Great Teaching Ideas
lesson & unit viewer
Problems with the Articles of Confederation
published on: 2/28/2003
Contributing Teacher(s): Margo Dill
Subject Area: Social Studies/U.S. History
Grade Range: Upper Elementary (4-5)
Materials Needed:
- Colored chart paper
- White construction paper
- Colored pencils
- Markers
- Crayons
- Journal or notebook paper
- COBBLESTONE OCTOBER 1998, Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
- Glue
- Scissors
Objective:
- The students will discover problems with the Articles of Confederation.
- The students will write their opinion of the Articles of Confederation.
- The students will discuss two major events under the Articles of Confederation: Shays's Rebellion and the Northwest Ordinance, and create a visual, factual display about both.
Process Standards:
- Goal 2.1 plan and make written, oral and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences
Content Standards:
- Social Studies 1. Principles expressed in the documents shaping constitutional democracy in the United States
Time Allowance: 2/45-minute to 1-hour periods (mural pictures may have to be completed for homework or during a different time)
Description: This is Lesson 1 of an eight-lesson unit. Students will form an opinion and construct a collage to show a success or failure of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.
Classroom Component:
NOTE:
This is Lesson 1 of an eight-lesson unit titled “Writing the Constitution.” These eight lessons focus on how the Constitution became the law of the land, starting with the Articles of Confederation and ending with our first two presidents under the new government. (This unit does not focus on the Bill of Rights or the organization of our government. I taught that separately as a government unit around election time.) The other lessons are:
Lesson 2--“How to Solve the Problem of the Articles of Confederation”
Lesson 4--“Slavery and the Constitution”
Lesson 6--“Anti-Federalists and Federalists”
Lesson 7--“The First Cabinet and First Political Parties”
Lesson 8--“A Peaceful Transition Between Leaders”
Students will form an opinion on the success or failure of the Articles of Confederation, and construct a collage to show a success or failure of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.
Step-by-Step Procedure:
- The teacher introduces the Articles of Confederation by reviewing the end of the Revolutionary War and their independence from Britain (so, now the United States needs a government).
- The teacher discusses the common fear of a strong national government and asks students if they can figure out why this fear seems logical.
- The teacher reads from Shh! We''re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz, pages 9-10. These pages explain some problems with the Articles of Confederation and what the Articles of Confederation are. (See background information below). While the teacher is reading, students write down problems they hear the teacher reading.
- The students and teacher make a chart on the board of problems in the country, under the Articles of Confederation.
- The teacher explains George Washington''s unhappiness with the Articles. Then the teacher describes the other side, Patrick Henry, who wanted to keep the Articles because he was worried about a strong national government becoming like Britain.
- The students write a paragraph pretending they lived in the late 1700''s, and had to choose a side. They explain their choice with specific details.
- The students share these ideas with the whole class, and the class can start a debate on the two sides of the issue: keeping the Articles or getting rid of the Articles and making a new plan.
- Next day:
- Review and set: The teacher reviews the list of problems (written on chart paper yesterday) with the Articles of Confederation as discussed in part 1 of Lesson 1.
- The teacher informs the students about Shays''s Rebellion (see background information below). The teacher asks students to brainstorm reasons why the Articles of Confederation caused Shays''s Rebellion. The teacher gives students 3-5 minutes to write down some of their ideas. Next, the teacher gives the students 1-2 minutes to share their ideas with a partner. Finally, the teacher and students make a class list.
- The teacher also explains the best result of the Articles of Confederation—the Northwest Ordinance. COBBLESTONE magazine in October 1998 had an entire magazine dedicated to the Ordinance. The teacher reads the informational article from this magazine to the students (pages 4-7). The students write down important points of the NW Ordinance. (See questions below to guide students'' listening under LISTENING SKILLS).
- The teacher shares the important points (see background information) with the class so they can fix or add to their notes. (All 3 note taking parts can be completed on the same paper: a. problems with the Articles from the day before; b. Shays''s Rebellion and the causes of it; c. NW Ordinance.)
- The teacher divides the class in half. One half of the class makes a collage depicting the success (NW ORDINANCE) under the Articles. The other half of the class makes a collage about the failures (CAN''T COLLECT MONEY, CAN''T FORM AN ARMY, etc.). (When making a collage, I usually have students make a picture and color it on white paper. Then they cut it out, and we glue them all on chart paper.)
- Students brainstorm, in pairs, what they could draw. When they have an idea, they check it with the teacher. The pair works together to draw and color their idea onto white paper. Then they cut around it and glue it onto the larger colored chart paper or bulletin board.
- The class views the mural and discusses it for closure.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Problems with the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION:
- States could contribute money to the national government if they felt like it. No one could force them.
- Congress could declare war, but they depended on the states to supply soldiers. They couldn''t make anyone join the fight.
- The President had no definite powers.
- The country had no overall legal system—Congress could make laws, but they had no rights to enforce them.
- States didn''t have to send delegates to the national meetings.
- States were printing their own money.
Shays''s Rebellion:
Many people had money problems under the Articles of Confederation. Soldiers from the Continental army had not been paid yet from the new government. Many of these soldiers were now farmers. Some had to pay high state taxes, and buy tools and seeds for planting. Many went into debt and had to borrow money. States made debtors pay back what they owed, or they took their land away. They also sent them to prison. Many farmers protested to their state government. In 1787, Daniel Shays (former Captain in the Continental army) and about 1,200 other poor farmers attacked a building in Massachusetts used for storing weapons. The weapons actually belonged to the national government, but the protestors did not care. They knew the national government was weak and would not be able to do anything. The governor of Massachusetts took care of them by calling out the militia. Four protestors died in the fighting.
Why the Articles caused the Rebellion:
Congress didn''t have a national army to defend its weapons, because they couldn''t make states supply soldiers. Congress had no money to pay its debts, because states didn''t have to pay their debts. If Congress could have paid their soldiers, then the soldiers/farmers would have had money and wouldn''t have had to borrow money from their state.
Northwest Ordinance:
The Northwest Territory was the land that is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and northeast Minnesota. 1787: NORTHWEST ORDINANCE
- It set up governments in the Northwest Territory and described the steps by which new states would be formed.
- No slaves allowed in the Northwest Territory.
- Native Americans should be treated fairly.
- Townships were encouraged to build schools.
Assessment:
This lesson does not have a formal assessment. The teacher uses informal assessment, observation and discussion, to check if students understand the Northwest Ordinance, Shays''s Rebellion, and the problems with the Articles of Confederation. This informal assessment can be conducted while a. students write paragraphs on whether or not to keep the Articles of Confederation, and then discuss their paragraphs; b.students discuss the Articles of Confederation''s role in causing Shays''s Rebellion; c.students discuss important points of the NW Ordinance; d.students draw pictures for the mural.
Positive Climate:
Students are working together to create a collage. They choose what they want to draw instead of being told by the teacher.
Listening skills:
This lesson works on listening skills when the teacher reads from Shh! We''re Writing the Constitution and COBBLESTONE OCTOBER 1998. The students are listening to the information and writing down important points. The teacher can write some questions on the board before he or she starts reading so students have a purpose for listening. Here are some sample questions:
- What were some problems under the Articles of Confederation?
- What are some important laws for the Northwest Territory under the Northwest Ordinance?
- What steps did territories have to go through to become a state?
- Which states today make up the land that was the Northwest Territory?
- Why is the Northwest Ordinance a success under the Articles of Confederation?
Modifications for an IEP student or at-risk student:
Students who can not listen and write down important points from the material being presented in class could copy notes the teacher writes on the board during the whole class discussion. ( The teacher can ask for students'' ideas they wrote down during the reading and make a list on the chalkboard.) The IEP or at-risk student can copy the notes then. If the IEP or at-risk student can not copy off the board, the teacher can write the notes down on paper and give them a copy at their desk to copy or keep.
Constructed Response Question:
Many people, who lived in the United States during the late 1700''s, were frightened of a strong national government. Discuss why they were frightened, and use details from what you know about the British king, Parliament, and the Revolutionary War.
Possible answer:
The reason many Americans were frightened of a strong national government was the British king had treated them awful before and during the Revolutionary War. The British king passed the Proclamation of 1763 which said the colonists could not live in the Ohio Valley, land they had just won in the French and Indian War. He made the colonists quarter British soldiers during the war. The Parliament passed laws raising taxes often, but none of the colonists were represented in Parliament. The colonists tried to protest peacefully by boycotting goods or sending the Olive Branch Petition, but the king would not listen. Because Britain''s government was so strong, the Americans had to fight a long, hard war to gain their freedom. The Americans did not want to fight a war again to get rid of another strong, national government.
Scoring Guide
2The response is complete with details and facts. The response has accurate reasoning and is full of several specific examples of what the King and Parliament did.1The response is general and simple, but does have correct facts. The student attempted to explain the fear, but did not support his or her ideas with specific examples.0
Other
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For additional information contact :
Margo Dill
Fairmount Elem.
Francis Howell R-III
(636) 851-4500
EMAIL: margo_dill@fhsd.k12.mo.us
