Government of the Colonial Days

photo courtesy of http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html

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Welcome to the time of the colonist. You have just got off the boat and are now part of the colonies. As a well educated person you are interested in how this new place is run. You are interested in the government from the Continental Congress to the Constitution.

Task

Your city's government has nominated you to be the town historian. Your new job is to find information on the Continental Congress and the Constitution. When you have gathered all of your information you are to write a report and give a speech on your findings. Your report and speech must cover the essential questions listed below.

• Who is the primary author of the Constitution?
• When was the first time the Continental Congress got together?
• Where did the first Continental Congress meet?
• When was the Constitution written?
• When was the Constitution ratified by all the colonies?
• Do you think the Constitution was necessary for the colonies? Explain your answer.
• Pick one of the original ten amendments and choose the one that you feel is the most important and why?

References

The Process

1. The first step is to go to the web sites listed in the resources.
2. The next step is to go through the web sites and find the information. So you can answer the questions listed above.
3. The next step is to write down all of the information that is needed to answer the questions.
4. After you have written down the information you need, put the information you found in a report.
5. Next take your report and give a speech to the town's people on your findings.

   Learning Advice

   1. The easiest way to take down the notes that you will need is to just write down phrases, key words, and short sentences.
   2. Do not write down whole paragraphs because it takes a lot more time and you are the one who is writing the report. Do not copy other people's words.
   3. Remember to give credit to where credit is due. If you borrow some information from the references, cite where you found the information.
   4. The most important advice I can give you is to have fun.

   Conclusion

   After, you have completed this webquest you will have a better understanding of what the Continental Congress did. You will have a better idea of how the Constitution came about and the role the Continental Congress played in creating the Constitution. You will know who the principal author of the Constitution is and some other major figures in the creation of the Constitution. If you could add a Constitutional amendment what would it be and why? Do you think the authors of the Constitution did a good job or did they do a poor job? Explain your answer.

   

   Graphic courtesy of www.whitehouse.gov

   
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