Lesson Plan and Assessment Scheme Introduction Subject: Civics/Government Grade: 9th grade Content: The Branches of Government

Class Time: 86 minutes (Block Schedule) Unit Time: 2- 2 weeks Materials: Each student will have their own copy of the Constitution, and a Civics textbook. Background: The lesson is set in the middle of a unit based on the powers of the branches of government in the United States. Students have already been introduced to the Constitution and have read it in class with a detailed break down of the preamble and the articles. They have also been introduced to the history of the formation of the US government including, the Revolution, the formation of the Articles of Confederation and the formation of the Constitution. The students know that the Constitution grants powers to each branch of the government, and have already studied the executive and judicial branches of the government and what powers are held those branches. The students do not know about the functions of legislative branch, and the checks and balances that are in place. In addition, at the beginning of the course, the students had the experience of visiting the state capitol building. During this trip the students went on a tour of the building and also had the chance to view the legislative chamber while it was in use. The students witnessed a legislative session that included the introduction of a bill to the legislator and debate between the bills supporters and the opposition. Lesson Plan: Students will take in depth look at the legislative branch and the two sections of this branch. They will learn about the functions of the Senate and the House of Representatives and how the individual affects these institutions of government. The students will also be able to learn how a bill becomes a law and how this process is reflective of the checks and balances of the government. Having students learn about checks and balances and the separation of powers is key to understanding how the government works and what actions each branch of the government is responsible for. It is also important for students to understand how the duties prescribed by the constitution are shown today and demonstrating the endurance of the founding principles. They students will be asked to analyze how these powers and checks and balances reflect the basis of the American identity and the American governmental system. Objectives This lesson plan is specifically tailored to meet the citizenship and government standards set by the state of Minnesota. The encompassing standard that this lesson focuses on is Governmental Institutions and Political Processes. At the end of this lesson students should be able to identify that The United States government has specific functions that are determined by the way that power is delegated and controlled among various bodies: the three level (federal, state, local) and the three

branches (legislative, executive, judicial) of government1. Students should be able to answer: What are the three branches of government? Which article in the Constitution enumerates powers to the executive branch? Which article in the Constitution enumerates powers to the legislative branch? Which article in the constitution enumerates powers to the judicial branch? What are the powers of the executive branch? What are the powers of the legislative branch? What are the powers of the judicial branch? How does a bill become a law? How are individuals involved in the three branches of government? What are the checks and balances between the three branches? Procedure Day 1 Legislative Branch and its Powers and Responsibilities Intro o At the beginning of class I will start by asking the students to recall their trip to the state capitol. Ask them about what they observed. What was happening when they were watching the legislative chamber? What were the duties of the legislators? How are bills made into laws? Pay attention to the answers students are giving and what their preconceived notions are about the legislative branch and what was observed correctly and what was extrapolated. o Tell students that they will be learning about the national branches of government and explain that although they saw a state Capitol, the national government functions in the same capacity. Legislative Branch o Divided into two parts or bicameral (Senate and House of Representatives) o Powers of this branch are listed in Article 1 on the Constitution Questions to ask students What is a legislator and who is in charge of it? What do you know about the two parts of the legislative branch? Do the parts work together or separately? Why do you think that founders set up the legislative branch this way? What ideals present in the US today are reflected in the formation of the legislative branch?

2011 Social Studies Standards and Benchmarks. Minneapolis: Minnesota Department of Education, 2011. PDF.

o If students are having trouble responding to the questions in a whole class discussion, have students work in partners to formulate ideas and then have return the discussion to a whole class activity. Senate o Number of Senators per state is equal for each state o 2 per state o 100 total members o Each senator is elected to a 6 year term o Questions to Ask students Is the Senate based on proportional representation? What was the idea of the Senate based on and why? o Have students, in pairs, look at their copy of the Constitution and find the powers held by the senate Ratifies treaties Ratifies appointments of cabinet positions, Supreme Court and Federal Court judges and other officials Conducts trials after impeachment- can convict and remove o Have the students as a whole class list the powers held by the Senate and have them create a diagram of those powers with pictures or some type of physical representation. Why does the senate have these powers? What would be an example of a time when these powers were used? o Show students examples of when the senate has used its powers Example: Bill Clinton impeachment trial video. West Wing video of approval of Court appointment. House of Representatives o Number of Representatives per state is based upon the population of each state. o 435 total members o Each Representative to the House serves a 2-year term. o Questions to ask students How are the House of Representatives and the Senate different and why? What is the House of Representatives based on and why? o Present a map of the United States and ask the students to identify the state that they believe has the most representatives and ask them why they believe that Show them a map of the US that represents the states in terms of the amount of representatives they have. How is having the Representatives based on population a good/bad thing? o Have students in pairs/small groups look at the Constitution again and find the powers held by the House of Representatives.

Must pass all spending bills before they go to the Senate Can bring Articles of Impeachment (official statement of charges and request to remove from office) against members of the executive and judicial branch. o Have the students, as a whole class, list the powers of the House of Representatives and have them add to the diagram of the Senate powers with pictures or some type of physical representation Why does the House of Representatives have these powers? What would be an example of these powers? o Show students examples of the powers that the HoR holds. Example: Find Example The Senate and The House o The House and Senate have powers the they must do together o Have students look through the Constitution and have them add to the diagram of the powers the two chambers must do together. Must both pass a bill in order for it to become a law. Must both vote to override a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote in order to override. Must both vote to propose and amendment by a 2/3 vote. End the class with a explaining an assignment for the next day. Tell students to reflect on the bill that was being debated when they were at the state capitol and have them write down one or two ideas of how the bill come to being for the next class.

Day 2 How a Bill Becomes a Law (Detailed Day) Step One: Have students come in and sit down at their desks. On the board at the front of class I will have written a question that pertains to the material that will be taught in class. The question for this day would be Based on your observations from the trip to the state capitol, what steps do you think are included in the process of making a bill into a law? o This is how every class starts with a question and discussion to assess what previous knowledge the students have. Step Two: I will ask the class to share their ideas of what is included in the process of bill making. o Based on your observations, what do you think would be a step in a bill becoming a law? Example Responses The Congress people have to debate the bill. There has to be a vote The President has to sign it into law o How does a bill start?

Example Responses With an idea With a problem that needs to be fixed Who can write a bill? Example Responses A Congressperson A citizen A lobbyist How is a bill introduced to Congress? Example Responses By the citizens By the Congress person What happens after a bill is introduced to Congress? Who debates it? Example Responses All of the Representatives Specific groups Committees How and when do Members of Congress vote on a bill? Example Responses After the debate ends By role call On a piece of paper After the bill has had changes made to it How do the House and Senate work together in this process? Example Responses They both have to vote on the bill The bill must be the same in both chambers Override presidential veto What powers does the President exercise during this process? Example Responses Veto Power Executive Order How does this process reflect the ideals that our Constitution was formed on? Example Responses Government by the people for the people Fairness Equality During this discussion I will be looking for what their ideas are and will only be listing them on the board. If the students are stuck or cannot come up with an idea I will ask them to discuss the question in pairs and then bring the discussion back to the whole class.

Step Three: Ok. Im now going to show the total process of how a bill becomes a law. This video is a little old but the process is still the same. This worksheet that I am passing out to you is yours to keep. If you could fill in the steps while watching the video its to your advantage. o Show students the video Im just a Bill and hand out a flow chart for them to fill in while watching the video. Step Four: Give students time to finish filling out the sheet. Does anyone have any questions? Step Four: This is a bill that is currently in Congress right now. o Give the students a hand out of a bill that is currently being debated in Congress today (have the bill relate to the students life such as education reform) Step Five: Ask the students about the bill o Who would this bill help? o Would it hurt anyone? o What would happen if this bill became a law? o What would change if this bill become a law? Step Six: This bill is a starting point for our next activity. Im going to have each of you come up with an idea or problem that you would want made into a law. Ill give you 10 minutes to form a bill with this idea. You can look at the bill that I have given you if you need help with the format. Include the reasons why you think the bill should be made into law and who it would help. o Give some examples such as Making the official start time for high school students 10:00 am. Requiring all students to wear uniforms to school. Mandating all high school athletes maintain a 3.0 GPA to play sports. o While the students are working on their bill, I will be walking around the classroom to see the progress they are making and answer any questions any student may have. Step Seven: Ok Ladies and Gentlemen, if you could pass your bills to the front of the class. We are now going to split into two groups, everyone on the left side of the classroom with is the House of Representatives and everyone on the right side will is the Senate. o Split the class into two equal groups. One section will be the House of Representatives one will be the Senate. The class size will determine the size of the groups but with a class of 30 I would split the group 15/15. Step Eight: When you are in you are divided into two sides, please get into groups of five. These will be the committees that make up the Senate and the House of Representatives. o The two groups will then further be divided into 2 or 3 committees, if the class is split 15/15 I would divide the group into 3 groups of 5 people.

Step Nine: I have separated the bills into categories and each committee will get 5 bills to discuss. I will give you 10 minutes to discuss each bill, the pros and cons, and chose which bill you all, as a group, think has the most potential to become a law. o I will separate the bills into three piles by topics and give each committee the bills from one topic. I will then have the students have discussion in committees regarding whether or not the bill has the potential from passing. I will be walking around the classroom and sitting down with groups that may be off task or the ones that are having difficult time coming up with ideas. Step Ten: Has everyone chosen a bill? Good, now as a whole group, the House will discuss the three bills that the committees have chosen and then a vote will take place. If a majority votes yes on the bill, the opposite group will have discussion and then they will vote. I will give you 15 minutes to discuss as a group. o I again will be walking around the classroom and observe the groups discussion. If appropriate I will ask a question to guide them into a topic of conversation on the bill, if they are stuck on the pros and cons of a topic. Step Ten: If you have finished your discussion we will vote. I will read the bills that have been chosen and ask for you to raise your hand if you vote yes on the bill. If a bill is voted on and a majority of the group votes yes then the other group will have discussion and then a vote. o I will ask students who vote yes on the bill to raise their hands and continue this process for all three bills. I will then have the bill(s) that had a yes majority be discussed with the other group. Step Eleven: Repeat Step Ten with opposite group so that each group (The Senate and the House of Representatives) have discussed each others bills. Step Twelve: If you have all discussed the pros and cons of each bill, we will now take the final vote. The bill(s) that are passed with a majority in both groups will be sent will brought to me for signature or veto. o Students will vote for each of the bills in their corresponding groups. After the vote I will review the bills and decide whether to vote for the bill or veto it. Step Thirteen: I want you to reflect on this experience. How did you feel during it? What was good/bad? Do you think that this is the most effective method to pass a bill? How do you feel about the bills that were passed? o After the activity is completed and a (the) bill(s) have been passed, I will ask the students to reflect on their experience in their notebook. I will do this with activities throughout the year to have students assess their own experiences and knowledge. I want them to be able to have their individual ideas before sharing them with the class.

Step Fourteen: Please remember your reflections for next class period. We will be discussing the activity and how it relates to each of the three branches.

Day 3 Checks and Balances Intro o At the beginning of class I will start by asking the students to read their reflections from the day before. After having them review their own information I will call the class together for discussion. I will have the students go through each of the questions that were posed the day before. These questions included How did you feel during it? What was good/bad? Do you think that this is the most effective method to pass a bill? How do you feel about the bills that were passed? How was this process reflective of the ideals set forth by our founders? During this time I will try to ask questions the lead the students to a greater understanding or to challenge their thinking about the topics, especially the questions the deal with larger theme issues such as the source of authority and the method of passing a bill. This type of scaffolding with help students think about the issues in a guided or framed manner, without telling them the answer, effectively having them be the source of knowledge and challenging them to be in learning high within their ZPD. Checks and Balances o While the students are recalling the process of the activity, ask the students about the how each of the branches worked together. Question to ask students How do the Executive and Judicial branches balance/check each other? How do the Judicial and Legislative branches balance/check each other? How do the Legislative and Executive branches balance/check each other? What value or ideal from the revolution does separation of powers support? o Have students, in pairs look at their copy of the Constitution and find the checks/balances held by each branch of the government. President has veto power Congress can override Presidential veto

President appoints Judicial appointments Congress approves Presidential appointments Judicial can declare Presidential Act and law unconstitutional o Present to the whole class an overhead of a flow chart that they have to fill in with this information. As a class, the students will fill out the flow chart that has nothing but pictures of the branches of government. o After the class fills out the chart with all of the appropriate information I will then move to a discussion of these powers. Example questions to ask students Why did the founders develop this system of checks and balances? How is this a reflection of the ideals in the Constitution? Is this in action today? o Give students time to research examples of past and current uses of checks and balances. I will be walking around the room during this time to help any students that are struggling and to keep the students on task. o After students have had time to research concrete examples, I will ask them to share with the class. We will then have a further discussion about the checks and balances system. Questions to ask students What is the most prevalent checks/balance used today? Is our system effective/efficient? How could we improve our checks and balances system? How is this type of system a reflection of democratic values? End the class with introducing the performance assessment that will be due at the end of the unit. This assessment will be further detailed in the assessment scheme.

Modifications for Diverse Learners Day One Have copy of Constitution that is translated into current day language or even a more simple language. Have students work in partner activities pairing a learner that understands the material better with those who are struggling. Give worksheets that are already partially filled out to those who struggle with English as a second language or to those that need extra structure in forming notes. (This can be given for both of the parts of Congress). Day Two Have a sheet with the format of the bill, with fill in the blank spots for additional information.

Have the worksheet that goes along with the movie already filled out, or partially filled out with pictures of each of the steps. Use picture representations for each of the steps of how a bill becomes a law. Have the example of a current bill broken down into small factoids, for easier reading and understanding. In the group activity pair, make sure students that are struggling are not placed in the same group, but rather placed in a group with people who understand the topic more fully. When writing the reflection, have the students draw pictures or write simple facts about how they felt and the responses to the questions. Day Three Give students a starting point of where to research for examples of the checks and balances system. Have a sheet with some examples already listed. Give a worksheet about checks and balances that is partially structured, not just blank. Let the students who are struggling work in pairs or in small groups while researching the topic. Rationale Learning Theories At the beginning of each class, I plan for the students to have a Thinking Question. This question would always be in regards to the information that I would be teaching in the class that day. This question is used both for the purpose of having students reflect on previous knowledge and experiences they have, but also for me to know what those previous experiences are. This would be one way to assess what schemas the students hold about the information that they will be learning about that day. By having the students talk about their schemas in the beginning of class, I can tailor the questions and presentation of information to either challenge their correct understanding further, or frame the questions to create cognitive dissonance with an incorrect schema (CLT). After the introductory Thinking Question, I would move into creating cognitive dissonance with follow-up questions (CLT). For example, if a student during the day one lesson were to believe that the branches of the government operate separately and that one branch held all of the power, I would ask the student to reflect about the ideals presented in the Constitution and the ideas the formed the country. I would form the question to have the student realize that the country was based on moving away from the concentrated power that existed in England and to form a more equal distribution of power. By having these leading questions I am planting a seed of discontent within the student about their current schema. The next place where I would create cognitive dissonance would be to show an example of the correct idea. This would be a concrete representation of the material (DLT). Developmental learning theory suggests the students learn because when an idea is represented as simply and concretely as possible. By having this information in a concrete presentation, it is much more likely that the students will believe the new idea. In day one this would involve having the student read the Constitution and found out

the powers each branch holds and how they interact with each other. By having this real example, the new correct schema is presented an intelligible, plausible and fruitful, aiding student in accommodating the new information and the new schema (CCT). In day two I use the same technique of asking leading questions to create dissatisfaction with old ideas, and then present in a clear manner, through a video, the process that is correct for how a bill becomes a law. This process is repeated in each new idea that is presented as seen through the lesson steps above. The presentation of the new information also has to be within a students biological maturity and with that a language that they can understand. I chose the lesson plan that I did because students that reach the ninth grade have had experience with more abstract social studies concepts, and have had concrete experiences with the political process. This means that they are biologically mature enough to accept these abstract ideas (DLT). Also because I present the information in the form of questions and videos, the language that I use can be modified to fit the developmental level of the student (SLT). The representation of material in a concrete way also helps students have the same background knowledge as each other. This helps in having students answer questions and complete tasks that are abstract, as a whole class. By having students complete tasks from concrete to abstract, they will be able to use those concrete understandings and relate them to the abstract thinking (DLT). The movement along the concrete to abstract continuum informed my decision to format class in presenting the information concretely at first, then move to a more abstract level of thinking about the topic in the form of discussion and then have the students take that abstract knowledge and apply it to an activity. For example, on day two, I have the student begin with a reflection on a concrete experience they had of observing the house debating. I then ask the students questions about that experience and move them toward a more abstract level of thinking. The next step is presenting the solid information with vocabulary words and the labels for the individual steps. The students have to apply this knowledge that they have learned into an activity that requires them to use this abstract knowledge and apply it to a concrete, real-life example. Moving from a concrete to abstract back to a concrete activity also helps with the students staying actively mentally engaged (CLT). When students are presented with information in a variety of ways, they are less likely to become bored with doing just one thing. If a student has to sit in a classroom and have discussion all day, they will eventually zone/tune out and not be engaged in the classroom. However, when doing activities that switch between discussions, and getting up and moving around the classroom and watching a video, students are more likely to have a high AME because they will have to be ready to switch tasks quickly and efficiently. Focusing on classroom discussion is helpful in promoting active mental engagement because students like to listen to the ideas that their peers have and if they are stuck about how to answer the question will listen to others ideas and formulate their own, resulting in most of the students talking at some point in the discussion. Question and answer sessions also help with AME because students have to pay attention to the questions asked and the answers already said in order to make a productive comment in the conversation (CLT). By being the facilitator of the

conversation I can help students by providing scaffolding (SLT). This scaffolding would involve asking leading questions if the students are struggling with a certain topic, or if they are going around the issue that I would like for them to discuss, to help them get at the heart of the issue. In day one I also mention that I would have the students discuss in pairs questions or topics that I felt they were struggling with. By doing this I am providing the student with additional scaffolding. The students are able to bounce ideas off of each other and can talk through the information presented in a stress free environment. The students who are struggling with the information can also talk to students who understand the material a little bit better. This would be having a more knowledgeable other (MKO) present, which helps students learn the material by having someone talk through it (SLT). Having students work in groups to discussion questions and find an answer also helps students learn in their zone of proximal development. If students are struggling with the questions on their own, they could be learning outside of their ZPD or that the material that is being presented is too frustrating for them to understand on their own. By having another person helping the student with the questions or the material (either the teacher or another student), the student will hopefully still struggle with the material but be able to ask the other student about the question and formulate ideas, eventually being able to explain it on their own. This is process has the student learning within their ZPD. Throughout the lesson, the classroom management tools that I used, such as walking around the classroom while the students are discussing and always having a bell-ringer activity (Thinking Question) were informed by BLT. The stimulus that I give the students by walking by results in the behavior of talking about the topic at hand and not getting of task, this is the students response to the given stimulus. I would be doing this throughout the year, so hopefully students would respond to me standing near them in a manner that would keep them from being off task. Also by giving the students the stimulus of the bell-ringer activity, the students responses will be thinking about the question and then having productive conversation about the question. Epistemological Beliefs During the discussion of some of the more abstract questions such as Is this method of passing bills the most effective? or Is our system of government effective/efficient? there is a possibility that students may be frustrated because they believe that I should be telling them what the right answer is. They may feel that the discussion of these topics should not be started and that I should be the one to tell them the answer. They may have this view over just one question or because discussion is so frequent during this class, they may become tired of answering my questions and just want answers. These views of knowledge are problematic because they view the teacher as the source of knowledge, that there is a right or wrong answer to a question and that the justification for the knowledge comes from the teacher. I want students to understand that I am only a resource for their knowledge and that ultimately they are the source for their own knowledge and that the justification for that knowledge comes from within them as well. I also want student to know that there are shades of grey when it comes to answers to questions; there is no right or wrong answer and that there

are multiple ways to come to the same conclusion. If students are struggling and resist answering the question during a class discussion I would turn that class discussion away from the topic at hand and focus on epistemological beliefs and changing how students view knowledge. I would first ask the students if they truly believed that their opinion was right. Some students would say that they believed that there opinion was right and others would not know and others would like they were wrong. I would then ask the students if they saw merit in the opinions that others gave. If they responded that they did, I would ask them why and if they responded no, I would ask them why not. I would then direct the discussion to having them state the merits of their argument and I would finally state that all of the ideas had some merit. This would hopefully help students realize that they are the source of knowledge and that their ideas are valid not because a teacher told them but because they understood the information and analyzed it well. The students would also hopefully realize that there is more than one right answer and that to get to these answers there is a complex process and that knowledge is complex and uncertain at times.