ED 345 Calvin College Lesson Planning Form

Teacher:
Ms. Dean
Date: 4/27/16
Subject/ Topic/ Theme: How Can We Get Involved
in Our Local Government?
I. Objectives
What is the main focus of this lesson?
Students learn about ways they can get involved with their local government
How does this lesson tie in to a unit plan? (If applicable.)
Sixth lesson in civics unit- How do citizens live together in a community?
What are your objectives for this lesson? (As many as needed.) Indicate connections to
applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to only certain students write the
name(s) of the student(s) to whom it applies.
*I can statement: I can describe what the government does.
Students will be able to:
Compare individual rights with the common good.
Sort government action and private action.
List ways they can share their ideas with the government.
2C2.0.1Explainhowlocalgovernmentsbalanceindividualrightswiththecommongoodtosolvelocalcommunityproblems.
2C1.0.2Distinguishbetweengovernmentactionandprivateaction.
2C5.0.1Identifywayscitizensparticipateincommunitydecisions.
II. Before you start
Prerequisite knowledge
and skills.
Assessment
(formative and
summative)

Students understand what a law is, the importance of their local

government, and the difference between government services and private
services.
Students fill out an outline to help them begin writing a letter to the
government employee they will contact.

Universal Design for Learning Networks/Domains (see UDL Guidelines)

RECOGNITION
Multiple Means of Representation
Options for Perception
Students use previous worksheets,
watch videos, see images.

Options for Language/Symbols

Students use previous worksheets,
watch videos, see images.

STRATEGIC
Multiple Means of Expression
(Action)
Options for action/interaction
Students have the option to
watch videos, listen to others,
and participate in discussion.

AFFECTIVE
Multiple Means of
Engagement
Options for recruiting interest
Students are interested in
making a difference in their
community by asking for a
rec. center. Videos sustain
interest, as well as wanting
their ideas to be heard.

Options for Expression

Students participate in
discussions, write down ideas.

Options for Sustaining Effort &

Persistence
Students are interested in
making a difference in their
community by asking for a
rec. center. Videos sustain
interest, as well as wanting
their ideas to be heard.

Options for Comprehension

Students use previous worksheets,
watch videos, see images.

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and do you have them?

Do you need to set up

your classroom in any
special way for this
lesson? If so, describe it.
III. The Plan
Tim
Parts
e
5
Motivatio
min
n
(Opening/
Introducti
on/
Engageme
nt)

Developm
ent

Options for Executive Function

Students create ways to
explain and be persuasive
about why they wanted to

Options for Self Regulation

Students will need to work to
finish the entire outline, and
will need to re-visit old work
to discover.

Extra copies of blank worksheets from previous lessons, images on iPads

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AeRFhwSYVQ
http://www.mlive.com/news/grandrapids/index.ssf/2013/09/i_cant_throw_him_out_grand_rap.html
Letter to City Employee
Letter Outline
Typical classroom set-up

The description of (script for) the lesson, wherein you describe teacher
activities and student activities
Yesterday, we came up with the idea to ask our government to build a rec center for
our community!
Show pictures of a rec center from yesterday.
We need to look at ways that we can contact our government, and contact the man
we decided could help us most!
One way that we can share our ideas is by voting- here is a video of celebrities who
support voting.
One way that everyone can make a difference is by voting- I have a video to show
you of celebrities that support voting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AeRFhwSYVQ
Why would these celebrities ask you to vote? Why is voting important?
Why is it important to share our ideas? What if the government enacted a law where
every student at Stocking Elementary had to do 2 hours of homework every night?
Laws are meant to keep us safe, and the government gives us services that help
us do we think that would help us?

10
min
.

Another way we can share our ideas with our government is by attending local
government meetings, called City Council Meeting. Here is a video that shows a man
who is sharing his opinion to some members of our local government about carrying
a gun.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grandrapids/index.ssf/2013/09/i_cant_throw_him_out_grand_rap.html
Do you notice anything about where these people are?
One way we can show that many people share our same idea is by using a petition.
Remember the reading street story we read?
Show image below.
I was thinking that the best way to contact our government employee would be to
send him letters from each of us describing why we think our community could use
a rec center. How would it benefit us?
I think Mr. Marquardt would be more interested in hearing our ideas if we showed
him how much we know about our local government. So, we need to write a letter
to him that describes what we know about the government, and why we think that
our community would benefit from a rec center.

10
min

Closure

That sounds like a lot of work! Luckily, I created this outline that we can use. This is
going to be independent work, but if you need help, I took some pictures of the
bulletin board outside that will help you remember some of the work that we have
done. I also have extra copies of our worksheets up here at the front of the
classroom.
Lets look at the outline together. This is what we are going to turn it into tomorrow!
Its OK if you dont finish this today, because tomorrow we are going to be working
on this even more, to make sure that we are giving our best work.
Students work until afternoon announcements, and file their work away for
tomorrow to begin writing their letter!

Your reflection on the lesson including ideas for improvement for next time:
Students love seeing real life examples! The video of a man approaching the government was taken right
here in our school! Although we couldnt hear what he was saying, the students were so excited to see a
real life example of the government working in a place they knew well! The videos and images were
engaging. It was, however, difficult for the students to recall all the information they needed. I attempted
to set up stations for the students to revisit their work, but next time I may attempt to keep their work in
a folder, and they can then go back to their own answers to use in the letter. Again, the students were
very engaged, but needed a few more tools to help them make the connection between information
gathering and creating the letter, as well as where to find and recall the information they had learned.