Foundations of Government: Influential Documents Review Activities

This Influential Documents Civics Review Kit includes four pages of review puzzles that cover vocabulary terms and key ideas on the founding documents of American History: the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, The Mayflower Compact, and Common Sense, as well as the concept of the Social Contract. The worksheets include a maze escape, a crossword puzzle, a word search, and an emoji riddle activity. Use these puzzles as review at the end of your unit — they also make a great, easy sub plan! 

This resource is aligned to the following Florida State Standards for Middle School Civics:

• Standard SS.7.CG.1.3 Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had on colonists’ views of government. 
• Standard SS.7.CG.1.4 Recognize how Enlightenment ideas including Montesquieu’s view of separation of power and John Locke’s theories related to natural law and how Locke’s social contract influenced the Founding Fathers.

This resource includes:

✯ A Maze Escape. Students navigate the maze of review questions by drawing a straight line through each correct answer. Questions cover key concepts related to the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Social Contract, and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

Sample questions in the Maze Escape:

• This document inspired the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. (English Bill of Rights, Standard SS.7.CL.1.4.)
• People are all born with these inherent privileges. (Natural rights, Standard SS.7.CL.1.5.)
• Whose power was limited by the Magna Carta? (The King of England, Standard SS.7.CL.1.4.)

✯ A Vocabulary Crossword with key words related to the founding documents.

Sample Crossword clues include:

• Before the Enlightenment, it was believed monarchs had this type of God-given right to rule. (Divine Right)
• Their 1689 Bill of Rights limited the power of the Crown and established citizens’ rights. (English)
• Colonists were encouraged to support the Revolutionary War in the pamphlet Common ___. (Sense)

✯ A Vocabulary Word Search with a word bank full of vocabulary terms.

• Sample words from the Word Bank: Enlightenment, John Locke, Montesquieu, liberty, tyranny, self-government, checks and balances, habeas corpus, Mayflower Compact, Magna Carta 

✯ An Emoji Riddle activity. Students decipher emoji codes that represent key vocabulary words. A super fun activity! (Happy Teacher Tip: Extend this game by challenging students to come up with their own emoji codes for other vocab words!)

✯ Answer keys for each activity!

This review is made to follow a unit on the United States’ government’s influential documents, such as my resource The Colonists’ Library | Foundations of Government: Influential Documents. This is great for a sub day, extra enrichment, homework, or as end-of-the-year review before exams!

This resource is presented as a non-editable, printable PDF. It includes an answer key. A digital version is also available through TPT Easel! Easel Activities can be assigned directly to your Google Classroom, or you can generate a link to share with students via email or your LMS!

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