Summary

Transition

Monday Direct Instruction Before instruction students will be given a pre-test to determine their prior knowledge of the subject. They may only have used the knowledge gained from Ch. 3 in their textbook, which they were directed to read over the weekend before beginning todays class. Students will be taught the basics of the US Constitution through a Power Point presentation. They will then complete a handout concerning the number of words in each part of the constitution as guided practice and individual practice. This lesson transitions into the next days lesson by giving an overview that leads to more specific instruction on the principles of American democratic politics.

Tuesday Concept Development In this lesson students will be brainstorming the ideas surrounding the fundamental principles of American democratic politics. They will then find the connections between the principles (assessment identifiers) and create groupings and labels, those will be used to formulate a concept of the larger idea: constitutional democracy. The purpose of this lesson is to establish a base knowledge of the principles that go into maintaining the constitutional democracy of the United States.

Wednesday Cooperative Learning In this lesson students will learn about the Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments to the constitution. During the lesson they will have the opportunity to gather information about each of the first 10 Amendments and formulate their own ideas about amending the constitution. They will then be guided into a graffiti model, answering questions on large sheets of paper and rotating stations.

Thursday Inquiry In this lesson students will be guided in a discussion of primary documents and sources. They then will complete an exercise to practice determining the credibility of sources. After they have completed this activity they will then complete one additional credibility check at home and complete an at home essay evaluating a source of their own.

Friday Integration Students will be guided in a discussion of the laws that govern local, state and federal governments. We will discuss how different issues are handled at each level, and who decides the law for a variety of circumstances. Students will then use technology to research the laws at the local, state and federal level and then present their findings before the class. They will also be given a study guide for their test on Monday.

Monday Post -Test Students will be given a posttest as a final grade for this unit. They will have the entirety of the class to complete the test.

This lesson transitions into the next days lesson by providing information on the principles of American democratic politics, which facilitates further learning on the constitution and bill of rights.

This lesson transitions well into the next lesson by providing small practice with researching a topic, which is crucial to the Inquiry lesson.

This lesson transitions well into the nest days lesson by giving the students an understanding of credibility of sources, which they will use to complete the Integration chart.

This lesson wraps up our discussion of government, the Constitution and American democratic politics. It ends with a study guide which prepares students for the post test on Monday.