Constitutional Convention Activity

1. Bell Ringer: What was the Constitutional Convention?

2. Discuss Bell Ringer, review Constitutional Convention.
a. Who was there?
b. What happened?
c. What was the Virginia Plan?
d. What was the New Jersey Plan?
e. What was the Great Compromise?
f. What other issues did the delegates face? (Slavery)
3. Pass out state name tags for students to put on their desks.
Explain that small numbers are the number of delegates each
state had at the Convention. Have students note that there are
only 12 states represented; Rhode Island did not send any
delegates.
4. Pass out name tags. Select one student to be George Washington
and sit at the front of the room.
5. Hand out 1790 Census Data sheet to each student. Explain that
detailed population information is not available for 1787, so we
will use the 1790 US Census. Review the information on the hand
out.
6. Pass out a copy of A Letter from James Madison to each
student. Have one student read letter aloud.
7. Give students a few minutes to answer the questions on the
James Madison worksheet.
8. Give each student a copy of the Tally Sheet/Reflection. Ask the
student portraying George Washington to call on each state to
share their answers to the individual questions. Go one question
at a time, and have each state share their answer to that
question before moving on to the next one. Students should keep
track of answers on their tally sheet.
9. Wrap Up: Answer questions on Reflection Sheet. If time, discuss
questions together. Compare the simulation to the actual
Constitutional Convention.