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Ways to Use the “Which Founder Are You?” Quiz with your Students
We realize that many classrooms do not have access to Facebook. This activity is intended to be started in the classroom and completed by students outside of the classroom. If you need access to a PDF version of the Facebook quiz, please click here. If you are looking for other activities that you can use in the classroom on Constitution Day, please see our other resources by clicking here.
To celebrate Constitution Day, send your students to take our Which Founder Are You? Quiz on the Bill of Rights Institute’s Facebook page. They can begin the quiz by visiting http://apps.facebook.com/which-found-cbbjjih. When they finish the fun, interactive quiz, have them follow the link to the Bill of Rights Institute’s page for “their” Founder (located at the top of the result window) and have them complete one or more of the following activities.
In order to promote a quality conversation on the pages, we encourage you to assign a participation grade or extra credit for student posts, as well as for their substantive comments directed to other students’ posts. (If Facebook access is not available at school, you may wish to have students print out the page containing their comments.)
- Have students select one of the italicized quotations from the quiz (.pdf version here) and research its origin. They should post a comment on their Founder’s page explaining the source and context of the quotation.
- Have students do some biographical research on their Founder. They should post three or four of the Founder’s important contributions, and then post one or two characteristics they do in fact have in common with their Founder.
- Have students select one or more of the first six questions and investigate the qualities/characteristics/actions of their Founder. For example, why was George Mason known for making witty comebacks? What connection did Alexander Hamilton have to dueling? In what ways did James Madison work “behind the scenes”? They should explain what they discovered in a brief post on the Founders’ wall.
- Using links on their Founder’s page or their own research, have students learn more about their Founder’s contributions to the Constitution. They should post a comment on the page informing people about his role, including a link to their source.
- Have students locate a reputable Web resource for more information about their Founder. They should then post a link on their Founder’s page, along with a 2-3 line review of the Web site. Encourage students to look at sources such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the papers of Washington, Mason, or Madison, and similar collections.
- Have students select a Founder with whom they identify who was NOT included in the quiz. They should post a comment explaining why they identify with this other Founder.
- Have students post an answer to this question, and then respond to other posts: Which Founder would be most pleased with the US government today? Least pleased? Most surprised?
If you're students are having any trouble finding their Founders' Facebook group, you can find them here:
- Alexander Hamilton - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128889995481
If your students cannot access Facebook, here is more information about Alexander Hamilton:
You are determined and strong-willed. You believe that a strong central government is necessary to protect liberty. (However “liberty” is a word you use less often than words like “power” and “energy.”) You’re very driven and outspoken in pursuit of what you think is right, which sometimes leads others to think you are power-hungry. And it might be true; you think nothing of pitting your friends against each other if it will help bring about your goals.
(Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, lobbied hard for his goals of a national bank and the assumption of state debts. These goals did increase the power of the national government, which was one of Hamilton’s goals. Hamilton, of all the Founders, gets most of the credit for our economic system today. He was at the center of much political intrigue in the early republic, most notably the election of 1800, as well as the evolution of the first political parties which rose up around him and, his rival, Thomas Jefferson.)
- James Madison - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110078603185
If your students cannot access Facebook, here is more information about James Madison:
You are thoughtful, reflective, and principled. You think republican government (where the people vote for representatives who in turn govern) is best for liberty. You have a great knack for getting things done behind the scenes. You’re not in it for personal glory, at all—you’re not above letting others take credit for your ideas if you think it will be better politically.
(Madison is considered the Father of the Constitution, though he rejected that title, calling the Constitution the work of “many heads and many hands.” His ideas did indeed form the backbone of the document. He also helped write some important speeches for many leaders during your time, including George Washington.)
- George Mason - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=254948200200
If your students cannot access Facebook, here is more information about George Mason:
You are an idealist, yet also a realist. You believe that government power should be decentralized, and that individual rights need to be protected. You have much enthusiasm about things you think are important. You have a lot of integrity and refuse to compromise when the stakes are high. This sometimes leads others to think you are inflexible or even stubborn.
(Mason was a staunch Anti-Federalist. He refused to sing the Constitution because he believed it did sufficiently protect the powers of states or rights of individuals. He was impatient at times: he got so tired of waiting for the Continental Congress to approve the Declaration of Independence that he issued the Virginia Declaration of Rights first.)
Sure, you were on the “losing side” of the ratification debate. But eventually, the Bill of Rights was ratified (though this did not settle all of your concerns.) And some would say that many of your warnings about government power have come true.
Sure, sometimes people accuse you of being a monarchist. And maybe you did die in a duel. But you know what honor means.
Sure, the British burned the White House during your War of 1812. And maybe you are only a wee bit over five feet tall. But mentally, you’re a giant.