This module is for High School Activity 6

Activity 6 – Examining The Bill of Rights

Now that you have finished examining portions of the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, it is time to practice the skills you have gained by applying these same skills to the Bill of Rights. Remember to think about the skills you are learning in this module regarding text-dependent questions and their applicability to all appropriate high school level text.

Now read the Bill of Rights authored by James Madison.

The Bill of Rights

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

United States Bill of Rights, September 25, 1789

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.9
Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

You will be comparing the purpose of the Bill of Rights to the second half of Paragraph 2 of the Declaration of Independence. Here is the passage again for your reference.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.  Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.  To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Now review what you have learned in this module.

Creating Text-Dependent Questions

  • Read the text(s) carefully.
  • Determine the most important theme/central message and key details of the text.
  • Consider the author's choices when creating this text.
  • Examine the grade-specific MCCRS and PARCC evidence tables.
  • Choose the best standard(s) for assessing the students' overall understanding of the text.
  • Draft a text-dependent question that requires students to show evidence of standards' mastery.
  • Write a response to the text-dependent question.
  • Assess the proficiency of your response by rereading the standards, evidence tables, and reflecting on the text.
  • Revise the question as needed.
  • Rewrite your text-dependent question as necessary.

Check Your Understanding

As you think about your instruction and how text-dependent questions are a critical part of assessing whether students are achieving mastery of the MCCRS, it is important to be mindful of the PARCC assessment. Below you will find the evidence statements that are relevant to the standards, texts, and text-dependent questions included in this module.

Evidence Tables from PARCCopens in new window that are relevant to this module (Note: Scroll down the page to access the grade level evidence tables):

RI.11-12.1

RI.11-12.2

RI.11-12.5

RI.11-12.6

RI.11-12.7

RI.11-12.9