Launch Activity

Ask participants to jot down and discuss the following questions: "Consider what you know about the federalists vs anti-federalists debate. What did each side worry about? What did each side propose as a solution to their concerns?"

Background Information

While listening to the podcast series for Civil Discourse: An American Legacy titled Principles of the Constitution as well as the Beyond the Legacy video of the same name, take notes about the concerns about the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and what was proposed by both the Federalist and Anti-Federalists to address these concerns. Provide participants with copies of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights for participants to read while looking for additional pieces of evidence related to the role that each document played in the founding of our country. Have participants research the different key ideas of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and reflect on the role the Bill of Rights played in the approval of the Constitution.

Vocabulary

Have participants share the words and phrases they found unfamiliar while a volunteer lists them on the (interactive) whiteboard. Be sure to include:

• Anti-Federalist
• Articles of Confederation
• checks and balances
• constitution
• federalism
• Federalist
• legislative, executive, and judicial branches

Assign the words and phrases to groups of participants to research and define. Then have the groups share with the entire class and discuss until all participants are comfortable with the surface meaning of the text.

Describe the Responsibilities of the Facilitator and Participants

“As the participant, your responsibility is to work with your partner or group to stay within the allotted time by providing concise, evidence-based responses. If it is your group’s turn to speak, your focus should be on using specific examples of evidence from the readings that support your claim and providing context that connects the evidence to your reasoning about your claim. While the other group is summarizing what you said, your role is to listen for accuracy and provide clarification when necessary.”

“If it is your group’s turn to listen, your responsibility is to listen closely and take notes while the other side is speaking. When it is your turn to summarize, you should provide a concise overview of the key points made by the other side focusing on specific statements that they made, and be open to them providing clarification as needed.”

Define and State the Purpose of the Seminar

“In the structured academic controversy (SAC), participants are assigned a stance on a question and work to come to a consensus on a contentious issue. The strategy reinforces the idea that before people commit to a side, they should seek to understand the argument of the other side. Remember that the goal of a SAC is not to win; rather, SACs should give participants adequate time to present content knowledge and diverse perspectives as well as time for clarification questions, small group discussion, large group discussion, and consensus building. The predetermined format allows for structure and support for multiple viewpoints to be heard, understood, and validated while informing everyone’s views on the question.”

• The Bill of Rights is more important than the Constitution in our nation's history.

Initial Preparation

• Participants are provided with central text(s) to read in preparation. This is often done as part of the previous class period, or as homework leading up to class.

Groups are Created

• Participants are broken into groups. Half of the group is assigned “A” in favor of the statement/question, and half of the group is assigned “B” against the statement or question.

Final Preparation (Can be done during the previous class if time allows.)

• Each side of the discussion “A” and “B” find a space separate from the other group to meet and prepare. If the group is large enough the “A” and “B” groups can be broken into smaller groups.
• During this phase of preparation, participants work together to share evidence and ideas that can be used during the small group discussion. The goal is that each participant leaves the large group planning phase with an understanding of the key points that can be made in support of their claim. (Usually 3-5 minutes)
• During this time, break all the “A”s into pairs (there can be a group of three if there is an odd number) and then do the same with the “B”s.
• Give each pair time to discuss their plan for the small group discussion. (Usually 5-10 minutes)

Small Group Creation

• Each “A” pair/group is paired with a “B” pair/group.
  • Groups meet up and introduce themselves to the others.
  • Sentence stem prompt: “Hello, my name is _______, and I look forward to talking with you today.”

Timed Share-Out

• Group “A” is given between 1-3 minutes to deliver an opening statement. The opening statement is to focus solely on the resources that they were provided with emphasis on providing direct quotes.
  • Sentence stem prompt: “The Bill of Rights is more important than the Constitution in our nation's history because…”
  • During this time group “B” cannot speak at all. They are to listen and take notes.
  • Time allotted depends on the ability of participants, how much preparation time they were given, and how many resources they were provided as supporting research.
• Group “B” is given between 15 seconds and one minute to provide a summary of what group “A” said during their opening statement.
  • Sentence stem prompt: “What I heard you say is…”
  • Time allotted depends on how much time was provided for the opening statement. Give approximately one-quarter of the time of the opening statement to summarize. Emphasis is on being concise in highlighting key points.
  • During the summarize portion, group “A” should not speak unless something provided by group “B” is incorrect. Then clarification can be provided.
  • At the end of the summary time, the facilitator will ask, “Group A, did Group B understand you correctly?”
    • If yes, we move on, if no, then additional clarification can be provided.
• The process is then repeated with the two groups switching roles:
• Group “B” is given between 1-3 minutes to deliver an opening statement. The opening statement is to focus solely on the resources that they were provided with emphasis on providing direct quotes.
  • Sentence stem prompt: “The Bill of Rights is NOT more important than the Constitution in our nation's history because…”
  • It is important to note that even though group “B” is second, their opening statement cannot directly address or refute anything said by group “A” as part of their opening statement. The opening statement by group “B” should be the same that they would have given even if they had gone first. This point will be emphasized by the facilitator.
  • During this time group “A” cannot speak at all. They are to listen and take notes.
  • Time allotted depends on the ability of participants, how much preparation time they were given, and how many resources they were provided as supporting research.
• Group “A” is given between 15 seconds and one minute to provide a summary of what group “B” said during their opening statement.
  • Sentence stem prompt: “What I heard you say is…”
  • Time allotted depends on how much time was provided for the opening statement. Give approximately one-quarter of the time of the opening statement to summarize. Emphasis is on being concise in highlighting key points.
  • During the summarize portion, group “B” should not speak unless something provided by group “A” is incorrect. Then clarification can be provided.
  • At the end of the summary time, the facilitator will ask, “Group B, did Group A understand you correctly?”
    • If yes, we move on, if no, then additional clarification can be provided.
• The process is then repeated with the two groups switching back to their original roles. The number of rounds is determined by how much time the facilitator wants dedicated to the discussion and how much background material was provided at the start. The more time and material, the more rounds can and should be provided to allow for deeper discussion.
• Things to note for rounds two and beyond:
  • Unlike the opening statements, in rounds two and beyond, the groups can directly address or refute statements made by the other group as part of their opening statement, or at any point in SAC.
  • Emphasis is given to using direct quotes from the material provided. The more rounds provided, the more likely participants are to start bringing “outside information” to the conversation. Background knowledge can be useful, but be careful about the academic rigor of the source. For example, having knowledge of different papers written by Brutus or Publius can be helpful. Sharing a meme that you read on Facebook is not helpful. The facilitator will be listening in to as many small group conversations at a time as possible to help ensure that the conversations stay at an academically rigorous level.

Open Conversation

• For 3-5 minutes, the group drops their assigned “role” and each member participates in an open discussion about what they have heard.
• Sentence stem prompts:
  
  • “I think the most persuasive argument in favor of is….”
  • “I think the most persuasive argument against is…”

Final Vote

• Each participant casts a vote based on what they have learned and what they believe.
• Sentence stem prompt: “I am voting yes/no that the Bill of Rights is more important than the Constitution in our nation's history.”
• Each small group tallies their votes.

Voting Share Out

• The facilitator asks each group to share their vote tally and if they were for/against the statement/question.

Full Group Discussion

• The facilitator asks the group if they noticed anything about the voting (this is especially powerful when you have a 4-0 yes AND a 4-0 no in the same room), and why they think the voting went that way.
• The facilitator then leads a full group discussion that focuses on the two sentence stems:
  
  • “I think the most persuasive argument in favor of is….”
  • “I think the most persuasive argument against is…”
• Time of the final discussion depends on how much time is available and how much time the facilitator wants to spend on the discussion. The full group discussion can take place during the following class period.

Transition to Writing

Participants are encouraged to revisit notes they captured on their selections, personal recording space, etc. and during the Launch Activity.

Writing Task

The Bill of Rights served as a compromise to help two sides believe they were both achieving their goal of creating a better version of the United States government. Does a compromise like that feel possible today? What could we learn from the Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist debate that would make our country stronger today? Write an argumentative essay (or another form of expressive work like a PowerPoint presentation or a Public Service Announcement video) that provides the key reasons why you believe there are ideas related to the Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist debate that would strengthen American democracy. Focus on the included texts and podcasts, issues raised in related readings, and during the SAC, as well as your background knowledge on your stance.

Extension Task

Choice #2: Select a key principle of the Constitution and identify why this principle was important to the writers of the Constitution and where the inspiration for this idea came from. Using examples throughout American history, explore what this principle has looked like since 1787 and how the understanding or implementation of this principle has changed over time. Evaluate how well this principle is upheld today.

Key principles of the Constitution include:

• checks and balances
• federalism
• individual rights
• limited government
• popular sovereignty
• republicanism
• rule of law
• separation of powers

• The Articles of Confederation (1777)
• The United States Constitution
• The Bill of Rights
• The 60-Second Civics podcast series for Civil Discourse: An American Legacy titled Principles of the Constitution and the Beyond the Legacy video.

• Federalist 10
• Federalist 51
• Brutus 1
• The Federal Farmer 1