SIOP ® Lesson Plan: Tuesday

SIOP Lesson Grade: 4th Grade Subject: Social Studies- Illinois Government

Standards: Higher Order Questions/Tasks:

 SS.CV.4.4: Explain how rules and laws change  What makes up our Illinois government? 
society and how people change rules and laws
in Illinois.   What are the three branches of government?

 SS.H.2.4: Using artifacts and primary sources,  What are the purposes of each branch?
investigate how individuals contributed to and
the founding and development of Illinois.  How does a bill become a law?
 AE.L3 Identify the main idea and key details in
a variety of sources.

Content Objective(s): Language Objective(s):

- Students will be able to put in order the steps of - Students will be able to explain what the three
how a bill becomes a law. branches of the government are and its purpose.

- Students will discover what the three branches of - Students will be able to explain how a bill becomes
the Illinois Government are and their roles. a law.

- Students will be able to construct their own “bills” - Students will be able argue why their bill should
and will decide what steps to take in order to make become a law and discuss the steps they will take to
that a law. make it become a law.

KEY VOCABULARY: MULTIMEDIA/MATERIALS:

- GOVERNMENT - WHITE BOARD
- BRANCHES - MARKER
- Bill Of Rights - BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvwlRTYvU8o 
- Legislative Branch
- “UNDERSTANDING POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT” BOOK
- Executive Branch BY, ALEX FRITH, ROSIE HORE, AND LOUIE STOWELL
- Judicial Branch - AFTER READING ASSIGNMENT
- Power - HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?
- Bill V=FFROMQLKIAG

- Law - HTTPS://APP-USA-MODEAST-PROD-A01239F-
ECAS.S3.AMAZONAWS.COM/HOW-A-BILL-ACTIVITY.PDF
- Congress
- POSTERBOARD
- Senator
- MARKERS
- Representative
- House of Representatives - 3 BRANCHES AND THEIR ROLES ACTIVITY
- Debate - CUT OUT STRIPS ACTIVITY

- Voting - PENCIL

- President - EXTENSION WRITING ACTIVITY

- Veto - THINKING NOTEBOOK

- “IF I WERE PRESIDENT” BY CATHERINE STIE

- “AMERICAS BILL OF RIGHTS” BY KATHLEEN KRULL
- HTTPS://CREATE.KAHOOT.IT/DETAILS/3-BRANCHES-OF-
GOVERNMENT/61F2E3E6-14EA-4911-B8D2-
9CBD915BDB99

SIOP FEATURES
PREPARATION SCAFFOLDING GROUP OPTIONS
Adaptation of content Modeling Whole class
Links to background Guided practice Small groups
Links to past learning Independent practice Partners
Strategies incorporated Comprehensible input Independent
INTEGRATION OF PROCESSES APPLICATION ASSESSMENT
Reading Hands-on Individual
Writing Meaningful Group
Speaking Linked to objectives Written
Listening Promotes engagement Oral

BUILDING BACKGROUND:
TO BEGIN THIS LESSON, THE TEACHER WILL STATE TO THE CLASS “TODAY WE WILL BE LEARNING ABOUT THE
ILLINOIS GOVERNMENT. FIRST BEFORE WE BEGIN LEARNING, WE WILL FILL OUT A KWL CHART ON THE WHITE
BOARD AS A CLASS TO BUILD SOME BACKGROUND. The k-w-l chart will also be written in the students primary
language to help the el students comprehend the objective of the activity. WE WILL FIRST FILL OUT THE “K”
COLUMN TO SEE WHAT ARE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT. CAN I HAVE SOME VOLUNTEERS RAISE
THEIR HANDS AND TELL ME SOMETHING THEY ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT? (STUDENTS WILL
RAISE THEIR HANDS AND SHARE THEIR ANSWERS) AWESOME JOB. NEXT, WE WILL FILL OUT THE “W” COLUMN TO
SEE WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW. DOES ANYONE WANT TO SHARE WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW/LEARN IN TODAY’S
LESSON? (STUDENTS WILL SHARE THEIR RESPONSES OUT LOUD AND THE TEACHER WILL WRITE THEM ON THE
WHITE BOARD) FOR THE LAST PART, TO UNDERSTAND THE ILLINOIS GOVERNMENT BETTER, I WILL PLAY THIS
VIDEO THAT WILL EXPLAIN THE THREE BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT. ONCE THE VIDEO IS DONE, WE WILL FILL
OUT THE “L” COLUMN ON THE WHITE BOARD. SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN AFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO? CAN
SOMEONE SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS WITH ME? (STUDENTS WILL SHARE WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM WATCHING
THE VIDEO) AWESOME JOB EVERYONE!! THAT WAS JUST AN INTRODUCTION TO TODAY’S LESSON.

LESSON SEQUENCE:
NOW, TO BEGIN THE LESSON THE TEACHER WILL TELL THE STUDENTS THAT SHE/HE WILL BE READING A BOOK TO
UNDERSTAND TODAYS TOPIC. THE BOOK THAT THE TEACHER WILL BE READING IS “UNDERSTANDING POLITICS
AND GOVERNMENT” BY, ALEX FIRTH, ROSIE HORE, AND LOUIE STOWELL. ONCE THE TEACHER IS DONE READING
THE BOOK, HE/SHE WILL EXPLAIN THE AFTER-READING ASSIGNMENT THAT THE STUDENTS WILL NOW BE WORKING
ON. THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL GO ALONG WITH THE STORY, AND IT WILL ASK THE STUDENTS TO WRITE 1-2
SENTENCES DESCRIBING WHAT EACH BRANCH OF THE GOVERNMENT DOES AND NEXT TO THEIR WRITING, THEY
MUST DRAW AN IMAGE OR SYMBOL TO GO ALONG WITH THAT BRANCH.

NEXT, EXPLAIN THAT YOU WILL BE DOING SOME GUIDED PRACTICE TO LEARN ABOUT HOW A BILL BECOMES A
LAW. BEFORE STARTING SHOW THE STUDENTS THE “I’M JUST A BILL” SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK MUSIC VIDEO
(HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=FFROMQLKIAG ). The first time the video plays, it will have closed
captioning on in the students primary language to help them understand what is being said. The second time
around the captions will be switched over to English which will help EL’s become familiar with vocabulary.

RE-EXPLAIN TO THE STUDENTS THE DIFFERENT STEPS IT TAKES IN ORDER FOR A BILL TURN INTO A LAW USING
THE STEP WORKSHEET. THE TEACHER CAN PASS OUT A COPY OF THE STEPS TO. THE STUDENTS SO THEY CAN HAVE
IT AS A REFERENCE. (HTTPS://APP-USA-MODEAST-PROD-A01239F-ECAS.S3.AMAZONAWS.COM/HOW-A-BILL-
ACTIVITY.PD0).

TO PRACTICE WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM THE VIDEO, ASSIGN THE STUDENTS INTO GROUPS AND DIRECT THEM
INTO THEIR NEXT ACTIVITY. EXPLAIN THAT EACH ONE OF THEM IS NOW A CONGRESSMEN. PASS OUT A
POSTERBOARD AND SOME MARKERS TO EACH GROUP AND TELL THEM THAT THEY WILL BE WRITING THEIR OWN
“BILLS” ALONG WITH THE STEPS THEY PLAN ON TAKING IN ORDER TO CREATE THEIR NEW LAW. ONCE THEY ARE
DONE, THEY WILL PRESENT THEIR BILLS TO THE CLASS.

AFTER EACH GROUP PRESENTS, EXPLAIN TO THE STUDENTS THAT THEY WILL NOW BE TRANSITIONING INTO AN
INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY. THEY WILL BE GIVEN 6 CARDS TOTAL WITH 1 BRANCH ON EACH CARD AND WHAT THEIR
ROLE IN THE GOVERNMENT IS. THEY WILL FIRST MATCH THE GIVEN BRANCH WITH ITS ROLE AND THEN THEY WILL
HAVE TO COPY IT DOWN IN THEIR THINKING NOTEBOOK. NEXT, THEY WILL BE GIVEN A WORKSHEET THAT WILL
HAVE THEM PRACTICE WHAT IT TAKES FOR A BILL TO BECOME A LAW. STUDENTS WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW THE
DOTTED LINES AND CUT OUT THE DIFFERENT STRIPS PROVIDED ON THE SHEET OF PAPER. ONCE, THEY HAVE CUT
EACH STRIP OUT THEY WILL PLACE THE STEPS IN THE CORRECT ORDER OF HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW.

REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT:

FOR REVIEW, THE TEACHER WILL FIRST SHOW BOTH YOUTUBE VIDEOS AGAIN. THEN, ONCE THE VIDEOS ARE BOTH
DONE PLAYING THE TEACHER WILL ASK STUDENTS TO COME UP TO THE WHITE BOARD AND WRITE DOWN ONE
THING THAT THEY LEARNED TODAY (THIS CAN BE USED ALSO AS A FORM OF ASSESSMENT). AFTER EACH STUDENT
WRITES SOMETHING DOWN, THE TEACHER WILL READ THEM OUT LOUD TO THE CLASS AND GO OVER THE
LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE BRANCH ONCE MORE ALONG WITH THE DIFFERENT STEPS IT TAKES TO
PASS A LAW. ANOTHER WAY THE TEACHER CAN REVIEW THE LESSON WITH THE CLASS IS BY PLAYING A KAHOOT
WITH THEIR STUDENTS. (HTTPS://CREATE.KAHOOT.IT/DETAILS/3-BRANCHES-OF-GOVERNMENT/61F2E3E6-14EA-
4911-B8D2-9CBD915BDB99) KAHOOT IS A GREAT WAY TO KEEP THE STUDENTS ENGAGED AND WILL TEST THEIR
COMPREHENSION. THIS CAN ALSO BE USED AS A FORM OF ASSESSMENT BECAUSE THE KAHOOT WILL SHOW THE
TEACHER THE STUDENTS OVERALL UNDERSTANDING AS A WHOLE CLASS. USING THE KAHOOT AS AN ASSESSMENT
WILL GIVE THE TEACHER FEEDBACK WITH WHAT THEY’RE STRUGGLING WITH THE MOST. THIS WILL ALSO GIVE
THE STUDENT AN IDEA OF WHAT THEY KNOW AND WHAT THEY NEED TO REVIEW AND STUDY MORE OF.

WRAP-UP (INCLUDING REVIEW OF CONTENT AND LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES):

AS A WRAP UP, THE TEACHER WILL GO OVER ALL LANGUAGE AND CONTENT OBJECTIVES ONCE MORE WITH THE
CLASS AND WILL HIGHLIGHT THE KEY ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS. ALL OBJECTIVES WERE MET WHILE COMPLETING
THE ASSIGNMENTS/ACTIVITIES IN CLASS ALONG WITH THE VIDEOS PRESENTED. THE VIDEOS WERE HEAVILY
INFORMATIVE AND FOCUSED ON THE OBJECTIVES ALONG WITH THE KEY ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AS WELL.
REFLECTIONS/EXTENSION:

FOR A REFLECTION, THE TEACHER WILL SIMPLY HAVE THE STUDENTS TAKE A POST IT NOTE AND STICK IT ON THE
CONFIDENCE WALL THAT HAS LEVELS 1-3 ON IT. THE STUDENT WILL STICK THEIR POST IT NOTE ON EITHER LEVEL
1 BEING THEY DON’T FEEL CONFIDENT WITH THE MATERIAL COVERED IN CLASS, LEVEL 2 MEANING THEY FEEL
COMFORTABLE BUT CAN USE MORE PRACTICE, OR LEVEL 3 MEANING THEY FEEL FULLY CONFIDENT AND
UNDERSTAND THE LESSON. THIS WILL GIVE THE TEACHER FEEDBACK DIRECTLY FROM THE STUDENTS AND WILL
DEMONSTRATE HOW CONFIDENT AND COMFORTABLE THE STUDENTS ARE AFTER LEARNING THE LESSON. AS AN
EXTENSION ACTIVITY FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE DONE EARLY, THE TEACHER CAN GIVE THEM MORE BOOKS
OR ARTICLES TO READ ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT SUCH AS “IF I WERE PRESIDENT” BY CATHERINE STIER, OR
“AMERICAS BILL OF RIGHTS” BY KATHLEEN KRULL AND HAVE THEM WRITE 4-5 SENTENCES SUMMARIZING WHAT
THEY READ ABOUT. ANOTHER ACTIVITY THE STUDENTS CAN DO IF THEY’RE DONE IS A WORKSHEET, THAT HAS
THEM THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT ROLES A PRESIDENT HAS, AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LAWS THAT THEY
WOULD PASS IF THEY WERE IN CHARGE. THEY MUST STATE WHY THEY CHOSE THAT, AND THEY HAVE TO WRITE 3-
4 SENTENCES CONVINCING THE PUBLIC AS TO WHY THAT SHOULD BE A LAW.

Template adapted from Echevarria, Vogt, and Short (2008), Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP ® Model.