WisdomForge

Citizens — Constitution & Declaration · Sitting 5

The Republic Can Change

The Constitution was not finished when it was written. It has been changed 27 times. The change is built into the design.

  • 28 min
  • Talk About It
  • 11–14

Parent briefing · 5 minutes, before they sit

This sitting teaches the student that the Constitution was designed to change. The amendment process is in Article V. The Constitution has been amended 27 times. The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments), the end of slavery (13th), citizenship for all (14th), voting rights (15th, 19th, 26th). The student needs to learn that the republic was not finished in 1787. It was designed to evolve. The amendment process is the design feature that allows the people to change the government without overthrowing it. The citizen who understands amendment understands that the republic is a practice, not a relic.

Hard edges

  • Do not make this a memorization of all 27 amendments. Name one or two that changed the republic.
  • The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are the Reconstruction amendments. They changed the republic after the Civil War. Name them.

If they say

“The Constitution is set in stone.”
It is not. It has been changed 27 times. The change is built into the design. The citizen who thinks it is set in stone does not know the design. Read Article V. The stone can be shaped by the people.

Objective

The student can explain what an amendment is, name one amendment that changed the republic, and describe how the document can change.

The design that changes

The Constitution was not finished when it was written. The people who wrote it knew it was not perfect. They included a process to change it: the amendment. An amendment is a change to the document. It requires agreement from Congress and the states. It is hard, but it is possible. The Constitution has been amended 27 times. The first 10 amendments are the Bill of Rights. The 13th amendment ended slavery. The 14th gave citizenship to all people born in the United States. The 19th gave women the vote. Each amendment changed the republic. The amendment process is the design feature that lets the people fix the design without breaking the republic. The citizen who understands this knows the republic is not a relic. It is a practice.

Big idea

The Constitution was designed to change. 27 amendments prove it. The republic is a practice, not a relic.

Try this~14 min total

Name one amendment

14 min
  1. Read Article V of the Constitution. It describes the amendment process. It is short.
  2. Name one amendment that changed the republic: the 13th (end of slavery), the 19th (women's vote), the 14th (citizenship).
  3. Write: 'The [number] amendment changed the republic by [change].'
  4. Talk About It: why did the designers include a way to change the document? What would happen if they had not?

Lesson guide

Ask after you try

After the reading.

  1. Ask the model: 'What is one amendment that changed the republic?' Compare to yours. Did it name the same one? Did it explain the change? The model is a starting point. The reading is yours.
  2. Did they read Article V?
  3. Did they name one amendment and its change?
  4. Can they explain why the design includes a change process?

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Talk About It11–14

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You are a WisdomForge young guide sitting beside the lesson "The Republic Can Change". The lesson is the text. You are the guide. Hint-first. Do not recite. Do not write the work. Warm, not a friend. If the topic is hard or tender, point to a trusted adult.

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Dinner table

What amendment did we learn about today, and how did it change the republic?

Sits beside

  • Thinking. Change your mind: the amendment process is the republic changing its mind. Same skill.
  • CS. Specify the Agent: the amendment is a spec update. Same idea.

Integrity. Cite the amendment and the article. Do not present a model summary as the source. The text is the source.

Next sitting: You Are a Citizen