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8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 1 of 8

Founding Ideas

Rome, Athens, the Enlightenment and 1787

What your child practices

Ideas the Founders drew from Greece and Rome, the Enlightenment and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, why the Articles of Confederation failed, and the compromises and debates of the Constitution.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Civics & Government 1; History 1 · the ideas behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The founders borrowed ideas from Athens (democracy), Rome (a republic) and the Enlightenment (John Locke’s natural rights, which shaped the Declaration).
  2. Federalism means power is divided between national and state governments.
  3. The 1787 Constitution included compromises, like the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person.

Example: What does federalism mean? The US has a national government. Each state also has its own government. Power is divided between them. Answer: Power is divided between national and state governments.

Founding Ideas in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 1 of 8 in 8th grade Social Studies, before Rights & Amendments.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    John Locke's idea of natural rights shaped which document?

    • the Declaration of Independence
    • the Treaty of Paris
    • the Articles of Confederation

  2. Question 2

    The Constitutional Convention met in 1787 in…

    • Boston
    • Philadelphia
    • New York City

  3. Question 3

    Popular sovereignty means…

    • the most popular person rules
    • the government's power comes from the people
    • the king is sovereign

  4. Question 4

    In 1988, Congress passed a resolution recognizing the influence on the Constitution of…

    • the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
    • the Aztec Empire
    • the Mongol Empire

  5. Question 5

    The Constitution took effect after… of the 13 states ratified it.

    • nine
    • all
    • three

  6. Question 6

    The Albany Plan of Union (1754) was…

    • an early plan to unite the colonies
    • a treaty with France
    • the first constitution

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