Principles of the Constitution Gallery Walk

In this Principles of the Constitution Picture Analysis Gallery Walk, students analyze a gallery walk of images (including political cartoons and both historical and contemporary photographs) related to each of the seven principles of the United States Constitution. Students describe each picture, deduce the main idea, and identify which principle is being represented, explaining their analysis in their own words. This engaging activity gets students up and moving around your classroom, all while using their analytical and critical thinking skills. Perfect for middle or high school Civics, American Government, and American History students!

Compatible with the Florida State Standard for Middle School Civics:

• Standard 3: Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government. 

This Principles of the Constitution Gallery Walk includes:

✯ Seven historical and contemporary images for the Gallery Walk, each representing a different principle of the Constitution.

The seven principles of the Constitution covered are:

• Federalism
• Popular Sovereignty
• Republicanism
• Limited Government
• Individual Rights
• Checks and Balances
• Separation of Powers

Images include: historic political cartoons from World War I and World War II eras, primary source documents from history, historical photographs, and contemporary photos of present day politicians.

Examples of the images included:

• Vice President Kamala Harris poses with a young girl. (Republicanism: the principle in which citizens vote for politicians to represent themselves and their interests in government.)
• A political cartoon from 1948, in which President Harry S. Truman vetoes a bill. (Checks and Balances: each branch of government’s ability to check and balance the powers of the other two branches.)
• President Richard Nixon’s resignation letter. (Limited Government: Government is not all-powerful and has its limits, including adhering to the rule of law.)

✯ Seven historical context cards that provide background information for each photograph. These context cards will assist your students in analyzing the photographs and in connecting them to the constitutional principles.

✯ The two-page Principles of the Constitution Gallery Walk worksheet. As they complete the gallery walk, students will analyze each image. They will describe what they see, identify the main idea, and explain which principle of the Constitution relates to the image and why. (A word bank is provided.) 

✯ A Principles of the Constitution Help Sheet is provided as well. Each of the seven principles listed above are defined and explained. If necessary, students can use this sheet to help guide their analysis. 

This resource is presented as a non-editable, printable PDF. It includes answer keys. 

The TPT Easel digital version of this assignment contains only the worksheet for the Gallery Walk. Using this digital version of the worksheet, students have the option to input their answers digitally rather than write by hand. The actual gallery walk photographs are not included in this digital version. TPT Easel assignments can be assigned directly through Google Classroom, or you can generate a link that can be shared with your students over email or through your school’s LMS.

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