Playing with Blocks in Middle School

The Revolution is over! America has WON! Now what? 

We took some time to analyze the transition time between the war ending (1781) and Washington becoming the Executive leader of our country (1789). 

Our first "government Constitution" was called the Articles of Confederation. While it took care of many of the issues the colonies had against King George III, it did not solve other major issues! 

It created very strong state governments and a very weak federal (Central) government that could not create money, tax it's citizens, pay it's soldiers, create a military, create laws (needed unanimous votes), left the country leaderless and vulnerable to anarchy, and did not address the major debt that the country was in after the war. 

To understand this, we PLAYED WITH BLOCKS. This TOTALLY FANTASTIC simulation idea came from BLOGUSH. 

Students were placed in "State" groups - with Delaware being the smallest. 

The goal was to help pass laws that helped each state gain the most blocks.....

Some, like Massachusetts, were in a lot of debt, most of their citizens had fought and were owed money.
Southern states, such as Virginia, were better off, less fighting, successful cash crops, slave labor, and a relative "safe" war time allowed them to enjoy good government funding. They did not want to share other states debts, had their own money (which was useless anywhere else), and were unable to pass laws that everyone could agree on.
So we acted this out with blocks. 

Poor Delaware! 

By the end of the activity - students were literally "fighting" over blocks, stealing other people's blocks, and over all going into chaos! Exactly like planned :)

We also acted out "Shay's Rebellion" an uprising that occurred due to angry farmers who revolted after being told they would go to "debtors prison" if they were unable to pay their state taxes ... but they were unable to pay their state taxes because the federal government was unable to pay them for their war service, because they could not tax! Both activities allowed students to see the problems with the Articles of Confederation and why the Constitution needed to be adopted. 

Naturally, the day ended with a "tallest tower" competition :) 

Out with the old...WAIT.

So, as many of you know, I moved this year from being a 5th grade English and History (humanities) teacher to be being an 8th grade English and History teacher. I was excited because I LOVE teaching American history, and both 5th and 8th study it! As I was forming lesson plans early on, I was very much afraid that the activities I did with 5th graders would be too juvenile for 8th grade. 

Boy, was I WRONG. 

If my 5th graders loved it, my 8th graders love it. 
annnnnnd the exciting part is the level of depth my middl schoolers are then able to take the information. 
Here are a couple cross over activities that I have previously posted about. 

Colony Resource Maps: We studied the different regions, identifying their different governments, environments, religions, economies, and reasons for founding. 

After completing our "moving textbook" notes, where students filled in their tree notes while reading printouts around the classroom, students worked with a partner to create a resource map and key for a specific region. 

 Playing with Gummy Bears: Food is always a crowd pleaser no matter the age. After studying the Revolution, during our Government unit, I busted out my gummy bear types of government lesson. A classic. 

Losing the Bill of Rights::Gaining a Teachable Moment

Today, we did one of my FAVORITE U.S. Government lessons! With all of the issues in the Middle East, it turned into an even more  POWERFUL lesson than usual about what people do when their rights are being violated. 

If you teach Government, and if you teach 4th - 5th grade or middle school, you MUST show your students "Future Fright - Losing the Bill of Rights". It is a bit on the mature side due to some language I actually skip the interrogation section because it isn't terribly necessary to the story and there is a pretty heavy swear word. However, the response and respect, that this video provides kids for the Bill of Rights, and the other protections we have built into our government, is unmatched!! There is such a deep appreciation and reflection that is so mature for fifth grade students. The video follows a family who have been physicians, for 7 years, in another country. While they were gone, America was taken over by a dictator who did away with the Bill of Rights. You can find the video in sections, FOR FREE, either on Discovery Education or Youtube. Viewing Guide available HERE.

Link to Future Fright Part 

While watching the video, I have the students keep an eye out for Right violations important vocabulary word. I provide a laminated copy of the Bill of Rights as a reference, for each table. They then keep track of a minimum of 3 violations. We then share out afterward and discuss what rights were violated. I also have them self reflect and answer a short exit slip, at the end of the lesson. 

In the video, the family realize how "different" America has become and they decide they don't want to be there any more so they start planning their escape. This year, that led to a POWERFUL discussion, due to the recent news coverage on the Syrian refugees. An impromptu learning opportunity opened up and I pulled out this weeks TIME for Kids magazine where the FIRST article was about the refugees, why they were fleeing, who was taking them, how they are escaping, what America is doing to help. etc. 

It. Was. So. COOL! 

The kids have made so many connections with this! We are currently reading Number the Stars during our read aloud because I love all the connections there are between what the Nazi Regime did and what our Government protects us from. 

We added to our classroom "Brain" that President Collins, in the movie, is acting like Hitler and how the Bill of Rights protects us from violations which the Jewish people were subjected to.

 I also believe in having a constantly VISIBLE not just "available" world map in the classroom to encourage geography connections. 

There was totally a moment today where the whole class was crowded around the map figuring out where the refugees were coming from and where they were headed. Later, someone asked, "Why don't they just come to America" and without my input or direction, another student pointed on the map and explained, "Because, look how far they would have to travel in their little boats, it would be just too far!" I love that this kind of critical thinking is possible when students have an available resource in the classroom. 

Don't you just LOVE it when connections are so fluidly made through curriculum and student brains!?!

On. Educator. Cloud. Nine. 

Here are more Government Activities: 

Why is Government Important?

...Quite possibly the most difficult question for fifth grade students to understand. The number one goal for many kids is to break consciously or subconsciously every rule that they can at home and at school. Therefore, explaining to them why RULES are important can often be a daunting task. 

However, there is a trick ...I introduce government by sharing with them that tomorrow no teachers are coming to school, there will be no recess monitors, and Mr. Principal is not coming. They will have the opportunity to do WHATEVER they want be prepared for the whoops, hollers, and cheers. I then ask them what they are planning on doing ... the list is always entertaining. Inevitably, there is always someone who says it would be the best day at school ever! Now it is time for the real life senarios that are going to play out during the day. The kids pull out of a hat: "Someone is going to get hurt accidentally at recess", "A strange person will not be stopped and comes into the school since there wasn't anyone in the office and takes a kid", "A bully doesn't get stopped at recess because there are no people to watch them or stop them." I ask kids what other things could happen without any of our rules in place - this list gets darker, and while sometimes humorous, I can always tell that the kids aren't sure this new found freedom is really a good thing. I always have a couple kids say they just wouldn't come, they would like to avoid the chaos. This leads into a great discussion about how having the freedom to do WHATEVER you want also means that mean, unkind, and hurtful people can as well. This leads to a discussion about chaos and fear which is exactly what no government is - ANARCHY. 

A great read aloud is What if Everybody Did That, it allows students to see why rules are important.

I use this great sheet from Ashleigh's Educational Journey to have the kids map out what broken rules look like. It is a free download - go check it out! I had the kids draw a picture of the rule being followed and then not being followed. 

This leads well into why the Founding Fathers felt the need for a national government that would help make rules and the most important document for running our country - The Constitution. Much like a video game instruction book for Mine-craft which my kiddos are OBSESSED over The Constitution lays out what our Founding Fathers believed would build a good government. 

Anchor chart is an adapted Pinterest idea from One Teacher's Take

We summarized the major sections of the Constitution and then created video game covers that summed up the Constitution's purpose. Some students even included the Federalists and Anti-Federalist arguments ;0) Federalists argued FOR strong national government and Anti-Federalists wanted citizen's rights protected.

Yes, my husband made fun of me for printing a Playstation 2 cover ... they've come out with two more of them???...We don't play video games, give me a break, I'm trying to relate ;0) 

We even made it into the newspaper for Constitution Day!! 

 The Federalists and Anti-Federalists finally came up with a compromise - THE BILL OF RIGHTS. In this way, one could have a strong national government and not worry about it taking away the rights of it's people. Much like a Super Hero needs a trusty side kick - see my lesson HERE on the Bill of Rights. 

 To see more posts on Government Visit HERE, HERE, and HERE. 

Here are more Government Activities: 

Gummy Bear Government

We have been studying the different types of government that can be found around the world today and throughout history. The most common include, Anarchy, Monarchy, Dictatorship, Oligarchy, Theocracy, Democracy, and Republic.

In order to better understand these systems, we first applied hand motions to them (See THIS post to watch these in action), created a flip book with their definitions, and finally, ACTED them out with GUMMY BEARS! I got the idea for this off of a pinterest picture and decided that it could make a great review activity!

Students worked with a partner to create their system of government "scene" acted out by the gummy bears.  

 Once we had recreated the system of government, we drew a matching picture in our flip charts (either of the gummy bears or stick figures). 

 The kiddos REALLY had a great time with this activity and I felt that it helped them solidify the different systems since they were having to create the definition in a visual way. It was SO cute listening to their ideas for how to make the system. Here are a few of my favorite depictions. 

 Oligarchy - ruled by a rich and powerful few

Monarchy - notice the "gummy" throne!

 This group created a voting booth for their Republic depiction :0) 

To see more of what we do during my Government Unit, Visit THIS post and THIS post. 

Here are more Government Activities: