Alabama Social Studies SS24.6.13b
The Standard
- SS24.6.13
- Describe major ideas, concepts, and limitations of the Constitution of the United States.
Describe how the authors of the Constitution viewed the primary functions of government, based on the wording of the Preamble.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Read the Preamble and put its goals into everyday words. Explain what those goals show about the jobs the Constitution’s writers thought government should do. Use words from the Preamble as evidence.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can connect the goal of justice to fair laws and courts. They can explain that the writers also wanted government to keep peace at home, defend the country, support the public good, and protect freedom for future generations.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think peace at home means peace with other countries. Some read public welfare as a promise to give everyone money. Others list the three branches of government instead of the goals named in the Preamble.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, ask: What two jobs did the writers think government should do? Name two Preamble goals, explain each in your own words, and give one example of each.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs six goal cards and action cards marked “run courts,” “defend borders,” and “keep roads safe”; have them sort and explain matches.
Ask students to write two sentences answering: Why might the writers name both public safety and freedom as government goals?
Put “fair trial,” “military defense,” and “safe streets” on the board; have teams race to name and explain the matching Preamble goals.
Write “The town opens a storm shelter during a tornado warning” on the board; ask students which Preamble goal it serves.
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Printable SS24.6.13b Worksheet
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Related Standards
- SS24.4.7a
Describe the system of government established by the Constitution, including the three branches of government and their functions.
- SS24.USG.3a
Summarize and explain the underlying principles of the Constitution, including checks and balances, federalism, limited government, popular sovereignty, republi...
- SS24.6.11a
Describe the role of Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention and explain how they contributed to the development of the Constitution.
- SS24.6.13
Describe major ideas, concepts, and limitations of the Constitution of the United States.
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