Imagine that
you have been given a new type of textbook that allows you to
go back in time and participate in the events that are being discussed
in your history class. The new textbook is called an iAdventure.
This iAdventure will send you back to an exciting event that changed
our nation's history. Your iAdventure will blast you back in time
to 1787. Hopefully the trip will teach you what it was like to
be a delegate at the Constitutional Convention.
The new textbook
(iAdventure) will allow you to access internet resources about
the Constitutional Convention. You will use the information form
internet resources to solve constitutional problems and create
a new framework of government for the United States.
 |
As you
approach your history classroom you notice the teacher standing
by the door. Before you enter the room the teacher hands you
a new textbook. After receiving the book, you enter the room
and start wondering about which topic the teacher will discuss
today. Suddenly, in a mysterious voice, the teacher says, "Today
class we are going to blast back to the Constitutional Convention.
Please open your textbooks to the Constitutional Convention chapter."
You think the teacher is acting kind of odd, but you follow the
directions and open your textbook. |
|
 |
On
the textbook page you see a painted portrait. In the portrait
there is a group of strangely dressed men assembled in a room.
The men are standing next to a table. Some of the men are signing
a document that is resting on the table. The caption below the
picture identifies the scene in the painting as the Constitutional
Convention. Once again with a mysterious voice the teacher asks
the class to touch the picture. Suddenly without warning the
men in the painting begin to move. Your eyes become intensely
focused on the portrait. Two buttons appear at the bottom of
the picture. |
The left
button is labeled:
Large State
The right
button is labeled:
Small State
Below the
buttons is a statement that says -
The teacher
tells the class not to touch the buttons until they have more
information about the historical event in the picture. This is
where you begin your research about the Constitutional Convention.
You will use the information from the research to decide
whether or not you are going to be a large or small state delegate
at the Constitutional Convention. When you complete the research,
you may click on either the Large State or Small
State buttons (links) at the bottom of the page.
Remember the WARNING c You
will be blasted to the past.
What
are we going to do?
Before you
can select a button, you must spend some time researching the
Constitutional Convention.
The internet (web) sources below will help you make wise
and informed choices. Your decision should be
based upon analysis of primary and secondary sources. Use the
links provided below to investigate the Constitutional Convention.
You need to identify where the Constitutional Conventional was
held and which states sent delegates to the convention. Investigate
the debates between the delegates and the decisions that they
made. Just like James Madison, you are going to keep notes about
the discussions, debates, and decisions that were made at the
Constitutional Convention. Your notes (research) will be written
on the worksheet (Convention Notes) provided by the teacher.
Once you have completed this section of the Convention
Notes (research), you may click on either the Large State or Small
State buttons (links) at the bottom of the page.
Use your Convention Notes to make a wise and informed decision. Dont forget the WARNING
c You will be blasted to the past.
Research
- Internet (Web) Resources
Use the
links provided below to investigate (research) the Constitutional
Convention.
Looks like Gibberish
How to Read What the Founding Fathers
Wrote
(http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/howto.html)
Origins of the Constitution
English Influences
(http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/origins/files/english.html)
Colonial Influences
(http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/origins/files/colonial.html)
When in Rome
(http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/origins/files/rome.html)
Constitutional Convention
Background
Branches of
Government
(http://www.bigchalk.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WOPortal.woa/983/wa/HWCDA/file?fileid=126833&flt=ga)
Convention Highlights
(http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2165.html)
Delegates: Who
were the Old Guys?
(http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/constitution/founding_fathers.html)
Delegates: Old
Words are Good Words
(http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/constitution/const4.jpg)
Delegates: Was the furniture really that
nice?
(http://wae.com/freedom/confath.html)
Delegates: Sign
on the Line
(http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/creation/framing/dossiers.html)
Forming a National Government
(http://douglass.speech.nwu.edu/ooah/ooah4.htm)
