Teacher Candidate's Name: Karl ‘Alec’ Schoettle

Lesson Plan Template: Backward Planning

Unit Title: Civics
Lesson Title: What is Civics?
Content: Introduction to Civics, definition of the term, exploration of the importance of civics in a
democracy
Grade/Level: 8th
Date of Lesson: 2/24/2020
Length of lesson: 50 min

Alignment CCSS for ELA/Math

to
Objectives (or MLR and/or Next Gen Science for other content areas)
MLR for Social Studies; Grades 6-8; Civics and Government 2: (F1) Explaining the constitutional and legal
1,2
status of "citizen" and provide examples of rights, duties, and responsibilities of citizens.
MLR for Social Studies; Grades 6-8; Civics and Government 2: (D2) Analyzing how people influence
government and work for the common good including voting, writing to legislators, performing community
1,2 service, and engaging in civil disobedience through selecting, planning, and implementing a civic action or
service-learning project based on a school, community, or state asset or need, and analyze the project’s
effectiveness and civic contribution. *

Essential Question(s)
What is Civics?
What role does civics play in your lives?

Objectives and Assessments

Objective Objective(s) (Number each objective.) Assessment(s) for Each Objective
Number (In parentheses, mark each I for
informal or F for formal.)
1 Students learn and discuss the definition of civics (I) Class discussion
2 Students recognize the existing role civics plays in their lives (I) Class discussion

Necessary Prior Knowledge/Skills (Describe where/when/how each has been learned.): This being
their first discussion of civics, I am expecting a fairly low level of prior knowledge. Part of the purpose
of this class will be to determine the students’ prior knowledge and ensure that the rest of the unit
has been designed appropriately for their level.

Alignment Instructional Components

to What Teacher Does What Students Do
Objectives
1 Ask the class to define civics Come up with a class definition of civics
1 Put a definition of civics up on the board Discuss definition
that includes the terms ‘rights and duties
of citizenship’. Discuss definition and what

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 it means in practical terms
Ask the class what the ‘rights’ of citizenship Discuss
1,2 are in this country. Record student answers
on the board
Ask what the ‘duties’ of citizenship are in Discuss
1,2 this country. Record student answers on
the board
Ask students “Is voting a right or a duty? Respond to questions, discuss as a class.
Why?” and “Is it the duty of private citizens
1,2
in this country to defend the rights of
others?”
Brief introduction of tomorrow’s topic: Listen, pack up
civic engagement

Links to Technology: N/A

Materials and Supplies: Copy of the Mirriam-Webster definition of Civics:

“the social science of dealing with the rights and duties of citizenship”

Accommodations/Adaptations/Differentiation: This class will be moving at the pace set by the

students. The goal is to understand what the students know about the topic to be covered, so we can
move at whatever pace proves most appropriate for the class. Much of what is discussed in class will
also be put up on the board, so should help students who are more visual learners.

Maine Common Core Teaching Standards (MCCTS) (Check those that are part of this lesson.):
Check only those that are part of the lesson plan, not those that are part of lesson implementation.

The Learner and Learning Instructional Practices

X S1 Learner Development X S6 Assessment
X S2 Learning Differences X S7 Planning for Instruction
X S3 Learning Environments X S8 Instructional Strategies
Content Professional Responsibility
S9 Professional Learning and Ethical
X S4 Content Knowledge
Practice
X S5 Application of Content X S10 Leadership and Collaboration
Technology
S11 ISTE Standards.T

Reflection about teaching of lesson: What went well? What would you change and why? What
evidence do you have that students learned? Based on assessment results, what are the logical next
steps in your planning for teaching and learning?
I felt that this class went well, the students for the most part seemed to be interested in the topic and it was easy
to get them engaged. Unsurprisingly, most did not seem to really understand the definition of civics despite the fact that
they have encountered it my mentor’s class in the last couple of months. I say this not meaning any reproach to my

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mentor teacher, but because it is a word that comes up so rarely, particularly in the world of a 14 year old, that they
would not have had the chance to truly use and understand it, even though they have all encountered it.
I was particularly interested in their responses to the question “Is voting a right or a duty?” The class was very
split on this, and those who thought that voting was not a civic duty because no one was required to do it had trouble
explaining how this was different from things like having a job, which likewise no one is required to do, but the students
fairly unanimously thought of as a civic duty. Despite not being able to explain why it was the case, many students felt
fairly strongly on this point.
Based on the students reactions and interactions with the topic, we should be in a good position to move on to
our discussion of civic engagement tomorrow.

If this lesson plan documents Application of Content (critical thinking, creative thinking, and/or
problem solving), respond to the following:
⮚ Why was critical thinking and/or creative thinking and/or problem solving appropriate to this
lesson? (i.e., How does this lesson fit into a larger unit of which it is part? How does the higher
order thinking help students to make connections among concepts and/or engage in
examining differing perspectives?)
Critical thinking was appropriate to this lesson because the intention was to get
students to think about their own lives and the world around them through a different lens than they
were used to. My intention was to get students to think about how civics affects their own lives, as
well as how they can and do impact the world around them. One of my hopes in teaching this unit is
to try and get the students to understand the potential they have to be agents of change if they
should choose to be. In order to help them along that path, I want to help them to understand how
they could change things and what the cost of their effort might be. This information, combined with
their own critical thinking abilities, should help to inform their decision if they ever feel the desire to
try and drive major changes in their world. The most important part of that, however, is their own
critical thinking ability. If they are going to exercise that in any actual civic engagement, it seems
appropriate to practice it in the classroom first.

If this lesson plan documents Technology, respond to the following:

⮚ In a list of a minimum of five bullets, show your key beliefs about technology’s role in teaching
and learning. (Base your list primarily on the highlighted ISTE-T performance indicators in the
resource that accompanies this assignment.) Consider the role of technology for both the
learner and the teacher. In what ways does the lesson plan that includes technology address
some of these key beliefs?

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