A Classtalk with George Washington for Constitution Day

A Classtalk with George Washington for Constitution Day

Objective: Students will be able to understand and explain the meaning and spirit of Constitution Day through an impromptu situation play where they can act out and demonstrate a conversation with George Washington in the form of role play.

Standards: TH: Re8.1.7 / TH: Re8.1.8

* The teacher will remind the students sitting in a circle about the ‘spirit of the Constitution’ and then tell an anecdote about George Washington that contains the relevant history. After this, the teacher will instruct students to form groups of five, with one person playing the role of George Washington Station and the other students acting as questioners.

Procedure: 

Students will follow the teacher's instructions and create a play that depicts a conversation with George Washington.

1) Today is Constitution Day. There is an empty chair here. Who wants to be George Washington? (The student who will act as George Washington will come to the front and sit in an empty chair.)

2) The teacher will instruct one representative from each of the five remaining teams to set up a situation and lead a conversation.

Example:

"Dear General George Washington! I am from the future. What year is it now?"
“It’s 1787.”
“What are you doing now?”
“I’m drafting a United States Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.”
“Oh! I learned that in school. Dear general! No, you are the first president! I am from the United States in 2023. You are a great person who is loved by the American people.”
“I am truly grateful that future generations love me so much. Student, what do you like most about the spirit of the Constitution?”
“I really like what it says about free will.”
“It’s really rewarding to have a student speak so freely.”

3) The comedy must be spontaneous and make good use of what you know about the Constitution and George Washington. If students have questions about this, they can ask their teacher or look up reference materials.

4) This time, we will select one George Washington from each team to create a conversation and record it in video format. After each team performs, the team that shows the most constitutional spirit will be selected.

Rating scale:

- Students can accurately answer quizzes containing information about the U.S. Constitution and George Washington.
- Students can form a team of two and create a 15-minute situational play within a set time.
- Students can summarize and convey the spirit of the Constitution and George Washington's achievements through impromptu situation plays.
- Students can increase their understanding of situation plays by creating each situation play freely.