America’s 3rd grades class rules!

Welcome to America’s classroom! Before a year full of fun and excitement in our free country we need to set some rules. Although we are a classroom full of freedom, we still have rules we need to follow in order to keep our classroom safe. We will be reading and viewing pictures about the rules we must follow so that our classroom stays organized and nobody gets in trouble. These rules are called Amendments in the Bill of Rights and they were made as a compromise. A compromise is when two people do not agree on something so they meet in the middle and find something that works for what both of them need. A group of people called the Federalists thought that there should be a strong government with a lot of power. Another group called the Anti-federalists did not agree with them and instead wanted the states to have more power. Instead of fighting about it, together they compromised and made the “Bill of Rights” which is made up of the amendments we will be reading about.

Our first class Amendment is one that protects our freedom of religion. For example, you can now freely practice Judaism and live freely as a Jew! For years people were scared to be religious but not anymore. Now, they can freely practice any religion they believe in. It also protects freedom of speech which allows you to voice your opinions freely. People deserve to speak for what they believe in and now all of us have the right to. For example, if I think the color pink should be added to the rainbow, I can now express that opinion freely. The first amendment also protects our freedom of the press meaning that news outlets and photographers can share anything they want. For example, if I write a news article, I can write about why I think basketball is a terrible sport and do so freely. It also protects the right to assemble which allows you to join with others and fight for a common goal. For example, if my friends and I want to start a protest against a group of evil people, we can. Lastly, it protects the right to petition against the government and stop them from doing evil things. If the government does something wrong, I can petition against them.

Our second class Amendment is one that gives us the right to bear arms (being able to use a weapon and protect ourselves). For example, if I am confronted by an intruder in my home, I can use a weapon and protect myself. This was added so that we have the right to own weapons to protect ourselves and form groups if needed. We no longer have to be afraid of not being able to protect ourselves with a weapon because now we have the god given right to do so.

Our third class Amendment is one that says that us people can’t be forced to house soldiers (a soldier cannot enter your home and force you to let them stay by your home. Now we have the right to deny a soldier from staying at your home). This was added because at the time soldiers were forcing people to let them stay at your home and it needed to stop. Soldiers will no longer forcefully stay by us we have the right to tell them to leave and not let them stay. 

The fourth amendment was written in 1791. The fourth amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that the government can not come into our homes and search it or any other private places without a warning and a good reason to search it.This amendment was written because when the British ruled over the Americans they would take as much money as they can from the people and this really upset them. When the British took control they would search the Americans private property and it became something  that was happening all the time. The fourth amendment was then made to protect the privacy of people. In the last few years people have been arguing over the fourth amendment. They say that the police go against this amendment. For example, In some places police will check someone without their permission to see if they have a weapon on them. Overall this amendment was made for people’s privacy.

The fifth amendment was also made in 1791 and is also a very important amendment.his amendment also has something to do with rights of people who are suspected for crime.This amendment has a few topics including the grand jury, due process of law, and self incrimination. The first part is the grand jury. This is a group of people who decide if a case should go to trial or not. This is also if the jury decides if a person has evidence to be charged for a crime.  Then there is double jeopardy and this means that if someone does the same crime twice he can not go to trial twice as well as receiving only one punishment for the same crime. Then self incrimination is that nobody has to tell police information about themselves that leads to their arrest. Overall this amendment is very important because it protects many different rights of a person.

Amendment number 6 was made to make sure anyone accused of a crime gets a fair trial. Whenever a criminal is going to trial to see how badly he/she will be punished for their crime, they have the right to a speedy trial, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be 5 minutes. What that means is that no matter what, you won’t be waiting in jail for years for no reason, it will be as soon as possible! When you are in court anytime from charge to trial, you are allowed a lawyer who is a person who makes sure everyone is being fair to you and to make sure no one else is breaking the rules and represents you. When someone is being arrested and taken to jail, they have a right to know what they are being charged with, (what rules or laws they broke), the police cannot keep you in jail without telling you why. Let’s say Jim is being taken to jail because he might have stolen, and Jenny saw it, she is a witness. While Jim’s trial is being held in court, Jenny cannot just tell the police what she saw, she has to go to court to talk to the judge and tell them what she saw. The law allows Jim’s lawyer to know Jenny is coming which allows him to prepare questions to make sure Jenny is telling the full truth.

Even though the seventh amendment is a short one, it is important nonetheless. While the sixth amendment focuses on holding fair criminal trials, the seventh amendment focuses on holding fair civil trials. In a civil trial, no one committed a crime, and no one will go to jail. Civil trial is usually to recover money, like a car crash or discrimination. To make sure the trial is fair, like a criminal one, you have the right to a jury. The jury system was created so that the judge is not the only one making the decisions, that way they judge cannot be corrupt. Jury’s are people just like you and me, that were chosen randomly to decide whether one is liable to pay another for damages. Their goal was that everyone in court had a fair chance. Also, in the amendment they say that it must be worth over 20$. I know what you’re thinking though 20$ isn’t that much! Well, back then 20$ is about 600$ today, meaning it was a lot of money!! now , to go to federal court- aka the big guys- you have to be suing over 75,000 dollars. That’s a lot of allowance!!!

although all of the amendments were created to make sure everything was fair, the 8th amendment was created to make sure that the bad people were even punished fairly. they didn’t get more or less punishments than they deserve. just remember, your smile can get you out of everything, except the supreme court.

The 9th Amendment says that the rights that are not in the constitution belong to the people. Just because it is not in the constitution, does not mean that it is not a right that us people have. The government cannot take away these rights from the people even though they are not in the constitution. This amendment is all about rights that are set aside for the people to have. These rights include basic everyday things we might not be allowed to do in other countries such as the right to wear your hair a certain way or the right to eat too much candy. There are not any specific rights listed in the 9th amendment, they are just things we would not even think are illegal. The one right that is very important in the 9th amendment is the right to privacy. Everyone needs privacy and thanks to the 9th amendment we have it! This amendment is important because it gives the constitution a view from the people’s standpoint.

This next amendment is very similar to the 9th amendment so make sure to pay attention to the differences. The 10th Amendment says that if the Constitution does not give a certain power to the federal government, it belongs to the people and the state. The federal government is made up of people that are very high up in power such as the president, lawmakers (congress), and the supreme court. This amendment is very important because its purpose is to make sure that the federal government does not have unlimited power to do whatever they want! If the federal government could do anything they want, there would be no order and they get to control everything! Some things that the federal government controls are the military, war, taxes, trade, money, banks, and other powers that go hand-in-hand with the constitution. Some things that the state government controls are taxes in the state, traffic laws, licenses (driving, marriage, etc.), elections, trading in the state, road work, schools, police offices, fire departments, businesses, and property laws. As we now know, the state government and the federal government both have a lot of power and if it was not for the 10th amendment, the federal government would control everything, which would not be good for us. They can wake up one day and say that people are no longer allowed to wear the color red and we would have to follow this rule!

to all of my fellow Americans, thank you for joining our third-grade class! I cannot wait to spend more time learning about our rights together and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Sincerely, Ms. America

bonus questions!!!!

1. How was the Bill of Rights formed and by who?
2. True or false? The police can go in to your house without a warrant.. 
3. whats the main difference between the 6th amendment and the 7th?
4. Amanda- True or false? The 10th amendment keeps the government from doing whatever they want.
5. Noam- True or False? Double jeopardy is allowed when it comes to a 1st degree murder