Where did the cherished ideals enshrined in the Bill of Rights originate? While history gives the Founding Fathers much of the credit, laws in colonial America influenced the Bill of Rights. An interactive web-based activity allows learners to trace the evolution of thinking behind the Bill of Rights and to explore the amendments that didn't make it. 

Concepts

the bill of rights, constitutional rights, the federalists, the anti-federalists, james madison, primary sources

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Ask scholars to examine the amendments not adopted to the Constitution and discuss how the founding era could have been different if these amendments were accepted
• Offer as research for the ideas that fed the Constitution and Bill of Rights

Classroom Considerations

• A related interactive activity is available using the same portal, Rights Around the World

Pros

• Activity is simple to use and is easy to adapt to a variety of classroom lessons on the Bill of Rights
• Primary sources are appropriately curated for pupils

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.10 RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.10 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.10