Worksheet

Hawthorne Ridge's Fair-Choice Constitution

Explore how a class constitution organizes decisions, limits power, protects rights, and connects to citizens' responsibilities.

Grade 4Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toCIV.4.4

Play online Play as a game

PrintLetter-size worksheet Answer keyPrintable answers

Assign to classAssign to your classes, or get a join code

What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 C3 Framework standard
Printable answer key
15 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students explain how a constitution organizes government, limits power, and protects rights.
Students distinguish citizens' rights from responsibilities in shared decisions.
Students apply constitutional ideas to school and neighborhood situations.

How to use

Read the passage together, then have students use its details to answer the questions and apply the ideas to new school and neighborhood decisions.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

CIV.4.4

Explain the purpose of a constitution and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Hawthorne Ridge's Fair-Choice Constitution

Learn how constitutions guide government and protect civic participation.

Read about the class decision

Read the passage. Then answer the questions using details from the passage.

A Plan for the Shared Room

At Hawthorne Ridge Elementary, a fourth-grade class was helping decide how to use an unused room beside the gym. Families in the suburban neighborhood had asked for more after-school activities. Students suggested homework help, clubs, or a quiet place to read. The principal said the class could recommend a plan, but the students needed a fair way to make the decision together.

Ms. Alvarez asked the class to write a constitution for a student council. The document said that the council's purpose was to gather ideas, study the choices, and recommend one plan. It explained that three representatives would be elected and that meetings would include time for students to share ideas. The council could recommend how to use the room, but it could not set school safety rules or replace rules made by the school.

The class constitution also protected participation. Each student could share an opinion, listen to other views, and submit an idea. The council chair had to give people a fair chance to speak. Representatives had responsibilities, too: they had to follow school rules, report the council's vote honestly, and consider how a plan would affect others. When one student suggested that the chair should cancel a meeting whenever the chair disliked an idea, the class rejected the suggestion. The written plan was meant to guide future classes even if they chose a different activity.

The United States Constitution serves a broader purpose. It sets up the national government, describes powers and limits, and protects rights through its amendments. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights. Rights protected by the First Amendment include speech, peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government. Citizens also have responsibilities, such as obeying laws, respecting other people's rights, staying informed, and serving on a jury when called. In both a classroom council and a national government, written rules can help people make decisions without giving one person all the power.

Why did the class write a constitution instead of only listing its activity choices?

A. To choose one activity before hearing student ideas
B. To let the principal make the choice without a vote
C. To set fair decision rules and keep leaders' powers limited
D. To replace the school's rules with council rules

Word bank: safety · meeting · election · homework

The council could recommend a plan, but it could not change school rules.

Match each part of the class constitution to its meaning.

The council's purpose
A limit on the council's power
A student's protected participation
A representative's responsibility

A. Follow school rules and report the vote honestly
B. Gather ideas and recommend a plan
C. Do not make the school's safety rules
D. Share an opinion, listen, and submit an idea

Circle the two lines from the class constitution that show power is limited or participation is protected.

The council may gather ideas and recommend a plan.The council cannot make the school's safety rules.Each student may speak, listen, and submit an idea.The chair may cancel a meeting after disliking a suggestion.

If the class had no written limits on the council chair, what problem could develop?

A. The students would agree on every activity
B. The principal would have to select the activity
C. The chair could leave out some voices
D. The council could begin making national laws

Sort each example as a right or a responsibility of citizens.

Share an opinion at an open meetingFollow laws even when no officer is nearbyAsk the government to consider a concern in a peaceful petitionServe on a jury when called

Right	Responsibility

Use two details from the passage to explain how the class constitution could help students make a fair decision about the shared room.

Apply the ideas

Use what you learned about constitutions, rights, and responsibilities to answer each new situation.

A council chair says that only students who support the chair's plan may attend the next meeting. What is the best response?

A. The chair may set attendance rules because the chair was elected
B. The class should end meetings so no one disagrees
C. The principal should choose which students may attend
D. The class should reject the rule using its constitution

Families in Hawthorne Ridge are considering whether to turn a vacant lot into a small play area. Which action best shows a citizen responsibility before supporting a plan?

A. Repeat a rumor about the plan
B. Read the proposal, attend a meeting, and listen to reasons
C. Demand that only one opinion be heard
D. Wait for one leader to decide without learning about the plan

10.

Word bank: Bill of Rights · branches · constitution · committee

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are often called the .

11.

Why does a constitution describe different parts of a government and give each part different jobs?

A. To organize government and keep one part from having all the power
B. To let each part ignore the laws made by the government
C. To make citizens unnecessary in public decisions
D. To let leaders change protected rights whenever they choose

12.

Circle the two actions that show a citizen using rights and responsibilities during the play-area decision.

Read the proposal and ask how it may affect neighbors.Tell other residents that they may not speak.Speak at the meeting and give a reason for an opinion.Skip the meeting and say that no one may decide.

13.

Which statement best explains how rights and responsibilities work together?

A. Rights let a person ignore laws when a decision feels unfair
B. Responsibilities belong to leaders, not to citizens
C. Rights protect participation, and duties guide respect for others
D. A constitution protects leaders from hearing criticism

14.

After a close vote, a student says the council can erase the right to speak because the majority won. Which response best uses the constitutional idea from the passage?

A. A majority vote gives the council power to remove a right
B. The constitution protects rights even after a vote
C. No group should use voting to make a decision
D. The principal should make every council decision

15.

Why should the Hawthorne Ridge class keep its constitution when a future class chooses a different activity? Use two details from the passage and name one citizen responsibility that supports fair decisions.