Constitutional Civic Inquiries
GRADES 6–8: WE THE PEOPLE, LEVEL 2
Compelling Question: Do we need rules to protect our rights?
Time Required: One to two class periods, plus one summative assessment
Overview
Before students can understand what the Constitution does, they need to understand what it was written to protect. This lesson introduces the natural rights philosophy that shaped the founding generation — John Locke's argument that all people possess inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist by consent to safeguard those rights. Students move from abstract philosophy to lived experience, examining which rights are equally enjoyed in their own communities and which are withheld.
What Students Will Do
Students open with a Compass Corners activity, circulating the room to record what rights their community shares, which are denied, what they still need to know, and what sources guarantee those rights. They then read and build academic vocabulary using a Visual Vocabulary organizer, watch a 60-second film on Locke and the state of nature, and work in trio teams to sort real-world scenarios into the categories of life, liberty, and property — defending their reasoning and reaching consensus. A political cartoon captioning activity asks students to apply the new vocabulary themselves, and an exit ticket returns them to the compelling question. As a summative task, students write a brief position statement with a clear thesis and three pieces of supporting evidence — direct practice for written hearing testimony.
Student Outcomes
By completing this lesson, students will be able to define and correctly apply the vocabulary of natural rights philosophy, identify the three natural rights Locke articulated and explain the purpose of government in protecting them, classify everyday scenarios according to the right at stake, and take an evidence-supported position on whether rights are best protected through a social contract. Students will also strengthen collaborative decision-making, open-mindedness, and the ability to consider alternative points of view.