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We the People...the Citizen and the Constitution: The Research Process

This project's purpose is to create a dialogue between one of the founders and a contemporary political or social figure.

Before you Begin

Accessing Google Drive

When you use Google Drive for school and library work, use your Murrow Google Account. Your personal Google account will not work. You MUST use the one that ends with @ermurrowhs.org. If you log in with your phone, you need to click the hamburger icon (three lines) in the upper left, click on dropdown, and select the @murrowhs.org one. 

Your email account is: [The First letter of your first name] + [Your complete last name] + [The last four digits of your OSIS #]@ermurrowhs.org
Your Password is: Your OSIS #

If your name was Freddy Mercury and your OSIS # was 999991234, your Murrow account would be:

FMercury1234@ermurrowhs.org and your password would be 999991234

 

Pre-Search

You may not use Wikipedia as a source of evidence for your paper or video. That being said, I do suggest its use as a way to build background knowledge on a topic. Calling up prior knowledge or creating knowledge about a topic where none was before is essential to learning. Wikipedia is a good site for the purpose of pre-search, or educating yourself about the main points of a topic before you dig into its details. 

The Quality of Your Project

The realism, interaction, and balance of your project are very important to consider in assessing its quality. In essence, they surround the entire project. It should feel authentic. It should show a balanced interaction that follows common conversation patterns (i.e. listen then respond).

  • Realism: Does the conversation sound like two people actually speaking with one another?
  • Interaction: Does the conversation demonstrate that the two people are actually listening and responding to one another?
  • Balance: Does one person dominate the conversation?  Do both speak equally?

Organization

Make your Choices

Choose one person from each column:

Historical Figure Contemporary Figure
  • Alexander Hamilton
  • James Madison
  • George Washington
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • George Mason
  • John Marshall
  • John Adams
  • John Jay
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • James Otis
  • George W. Bush
  • William J. Clinton
  • Sandra Day O'Connor
  • Antonin Scalia
  • James E. Carter
  • Thurgood Marshall
  • Richard Nixon
  • John F. Kennedy
  • Colin Powell
  • Hillary Clinton

Then, choose 2 issues, arguments, or ideas, about which they might differ greatly, or thought about a little differently.

  • Federalism (federal vs. state powers)
  • Privacy (the founders' view of privacy was very different from our own)
  • National Security
  • International Relations
  • Civil Liberties (again, the founders' view of free speech was very different from our own)
  • Role of the President
  • Role of the Judiciary
  • The value/importance of the Constitution

 

Outline

Shared Google Drive Folder

Be sure you are using your FLast1234@ermurrowhs.org account. If you get a Request Access message, go back a step and sign into your Murrow account. 

Project Purpose

This project is to create a dialogue or a conversation between one of the Founders and a contemporary political or social figure. The list of approved personae appears to the left. Your project may be done either as a paper or as a video. The "conversation" should focus on two (2) separate arguments or issues, also outlined to the left. 

Approach this project as if you were one or both of the people in the dialogue. Your project should not reflect your own opinion, but should reflect the points of view of both the historical and contemporary figures, and must be based on research. Make sure your language reflects the time period when the figure lived (or is living).