Introduction
The Revolutionary War started in 1775, after Americans were tired of being ruled by King George III and his tax laws. The Americans fought against the British until 1781 in which they won the war in Yorktown, Virginia. After the war, the Articles of Confederation was written. It stated that states still had their own power which ended up being stronger than the national government. States had separate armies, their own currency, different rules, and no one wanted to pay taxes for the war.
Men from all the states gathered together in Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention in 1887 to help form a new constitution. The men of the Constitutional Convention were known as the "Founding Fathers" Though there were many Founding Fathers, three men are best known for helping write the US Constitution: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and James Madison.
Task
The four Founding Fathers listed helped out tremendously during the time America developed the U.S. Constitution. Your task is to find information about one of the Founding Fathers and write a one page biography on them with as much detail as possible.
Process
Step 1:
You and your partner are to go to the websites for EACH of the Founding Fathers to gather information to see which one you would like to do a research paper on. You must work together and choose only one.
* Benjamin Franklin: 
- http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_citizen_founding.html
- http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/facts-about-benjamin-franklin.html
* Georgie Washington: 
- factsforkids.net/george-washington-facts-for-kids/
- http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-washington
*James Madison: 
- http://www.american-historama.org/presidents-united-states/james-madison.htm
- http://www.fun-facts.org.uk/american-presidents/james-madison.htm
Step 2:
Once you both have decided which Founding Father you would like to do your research paper on, you will need to go back to the website and do a brainstorming web that includes four to five brainstorming ideas. Make sure your ideas can be backed up with a lot of information to go into your biography. ( "He is a man at the Constitutional Convention" is unacceptable!) You both should have your own separate brainstorming webs.
Step 3:
When you both are done jotting down information in your brainstorming webs you will need to, on a separate sheet of paper, write your research paper about your chosen Founding Father. This will need to be done individually and turned in by yourself.
Evaluation
As you are researching your Founding Father, I will be walking around the room to make sure that you are staying on task, looking at the correct websites given, and answering any questions you may have.
When you are creating your brainstorming web and writing your research paper, I will continue to walk around and answer any questions that you may have.
**Remember!! Make complete sentences and always look back over your paper. You also need to let your partner look over your paper.
Conclusion
The students will research a Founding Father, brainstorm ideas, and then write a research paper. Once all students have had a chance to finish the activity, they will come together in groups that have chosen the same Founding Father, discuss their findings, and then discuss it as a whole in whole group time to the whole class.