Aim: How does the Bill of Rights protect U.S. citizens?

• Vocabulary:Bill of Rights: first ten amendments to the ConstitutionCivil Liberties: protections against the governmentCivil Rights: positive acts of government that try to guarantee

equality for all citizensAlien: people who are not citizens of the country they live inDue Process Clause: 14th Amendment

• Motivation: What are some examples of civil liberties that you, as citizens, have today? (2 minutes)

The Bill of Rights

• Listen to the rap song• Question: How would your life be different

without these 10 Amendments?

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=244641&title=Bill_of_Rights_Rap___Smart_Songs

The Bill of Rights• The most significant amendments to the Constitution are

the first ten, also known as The Bill of Rights. • These amendments were added to the Constitution at the

insistence of the Anti-Federalist forces during the debates over ratification.

• The fear of a dominating federal government, such as the colonists had experienced under English rule, led many to demand assurances that specific rights and liberties were going to be protected.

• It is the Bill of Rights that stands till today as the greatest guarantee of these rights and liberties upon which America was founded.

Bill of Rights Examination

1. List the 5 freedoms of the First Amendment.• 2. Why did the founding fathers choose to protect the right to bear

arms?• 3. Under what circumstances could the government force citizens to

feed and house soldiers?• 4. What kind of searches and seizures are outlawed by the Fourth

Amendment?• 5. List three rights that people accused of committing a crime have

according to the Fifth and Sixth Amendments?• 6. According to the Seventh Amendment, how much money must be

at stake in order for someone to get a jury trial in a civil case?• 7. What type of punishment is outlawed by the Eighth Amendment?• 8. Explain the meaning of the Ninth Amendment in your own words.• 9. What level of government would get powers not specifically given

to Congress by the Constitution?

I Have rights?!

• In pairs…• Read each person’s story and decide if that

person has a right by examining the Bill of Rights from the earlier handout

• If so, which of the amendments found in the Bill of Rights gives them that right?

Life Without the Bill of Rights?

• http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/student-resources/play-games/life-without-the-bill-of-rights/

Summary Questions