitution and Bill of Rights -- that they have spent the day discussing. A Teacher Resource Guide and Student Activities Guide provide curriculum-based classroom materials that extend and reinforce students’ experiential learning during the tour.
Since the 2005-06 school year, more than 4,000 students and teachers in 28 different public and public charter schools and educational centers in the District of Columbia have taken the We the People tour.
Tours are conducted from November through early March. The tour is free of charge, offers door-to-door transportation and includes lunch, also free of charge.
We the People Lessons and Resources
The We the People Teacher and Student Guides, as well as the interactive activities on this web site, were created by D.C. Public School teachers.
The Teacher Guide contains lesson plans, suggestions for activities that may be done with students, and general resources that will inspire you to create your own activities and projects. You will also find materials such as worksheets and cartoon that you may copy and use with students.
The Student Guide activities are designed to help students synthesize information from the tour and enhance classroom and home schooling lessons.
8.2.3 Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on government as a means of securing individual rights.
8.3 Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S. Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied powers of the federal government.
8.3.3 Explain the Constitution and its success in implementing the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
8.3.4 Evaluate the major debates that occurred during the development of the Constitution and their ultimate resolutions in such areas as shared power among institutions, divided state-federal power, slavery, the rights of individuals and states (later addressed by the addition of the Bill of Rights), and the status of American Indian nations.
8.3.6 Describe the principles of federalism, dual sovereignty, separation of powers, checks and balances, the nature and purpose of majority rule, and the ways in which the American idea of constitutionalism preserves individual rights.
8.3.9 Describe the powers of government set forth in the Constitution and the fundamental liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights.
8.3.10 Explain the need and reasons for amendments to the Constitution.
B. Advisory 2 Project
The We the People Constitution Tour has been selected as a DCPS 8th Grade Advisory 2 Project that addresses the following objectives and skills:
Objectives:
For students to learn about the first three Articles of the Constitution.
For students to learn about their city.
For students to learn about the living Constitution within their city.
For students to visit historic sites within DC and make the connections of history, their government, their city and their lives.
Chronology:
1. Students explain how major events are related to one another in time.
2. Students construct various time lines of key events, people, and periods of the historical era they are studying.
3. Students explain the central issues and problems from the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place.
4. Students understand and distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events, including the short-term causes or sparks from long-term causes.
Historical Research:
9. Students frame questions that can be answered by historical study and research.
10. Students distinguish fact from opinion in historical narratives and stories. They know facts are true statements because they are supported by reliable evidence and can cease to be facts if new evidence renders previous evidence wrong or unreliable.
11. Students distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, essential from incidental information, and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and stories.
12. Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources, draw sound conclusions from them, and cite sources appropriately.
14. Students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, and author’s perspective).
Geographic Skills:
8. Students identify and explain the process of conflict and cooperation (political, economic, religious, etc.) among people in the contemporary world at local, national, regional, and international scales.
11. Students use geographic knowledge and skills to analyze historical contemporary issues.
C. English/Language Arts Standards:
8.LD-Q.3 Paraphrase the speaker’s purpose and point of view and ask relevant questions concerning a speaker’s content, delivery, and purpose.
8.LT-LNF.7 Analyze word choice (voice, tone, biblical or metaphorical language or imagery) well-known speeches and political text.
Standard 3 The institutions and practices of government created during the Revolution and how they were revised between 1787 and 1815 to create the foundation of the American political system based on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
III. How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?
1. How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution? 2. What does the national government do?
IV. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS addressed:
1. What is the purpose of the Constitution? 2. What does the Constitution say and do? 3. What are the parts of the Constitution and what is the responsibility of each part? 4. Where is the Constitution evident in our lives today? 5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution? 6. What is the Bill of Rights and what does it do? 7. How is the Bill of Rights evident in our lives today? 8. Have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights met the ideas of the declaration of Independence? 9. What is the purpose of the separation of powers? 10. What is the purpose of checks and balances? 11. How does dual sovereignty look in our democracy? 12. Why is it necessary to maintain dual sovereignty to maintain democracy and uphold the ideals of the Constitution?
