What are Founding Principles?  

Discussion Guide 

If using the video in your discussion, you may use the following strategy to help your students engage with the content. If not using the video, skip to the discussion guide questions focused on Founding principles.  

Strategy Suggestion: Start with a Backchannel Discussion  

• Before playing the video, set up a backchannel discussion.  

• A backchannel is a digital conversation that happens alongside another activity, such as viewing a video. While playing the video, students contribute by asking questions, offering commentary, and sharing related ideas without interrupting the flow of the video. Backchannel allows for a silent discussion that can help students who are reluctant to speak or who need more time to process before contributing to class discussions. 

• You may use an online program, like, YoTeach! to create your own chat room. Or you can use Padlet to create a wall where students share their ideas as text, images, videos, and links. 

• After using the backchannel strategy, group student comments and questions. You can start your discussion with these topics or use the provided discussion questions.  

 

Discussion Questions  

• Scaffolding Note: Structure your class discussion in a way that best supports your students’ learning. You may want to use concentric circles where students form two circles, one inside circle and one outside circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside. The teacher poses a question to the whole group, and pairs discuss their responses with each other. Then the teacher signals students to rotate, resulting in new pairs. Then the teacher poses a new question, and the process repeats. 

• Questions 

1. The Founders created a republic based on a set of guiding principles. Those principles became the foundation of the government. Describe the principles included in this list.  

1. The foundations of the U.S. government lie in natural rights like liberty, equality, and justice. Why are these natural rights important to the foundation of our government?  

1. The Declaration of Independence represents the fundamental principles of equality, justice, and liberty that sit at the heart of the country. How are those natural rights best protected?  

1. Founding principles work together to create a system where citizens are free to govern themselves and make decisions about their own lives, while government works to uphold the dignity of citizens by treating all equally under a system of just laws. How can you work to ensure that our Founding principles are upheld?