Discuss briefly the U.S. Constitution. Talk with students about why it was created and the articles it includes. It may be beneficial to discuss Article Four, which outlines the relationship between the states and the federal government. This article relates effectively to the relationship between teacher and students, and how the students should interact with each other. Ask them to discuss why they think it was imperative that the nation create the Constitution, what parts of it they think are the most beneficial to the country and what parts they disagree with. Tell students that they are going to create a classroom constitution as a group, as the Founding Fathers did. Work together as a class to create a preamble. This part of the constitution will explain why the class is preparing the document. An example would be, "We the students of Ms. Jones' fifth-grade class, in order to ensure ourselves a successful year, are creating this document, which will lay out classroom rights and responsibilities of all students and the teacher."
Divide the class into groups of four to five students. Ask them to think about rules and responsibilities that should be included in the class constitution. Tell them that they need to justify each article that they decide upon. For example, they cannot say that they are allowing gum chewing in the classroom unless they can justify it as a benefit for everyone, as long as it is not against school policy.
Allow each group to present its articles to the class. Select at least 20 points from the class as a whole and have the students vote for 10 to include in the constitution. At this point, discuss with the class why it is beneficial to limit the number of rules and regulations. Ask students to discuss why too many or too few rules is bad. After the vote, announce to the class which 10 articles were approved for the document.
Cut out a piece of banner paper at least 5 feet long and lay it on the classroom floor. Along the left side of the paper, list the numbers 1 through 10 vertically, creating enough horizontal lines to the right of each number to allow students to write down the articles. Have the groups write down the articles that were chosen from their brainstorming session. One article could state that students are responsible for grading each other's quizzes in class. Justifications could include sharing responsibility and reinforcement of knowledge. Students can decorate the constitution after the articles are written and place a title at the top.
Hang the completed constitution in the classroom where it is clearly visible. Remind students to observe the rules and regulations in the constitution throughout the year and refer to it when they do not.