This module serves as a case study within Unit 1 in the high school Civics course and focuses on these essential questions: "How did the founding of the U.S. government reflect the founders’ beliefs about power and authority? Does our current government still reflect these same beliefs?" The module is designed to connect the beliefs about power and authority that led to the establishment of the United States government with the beliefs about power and authority that drive government in the United States today. Students will do this through an in-depth examination of federalism.
Prior to beginning this module, students should have developed a strong understanding of the concepts of power and authority and of the structure and functions of the three branches of government. With these understandings as a foundation, students will dig deeply into the concept of federalism through the lens of the essential questions. Students will read and reference key primary documents about federalism from the founding of the United States (Federalist No. 45 and the 10th Amendment) to ground their evaluation of the extent to which today's beliefs about power and authority mirror those of the founders. Students will then examine more modern sources, both texts and videos, in order to compare beliefs about power and authority with regard to federalism at the time of our nation's founding to beliefs about power and authority with regard to federalism in the 21st century.
This module supports students in digging in deeply in to the Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) High School Civics Grade Level Expectation (GLE) 2, which asks students to examine the "Purposes of and limitations on the foundations, structures and functions of government.” It also focuses on the following priority standards from the Common Core State Standards:
RH.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
WHST.11-12.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
L.11-12.6: Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Students will engage with the module's sources in multiple ways through mini-tasks. Students will work to comprehend each source, supported by instructional strategies and tools intentionally matched to each particular source in order to best assist students in understanding and analyzing that source. As part of their close reading of each source, students will take a look at each source through the lens of the teaching task, identifying evidence to support responses across a spectrum from "current beliefs about power and authority with regard to federalism closely mirror the founders’ beliefs” to “current beliefs about power and authority with regard to federalism are far from the founders’ beliefs.” Students will be supported in citing textual evidence through practice with quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. After they complete their work with the texts and videos, they will transition to writing and then will draft, peer edit, and finalize their individual responses to the teaching task.
Standards-based skills shape the instructional ladder within this module. Where noted in the skills list, the skills have been drawn from the Colorado Academic Standards. Where no notation has been made, the skill has been drawn from the Common Core State Standards.
Within the scoring guide for each mini-task, we have detailed student products that can be monitored; the product suggested for formative assessment has been bolded.
Considerations
Plan grouping carefully throughout the course of the module, considering ELL language levels and the needs of all students.
Consider where appropriate, assigning part or all of a mini-task (mini-tasks or portions of mini-tasks designed to be completed independently) for homework.
