"We the People..." Maps101 Focuses on the U.S. Constitution

Dear Educator,

This week Maps101 is looking at the U.S. Constitution, including theBill of Rights. With the news frequently focused on states’ rights, federal power, individual rights, and democracy, we think it is an ideal time to review the laws of the country as outlined in the Constitution.

Also, check out our Summer of Where landing page to discover even more content to inspire you as you plan how to bridge the learning gap that comes with the inevitable summer slide.

Lesson Maps are full student lessons that engage students by telling the story of the topic, not just listing facts, strung together. With context, insight, and age-appropriate language, this Lesson Map explores the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, how theConstitution balances state and federal power, the Three-Fifths Compromise, the duties of the president, and how amendments are added—all explored like an extended article. Visuals provide further context. The teacher version includes numerous activities for each subheading in the student version. These activities are leveled for all learners and follow Bloom’s taxonomy for addressing critical-thinking skills.

Our interactive Field Trips use a map and images with explanatory text to present topics that engage student interest. The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. What rights they provide for are explored in detail in this exclusive Field Trip.

In addition to the Field Trip on the Bill of Rights, students will benefit from reading a GNN article on these amendments. You can use both or choose which is better for your classroom. It is extremely important for students to understand the rights covered in the Bill of Rights, both generally and to follow current events, where discussions about gun rights, free speech, and more are regularly discussed.

In order for the Constitution to be passed, the states had to ratify thedocument, approving it through a vote. This map shows when each state ratified the Constitution and provides an excellent opportunity to point out how states and the federal government work together. Just because the Constitution was written to the satisfaction of theFounders, it wasn’t yet a settled matter—the states had to approve it before it could become the law of the land.

This is a small sample of the kind of content available to you with your Maps101 subscription. Every week, the editors at Maps101 will provide you with highlights from our extensive collection in this GeoJournal newsletter. We suggest you make a folder to store them for future reference. Expand your students’ world with Maps101!

Don’t forget to visit our Summer of Where landing page to discover even more content to inspire you this summer, and frankly, anytime!