October 27, 2023

Unit Overview Section 5 of the students’ textbook discusses the ways in which the
different branches of government check one another in order to
maintain balance in our government. Each branch of government
has their own powers that they are responsible for, but they also
must limit the powers of the other two branches under the checks &
balances.

Unit Goal Students will understand the multiple sections contained within the
United States Constitution and how the ideas within the
Constitution are relevant to how we run our government today.

Learning Goal Students will be able to analyze the purpose of the system of
checks & balances and determine how each branch of government
checks the other branches.

Standards Met

HLTP(s) - EMC: Walk through the book sections with students and explain
the different sections and their meaning

EIST: While students are working on the new material, I plan to go

around and ask students questions on some of the material from
the day before to evaluate student understanding of the content.

Launch To launch the class, I will have students complete the bellwork
question in Padlet which will ask students, “What do you know
about Constitutional Amendments?” I am doing this to assess their
preconceptions on the content before we cover it in class.

Visuals For visuals, I will discuss one of the charts in their TCI book and
analyze it with the students. I will do this while giving directions for
their interactive student notebook worksheet.

Analogies I plan to use an analogy between the federal and state

governments in the United States. In this analogy, I will describe
the differences in powers between the federal and state
governments as kids and their parents. In this case, the parents
are the federal government. The parents are responsible for
planning things, budgeting, etc. The children are responsible for
choosing what games they want to play or maybe what snacks
they want to eat for lunch. However, if the parents and children
have a dispute, the parents get the final say. This goes with the
 idea of the supremacy clause claiming the Constitution is the
supreme law of the land, so it overrules the states in this situation. I
will use this analogy after the students complete the questions on
their interactive student notebook worksheet. This is to clarify the
differences in power between the federal and state governments.

For an analogy on the system of checks and balances I will use the
analogy of a tricycle. If one wheel falls off, the whole thing
becomes unstable. If one wheel takes on more weight than the
others, the whole thing also becomes unstable. Each wheel in this
case would represent the branches of government: Legislative,
Judicial, and Executive. One wheel falling off would explain if a
branch was not completing their responsibilities. If a wheel takes
on too much weight, that would be an analogy for a branch that
gets too much power. I will give this analogy when introducing their
interactive worksheet on the system of checks & balances after the
launch and the video.

Progress Checks To check for progress, I will be walking around the room and
assessing student progress on the worksheet. I will also be helping
students who may be confused on the questions.

Conclusion To conclude the class, I will summarize our discussion of both the
amendment process and the federal system, and I will tie in our
objectives.

Anticipated - Some students may struggle with creating an accurate

Challenges flowchart in their interactive student notebooks.
- Students may struggle with the bellwork, as some may not
know anything about the amendment process.

Adaptations/ For special populations, I plan to allow students to work together in

Modifications for pairs on the interactive student notebook page regarding the
Special Populations amendment process and the federal system. This will give students
the opportunity to work with peers on the questions. I will also be
going around the room and assisting students who are struggling
with the content.

Assessment When we go over their interactive notebook worksheet near the

end of class, I will ask students to share their answers. This will be
my way of informally assessing students on the content matter.

Materials

- Interactive Student Notebook Page

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OblzvAAnQBOy2GTsflPfQnL1FgV-
mzMN/view?usp=share_link
Previous Day’s Thursday 10/26
Lesson Plan Summary
with Objective Students will complete a bellwork question on the material covered
from Wednesday on the qualifications, purpose, structure and
responsibilities of the three branches of government. Students will
then watch a video of a rap song about the three branches of
government and checks & balances. Students will then begin an
activity on the system of checks & balances. Lastly, students will
then complete an exit ticket on the information covered in class.

Objective:
Students will be able to analyze the purpose of the system of
checks & balances and determine how each branch of government
checks the other branches.

Next Day’s Lesson

Plan Summary with
Objective