Articles of Confederation Article & Activities for Civics & American History

This Articles of Confederation Article & Activities resource contains everything you need for an engaging lesson on America’s first governing document. Aligned to the Florida State Standard for Middle School Civics, SS.7.CG.1.7: Articles of Confederation, this resource comes with a 2-page reading passage, a review, an organizational chart, a creative newspaper article project, and a comparison activity matching excerpts from the United States Constitution to specific weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. This resource is perfect for middle and high school Civics, American Government, and American History classes! 

In this Articles of Confederation Article & Activities resource, you’ll get:

✯ Articles of Confederation 2-Page Reading Passage

• An engaging, easy-to-understand article covers the basics of the Articles of Confederation: what were they, why didn’t they work, and what was Shays’s Rebellion? 

✯ Articles of Confederation Article Review

• Review asks 5 questions pertaining to the article, gauging students’ comprehension of key concepts 

Questions include:

• Which branch did the Articles of Confederation put in charge of the government? 
• What system of government was the Articles of Confederation? 
• Why do you think the Founders initially wanted a government that did not have a strong central ruler, like a president or King, holding most of the power?

✯ Weaknesses of the Articles Organizational Chart

• Students fill in a chart listing six main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, explaining the consequence of each weakness.

Weaknesses covered:

• Congress could not impose taxes
• There was no Executive Branch, no leader for the country
• There was no judicial branch, no national court system
• Congress could not regulate trade between the states
• Any amendments to the Articles required a unanimous vote between all thirteen delegates
• The Articles created a weak central government and gave all the power to the individual, independent states

✯ Shays’ Rebellion Creative Newspaper Project

• Students pretend they’re reporters for a newspaper called The Colonial Times and report on Shays’ Rebellion: the who, what, where, why, and when. 
• Includes a blank newspaper template
• Students create a headline, an illustration with caption, and write a short article
• Makes for a great bulletin board display! 

✯ From the Articles to the Constitution Comparison Worksheet

• In this final enrichment activity, students get a better understanding for how the Articles of Confederation influenced the United States Constitution by reading excerpts from the Constitution and connecting them to weaknesses from the Articles that the Framers were trying to fix!
• Great opportunity to test critical thinking and application! 

This resource comes as a non-editable, printable PDF and includes an Answer Key. There is also a digital version available through TPT Easel, which can be assigned directly to Google Classroom or shared with your students via a link!

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