One Document, Under Siege by Richard Stengel

Time Magazine: Jun. 23, 2011

http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2079445,00.html
What makes this text complex (for whom) and worth reading?

Quantitative 8.7 Fleish-Kincaid, 1180 Lexile = 10
th
grade band
Qualitative article is long, has a non-traditional structure, much figurative speech,
some prior knowledge about current issues needed
Reader and Task appropriate for advanced government student more likely to have
necessary background knowledge and motivation to be curious about Constitutional
debate. Wouldnt be my first complex text/close reading exercise but would not be the
last in my 10
th
grade AP U.S. Government and Politics class.


Text Dependent Questions
1. The author suggests there is a difference in a crisis and conflict. What is the authors
main idea about all of the public debate over the meaning of the constitution? Cite
evidence from the text to support your answer. (R#2, R#1)

2. How did the author connect current political conflicts to constitutional
interpretations? (R#3,R#5)

3. The digital version of this article uses what technique to help you learn more about
the topic than what you see in print?

4. What does the author mean when he says the Constitution is in conflict with itself
when it comes to waging war? What does he mean by White Space? (R#4)

5. What evidence does the author use to support his comment the debate over raise
the debt ceiling is mostly Cable-TV playacts? (R#4)

6. What does the author mean by saying there is no law against bad laws. The remedy
for bad laws is elections? (R#4)

7. Cite three examples where the author challenges the validity of claims made by
those who say we have a Constitutional crisis. (R#8)

8. Which political party does the author blame for the perception that there is a
constitutional crisis? Support your answer with evidence from the text. (R.1)

9. "What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty?" he asked. "I often
wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws
and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty
lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no
court can even do much to help it." Judge Learned Hand
How did this quote near the end of the text help refine and sum up the authors main
idea? (R#5)

10. After reading, how would you describe the authors philosophical position, original
intent or living constitutionalist? And why? (R#10.6)