USC - Big Ideas of the Constitution Project

What is the significance of the Six Big Ideas in the Constitution historically and for Americans today?

The Six Big Ideas are:

1. limited government
2. republicanism
3. checks and balances
4. federalism
5. separation of powers
6. popular sovereignty

Review the Big Ideas with Primary Sources pdf Links to an external site. and do additional research to prepare for this project.

Instructions

Create a PowerPoint presentation for the Big Ideas in the Constitution.

Create a Big Ideas in the Constitution title slide. Include your name, semester, and date.

For each Big Idea create two slides. 

• A slide containing:
• A description of the Big Idea in the Constitution in a minimum of 2 descriptive sentences.
• In a minimum of 3 analytical sentences, explain how the Big Idea in the Constitution impacts the United States today.
• A slide containing an image of the Big Idea with a caption.

Create a Most Important Big Idea slide. After reviewing the Big Ideas in the Constitution, justify which of the Big Ideas of the Constitution you consider to be the most important. Show your reasoning in at least 3 analytical sentences. 

Writing insight: For this project, do not use phrases such as "I feel that… is the most important.” or “In my opinion, … is the most important.” Phrases like these are not necessary for academic writing. Instead, get right to your analysis. 

The PPT should have a title slide, 12 sides for the Big Ideas, and the Most Important Big Idea slide. This is a total of at least 14 slides.

Create a Work Cited page using MLA basic format on a Word Document. Include your name on the Work Cited page. 

Use a MLA citation guide to cite your sources. You can use information from the content pages and reputable internet resources for your research. You will need to cite all information appropriately. 

For Works Cited, find examples and information from the MLA lesson in your course or by searching Purdue Owl - Online Writing Lab - MLA General Format.

Submit both the PowerPoint Presentation and the Works Cited page when you are finished.

The Steps for this Project