I Love Info Graphics!

Anytime we can help students visualize difficult concepts, we do them a huge favor.  That is why I love info graphics!  There are a couple different Web 2.0 tools that make it easy to create your own or just browse the creations of others...no need to reinvent the wheel right?!  The info graphic below is one that I found on Visual.ly.  Civics teacher here me now: there is tons of stuff on this site that you and your students will love!  Just check out the info graphic below is just one of many that a simple search yielded.  This site free to browse and create!  Another site that is free is Infogr.am.  This one is good for creating your own info graphics.  Check this stuff out...you will not regret the time spent!

Learn about data visualization software.

Why We the People?

Teaching the Constitution is tough!  There are so many interpretations of various aspects of the document that getting it to make sense to students is an art in itself.  It is important to remember that even when the Constitution was written there was much debate over what it all meant.  Take the most well known phrase as an example.  With three simple words - "We the People" - the Founders set forth a government like no other.  This government would be subservient of the people, and not the other way around.  At the time this simple idea was not even clear to everybody.  In Federalist 46, James Madison says, "The adversaries of the Constitution seem to have lost sight of the people altogether in their reasonings on this subject."  People were deeply concerned about a Constitution that created a strong national government, and made little mention of the power of state governments.  In response to Anti-Federalists Madison says, "They must be told that the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone; and that it will not depend merely on the comparative ambition or address of the different governments, whether either, or which of them, will be able to enlarge its sphere of jurisdiction at the expence of the other."

It is an important lesson for students to learn that even seemingly simple concepts in the Constitution were heavily debated and interpreted differently.  It is no different today.  It is ok for students to struggle with these concepts, because we still struggle with them as a nation.  As long as students talk about tough concepts, ask questions, and even question the system at times, "We the People" will be good to go.  Hopefully better off than Barney!

Visit Consource for more background on our founding document!