UNIT PLAN: Step 1

Name: Jordan Gage

Essential Question(s):
Who should govern/rule in a democracy? Why?

What inspired this question? Why is it worth asking?

This question was inspired by my student interviews. I asked them to tell me about a good president or bad
president. I however, did not think that I could create a unit from good president or bad president. I thought this
would be too narrow of a topic for a unit. I wanted to do this topic and made it broad to work better for my unit. I
broadened the topic to who should govern/rule. I believe this is worth asking because we want our students to be
well informed about who they think should govern/rule in their place of residence so they can be informed voters.

Grade Level/Teaching Context:

The grade level I would teach this at would be 5th or 6th grade. By now they have discussed different past
presidents and are able to look at issues of upcoming presidents. They can think about choices that past
presidents have made and can discuss and evaluate them.

UNIT PLAN: Step 2

Worth Being Familiar

Curriculum
Priority

Learning Objective and Standard*

Content
Skill
Students will develop and
SS.35.PSCL.1
organize a paragraph
explaining rights and
Understand the rights and
responsibilities of citizens and
responsibilities of each
how they are important.
citizen and demonstrate the
value of lifelong civic action.

Understand how people can

participate in their
government.

Important to
Know and Do

Understand that candidates

have different beliefs and
there are pros and cons to
those beliefs

CCSS.ELA.W.5.4 Produce
clear and coherent writing in
which the development and
organization are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience

Examine, understand and

evaluate conflicting view
points

Type of Assessment
Formative
Summative
Quick Write
Students will be put
Strategy: The
into groups and run
strategy asks
for an office of their
learners to respond choosing. They will
in 210 minutes to
write what they
an open-ended
would do as a
question or prompt
political leader and
posed by the
why it is necessary.
teacher before,
They will state their
during, or after
platform to their
reading.
small group and run
for office. The
formative
assessment will be
the paper that they
wrote their
statement on.
Students will
Students will watch
create a journal
a debate with two
entry discussing
candidates and
their understanding make a comparison
of the topic.
chart of their beliefs.
They will then
research the
candidates online to
have a second
resource. They will
then write an
opinion piece on
who they would vote
for using evidence
that they researched
over the candidate.

Enduring Understanding

SS.35.PSCL.1:
Understand the rights and
responsibilities of each
citizen and demonstrate the
value of lifelong civic action.

Understand what it means

to be a citizen.

Students will create their own

website.

Students are
divided into two
teams to identify
correct answers to
questions given by
the teacher.
Students use a fly
swatter to slap the
correct response
posted on the wall.

Students will have

an exit interview
with the teacher
discussing at least 3
ways that citizens
can participate in
government.

*Standard does NOT have to be a social studies standard but the unit has to be justifiably a social studies unit.