Lesson Plan First Attempt Student C

LESSON PLAN FIRST ATTEMPT STUDENT C

HEY AMBER! WELL YOU HAVE A LOGICAL FLOW… THE CONTENT IS UNDERSTANDABLE… NICE VARIETY…OBJECTIVES ARE CLEAR AND MEASURABLE.. I THINK YOUR TRANSTION STATEMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE. I WANT YOU TO WORK ON CUTTING OUT STUFF THAT SEEMS LIKE DESCRIPTION FOR ME… SEE BELOW…. ALSO YOU ARE GOING TO NEED TO REWORK A BIT ON YOUR LECTURE… THE CONTENT IS FINE… JUST NEED SOME THOUGHT ON FORMAT OF LECTURE.. LET ME KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE… Lesson Plan 1

Title: How can I make a difference?

Grade and Subject: 8th grade Civics

Goal: To help students learn how the government separates its powers and how a law is made. To help them realize that every person has a voice and can make a difference, but it is up to that person to stand up for what they believe in.

SOL’s: 6a) The student will demonstrate knowledge of the American constitutional government at the national level by a) Describing the structure and powers of the national government.

Content Standards: Today the students are going to be introduced to the legislative branch of government. I will go over what the legislative branch does. I will also cover who is included in the legislative branch and the duties of each office.

Objectives: The student will be able to 1. List at least four facts about the legislative branch. 2. Give examples of who is included in the legislative branch. 3. Define the responsibilities of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Warm-Up (10mins) I WOULD SAY 4-5 MINUTES MAX FOR THINKING ABOUT THE RULE.. CONNECTS EXTREMELY WELL. *Directions need to be on the board before students enter the classroom. Journals and the notes for the lesson will be on the desk before the students arrive too.* Directions- Today you are going to write in your journals about a rule in the school that you either agree or disagree with and why you feel that way.  Students will have six minutes to write in their journals.  After six minutes, I will ask for volunteers to share what they wrote.  After four minutes of sharing stories, I will ask a student to pick up the journals.

Transition Statement- Now that each of you have thought of a rule that you agree or disagree with, I would like to tell you a little more about laws and where they come from.

Lesson :( 30 mins)  Earlier this semester we learned about our Founding Fathers that formed our Constitution. WOULD YOU NEED TO REMIND THEM OF WHAT A CONSTITUTION IS? DEFINE IT? “Can anyone tell me why the Founding Fathers wanted to form a Constitution?” - They wanted to write the Constitution because they wanted a strong government that shared an equal amount of powers.  The powers in the government are divided up between the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. MAYBE ASK IF THEY KNOW THE BRANCHES AND NAMES?  “ Today we are going to learn about one of the branches of government and that is the legislative branch.”  The students will now look at a power point and will be asked to follow along in their notes and to add more to it. DO YOU NEED TO REMIND YOURSELF OF THAT OR IS THIS FOR MY BENEFIT?  While taking notes, students will place a dot by the information they find most interesting.

Notes- WHAT VISUAL NOTES WILL YOU HAVE FOR YOUR STUDENTS? ARE THEY GOING TO JUST HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY? DO YOU HAVE AN OUTLINE FOR THEM? IT IS NOT CLEAR…NEED TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF VISUAL FOR THEM…  The legislative branch is made up of congress.  Congress has the power to make all of the laws for the United States.  Students will be asked to give examples of laws in the United States and why they feel those laws are important. DON’T NEED THIS LINE YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED IN THE NEXT SENTENCE…  “ What are some examples of some of the laws that we have?”  Say- One law that I feel is important is the seatbelt law. Everyone should wear their seatbelts while in an operating vehicle because if they were in an accident it could save their life.  The legislative branch is also in control of the money and they regulate foreign trade.  “ Can anyone tell me what foreign trade is?”- Foreign trade is trading between two or more countries.  Congress is divided into two groups. The two groups are the Senate and the House of Representatives. ASK FOR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE.. STUDENTS MAY KNOW THIS ALREADY…  One reason why Congress is divided this way is because the writers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that all states would be represented equally.  Congress’s main duties are to write and pass laws. After a law is voted on, it is then passed onto the President.  The House of Representatives has a total of 435 members. The total number of representatives you have in a state is based on the population size.  In order to be a representative you must be at least 25 years old, been a U.S. citizen for the past 7 years, and live in the state you represent.  Each representative serves a term of two years after being elected.  The House of Representatives is the only place that can make laws about taxes or money.  The House can also decide whether or not to put an official on trial if he or she commits a crime.  “ What is an example of a tax that we have to pay?” – Sales Tax  The Senate has a total of 100 people. Each state has to have two representatives.  In order to be a Senator a person must be at least 30 yrs old, been a U.S. citizen for 9 years, and live in the state they represent.  A Senator’s term last for six years.  Job responsibilities of a Senate are to say yes or no to the treaties the President presents, say yes or no to any officials the President recommends for a job, and they can hold a trial for a government official.

“ Now that we have covered the legislative branch I would like someone to tell me what they found interesting about this branch.” Transition Statement- After learning about the legislative branch, it is important that we know who represents Virginia in the Senate and who represents the area of Radford in the House of Representatives. - Students will see a picture of our officials on the power point and for home-work they will be asked to answer questions about one of the men. - The Senators in Virginia are Mark Warner and Jim Webb - The representative for the Radford area is Rick Boucher.

Activity (15 mins) HOW ARE THEY GOING TO GET INTO GROUPS?

Transition Statement- Students you are now going to get into groups and answer questions about the legislative branch. After answering all of the questions, I would then like you to brainstorm a law that your group would like to have in the school. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.  Students are going get into groups of three and they are going to be asked to answer questions.  After answering questions, the students are going to come up with a law they would like to have in the school.  If the students do not finish everything, they will have free time to work on it the next morning.

In-Class Questions 1. List four facts that you learned about the legislative branch? 2. Who makes up the legislative branch?- Congress and Congress is divided between two groups the Senate and the House of Representatives. 3. What responsibilities does the legislative branch have?- The legislative branch is in charge of making the laws for the United States, declaring war, and controlling foreign trade. 4. If you had the option of being in either the Senate or the House of Representatives which one would you be in? and tell me why. 5. As a group I would like you to brainstorm a law that you would like to have in the school.

Summary :( 5mins) “Tonight for home-work I would like you to answer these questions about Senator Mark Warner, Jim Webb, or Representative Rick Boucher. Come to class tomorrow ready to share what you learned.” - I will put the questions on the board while students are working on their in-class questions. - I will give students three minutes to write down the questions before I go over the three things I want them to remember. Home-Work Questions: 1. Where was he born? 2. How long have they been a Senator or a Representative? 3. What is something they believe in? Or would like to see happen in the United States? 4. Please give me one fun interesting fact.

3 things I would like you to remember: 1. The legislative branch is responsible for coming up with the laws for the United States. 2. The legislative branch is made up of Congress which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. 3. The Senate has two representatives from each state and the number of representatives for the house is determined by the population size.

Materials:  Pencil  Paper  Power point  Computer  Note Sheet  Question Sheet

Assessment: I will assess the students by listening to what facts they found interesting, their answers to the in- class questions, and observing the students during group work.

Accommodations:  For those students that need more time to finish their in-class questions they will have free time the next day.  For students that did not fully understand the legislative branch I will give them time at the end of class the next day to come ask me or either a partner questions.  For students that did not have enough time to copy the notes from the power point there will be a note sheet for them on their desk along with their journals that morning.