The student will explore and learn about the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the United States government.

Transcription

1 Teacher: Amy Moeller Grade: 5 th Time allotted: 45 minutes Curriculum Area: Social Studies Lesson Title: Branches of Government Lesson Overview The lesson aims to teach the main concepts of the three branches of the United States Government (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial). This lesson is the fifth lesson in the unit. The topic of this lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to review and explore new concepts about the three branches of government (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) during the direct instruction lesson on the United States Constitution. The Social Interactive Model will be used in attempts to teach social skills/roles of cooperative learning. The Social Interactive Model is used to teach the students the importance of using interpersonal skills, fulfilling social and group roles, learning from each other, and working together to achieve a common goal in cooperative groups. Academic Goal The student will explore and learn about the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the United States government. Performance Objective Given the task to compile the information from the websites about the three branches of government (see materials for list of websites) and a jigsaw chart the student will design a presentation using at least four major concepts about their assigned branch to teach to their home group.

2 Social Goal The student will learn how to cooperate with group members in learning about the three branches of the United States Government. Performance Objective Given a task to work in groups of three and the materials on the three branches of the United States Government the student will show respect, listen attentively, communicate positively and self-evaluate his or her cooperative learning skills according to the group processing rubric. Standards National Standards Grades 5-8 National Standard NSS-C Foundations of the Political System What are the Foundations of the American Political System? What is the American idea of constitutional government? What are the distinctive characteristics of American society? What is American political culture? What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy? National Standard NSS-C Principles of a Democracy How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?

3 How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution? What does the national government do? How are state and local governments organized and what do they do? Who represents you in local, state, and national governments? What is the place of law in the American constitutional system? How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation? New York State Standards Standard SS1: History of the United States and New York Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. Key Idea SS1.1: The study of New York State and United States history requires an analysis of the development of American culture, its diversity and multicultural context, and the ways people are unified by many values, practices, and traditions Performance Indicator SS1.I.1B: Students interpret the ideas, values and beliefs contained in the Declaration of Independence and the New York State Constitution and United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents. Materials/technology: Computers

4 Internet access Flashcards Jigsaw worksheet (see attached) Pens or pencils Self evaluation rubric (see attached) Paper for Interview homework assignment Handout that lists websites Technology/Informational Websites: For the Executive Branch: tm tm For the Legislative Branch: tm For the Judicial Branch: tm

5 Group Size The students will first be placed in their home groups which will be five groups of three. Then they will be organized into their expert groups which will be three groups of five. Then they will be placed back into their home groups. Roles Roles in expert groups: Leader: Initiates the group work by requesting that each group member share his or her facts about the assigned branch of government. Ensures that all members participate and stay on task to achieve their common goal. Time Keeper: Ensures that group is managing their time wisely and appropriately. Reminds class of time left to complete the goal. Internet Navigator: Controls the computer used that is shared by the group. Locates and searches the websites provided about the topic. Reads aloud the valuable information about the assigned branch of government to the group. Promoter: Encourages each group member to contribute ideas and information. Keeps the group excited and positive in achieving their goal. Synchronizer: Makes certain that each member is recording the same information on their jigsaw sheet. Before the groups break back into their home groups, looks over all information

6 recorded by each group member to validate that they will all be teaching the same information in their expert groups. Roles in home Groups: Leader: Initiates the group work by requesting that each group member share his or her facts about the assigned branch of government. Ensures that all members participate and stays on task to achieve their common goal. Time Keeper: Makes sure that each member is given an equal amount of time to present their information about their assigned branch. Ensures the group is managing their time wisely and appropriately. Reminds group of time left to complete the goal. Promoter: Encourages each group member to contribute ideas and information. Keeps the group excited and positive in achieving their goal. Anticipatory Set I will signal the student s and grasp their attention by truing the lights off and back on. Once I have gained there attention, I will ask them to look at the whiteboard. The white board will have the word cooperation written on it and pictures of students working together. I will then ask the students what these picture mean to them, how they understand cooperation and working together, and where and how they have used cooperation and working together previously. I will encourage all answers and comments in attempts to asses their prior knowledge about cooperative learning. Then I will announce that I have asked them these questions because they will be learning about the three braches of the United States Government while working together in cooperative groups.

7 Development Objective told to the students: To create understanding of why it is important to learn to work in cooperative groups and how this can be used in authentic situations the students will be presented with a tree diagram drawn on the whiteboard. The tree will be drawn with a trunk and three branches. The trunk will be labels The three branches of Government. The tree will symbolize togetherness, as well as, individuality and how the two can be combined to achieve a common purpose. In addition, the trunk will represent the structure of government and the branches will represent the three branches of government. The students will be told to take out a piece of paper and sketch the tree drawn on the whiteboard. Then they will be asked to label the three branches on the tree with what they think are the correct names. After the students label their trees, I will explain that the branches should have been labeled with the three branches of government (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial). The students will then be told that the trunk of the tree represents the common purpose or goal and each and individual branch represents the parts needed to come together to reach that goal. I will explain to the students that for this activity each branch of the tree will be represented by them as an individual and the trunk of the tree will be the cooperative groups they work in to achieve a common goal. I will encourage cooperative group work by explaining that the branches of the tree and the trunk need each other in order to survive. I will continue by explaining how this is just like their groups (each member s contributions are needed for the group to survive) and working together in real life situations.

8 Body of the Lesson: The Jigsaw method will be used. I will place the students in to groups of three by using their clock buddy sheets and asking them to get with their twelve and three o clock buddies (clock buddy sheets would have been made prior to the unit). Each group will be given a set of three flashcards with the braches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) written on it. I will then ask each them to each take one of the flashcards. I will explain the branch of government they have on their card is what they are responsible for learning about and presenting to their two other members in their group. I will then explain that these groups are their home groups and they must remember each others faces because they will meet back soon and teach each other. I will explain that they must choose a way to present the information to their other groups members. They will be given the choices of writing a paragraph, making a letter size poster, or using a mnemonic devise. In addition, they will be told all of the three choices must include at least four concepts about their branch. The students will be given the rubric so they are aware of what they are expected to do as far as using cooperative learning skills. Then, the students will be asked to get into the groups by the branch of government that they have. I will designate areas for each branch of government group to meet and ask them to go to those areas. The students will be told that these are their expert groups. I will have the roles for the groups written on the whiteboard (see above for roles). The students will be told to designate the roles to members in the group, so that, each member has a job. I will answer any questions regarding the roles in order to ensure they are clear. Then each group will be given a handout (see attached) that lists the websites that accompany the branch they are assigned to. The students will be told to visit all the websites on the list and write down all the information they feel is valuable about their branch on their jigsaw worksheets in the proper section. I will remind them that they will be teaching this information to their other members in

9 their home groups, so it is important to find and understand the information because they are responsible for others understanding of it as well as their own. The students will then be given fifteen minutes to find the information about their braches and record it on their sheets. After fifteen minutes, I will ask the students to go back to their home groups and spend fifteen minutes creating presentation to their other group members, using one of the three choices. I will briefly go over the three choices and requirements for the presentations to ensure understanding. After fifteen minutes, they will be referred to the whiteboard list of the appropriate roles of the home groups and ask them to designate these roles as. I will then explain to the students that they need to present to each other and write down the information, so that, everyone has a completed jigsaw worksheet. The students will then be given Time to teach each other in their home groups. Then a brief class discussion will take place to facilitate whole class learning. I will ask each group to share on piece of information found about each branch of government. Guided Practice/Monitoring Cooperative Learning Process: Positive interdependence will be ensured through the group members responsibilities for presenting to their home groups the information found in their expert groups. Each group member will understand that their information about their assigned branch is essential for the other members in group to complete their jigsaw sheets. Individual accountability is ensured through each group member understanding they can not achieve the goal of having a completed jigsaw worksheet without contributing their facts and depending on their other members for the other facts. I will ensure both positive interdependence and individual accountability is occurring by observing each group and group member and keeping track of their contributions to the group to achieve the common goal. The importance of fulfilling roles and duties will be stressed during my explanation and direction of the lesson, as

10 well as, during the lesson when I walk around scaffolding. Social skills and face to face interaction will occur throughout the lesson while the students are working in both home groups and expert groups. I will do so by asking them to make eye contact when they speak listen to others when they are speaking, respecting each other, and communicating in a clear way. If one student seems to be lacking in this area they will be encouraged and guided so that they are able to achieve the social objective. Group processing will occur by the students filling out a self evaluation rubric (see attached) that will facilitate reflection and feedback. Closure Closure of the lesson topic will be done through the short class discussion requiring the students to participate as a group to contribute facts they have learned about the branches of government. I encourage the students to examine the thought process used to find social interactive patterns by asking to them to share with their groups and then the class what types of skills they needed to use in working together (e.g., listening attentively, communicating positively and showing respect) and how these skills can be used in everyday experiences. The students will be given time to reflect on how cooperative learning helped them in the personal process of learning by completing the self evaluation rubric (see attached). They will first complete the form individually and then share with their group and the class. Independent Practice The students will be given a homework assignment that requires them to interview two people outside their class, ask them to contribute any information they have about the three branches of government, record the information, write a

11 positive thing they liked about speaking and interacting with that person, and having both interview participants sign the sheet. In addition, the students will be asked to write an appreciation card to a group member about the contributions they made to their learning. These assignments will make certain that the students are using social skills and cooperation in a new situation to reinforce information about the lesson topic. Assessment Diagnostic: The students prior knowledge of cooperative learning will be assessed in the anticipatory set by contributing answers and comments to the questions posed about cooperative learning (see above) to the class discussion. Formative: During the lesson I will observe and complete checklists to ensure the students are using cooperative learning skills and achieving the social objective. In addition, I will observe the students to ensure they are reaching the academic objective as well. Summative: Cooperative learning skills will be assessed by the self evaluation rubric form (see attached). In addition, the complete jigsaw worksheets, interview homework assignment and appreciation cards (used in independent practice) will also be used in assessing mastery and achievement of both the social and academic objectives. Critique Questions Did the anticipatory set encourage the students to interact and understand the importance of cooperative learning? Was I clear in explaining the objective and purpose of cooperative learning to the students?

12 Did I explain the objective so that it was authentic to the students? Did the students understand the impotence of designating roles in the groups and why this is beneficial to cooperative learning? Did the list of roles give the students duties and purpose? Did I implement the lesson so that the students effectively achieved positive interdependence, individual accountability, group processing, social skills, and face-to-face interaction? Did my closure encourage students to examine the thought process used to find Social Interactive patterns and draw conclusions in their group projects? Did my independent practice activities incorporate ways of applying concepts of cooperation, social skills in new situations? Was I able to perform assessments that ensured that students properly achieved both the academic and social goals, individually and as a group? Overall, did my lesson as a whole encourage the students to understand the importance of cooperative learning?

13 Jigsaw worksheet: Name Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch

14 Self Evaluation Rubric: Taken from Name Group Beginning 1 Developing 2 Accomplished 3 Exemplary 4 Scor e Contribute Research & Gather Information Does not collect any information that relates to the topic. Collects very little information-- some relates to the topic. Collects some basic information-- most relates to the topic. Collects a great deal of information- -all relates to the topic. Share Information Does not relay any information to teammates. Relays very little information-- some relates to the topic. Relays some basic information-- most relates to the topic. Relays a great deal of information- -all relates to the topic. Be Punctual Does not hand in any assignments. Hands in most assignments late. Hands in most assignments on time. Hands in all assignments on time. Take Responsibility Fulfill Team Role's Duties Does not perform any duties of assigned team role. Performs very little duties. Performs nearly all duties. Performs all duties of assigned team role. Participate in Science Conference Does not speak during the science conference. Either gives too little information or information which is irrelevant to topic. Offers some information-- most is relevant. Offers a fair amount of important information- -all is relevant.

15 Share Equally Always relies on others to do the work. Rarely does the assigned work--often needs reminding. Usually does the assigned work-- rarely needs reminding. Always does the assigned work without having to be reminded. Value Others' Viewpoints Listen to Other Teammates Is always talking-- never allows anyone else to speak. Usually doing most of the talking-- rarely allows others to speak. Listens, but sometimes talks too much. Listens and speaks a fair amount. Cooperate with Teammates Usually argues with teammates. Sometimes argues. Rarely argues. Never argues with teammates. Make Fair Decisions Usually wants to have things their way. Often sides with friends instead of considering all views. Usually considers all views. Always helps team to reach a fair decision. Total