• Hey, it's Franklin

    Bill of Rights Scrapbook

    Assignment:  The Bill of Rights is one of the most important and influential documents of freedom the world has ever seen. You will create a Bill of Rights scrapbook by collecting newspaper and magazine clippings, or photocopies and printouts of articles that deal with our constitutional rights. Criminal or civil court cases that illustrate principles from the Constitution, new amendments that are being proposed, cases that are being heard by the Supreme Court, and articles which focus on people exercising or being denied their constitutional rights are examples of items that could go into your scrapbook. You will be required to find at least five articles.

    After you find the five constitutional articles you will need to briefly outline or summarize each article in your own words. These outlines should highlight the important constitutional issues and must be at least one paragraph long. Once you have completed all the outlines you should write a paragraph explaining how these issues effect the local area and which issue you feel is the most relevant to the people of Red Hook.

    Resources:  You will need to scan newspapers, magazines, and/or internet news websites frequently in order to find articles that deal with constitutional issues.

    The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Poughkeepsie Journal, and USA Today are newspapers that often feature the type of stories you'll need. 

    Time and Newsweek magazines are also good sources to check out.

    CNN.com and MSNBC are excellent websites which can be searched for articles.

    Many newspapers and magazines are available for reading and photocopying at your local library.  The Linden Avenue school library has some newspaper and magazine subscriptions and other resources which you can use.  The Linden Avenue computer annex is available for internet research. The key to finding appropriate articles is to check these resources often, so don't procrastinate.

    Format:

    • Scrapbook: should be 8 1/2'' x 11''.

    • Articles: articles should be recent and clearly focused on a constitutional issue.

    • Summaries: summaries should be one paragraph in length, well written, and should clearly explain the constitutional issue.

    • Local Interest: a one-paragraph explanation of how these issues effect Red Hook citizens should be included.

    • Presentation: neatness counts and illustrations are a plus; you scrapbook should be eye-catching and colorful.

    Grading Rubric:

    Bill of Rights Scrapbook Assessment Criteria

    Articles: Scrapbook contains at least five articles which focus on current constitutional issues.

    		 1 to 5 points
    Summaries: Scrapbook contains well written one-paragraph summaries for each article. 1 to 5 points
    Local Interest: Scrapbook includes a paragraph explaining the local significance of these stories. 1 to 5 points
    Presentation: Scrapbook is creative, neat, well- organized, colorful, and eye-catching. 1 to 5 points

    18 - 20 pts = Excellent

    16 - 18 pts = Good

    14 - 16 pts = Satisfactory

    12 - 14 pts = Needs Improvement

    12 or less   = Unsatisfactory