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Why Changing the Constitution Is Hard on Purpose

8th grade nonfiction passage about amending the Constitution: 256 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction amending the Constitution 256 words

Why Changing the Constitution Is Hard on Purpose

The Constitution was written to last, but its authors knew that a nation changes over time. They included a way to alter the document, described in Article Five. The process is deliberately demanding. Changing the nation's highest law should require wide agreement, not just the wishes of a narrow majority on a single day.

The usual path has two main stages. First, an amendment must be proposed. In the path used for every amendment so far, two thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate must vote in favor. Second, the amendment must be ratified, which means approved by three fourths of the states. Each state decides through its legislature, or in some cases through a special convention. The president has no formal role in the amendment process, and no veto over it.

This demanding standard explains why the Constitution has been amended only twenty-seven times. Thousands of changes have been suggested over the years, but most never gained enough support. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were added within a few years of the Constitution's approval.

Because the bar is so high, an amendment that succeeds usually reflects a broad agreement across regions and communities. The slow pace can be frustrating to people who want quick change, but it also protects a nation from altering its foundation in the heat of a passing argument. Ordinary laws, in contrast, can be changed much more easily, which is why the Constitution is called the supreme law of the land.

Questions

  1. Which part of the Constitution describes how it can be changed? in the text

  2. How many votes in Congress are needed to propose an amendment? in the text

  3. What share of the states must ratify an amendment? in the text

  4. How many times has the Constitution been amended? in the text

  5. Why did the authors make the process so demanding? think about it

  6. How can a slow pace protect a nation? think about it

Words to know

amendment
a change or addition to the Constitution
ratified
formally approved so that it becomes official
legislature
the group that makes the laws for a state or nation
veto
the power to say no to a law
foundation
the basic part that everything else rests on
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.8

The Constitution was written to last. Its authors knew that a nation changes over time. So they included a way to change the document. It is described in Article Five. The process is hard on purpose. Changing the nation's highest law should need wide agreement. It should not depend on a narrow majority on a single day.

The usual path has two main stages. First, an amendment must be proposed. In the path used for every amendment so far, two thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate must vote yes. Second, the amendment must be ratified. That means three fourths of the states must approve it. Each state decides through its legislature, or sometimes through a special convention. The president has no formal part in this process and no veto over it.

This hard standard explains why the Constitution has been amended only twenty-seven times. Thousands of changes have been suggested. Most never got enough support. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights. They were added within a few years after the Constitution was approved.

Because the bar is so high, an amendment that succeeds usually shows broad agreement. The slow pace can be annoying to people who want quick change. But it also keeps a nation from changing its foundation in the heat of a passing argument. Ordinary laws are much easier to change. That is why the Constitution is called the supreme law of the land.

▲ This passage · 256 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9

The Constitution was written to last, but its authors knew that a nation changes over time. They included a way to alter the document, described in Article Five. The process is deliberately demanding. Changing the nation's highest law should require wide agreement, not just the wishes of a narrow majority on a single day.

The usual path has two main stages. First, an amendment must be proposed. In the path used for every amendment so far, two thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate must vote in favor. Second, the amendment must be ratified, which means approved by three fourths of the states. Each state decides through its legislature, or in some cases through a special convention. The president has no formal role in the amendment process, and no veto over it.

This demanding standard explains why the Constitution has been amended only twenty-seven times. Thousands of changes have been suggested over the years, but most never gained enough support. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were added within a few years of the Constitution's approval.

Because the bar is so high, an amendment that succeeds usually reflects a broad agreement across regions and communities. The slow pace can be frustrating to people who want quick change, but it also protects a nation from altering its foundation in the heat of a passing argument. Ordinary laws, in contrast, can be changed much more easily, which is why the Constitution is called the supreme law of the land.

■ Harder · 278 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.7

The Constitution was composed to endure, yet its authors understood that a nation inevitably changes over time. They therefore included a mechanism for altering the document, which is described in Article Five. The process is deliberately demanding, because changing the nation's highest law ought to require broad agreement rather than merely the wishes of a narrow majority on a single day.

The usual path has two principal stages. First, an amendment must be proposed. In the path that has been used for every amendment so far, two thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate must vote in favor. Second, the amendment must be ratified, which means that it has to be approved by three fourths of the states. Each state reaches its decision through its legislature or, in some cases, through a special convention. The president has no formal role in the amendment process and holds no veto over it.

This exacting standard explains why the Constitution has been amended only twenty-seven times. Thousands of changes have been suggested over the years, but the great majority never attracted enough support. The first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were added within a few years of the Constitution's approval.

Because the bar is set so high, an amendment that succeeds generally reflects a broad agreement across regions and communities. The slow pace can be frustrating to people who want swift change, yet it also protects a nation from altering its foundation in the heat of a passing argument. Ordinary laws, by contrast, can be changed far more easily, which is why the Constitution is called the supreme law of the land.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put amendment, ratified, legislature, veto and foundation on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Why Changing the Constitution Is Hard on Purpose"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 256 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.9. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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