Boeing Learning Center - Preparation Requirements & Registration

Constitution-in-Action Lab:
Pre-visit Preparation Requirements & Registration

We are delighted that you are interested in bringing your students to participate in the Constitution-in-Action Lab at the National Archives.

Before you submit your registration request, please read the following.

We are currently taking reservations for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays through December 31, 2012. If you wish to book a lab after that date, please return to this page after December 1.

The Lab experience requires that your students come prepared. They need to:

  1. Be familiar with the Preamble of the Constitution

  2. Be divided into six teams and assigned a particular section of the Constitution

    Team 1 = Article 1, sections 1-7
    Team 2 = Article 1, sections 8-10
    Team 3 = Article 2, all sections
    Team 4 = Article 3, all sections
    Team 5 =Article 4, all sections
    Team 6 =Articles 5, 6, and 7

  3. Complete online pre-visit preparation activities , and

  4. Be able to define the following "Big Ideas." (Students will be looking for documents that illustrate these concepts.)

    1. Representative Government- a system of government in which the people elect officials to govern for them. These officials are held accountable to the voters through periodic elections.

    2. Federalism-a form of government in which there is a constitutional division of power between a central government and regional governments.

    3. Checks and Balances-a system of overlapping powers of the separate branches of government that permits each branch to limit, restrain, or inform the actions of the other branches.

    4. Separation of Powers-a basic principle of American government that places different governing duties and powers among three independent and coequal branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

    5. Enumerated powers- the powers of governing that are specifically defined and authorized in the actual wording of the Constitution.

    6. Implied powers- the powers of government that, while not specifically defined and authorized in the Constitution, are not specifically prohibited.

    7. Civic responsibility-actions by the people that demonstrate their interest and participation in the governing of their country.

I understand these requirements and my students are prepared for the lab experience.
Learning Lab Registration Request