IUSB Co-Teaching Lesson Plan Template - Secondary

Teacher Candidates Name: Kaylee Shepherd and Bennett Blazo

Plan Title: The Electoral College
Date: 10/29/2015
Grade Level/Content Area: United States Government
Duration: 20 minutes
Co-Teaching Strategy:

___ One Teach/One Observe

___ One Teach/One Assist

___ Station

___ Parallel

___ Supplemental

___ Alternative

_X__Team Teaching

____Solo Teaching for Teacher

Candidate
Standards/Objectives Alignment
Connections to Prior Knowledge
Students will have basic knowledge of politics and the election process of
becoming President.
Indiana Academic or Common Core Standard(s) and Indicators addressed in this
lesson:
USG.3.16 Explain and evaluate the original purpose and function of the
Electoral College and its relevance today.

Objective(s): As a result of this learning episode, students will be able to:

After students participate in-group discussion, students will be able to explain

how the Electoral College works and decide and defend a reform plan or be in
favor of keeping the Electoral College.
Materials
Laptop
HDMI Cord
Slips of paper for the election reform activity
Predetermined questions
Whiteboard markers
Notes
Slips of paper for bell-ringer
PowerPoint link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D_oIVyWIjCXIRFFJN8AVM0ppvizg9nJgR1QvasnknE/edit?usp=sharing

Procedure
Opening/Anticipatory Set/Bell-Ringer:
Activity located on Google Docs here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QbakOXJ9rcsI3ZmxwmecNnDMiLY155pf2ItfKwy
AMbQ/edit?usp=sharing
(BB 3-4 Minutes)

Instructional Events
(label events with initials for each co-teachers role)

Event: Introduction of Electoral College (Basics) (KS)

Kaylee will lead a short lesson on the basics of the
Electoral College.
(5-7 minutes)
Event: Election Reform Activity and discussion (KS/BB)
Both teachers will discuss the multiple reform options
for the Electoral College and then students will
randomly a slip of paper with a reform type on the
page. Then students will do their best to support and
defend the idea that they were given. This will ideally
lead into good discussion between students as the
teachers will also be available to help students argue
their reform plans and answer questions. (10 minutes)
Event: Closing statements and questions (KS/BB)
(3 minutes)

Adaptations

Formative
Assessment

Provide slips of
paper with the
reform options:
Cards found here https://docs.google.
com/document/d/1
NsLptMiKiapAGPbDroTB_PI8tK1v
T5G356Pi340gw/edit?
usp=sharing
Ask students
individually to
share what they
think about the
Electoral college
and which reform
plan (if any) they
believe would be
the best option
in the future.

Make sure to include 10 questions:

1. Identify the state with the most electoral votes? (Level 1)
2. Explain why nominees target some states and not others? (Level 2)
3. How many states would a nominee have to win to get 270 electoral votes? (Level
3)
4. Why does the United States have an electoral college? (Level 4)
5. Why do you think its so hard to find information about the electors? (Level 4)
6. Why do you think Nebraska and Maine do not use the winner take all system?
(Level 4)
7. How can we improve the Electoral College? (Level 5)
8. Out of the reform options that were provided, which do you think would be best?
(Level 3)
9. After learning about the Electoral College, give your opinion on if you believe the
Electoral College is the most effective option or not? (Level 6)
10. Do you think its fair that some states have more electoral votes than other
states? (Level 6)
Closure:
Put it in perspective: Even though we have all of these reform options, the
Constitution remains the law of the land although the power to choose Electors
belongs to the state (Nebraska and Maine). Even though you may feel like your vote

doesnt matter, your vote does because the Electors in our state are required to vote
how the majority votes. Overall, go out and vote! Its very important!
If this lesson were to be used in a real life classroom where they would be given
homework, we would want to use this rubric to assess students on a reflection page
where they would decide and defend a reform plan or the Electoral College as the
best way to conduct elections.

Category

Referred to the
text multiple times
Text
to back position or
Reference thesis. Uses at
s
least two direct
quotes from the
text.

Referred to the
text multiple
times to back
position or thesis.
Used one direct
quote from the
text.

Did not
Referred to the refer to
text one time to the text to
back position or support
thesis.
position or
thesis.

Used multiple
Ideas
ideas from the
Discussed
seminar in support
in
of position or
Seminar
thesis.

Mentioned at
least one idea
Mentioned one
from the seminar idea from the
in support of
seminar.
position or thesis.

Did not
mention
any ideas
discussed
during the
seminar.

Almost no
No grammatical, grammatical,
Mechanics spelling or
spelling or
punctuation errors. punctuation
errors.

A few
grammatical
spelling or
punctuation
errors.

Many
grammati
cal,
spelling or
punctuatio
n errors.

Information is very
organized with
Organizati
wellconstructed
on
paragraphs and
subheadings.

Information is
organized, but
paragraphs are
not well
constructed.

The
informatio
n appears
to be
disorganiz
ed.

Information
clearly relates
to the main
topic. No details

Informatio
n has little
or nothing
to do with

Information is
organized with
wellconstructed
paragraphs.

Quality of Information clearly Information

Informatio relates to the main clearly relates to
n
topic. It includes
the main topic. It
several supporting provides 12

details and/or
examples.

and/or
supporting details
examples are
and/or examples.
given.

the main
topic.

(Rubric borrowed from Malcolm X: Ballots or Bullets course reader p. 419)

Total Points:________/20 Grade:__________

Independent Practice/Homework (if appropriate):

(Above if were used in real classroom setting, but in our lesson, we are assessing
students in class by their responses to the activity)
Bibliography/Resources:
http://www.fairvote.org/reforms/national-popular-vote/
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/a/3-Ways-To-Bypass-TheElectoral-College.htm
http://archive.fairvote.org/e_college/reform.htm
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html
http://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/es/esd/esd02/esd02b
Reflection (Use ONLY after lesson implementation)
(you will write your reflection in a separate document)