Branches of Government Unit Plan Template

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Essentials Course

2011 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. Page 1 of 10
Unit Plan Template
Click on any descriptive text, then type your own.

Unit Author
First and Last Name
Cheryl Dick
School District
Nixa Public Schools
School Name
Helen Mathews Elementary
School City, State
Nixa, MO
Unit Overview
Unit Title
Its a Balancing Act The Three Branches of Government
Unit Summary
Students will research and deepen their understanding about how authorative decisions are made,
enforced, or interpreted within the federal government. Establish a similar system in our classroom.
Students will introduce a bill to solve a classroom problem and work collaboratively to take the bill
through the process working interdependently but relying on one another to complete the process
for a bill becoming a law. They will create an opinion-based multimedia commercial advocating for or
against the bill. The students will be divided into three branches and the proposed bill will have the
opportunity to become a classroom law.
Subject Area
Social Studies
Describe how authoritative decisions are made, enforced, and interpreted within the federal
government.
Identify and explain the functions of the three branches of government in the federal level of
government.
English/Language Arts Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with
reasons and information.
Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the
development of main ideas or themes.
Grade Level
4
th
Grade
Approximate Time Needed
Fifteen 45-minute class periods
Unit Foundation
Habits of Learning Taxonomy
Blooms:
Comprehension Can you distinguish among the roles of the three branches of government?
Synthesis Can you develop a proposal to support a bill?
Evaluation Can you defend your position? What changes would you recommend?
21
st
Century Skills:
Solve problems Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to
better solutions.

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Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks
4
th
Grade Missouri Grade-Level Expectations
Social Studies
Strand 5 Principles of Governance Systems
Describe how authoritative decisions are made, enforced, and interpreted within the federal
government.
Identify and explain the functions of the three branches of government in the federal level of
government.
4
th
Grade English/Language Arts Common Core Standard
W.4.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
SL.4.5
Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the
development of main ideas or themes
ISTE.NETS*S
3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
b. locate, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of sources and media.
Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Students will locate, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information about each branch of government
at the federal level.
Students will articulate an opinion that is supported with facts to make a stand of which branch of
government is the most important.
Students will add audio recordings and visual displays to an Animoto presentation to articulate their
opinion and support their opinion with facts.
Curriculum-Framing Questions

Essential
Question
How do we solve problems?

Unit
Questions

How does government affect the lives of citizens?
Why is it important to be an informed voter before going to the polls?

Content
Questions
How do you distinguish among the three branches of government? What does
checks and balances mean?

Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline

Before project work begins Students work on projects
and complete tasks
After project work is
completed

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Anticipation
Guide
Word Splash

Exit Slip
Notetaking
in
Journal/Rubr
ic
Storyboard
Conference/
Rubric
Word Splash
Anticipation
Guide
Rubric for
commercial
presentation
Word Splash

Assessment Summary
Anticipation Guide
*Pre-assessment:
Students write agree or disagree next to statements about the branches of government before the
unit to determine prior knowledge. The teacher will use this information to determine student needs.
Students will use this information for self-direction to help them determine what they need to learn.
*Summative Assessment:
Students write agree or disagree after the statements at the end of the unit to determine content
knowledge. The teacher will use this information to check for understanding and monitor progress.
Students will use this information to demonstrate understanding.
Word Splash
*Pre-assessment
Write these words on the board or SMART board: Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, Judicial
Branch, President, Vice President, Senators, Representatives, Congress, Supreme Court
Allow students two minutes to write what they know about these words. The teacher will use this
information to determine student needs. Students will use this information for self-direction to help
them determine what they need to learn.
*Formative Assessment
them determine how much theyve learned and what they still need to learn.
Exit Slip
The teacher will pose questions that can be taken from the curriculum-framing questions at the end
of class periods to formatively assess student learning that students will answer on exit slips. Only
one question needed per exit slip. Students will also be asked to write questions they have about
the learning. The teacher will use this information to monitor progress, check for understanding, and
adjust instruction as needed. The student will use this to demonstrate understanding and ask
clarification questions as needed.
Notetaking Guide:
Students will take notes in a journal that will be assessed by the notetaking rubric. The teacher and
students will use this information to encourage self-direction and collaboration with peers. The
teacher will also use this information to check for understanding and encourage thinking about the
learning process.
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Storyboard Conference:
Students will complete an opinion-based/fact supported storyboard sheet that will be assessed by
the rubric on the sheet. The teacher will hold a conversation with the student to check for
understanding. The teacher and students will use this information to encourage self-direction and
collaboration with peers. The teacher will also use this information to check for understanding and
encourage thinking about the learning process.
Rubric for Commerical:
*Summative Assessment
This will be the final summative assessment. Students will use this assessment to demonstrate
understanding and self-direct their learning. The teacher will use this information to check for
understandng and document learning.

Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills
Students must know the process for a bill becoming a law.
Students must know how to navigate through Internet sites safely using Thing Links or Symbaloo.
Students must be able to use www.animoto.com and know how to embed a video into it.
Students must know how to create a storyboard.

Instructional Procedures
*At the end of each class period, have students reflect about their learning in a notetaking journal. This is a time for
reflection and setting goals. These notes will be assessed by the notetaking rubric. The teacher and students will use this
information to encourage self-direction and collaboration with peers. The teacher will also use this information to check for
understanding and encourage thinking about the learning process.

Days 1-2:

Preassessment:
Pass out the Anticipation Guide (http://www.scribd.com/doc/224123141/Anticipation-Guide-for-
Branches-of-Government) for students to complete. Use this to gather information about students
prior knowledge.

Entry Point:

Write the word problems on the board. Without discussion, brainstorm a list of problems.

Pose essential question: How do we solve problems?

Read The Tired King and discuss these questions from the PDF linked below:
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Why was King Louie tired? (He had too many jobs to do.)
Where did King Louies jobs come from? (Letters written by people in his kingdom.)
What jobs did the letters ask King Louie to do? (Make new rules, catch people who
broke the rules, decide what to do with people who break the rules.)
What did King Louie decide to do about his jobs? (Form departments to help him run
his kingdom.)
The Tired King: http://www.westga.edu/~jstrickl/adventures_tired_king.pdf
In this lesson, students are introduced to the three functions of government (legislative,
judicial, and executive) through a story about an overworked king who must handle all the
tasks of government.
Student Generated Questions:
Students work in groups to discuss The Tired King and pose questions the king should consider.
Teacher will spend a few minutes with each group monitoring student progress and providing
feedback to elicit higher-level thinking questions from the students.
Pass out Blooms Taxonomy Question Stems PDF to students:
http://www.meade.k12.sd.us/PASS/Pass%20Adobe%20Files/March%202007/BloomsTaxono
myQuestionStems.pdf. In a whole-group mini-lesson, guide students to look at the questions
theyve written. Using the Blooms Taxonomy PDF, guide students to analyze the level of
thinking required to answer their questions. Give them about ten minutes to generate more
questions.
*Formative Assessment: Exit Slip
Students answer these questions:
How well did you get the information in class? Totally get it, Pretty well, Not at all
What did you learn?
Write one question you came up with.
The teacher will use this information to monitor progress, check for understanding, and adjust
instruction as needed. The student will use this to demonstrate understanding and ask clarification
questions as needed.

Days 3-5:
Pre-assessment: Word Splash
them determine what they need to learn.

Acquire and Internalize Knowledge:

Students will research to gather information about these vocabulary words: legislative branch,
executive branch, judicial branch.

They will fill out a Frayer Graphic Organizer for each word to scafford their learning.
Website to create Frayer Graphic Organizers:
http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphic-organizers/frayer.html
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Students will also research to gather information to answer these questions as well as some of their
student-generated questions:

How does government affect the lives of citizens?
Why is it important to be an informed voter before going to the polls?
How do you distinguish among the three branches of government?
What does checks and balances mean?

After reviewing the Frayer Graphic Organzer sheets and research questions, students set daily goals
to determine how much research they plan to complete each day. At the end of each period, groups
meet to discuss research and see if they met their goals. Research should take about a week to
complete.

They will record their notes and daily goal reflection in their social studies journals. Pass out
notetaking guide rubric and discuss expectations with students. Have students set goals to achieve
their desired level of proficiency.

Possible websites for students to use when researching can be found at this Thing Link site:
http://www.thinglink.com/scene/448969801813983233.

*Formative Assessment: Word Splash
them determine how much theyve learned and what they still need to learn. Group students not
demonstrating much understanding into a small group and guide their learning through prompted
questions.

Day 6:

Deepen Understanding:

Groups meet to process research. They will work together to determine similarities and differences
among the branches and organize this information in a Three Venn Diagram.
https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/TCR/0743932080_027.pdf
http://www.classroomjr.com/printable-blank-venn-diagrams/

*Formative Assessment: Word Splash
them determine how much theyve learned and what they still need to learn. Group students not
demonstrating much understanding into a small group and guide their learning through prompted
questions.

Days 7-11:
Divide the class into the three branches of government. Youll need a President, Vice President, 4
Senators, about 16 Representatives, and a few Supreme Court justices. Role cards can be found at
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this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/224133799/Branches-of-Government-Role-Cards. Students
must have prior knowledge on how a bill becomes a law. Show Schoolhouse Rock, How a Bill
Becomes a Law, to review: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=144591

Introduce a bill such as:
Students must wear school uniforms.
Recess should be eliminated.
An extra recess should be added to the day.
Brain breaks should be at a set time each day.
Sweets should be allowed in school.

Students will articulate an opinion supported by facts to make a stand for or against the bill. Pass out
opinion rubrics and discuss these with students to help them determine their desired level of
proficiency.

Days 12-15:
Culminating Product:
Students create a commerical in www.animoto.com advocating for or against the bill.

First, students will take the information from their opinion writing piece and turn it into a storyboard.
Discuss the storyboard rubric with students to help them determine their desired level of
proficiency. They need to create pictures, take pictures, or find pictures for each storyboard square.
These will need to be uploaded as JPEG, GIF, or BIP files for Animoto use.

Storyboard: http://www.printablepaper.net/preview/storyboard-letter-3to2-3x3
Storyboard Rubric:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=1127197&

Once the storyboard is approved by the teacher through a student/teacher conference, students may
work with a partner to video themselves highlighting parts of their storyboards. These videos may be
uploaded into their Animoto commericals.

Pass out Commerical Rubric and discuss expectations with students.

Students create their www.animoto.com commericals and share these in class.

Your class should already be divided into the three branches of government. Take this bill through
Congress and have the President sign or veto it. Then, hold a mock trial to let the Supreme Court
determine the fairness of the law, if it passes. If it fails, discuss how the Supreme Court could have
overturned it. Remember, students should have prior knowledge of how a bill becomes a law.

Reflection and Assessment:

Pass out the anticipation guide. Students write agree or disagree after the statements at the end of
the unit to determine content knowledge. Grade these and return to the students. Also, return the
original anticipation guide you used as a preassessment. Have students compare their original
answers to their current answers. Have them reflect on their learning in their notebooks.

Allow students two minutes to write what they know about these words. Have students compare
their previous quick-writes to this current one and reflect on their learning in their notebooks.

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Have students answer these questions in their notebooks:
1.) What did you like about this unit?
2.) If you were the teacher, what would you change for next years students?
3.) How does government affect the lives of citizens?
4.) Why is it important to be an informed voter before going to the polls?
5.) How do you distinguish among the three branches of government?
6.) What does checks and balances mean?

Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction

Special Needs
Students

Provide support for special needs students:
Allow extra time for research and to complete assignments.
Provide a peer tutor or volunteer to assist in research and assignments.
Allow students to tell information in graphic organizers instead of writing
the information.
Allow students to complete anticipation guide orally instead of written.
Provide print copies of items shown on the SMART Board for students.
Highlight important information for them.
Provide partially filled graphic organizers to support students with early
readiness.
Give unit plan to special education teachers so they know whats going
on in the regular classroom.
Allow students with individualized education plans to work with resource
teachers or paraprofessionals.

Nonnative
Speakers
Provide support for nonnative speakers:
Represent what you say with visuals.
Use short, simple sentences with clear articulation.
Include gestures and facial expressions.
Use high-frequency vocabulary (and remember that nouns are better
than pronouns)
Students can draw pictures to represent vocabulary instead of using
words.
Students can make a physical model to represent knowledge.
If you have more than one nonnative speaker, partner them together to
support each other.
If possible, ask for bilingual volunteers to assist students as they learn
the English language.
Source: Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language
Learners (2006), by Jane Hill and Kathleen M. Flynn, ASCD.

Gifted/Talente
d Students
Provide enrichment for gifted and talented students:
Have students create a vocabulary web model instead of the Frayer
organzier. Source: Center for Gifted Education, College of Williams &
Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. Used with permission in Teaching Gifted
Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winebrenner, page 119.
Have students do a biography study on a politician. Source: Teaching
Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom by Susan Winnebrenner, pages
100-101.
Materials and Resources Required For Unit
Technology Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed)
Camera
Computer(s)
Laser Disk
Printer
VCR
Video Camera
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Digital Camera
DVD Player
Internet Connection
Projection System
Scanner
Television
Video Conferencing Equip.
Other

Technology Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)
Database/Spreadsheet
Desktop Publishing
E-mail Software
Encyclopedia on CD-ROM
Image Processing
Internet Web Browser
Multimedia

Web Page Development
Word Processing
Other

Printed Materials
Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom (2001), by Susan
Winebrenner, Free Spirit Publishing.
Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners (2006), by
Jane Hill and Kathleen M. Flynn, ASCD.
Showing You: The Show-Me State Booklet:
http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/info/showingyou.pdf
PDF of Blooms Taxonomy Question Starters
PDF of Frayer Graphic Organizer
PDF of Venn Diagram
Role cards for Branches of Government
Rubrics
Supplies
Computer
Internet
Paper you can print copies of the rubrics and graphic organizers for
students, but I show mine on the SMARTBoard and let students create their
own. You may want to print these for students with early readiness to
provide support. Students can find these at:
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/branchesofgovernment3

Internet Resources
Student Internet Resources listed below can be found at:
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/branchesofgovernment3

Anticipation Guide:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/224123141/Anticipation-Guide-for-Branches-of-
Government

The Tired King Resource:
http://www.westga.edu/~jstrickl/adventures_tired_king.pdf
Blooms Taxonomy Question Stems:
http://www.meade.k12.sd.us/PASS/Pass%20Adobe%20Files/March%20200
7/BloomsTaxonomyQuestionStems.pdf

Schoolhouse Rock How a Bill Becomes a Law:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=144591

Frayer Graphic Organizer:
http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphic-
organizers/frayer.html

Thing Link for Branches of Government Sites:
http://www.thinglink.com/scene/448969801813983233

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Why Three Branches of Government:
http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm

Role Cards for Branches of Government:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/224133799/Branches-of-Government-Role-
Cards

Story Board PDF: http://www.printablepaper.net/preview/storyboard-letter-
3to2-3x3

Rubric for Opinion Writing:
http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E04717/Grade4/Gr4_W
ritePath_LearnProgr_Opinion.pdf

Storyboard Rubric:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=112
7197&

Virtual Field Trips:
http://www.usa.gov/Topics/virtualtours.shtml
http://supremecourt.c-span.org/VirtualTour.aspx

Other Resources
Virtual field trips: http://www.usa.gov/Topics/virtualtours.shtml
Capitol Experience: US Capitol Tour
Library of Congress Tour
Presidential Library Tour
Virtual Field Trip to Supreme Court:
http://supremecourt.c-span.org/VirtualTour.aspx
Contact your local representatives for guest speakers:
http://www.mo.gov/government/legislative-branch/

Programs of the Intel Education Initiative are funded by the Intel Foundation and Intel Corporation.
Copyright 2007, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach
Program are ed as the property of others.

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