Procedures

• Forming Knowledge:

  Students, working either individually or in jigsawed groups, peruse the short video clips for each document, as well as their textbook, class notes, and any other teacher-provided resources, to fact-find about each of the nine Key Foundational Documents from the redesigned AP Government exam, sharing and comparing information with one another.

  NOTE: Copies of each document are hyperlinked within the Founding Documents Quick Overview and Analysis Chart also linked below. Each document is embedded within a GoogleDoc designed to facilitate annotation. Tips for approaching challenging text are linked in the "Resources" section below

  • The Declaration of Independence Video Clip
  • The Articles of Confederation Video Clip
  • The Constitution Video Clip
  • The Bill of Rights Video Clip
  • Brutus No. 1 Video Clip
  • Federalist No. 10 Video Clip
  • Federalist No. 51 Video Clip
  • Federalist No. 70 Video Clip
  • Federalist No. 78 Video Clip
  • Letter from a Birmingham Jail Video Clip

• Enhancing Knowledge & Connections:

  Students complete the Founding Documents Quick Overview and Analysis Chart, using the video clips above and/or the more extensive lesson plans and document texts hyperlinked within the chart, to extend and enhance their understanding of each foundational document and the connections between the documents.

• Reviewing Knowledge:

  Using the Key Foundational Documents Game Cards, students play any of the below games as directed, or a variation of your class's creation, in small groups (sized as works best for your particular classroom).

  NOTE: Each set of directions is repeated twice on the first sheet to facilitate creation of class sets of game cards. There are also five variations for review card gameplay in the C-SPAN AP Government Landmark Supreme Court Cases Review lesson that can be adapted for these document cards!

  Variation One:

  • Shuffle the cards then deal them out facedown across your table
  • When it’s your turn, choose any two cards and turn them face up
  • If you can articulate a comparison (it can be either a similarity or a difference) between the two, you earn three points. NOTE: Said comparison should be of AP-quality insight/ intellectualism, not “they’re both papers”.
  • If you are unable to earn the 3 points for step 3 but can articulate a similarity between one of your chosen documents and a different of the nine founding documents, you earn one point
  • The first player to 9 points wins!

  Variation Two:

  • Shuffle the cards then place them in the center of the table in one facedown stack
  • When it’s your turn, draw the top card so that only you can see it
  • Describe the document on your card (without using the name) while the other players try to guess which document it is.
  • If another player guesses it within one minute, you receive two points and the player who guessed correctly receives 3
  • When all the cards have been played, the player with the most points wins!

  Variation Three:

  • Shuffle the cards then deal two cards to each player. Place the extra cards in a face-down stack in the middle of the table
  • When it’s your turn, draw one card from the pile in the middle of the table. Then choose one of your three cards and pass it to the player on your left. If that player can articulate an AP-worthy comparison between the document on the card you passed and a card in his/her hand, he/she receives two points. Then he/she chooses one card to keep in his/her hand and places the other at the bottom of the pile in the middle of the table.
  • The first player to eight points wins!

  Variation Four (play in pairs!):

  • Shuffle the cards and place them in one face-down stack in the center of the table
  • When it’s your turn, draw the card on top of the stack and hold it so that only you can see it
  • Your opponent can ask you a maximum of nine yes or no questions to attempt to guess which card you are holding. If he/she guesses correctly, he/she keeps the card and places it in his/her “victory pile”. If not, place the card in a discard pile.
  • Once all ten cards have been drawn, the player with the most cards in his/her victory pile is the winner.

  Variation Five:

  • Shuffle the cards and place them in one face-down stack in the center of the table
  • When it’s your turn, draw the card on top of the stack and turn it face up
  • Within ten seconds, you must begin filibustering about the document on the card you drew. If you can provide valid, AP-worthy information about that document for 30 seconds straight, you place the card in a personal victory pile. If not, the card is placed in a discard pile.
  • Once all ten cards have been drawn, the player with the most cards in his/her victory pile is the winner.

• Reviewing Knowledge VIRTUALLY:

  The below Key Foundational Documents Virtual Review Games gameplay options were designed as variations of the above that could be played via Zoom, FaceTime, etc. to allow students to review virtually with one another. Students would use the Virtual Review Games link to print out and assemble their own set of game cards at home and then choose one or more variations to play with each other at their discretion or as assigned/moderated by you.

  There are also variations for review card gameplay in the C-SPAN AP Government Landmark Supreme Court Cases Review lesson that can be adapted for these document cards!

  Variation One:

  • Each of you shuffles your set of cards then deals them out face down in front of you
  • When it’s your turn, choose any two cards and turn them face up
  • If you can articulate a comparison (it can be either a similarity or a difference) between the two, you earn three points. NOTE: Said comparison should be of AP-quality insight/ intellectualism, not “they’re both papers.” * If you are unable to earn the 3 points for step 3 but can articulate a similarity between one of your chosen documents and a different of the nine founding documents, you earn 1 point
  • The first player to 9 points wins!

  Variation Two:

  • Each of you shuffles your set of cards, then places it in front of you face down.
  • When it’s your turn, draw the top card so that only you can see it.
  • Describe the document on your card (without using the name) while the other players try to guess which document it is. If you draw a card that has already been drawn by another player, you should describe it differently than they did.
  • If another player guesses it within one minute, you receive two points and the player who guessed correctly receives 3 points.
  • When all ten documents have been identified , the player with the most points wins!

  Variation Three:

  • One of you, serving as dealer, shuffles your cards then deals out four cards face up so that everyone can see them.
  • The player whose turn it is has the first opportunity to “connect” all four documents to one another in a sequence of some sort. If that sequence is considered acceptable to the remainder of the group, that player receives three points.
  • If the sequence is deemed unacceptable or the player can’t do it, the person to say “Publius!” can try to connect the documents. If he/she does, he/she receives two points.
  • Repeat until one player earns 10 points.

  Variation Four (for pair play):

  • Each of you shuffles your set of cards and places them in a face-down stack in front of you
  • When it’s your turn, draw the card on top of the stack and hold it so that only you can see it
  • Your opponent can ask you a maximum of nine yes or no questions to attempt to guess which card you are holding. If he/she guesses correctly, he/she keeps the card and places it in his/her “victory pile”. If not, place the card in a discard pile.
  • If you draw a document that has already been drawn by your opponent, play anyway.
  • Once all ten cards have been drawn, the player with the most cards in his/her victory pile is the winner.

  Variation Five:

  • Each of you shuffles your set of cards and places them in a face down stack in front of you
  • When it’s your turn, draw the card on top of the stack and turn it face up. If you draw a document that has already been revealed by one of your opponents, draw another card
  • Within ten seconds, you must begin filibustering about the document on the card you drew. If you can provide valid, AP-worthy information about that document for 30 seconds straight, you place the card in a personal victory pile. If not, the card is placed in a discard pile.
  • Once all ten cards have been drawn, the player with the most cards in his/her victory pile is the winner.

• Extending Knowledge:

  Students engage in one or more of the below activities, either working individually or in groups, to reflect their understanding of the documents.

  • MIND MAP IT: Create a mind map or similar infographic detailing the key facts and assertions of your selected document.

  • MEANING IN THE MEME-ING: Create two memes for your selected document(s) that convey main ideas.

  • CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: Choose a famous person whom, in your view, would be an active proponent of the ideas/assertions in your selected document(s) because of the way(s) the main ideas might apply to his/her life. Print a picture of your celebrity with a thought bubble indicating and explaining your rationale.

  • TWITTER WAR: Generate a hypothetical Twitter war [at least four back-and-forths (eight total)] between Publius and Brutus arguing over the wisdom of adopting the Constitution, using main ideas from the Federalist papers and Brutus No. 1. Don’t forget to include some opportune hashtags! Then find a news article from the past year that relates to an issue discussed in your Twitter war - print the article and explain the connection!

  • PRESS PLAY: Create either a Netflix queue or a song playlist that in your view pair well with your selected document. Your list should have 6-8 entries, each an actual film/TV show or song (depending on which option you choose) that, in your view, connects to a significant theme or component of your document, accompanied by an explanation of that connection.

  • ADVERTISE YOUR UNDERSTANDING: Create a one-page (8½x11) color magazine ad “promoting” your selected document. Your ad should contain a tagline and a picture, and should clearly communicate 6-8 main ideas from your document.

• Communicating Knowledge:

  Students respond to:

  • The Argument Essay from page 29 of the the publicly released AP Government and Politics practice exam.
  • and/or this Argument Essay prompt
  • and/or a prompt that you've created or found

• Kahoot!ing Knowledge

  This 35-question Kahoot contains excerpts from each of the 15 key SCOTUS cases and 9 founding documents for students to identify. It can be played in class, over Zoom via a shared screen, or independently by students.

• Blooketing Knowledge

  This 40-question [Blooket}(https://www.blooket.com/set/6075adeb828359001b969bc1) contains excerpts from each of the 15 key SCOTUS cases and 9 founding documents for students to identify. It can be played in class, over Zoom, or independently by students.

• Quizleting Knowledge

  This Quizlet set contains excerpts from each of the 15 key SCOTUS cases and 9 founding documents for students to use as flashcards or for Quizlet gameplay.