Influential Documents Book Cover Project for American Government

This one-pager project is a fun, creative way to review the influential documents of American government! Students show off their comprehension by designing a book cover, title, and blurb for one of the founding documents of the American government. Choose from Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta, Common Sense, or the Social Contract!

(This creative project is included in the Colonists’ Library Activity Set. That resource includes a 5-page article, 2-page review, a matching activity, and this Book Cover project. I’ve made the Matching Activity as well as this Book Cover available as stand-alone items for teachers who don’t need the full reading passage and review!)

In this project, students craft a book cover for one of the following influential documents from American Government:

• Magna Carta
• English Bill of Rights
• Mayflower Compact
• Common Sense
• the Social Contract

On the front cover, students are asked to include:

• The Title of the Document
• An illustration that represents the document’s Big Ideas

Then, they are asked to create a blurb for the back cover, a paragraph describing the document and enticing readers to buy it. The back cover should include:

• A Summary of the document
• When the document was written
• Who wrote it
• Why it was so important

Aligned to Florida State Standards for Civics, SS.7.C.1.4 The Enlightenment and its Influences and SS.7.C.1.3 Influential Documents, this project makes for a fun, creative way for students to show off their talents and prove their comprehension of these major influential documents. Plus, they look great displayed on a bulletin board of student work!

The resource comes as a non-editable, printable PDF with a book cover template, rubric, and two samples that can be printed out and shown to students. 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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