BRAIN-TARGETED TEACHING UNIT

Author: Tabitha Bathras
Unit Topic/Title: Government: The Basics
Grade Level: Grade 4
Time Frame: Two Weeks

1. Emotional Climate | 2. Physical Environment | 3. Learning Design
4. Teaching for Mastery | 5. Teaching for Application | Evaluating Learning

Content Standard(s):

1. Students have the opportunity to earn “seagull feather” tickets for being on task and following rules and directions within the classroom. These tickets can be redeemed for lunch with the teacher in the school courtyard.
2. Introduce the purpose for having a democracy-to protect an individual’s basic rights. Students will create a class, brainstorming, circle map to list what they believe to be basic rights. Then, students will watch a PowerPoint that defines the 5 basic rights. They will then group the rights on the circle map under the basic right categories by circling them in 5 different colors. Finally, the students will be broken into 5 groups to create and perform a tableau on one of the 5 basic rights. Other groups will have to guess the basic right being performed and describe the portion of tableau that leads them to their belief.
3. Music will be incorporated into the legislative lesson by watching School House Rock’s “I’m just a bill.”
4. For the final presentation of their government branch, students will have the opportunity to dress in business attire. Extra ties and blouses will be provided by the teacher for students to borrow for their presentation. 

1. Desks are grouped for collaboration between students. 
2. Open spaces are provided throughout the room for students to act out tableau and other activities. 
3. The three government buildings most commonly associated with the three branches of power are prominently displayed throughout the room. The images of the buildings create 3 separate areas within the room. 
4. A bulletin board is dedicated to the three “roles” of government. Novelty is visualized through paper-towel rolls, which the definitive roles of each branch of government hang from. 

Learning Goals: 

• The student will demonstrate prior knowledge of the structure of federal government by manipulating vocabulary words on a skeleton tree map. 
• The student will evaluate their understanding of the structure of federal government by reading the text and adjusting the tree map as necessary.

Introductory “Big Picture” Activity/Assessment of Prior Knowledge

1. Small groups will be given a skeleton tree map and vocabulary words relating to the federal branches of government. The groups will then manipulate the words on the thinking map to demonstrate knowledge, if any, of the structure of the federal government. 
2. Through observation the teacher will formatively assess prior knowledge of the structure of federal government.
3. Groups will be directed to use the Scott Foresman-Regions text book, pg. 50-51, to evaluate their tree map and make adjustments to accurately display the structure of the federal government. 
4. Students will be shown the organization of the “Maryland State Government” tree map and prompted to make comparisons between the federal and state levels. 
5. The federal and state level tree maps will be combined into a larger tree map. The students will be asked why levels of government are necessary. Discussion will be guided to develop the thinking points in the frame of reference.

Learning Goals:

• The student will define the role of the executive branch of government on the federal and state level by discussing presidential powers. 

Activities:

1. Students will view a PowerPoint on the executive branch to gain background knowledge. 
2. Students will review the four presidential powers by appropriately applying them to eight different scenarios. 
3. Refer back to the combined tree map to compare the federal role of the president to the state role of the governor within the executive branch. 
4. Students will apply their knowledge of the executive branch through a “Bucket of Stuff” activity. They will use random objects within a bucket to assemble a model that represents the executive branch. They must explain their thinking to the class to validate their model. 

 

Learning Goals:

The student will define the role of the legislative branch of government on the federal and state level by voting to pass a bill.

Activities:

1. Students will view a PowerPoint on the legislative branch to gain background knowledge.
2. View School House Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill.”
3. The teacher will model the “Teacher Bill” to demonstrate how to identify pros and cons of a bill based on who the bill will affect. Students will vote for the bill solely based on the pros and cons identified. Small groups will identify the pros/cons of various bills and then present the bills to the class. A class vote will be taken for each bill.
4. Refer back to the combined tree map to compare the federal role of Congress to the state role of the General Assembly within the legislative branch.

 

Learning Goals:

The student will define the role of the judicial branch of government on the federal and state level by debating the interpretation of school rules.

Activities:

1. Students will view a PowerPoint on the judicial branch to gain background knowledge.
2. Students will discuss the “Johnson Elementary Case.” The teacher will demonstrate how to write an opinion about the case while keeping the “spirit” of the law in mind. Students will be divided into three large groups to discuss and write an opinion about each scenario. Two “talking chips” will be provided to each student to facilitate and level the discussion within the group. The case and opinion will be presented to the class. 

Learning Goals:

The student will apply their knowledge of the branches of government by creating a new branch to fill a community need.

Activities:

1. In small groups of 4-5 students, the students will create a branch of government by creating a poster, PowerPoint, or Smartboard presentation. During this presentation the group will be responsible for defining the purpose of their branch and explaining why it is necessary by describing a fictitious scenario. They will also describe their “role” within the branch and create a visual representation of their branch by designing a building, modeled after the three main buildings of the U.S. government. The students will also be encouraged to “Dress for Success” on the day of the presentation. 

Formative Assessment:

1. Executive Branch- Students display their knowledge of the executive branch by creating a model from a bucket of assorted items. They must then explain their thinking to the class to validate their representation.
2. Legislative Branch- Teacher will observe group work and group presentations of the pros/cons of each bill.
3. Judicial Branch- Groups will present problems and verdicts with supporting details to the class.

Summative Assessment:

1. Brace Map Analogies- The students will be given federal-level descriptors and must create an analogy with the matching state descriptor. Word banks will be given to students with accommodations.
2. Create a Branch of Government- The students will be given a rubric prior to beginning the project to help guide their ideas. This rubric will be used to grade the final presentation. During the final presentation, student audience members will record one thing the group did really well and one thing the group could have improved upon. The groups will then review the critique after all projects have been presented. This critique should be taken into consideration for the next project on Maryland’s counties.
3. Reflection Paragraph- For the end of unit assessment the students will write a RATE paragraph. (Restate the question, Answer the question, Three details, Ending sentence) They will answer the “big picture” question, why is our government structured as a democracy?

 

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