6.2C – Read the Text #3: Practicing Fluency
Read the module text again with a partner or in a small group.
Take notes:
- Do you still have questions about words or ideas in the module text?
- Ask your classmates or teacher – make sure to cite the paragraph numbers where you have questions (and where you find the answers)!
READING TEXT
Module 6: Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments
PARAGRAPH 1
The United States Constitution was written in the late 1700s. There have been 27 amendments (additions and changes) to the original document. The first ten amendments are named the “Bill of Rights”. These amendments protect individual rights and limit the power of the federal government. The next 17 amendments explain voting rights, citizenship, and presidential power.
PARAGRAPH 2
The United States Constitution was ratified by the states in 1789. It created a strong national government, but some leaders wanted more protection for an individual’s rights. These early American leaders wanted to see these rights added to the Constitution. Therefore, the leaders wrote the first ten amendments. States then ratified the Bill of Rights in 1791.
PARAGRAPH 3
The first amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees certain freedoms for all people living in the United States. It allows for the freedom of speech, religion, and the right to meet together to discuss political ideas (“freedom of assembly”). Other amendments in the Bill of Rights include the right to own a gun, and the legal protection that the police can’t search a person or a place without a good reason. If a person is accused of a crime, they must have a trial quickly, with a lawyer. If a court decides they are guilty of a crime, people are also protected from receiving extremely cruel punishment.
PARAGRAPH 4
After certain events in American history, lawmakers and citizens fought to make amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Many of the remaining 17 amendments help make our laws more fair to all people living in the U.S. For example, after the American Civil War, important amendments were added. These amendments said that no person can be enslaved or owned by another person and that all people must be treated equally under the law. Other amendments defined voting rights and some are about the government’s powers. For example, one amendment gives the government the power to tax the people, while another says that the president can only serve two terms.
PARAGRAPH 5
The Constitution guarantees certain rights to everyone in America, but sometimes people’s rights can be violated or taken away. When this happens, people have the power to fight for their rights by protesting, getting help from community organizations, or by getting help from the legal system. Women, minorities, the disabled, people of all sexual orientations, and many others have used these methods to protect and expand their rights. For example, women fought for the right to vote for many decades before it became an amendment to the Constitution in 1920. The U.S. Constitution is called a “living document” because it grows and changes over time as society evolves.
Let’s review the words
Dictation: What do you hear?
When someone is speaking to you, it’s very important that you understand what they’re saying. For practice, listen to the following sentences from the reading and write what you exactly hear on a piece of paper. You can listen to it as many times as you want. Then, type the sentences into the spaces below and check and see if they are correct.
