Lesson Accommodations · Web viewLesson 1 – Why Do We Have a Government? (SS050101) Subject Area: Social Studies Grade Level and Course Title: Fifth Grade/American History Unit

SCoPE Lesson Accommodations

Title: Lesson 1 – Why Do We Have a Government? (SS050101)

Subject Area: Social Studies

Grade Level and Course Title: Fifth Grade/American History

Unit of Study: Our Government (SS050100)

Corresponding Word Cards: #1 - #11

Step Accommodations

1 In assessing students’ prior knowledge of government try using probing questions, such as: Have you learned about the term “government” before? What do you remember about this term? When you learned about our local community did you learn about its government? What did you learn?

Use Word Card #1 as you guide students in understanding the term “government,” as well as the definition included in the step.

2 Make sure to assign students to groups that will encourage active participation by all members. Monitor the groups carefully to make sure all members are participating. Make sure to provide the groups with examples before they work independently. A good example has been included in the step.

3 Use Word Card #2 as you talk about the “Founders” of our country. This will be a new term for most of your students. Help them understand the term by using it in relation to your local community and its founders.

Relate the beliefs of our nation’s Founders to real-life by giving school-based examples. For example, for the first bullet listed with the step use the following example, “stronger kids on the playground might take over all the playground equipment.”

The text, We the People, is very student-friendly and readable. If you can get some copies of this text it will help students understand many of the concepts in this unit.

May 9, 2023 SCoPE SS050100 Lesson Accommodations Page 1 of 37

4 Use Word Cards #3 - #6 with this step. Make sure to write very clearly on the overhead, as you follow the directions for this step.

5 Use Word Card #7 as you review the term “laws.” If necessary relate the term to school rules. Help students understand that “enforcing laws” means doing what it takes to make sure that they are being carried out and “interpreting laws” means defining what laws mean. Students should have been exposed to these terms in fourth grade and maybe even third grade. But, you may find it necessary to review them.

6 Use Word Card #8 as you discuss the term “Constitution.” Keep in mind that this term will be used throughout the unit, so there is no need to go into great detail regarding the Constitution at this time.

7 Use Word Card #9 as you introduce the “Bill of Rights.” Keep in mind that an entire lesson will be devoted to the Bill of Rights, so you only need to introduce it in this step. Make sure to give some real-life examples as you use Overhead #2 to talk about examples of rights. Try to use school examples. For example, explain that “freedom of speech means you have the right to share your ideas in a class discussion.” “Freedom of assembly means you have the right to meet with your friends at recess.” “Freedom of the press means you have the right to write freely on a class assignment.” Also highlight important terms as you go over the overhead, using a water-based marker.

Make sure you explain that the Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Explain that amendments are changes, or additions, to the Constitution. Help students understand that by being able to amend the Constitution we can help it fit changing times. That is why it has been so effective for so many years.

8 Give students a copy of the complete chart on Overhead #2 and have them follow along as you review the information on the overhead.

9 Make sure to assign students to capable partners, who have good writing skills, for this step. As another option, do the activity with the whole group instead of having students work with partners. This will be especially useful if you find the lesson is getting too long and students are beginning to lose focus.


10 As described in this step, it is important for students to understand that the terms “federal government” and “national government” mean the same thing. Use Word Cards #10 and #11 to help explain this idea. A graphic organizer has been included here to use in helping students understand the important ideas of this lesson.

Assessment Accommodations: The poster assessment, as described in the lesson, should work. However, help students choose a right to describe on their poster. You could also hold individual conferences with students, asking them to explain the graphic organizer included, within these accommodations, to you.

Additional Information:

This lesson can serve as a way to assess the prior knowledge of students regarding their understanding of the concept of government, rules and laws. This will help you make decisions regarding accommodations needed throughout the unit.


Our nation’s Founders believed that individual rights such as life, liberty and

property were important.

So, they created a government that they hoped would protect these rights.

This government was based on laws.

The Founders of our nation wrote a constitution that described how these laws would be made enforced and interpreted.

To make sure the government protected our rights, 10 amendments were added to the

Constitution. These amendments are called the Bill of Rights.


Graphic Organizer for Lesson 1 (SS050101)


Title: Lesson 2 – What Kind of Government Do We Have? (SS050102)




Corresponding Word Cards: #1, #2, #8, #12 - #23

Step Accommodations

1 Use Graphic Organizer #1, included in these accommodations, with this step. Note that examples have been included for each of the four main purposes of government. Try to include more examples as needed.

2 Use Word Card #1 to review the term “government” before you discuss the quotation used in this step.

3 Make sure to assign students to supportive groups that will encourage active participation by all members. Monitor the groups carefully to make sure all students are being included and encouraged to share their ideas. Be sure that all students are included, in some way, in the group presentation. For example, a student could introduce the members of the group.

5 This step uses the term “Founding Fathers.” Remind students that this term means the same thing as the term “Founders” which was used in Lesson 1. You may even find it easier and simpler for students if you stick with the term “Founders.” Use Word Card #2 as you begin this step.

This step includes two important, but probably brand-new, terms for students “popular sovereignty” and “limited government.” Therefore, take time in explaining both terms and tell students that they will be encountering the terms again in the unit. Use Word Cards #12 - #15 to help students with this step.

Students should have experienced the term “core democratic values” in third and fourth grade so you may find it helpful to explain that popular sovereignty, one of the terms used in this step, is a core democratic value. Use Word Card #14 to


review the term “core democratic values.”

6 Use Word Cards #16 - #18 for this step. Keep in mind that Steps 6 and 7 have several new terms. Remember that the concepts are more important than the terms themselves. Make sure to help students understand how all these terms are connected. For example, the Founders believed in popular sovereignty and limited government. This meant they believed the people should have the power in government. They chose a democracy as our type of government because they felt this type of government was the best way for people to maintain power.

7 If your school has a student council, explain that this is an example of representative democracy. Students choose representatives to make decisions for them because it would be too hard for all students in a school to meet.

8 Use Word Card #19 as you introduce the term “republic.” Make sure to explain that this term means the same thing as “representative democracy.” Also, make sure students don’t get too bogged down with all the terms in this lesson, so far. Stress the concepts over the terms.

Use a highlighter with Overhead #1 to guide students in understanding the most critical phrases and words. Use Word Card #20 to review the core democratic value of “the common good.”

9 Use Word Card #8 to review the term “constitution” and then Word Card #21 as you introduce the term “constitutional government.” This step involves some very complicated information regarding how a country can have a constitution and yet not have a constitutional government because the constitution does not limit the power of government. Don’t let students get bogged down in this information. The important idea of this step relates back to Step 5 in which students learned that the Founders of our government believed that a government should have limited powers.

10 Use Word Card #22 as you review the concept of “state government.” Use Word Card #23 to introduce the term “federal system of government.” Keep in mind that students will have several more experiences with this term in the unit.

11 Provide writing assistance as needed for students. If a student has serious writing problems, have him/her dictate his/her ideas to someone, such as a paraeducator. In assessing the students on this chart presented in this step, look for evidence of conceptual understanding not memorization of terms.


12 Use Word Cards #16, #19, #21, and #23 with this step. These cards review the content covered so far in the lesson. Remember that it is the concept that is most important, not the terms. Help students connect all four terms together: “democracy,” “republic,” “constitutional government” and “federal system of government/federalism.”

13 Use Word Card #7 to review the concept of “laws” before you begin this step. As you go over Overhead #3, use a highlighter to mark important terms and phrases.

14 It might be helpful to ask probing questions to help students engage in this discussion. For example, you could ask, “What does it mean that the government is us?” “What does it mean that we are the government?” “Who forms the government of the United States?”

15 Use Graphic Organizer #2, included with these accommodations, for this step. Compare the list of responsibilities of citizens to the responsibilities of individuals in a school or classroom.

17 Provide assistance for students in planning their posters. You may even want to have students work with partners on this project. Make sure to have students use the word cards, big idea card and graphic organizers for this lesson, in planning their poster.

Note that a graphic organizer, Graphic Organizer #3, summarizing the main ideas of this lesson has been included with these accommodations, to give students.

Assessment Accommodations:

The poster and informal evaluation of students during discussions and group activities, connected to this lesson, can serve as evaluations.



Keep in mind this lesson has many new terms. Don’t let students get bogged down in trying to remember all of them. Keep stressing the big concepts of the lesson which include: Our government is a democracy. In a democracy the people have the power of government. Our government is a republic, or representative government, which means people elect representatives to make decisions and laws for them. Our government has limited powers. This means the government cannot do whatever it wants. Our government is a federal system which means power is shared between the federal government and state governments.



Reasons People Form Governments

To Protect Individual Rights

EXAMPLE:Governments create

laws that protect people’s property.

To Provide Safety and Security

EXAMPLE:Governments have people like police

officers and soldiers who protect people.

To Provide a Way to Manage Conflicts

EXAMPLE:Governments create courts to help people

manage conflicts.

To Make, Enforce and Interpret Laws

EXAMPLE:Governments have

groups of people who make laws to keep

people safe.

Graphic Organizer #1 for Lesson 2 (SS050102)


Responsibilities of Citizens

To know how their

government is organized

To make good choices when

they elect representatives

To be informed

about public issues

To know and obey the

laws

To respect the property

of others

To serve on a jury To take an

active part in elections

To communicate with leaders about issues


Our government is a democracy which means the people have the power to govern.

Our government is a representative democracy which means the people choose representatives to make decisions for them. Therefore, our government is a republic.

Our government is a constitutional government which means there are limits of the powers of government.

Our government is a federal system which means people give power to both the national government and state governments.




Title: Lesson 3 – How Our Government is Organized (SS050103)




Corresponding Word Cards: #8, #24 - #25

Step Accommodations

1 Use the graphic organizer, included with these accommodations, and Word Card #24 to review the three levels of government: local; state; and, federal/national.

2 Make sure to assign students to partner with good computer and reading skills. Monitor the pairs to make sure partners are working together on this website activity. Also, remind students to continue to take notes on the Internet Activity Sheet as they progress through the website.

3 Use the chart that shows possible answers to the Internet activity as a way to review how government affects the daily lives of people. Stress those examples that directly affect children, such as money for schools, public libraries, parks, etc.

4 Make sure to use the examples listed in the step as you discuss the top section of Overhead #1.

5 Again, use the examples listed in the step as you discuss the bottom section of Overhead #1.

6 Use a highlighter to mark important words and phrases as you discuss Overhead #2.


7 Before you divide students into groups make an overhead of the Group Activity Sheet and model what groups will be doing in this activity, by completing the first section with the entire class.

Make sure to assign students to supportive groups for this activity. Monitor the groups to make sure all members are actively participating.

8 Use Word Card #8 to review the term “constitution” before you begin this step.

9 Use Word Card #25 as you discuss the “Supremacy Clause.” Connect this term to the idea that the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of our country.

10 Use the graphic organizer, included with these accommodations, to summarize the important content of this lesson.


Students could use the two graphic organizers included with these accommodations to write a short summary of what they have learned or you could hold individual conferences students, asking them to explain the graphic organizers.


This lesson builds on information that was covered in fourth grade. If you find students are having difficulty remembering this information, you may have to take additional time on the concepts of this lesson.



National(Federal)

State

Local

Local

Local

State

Local

Local

Local

State

Local

Local

Local



FederalGovernment

StateGovernment

Declaringwar

Post offices

Printingmoney

Maintaining an army

Trade with other

countries

Creating public

schools

Trade within a

state

Marriage laws

Issuingdrivers’ licenses

Establishinglocal

governmentsTreaties with

another country

Collecting taxes

Borrowing money

Making laws

Providing for the welfare

of people



Title: Lesson 4 – How Does the Constitution Establish the Structure of the Federal Government (SS050104)




Corresponding Word Cards: #8, #15, #16, #19, #23 #26 - #43

Step Accommodations

1 Use Word Cards #16, #19 and #23 for this step. You may also find it helpful to use Graphic Organizer #3, from the accommodations for Lesson 2.

2 Use Word Card #15 as you discuss the concept of “limited government” in this step.

3 Use Word Card #8 as you talk about the “Constitution.” Use Word Card #26 when you introduce the term “preamble.” It is highly suggested that you show students a copy of the Constitution such as the one found at the website listed with this step. This will provide an important visual for students.

4 Make sure to assign students to supportive partners with good reading and writing skills. Also, provide a student dictionary for use with this step. Use Word Card #26 again with this step.

5 Use Word Cards #27 and #28 as you introduce the term “separation of powers.” Give students a paper copy of the overhead to use in following along as you discuss Overhead #1. Use Word Cards #29 - #30 to review the three branches of government.

6 Use Word Card #32 as you introduce the term “checks and balances.” Carefully explain the examples of checks and balances on Overhead #2. Use Word Cards #33 and #34 when you discuss how a presidential “veto” and the potential


Congressional “override” of the veto are example of checks and balances.

Note that students should have been exposed to both the “separation of powers” and “checks and balances” in fourth grade. However, you may find they lack understanding of these concepts.

7 Use Word Card #35 as you introduce the term “articles” with Overhead #3. Use a highlighter to mark important phrases and words on the overhead.

8 Use Word Card #29 again as you talk about the “legislative branch.” Have students highlight the terms “House of Representatives” and “Senate” in two different colors on the information sheet. As you go over the sheet make sure to define difficult terms for students such as “treaties” and “regulate.”

Use Word Cards #36 and #37 for this step.

9 Use Word Card #38 as you discuss how a “bill” becomes a law. If students completed the fourth grade unit on Michigan government, they were exposed to these ideas previously. In using Overhead #4, make sure to highlight important words and phrases.

10 Students would benefit from working with supportive partners, who have strong reading and writing skills, for each of these possible activities.

11 Use Word Card #30 again as you discuss the “executive branch” and Word Card #39 as you explain that the “President” heads this branch. As you go over the Executive Branch Information Sheet, included in the supplemental materials for this step, make sure to guide students in highlighting important phrases and terms.

12 Use Word Card #40 as you introduce the term “Cabinet.” Make sure students don’t get the meaning of this term mixed up with a furniture cabinet.

13 Instead of doing this activity independently, match students up with supportive partners who will encourage them to participate in answering the questions in the assignment.


14 Make sure to have students work with partners on the Internet simulation, described in this step.

15 Use Word Card #31 again for this step as you talk about the “judicial branch.” Use Word Card #41 as you introduce the term “Supreme Court.” Connect these ideas to what students should have learned in grade 4 about Michigan’s judicial branch and Supreme Court. As you go over the information sheet included with this step make sure to guide students in highlighting important phrases and terms.

16 Use Word Cards #42 and #43 as you introduce students to the concept of “judicial review.” Explain that students will be studying this idea in greater depth in a subsequent lesson.

17 A graphic organizer has been included here for students to use in planning their poster. Provide spelling and writing help as needed.


The poster from Step 17 can be used as an assessment.


This lesson has a great deal of important information in it, so plan on spending a fair amount of time on it. One suggestion is to spread it out over three days and spend one 30 minute session each day on one of the three branches of government.



Federal Government

LegislativeBranch

ExecutiveBranch

JudicialBranch

Main Duty:

To make laws

Main Duty:

To enforce laws

Main Duty:

To interpret laws

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

President

SupremeCourt

and other federal courts



Title: Lesson 5 – What is the Bill of Rights? (SS050105)




Corresponding Word Cards: #3 - #6, #9, #44 - #49

Step Accommodations

1 Use Word Cards # 3- #6 as you review the concept of individual rights. Also, help students connect back to what they learned in Lesson 1 regarding these rights.

2 Use Word Card #9 as you review what students learned about the Bill of Rights in Lesson 1. Make sure students understand that the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because people felt so strongly about the importance of individual rights.

3 Make sure to assign students to supportive groups that will encourage active participation by all members. You may find it easier to have groups choose the four rights they think are most important, rather than ranking all ten rights, as described in this step. Ranking all ten rights can be very time-consuming.

4 If you choose to do this step, select an appropriate news article from the website listed in it and copy it for students. Match students up with supportive partners, who have good reading and writing skills, and ask them to explain the main point of the article. After students do this writing, ask them to explain the article in a discussion format.

5 Highlight these terms as you use Overhead #1 on the First Amendment: “Speech,” “Press,” “Assembly” and “Petition.” Use Word Cards #44 - #47. Make sure to give student-friendly examples of the rights described in this step. For example, when students give their opinions in a discussion they are exercising freedom of speech. When they meet in a small group at recess they


are exercising freedom of assembly.

6 You may wish to allow students to survey five adults in the school instead of doing the survey as a homework assignment. This will enable you to offer more assistance to them. You may even wish to assign students partners for this activity.

7 Provide assistance to students in completing the writing portion at the bottom of the survey.

8 Review the concept of percent by drawing circles and showing students the following percentages: 50%, 25% and 10%. Then go over the survey results on Overhead #2.

9 Use Word Card #48 as you talk about “Freedom of Expression.” Make sure that students understand that this term is an umbrella phrase for the four rights they learned about in Step 5.

10 Help students understand that rights are not unlimited. Use the example of yelling out “fire,” as described in this step. Remind students that freedom of expression does not allow you to lie about other people.

11 Model what small groups will be doing in this activity by doing the first example on the sheet with the entire class. Make sure to assign students to supportive groups. Monitor groups to make sure that all members are free to share opinions and ideas.

12 Use Word Card #49 as you introduce the concept “freedom of religion.” When you go over Overhead #3, don’t get bogged down in the terms “Establishment Clause” and “Free Exercise Clause.” Stress the ideas described on the overhead, not the terms.

13 Limits on religious freedom, as described in this step, can be complicated and difficult for students to understand. Try using the example of child vaccination, as described in the step. But, be sensitive to religious differences among your own students.

14 You may wish to allow students to work with partners on this activity. If you


have them work independently, make sure to provide reading assistance.

15 Model what the pairs will be doing in this step by making an overhead of the activity sheet and doing the first section, on freedom of religion, together, as a whole class.

Make sure to assign students to capable and supportive partner who have strong writing and reasoning kills.

16 If you choose to have students research First Amendment heroes be sure to assign them heroes on whom they will be able to find enough information. These heroes might include Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. Match students up with supportive partners for this research.

17 Highlight important phrases and words as you go over the overhead. Define the terms that may be unknown to students, such as “tolerant” and “injustices.”

Note that a graphic organizer has been included, with these accommodations, to use in reviewing the whole lesson.

Assessment Accommodations: The worksheet and poster should work as assessments, as described in the lesson. The lesson’s suggestion of an essay would probably be too difficult. Instead, you may just want the students to write a few sentences about what they learned in the lesson. Provide writing assistance for this task if you decide to do it.


Students tend to find lessons relating to rights interesting so capitalize on this interest.



Freedom of Religion

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of Petition

Importantrights guaranteed

by the Bill of Rights

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of Assembly



Title: Lesson 6 – What Issues Can Arise Over Constitutional Rights? (SS050106)




Corresponding Word Cards: #4 - #6, #48, #50 - #53

Step Accommodations

1 Use Word Cards #4 - #6 and #48 as you review the concept of “individual rights.” Use the graphic organizer, which visually shows some of these rights, from the accommodations for Lesson 5.

2 Before you go over the overhead make sure students understand what a condominium development is. Depending on your students and your local community, students may not be familiar with this type of housing. Make sure to explain that these housing developments, which are often referred to as “planned communities,” have sets of rules people living there are supposed to follow.

As you go over the overhead, highlight important terms and phrases that will help students understand the conflict described on the overhead.

3 If you have access to the video clip described with this step it would provide an excellent supplement to this part of the lesson, since it provides a visual example of a planned community with strict rules. This video clip is part of the video series, “American Promise,” which has another video clip that is critical to the next part of this lesson.

4 Note that this step can be done without the video listed. But, it will make the concepts more difficult for students to understand. Therefore, if at all possible, try to obtain the video from the source listed in the Teacher Resources for the lesson.


5 Use two different colored highlighters to highlight the two different sides of this issue, described on Overhead #2. You may need to explain further, how climbers use bolts in climbing. You may also want to play the video a second and even a third time. It’s very short so doing this will not take a lot of time.

6 You may find it useful to pull together a small group of strugglers for this step and do the top section of the activity sheet with them, while other students work independently. Provide this group with writing assistance as they complete the bottom section independently.

7 Don’t get bogged down with the terms in this step. Stress the different methods for resolving conflict. Use the graphic organizer included with these accommodations, which gives student-friendly examples of these methods.

Word Cards #50 - #53 have been included for the terms used in this step. But, keep in mind that it is not necessary for students to remember these terms. The important idea is that there are several different ways to resolve conflicts over rights. Make sure to help students connect the familiar term “judge” with the more difficult term “adjudication.”

8 Allow students to work with supportive partners for this activity, rather than having them do it independently. Encourage pairs to use highlighters to highlight important information as they read the two pieces of text.

9 Students might particularly enjoy, and benefit from, hearing real stories related to conflicting rights from practicing attorneys.


The two assessments described in the lesson will work. But, keep in mind that students worked with a partner on the second assessment described.


This lesson can tie in nicely with other things you do with your class, regarding conflict resolution. Try to connect it to classroom procedures you already have in place.


WHAT HAPPENED?

Rob claims that Sue punctured his soccer ball with scissors and ruined it. He says she did this because he would not let her play in the soccer game. Sue claims it was an accident.

HOW COULD IT BE RESOLVED???

Negotiation

the disagreeing parties resolve the conflict through discussion and resulting agreement

Rob and Sue talk it over and agree that Sue will replace the soccer ball.

Mediation

a third party, who is not involved in the dispute, helps the two disagreeing parties toward resolution

Mary, a friend of Rob and Sue, helps them talk it out and they agree that Sue will replace the ball.

Arbitration

a third party, who is not involved in the dispute, hears the different sides and decides what will happen

Rob and Sue’s teacher hears both sides and then decides that Sue will have to replace the ball.

Adjudication

a judge in a court hears the evidence and decides the case

Rob and Sue take their dispute to a class court their teacher holds each Friday. Mark, the student judge, hears their case and decides that Sue must replace the ball.




Title: Lesson 7 – How Do Courts Help Protect Our Rights? (SS050107)




Corresponding Word Cards: #42, #43, #54 - #61

Step Accommodations

1 Use Word Cards #50 - #53 for this step, as well as the graphic organizer included with the accommodations for Lesson 6.

2 Use Word Card #54 as you introduce the term “due process.” Carefully go over the explanation of due process in this step yourself, before trying to explain it to students.

When you discuss this concept with students, use examples of how school districts have to use due process. For example, students cannot just be arbitrarily suspended from school. A school district has to have fair procedures for suspension, in place.

3 Remind students that they have already talked about the judicial system and the Supreme Court earlier in this unit. Then, talk about the three levels of courts: local; state; and, federal. Note that you may want to use an activity or overhead from Lesson 7 of SCoPE Unit 3 of fourth grade (SS040307), which is on Michigan’s court system, to use with this step.

5 Use Word Cards #55 and #56 as you introduce the two different kinds of cases, “criminal” and “civil.” The overhead in this step has some difficult text. Don’t let students get bogged down in terminology. Stress that criminal cases involve the breaking of laws and civil cases are private disputes.

6 Use Word Cards #57 - #61, as you introduce the court-related terms in this step.


7 It is suggested that you assign students with learning challenges to the role of judge in the simple mock trial, for the last part of this lesson. This provides an opportunity for them to play a very important part in the trial without having to prepare a case.

8 Provide assistance to students, in their role as judges, to write out questions that they plan on asking attorneys.

9 Make sure to give each group a copy of Overhead #2, which shows the order used in conducting the trial. Also, be careful to place students in supportive groups that will respect their position as judge. Monitor the groups closely as they conduct the mock trials.

10 You may want to allow students to go over their decision and reasoning with you before presenting it to the whole class.

11 In sharing the bulleted text in this step, stress the idea that the federal court system includes different kinds of courts such as tax courts, district courts, courts of appeals and the Supreme Court.

13 Go over Overhead #3 carefully. Highlight the different courts described on the graphic organizer, as you go over the information.

14 The point of this step is not for students to understand exactly how a Supreme Court case proceeds. It is, rather, for students to understand that the Supreme Court only hears the most important cases in the court system.

15 Use Word Card #42 and #43 to review the term “judicial review” which was introduced in a previous lesson. Remind students that this is one of the most important powers of the Supreme Court.


The informal assessment of students during the mock trial, as described in the lesson, would be the best choice for a fair assessment.



Students tend to be very enthusiastic about mock trials. Capitalize on this interest as you teach the lesson.

Students may have had little, or no, experience in role-play and mock trials. Therefore, carefully monitor their understanding and participation throughout the lesson.



Title: Lesson 8 – What are Some Court Cases that Involved Constitutional Rights? (SS050108)





Step Accommodations

1 Use Word Cards #42 and #43 as you review the concept of “judicial review.”

2 As you go over the “Facts” on Overhead #1, make sure to keep the bottom of the overhead covered. Highlight important information in the “Facts” to help students understand the background of this case. As explained in the lesson step, make sure students understand that the “v.” used in the case stands for the word “versus” which means “against.”

Make sure to be sensitive to religious differences in your classroom during this lesson since several of the cases included in the lesson relate to freedom of religion.

3 Help students connect back to what they learned about “freedom of religion” in previous lessons. Use Word Card #49.

4 This is the same overhead that students saw in Lesson 5, so guide them in remembering what they previously learned. Make sure to help students understand that freedom of religion is tied to the Torcaso v. Watkins case by explaining that the First Amendment gives people the right not to believe in God or any religion.

5 If students are unfamiliar with the Jewish religion, you may have to give some background information for this step. It would help if you can find a picture or photograph of a yarmulke. This will enable students to visually understand what


the issue of this case was over.

6 It is important for students to understand that after this case was concluded, Congress passed legislation that allowed soldiers to wear religious apparel. Help students understand that this shows that ideas change over time.

7 Make sure to assign students to supportive groups that will encourage all members to share their ideas.

8 Use Word Card #48 as you review the concept of “freedom of expression.” Remind students that they learned about this in Lesson 5.

Use Word Cards #44 - #47 as you review important rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, which are a part of freedom of expression.

9 Note that the case introduced in this step relates to events that occurred during the Vietnam War. It will be necessary to briefly explain a bit about this time period in order for students to understand the background of this case.

As you discuss the “Facts” of the case from Overhead #5, highlight important ideas.

10 Encourage students to participate in this discussion by helping them understand that many of the questions call for opinions.

11 Use Overhead #3 from Lesson 7 to explain how this case ended up in the Supreme Court.

12 Make sure to assign students to supportive groups, with at least one very strong reader, for this step. Encourage the groups to use two different highlighters to highlight important information for the two sides of this case.

13 Help students understand what it means for speech to be a substantial interference with the discipline required for the operation of the school. Ask them to think of examples of speech that would cause such interferences and examples of speech that teachers might not like but would not cause substantial interference.


14 Make sure to help students understand that this lesson dealt with real Supreme Court cases. It is suggested that you have students watch TV news and scan newspapers for information regarding current cases the Supreme Court is considering.


Informal assessment of students can take place during the many small group discussions and activities of this lesson.


This lesson involves several Supreme Court cases. If you find the lesson is becoming too long and students are losing focus, leave out one or two of the cases.



Title: Lesson 9 – Taking a Stand on a Public Issue Relating to the Constitution (SS050109)




Corresponding Word Cards: #16, #19, #62 - #69

Step Accommodations

1 Refer students to Word Cards #16 and #19 before you have them do the quick write described in this step.

2 Use Word Card #62 as you introduce the term “public issue.” Keep in mind that if students learned SCoPE units in grades 3 and/or 4 they should be familiar with this term. Use Word Card #63 when you discuss how different “points of view” lead to disagreements over how to resolve public issues.

3 Use a highlighter as you go over the two issues on Overhead #1. Highlight critical information relating to each issue.

4 Use Word Card #64 as you review the term “core democratic values.” As you go over Overhead #2, use Word Cards #65 - #69 to review several important core democratic values.

6 Explain to students that it is important for citizens to consider data when learning about a public issue. Explain that data usually relates to numerical information and is shown by things such as charts and graphs.

8 There is a great deal of information in the bulleted text for this step. Condense it down for students as necessary.

9 The important point of this step for students to understand is that courts, though not the Supreme Court, have ruled on whether or not it is permissible for schools


to require students to wear specific uniforms.

10 Use the graphic organizer included with these accommodations, for this step. The graphic organizer describes the process explained in the bulleted text.

11 There is a huge amount of data included on the data sheets so you may want to limit what you use. If you do so, make sure to include data supporting both sides of the school uniform issue. Be sure to use Data Sheet #4, since it has graphs which provide visual cues for students.

15 Make sure to provide assistance to students in filling out the “Writing Plan,” especially in the sections where they must make a connection to a core democratic value and a reference to data. If you find students really struggling with this assignment, model the process by completing a “Writing Plan” with the whole class. Then, have each student write a short essay using this group writing plan.

Consider allowing struggling writers to enrich their written products with graphics.

Check over the plans carefully. Help students make any changes that will make the writing of their short essays easier. Consider allowing students with serious writing limitations to merely write one sentence for each of the sections of the essay. They could even complete a web showing the four main parts of the essay: their position on the issue; one reason for their position; a connection to a core democratic value; and, a reference to data.

16 Make sure to assign students to supportive partners who will not be overly critical of their writing. Also, provide reading assistance as needed.


The assessment as listed should be appropriate.


This lesson builds on what students should have experienced in fourth grade, regarding writing a position on a public issue. It is quite possible, however, that some students will not have retained what they learned. Others may not have been exposed to public issue writing. Therefore, you may find yourself needing to do more modeling in this lesson.


Consider facts relating to the public issue.

Consider data relating to the public issue.

Think about core democratic values and how they connect to the public issue.

Make a decision on the public issue based on your information.

Write your decision and give reasons for it.




Title: Lesson 10 – How Can Citizens Participate in the Election Process (SS050110)





Step Accommodations

1 Use Word Card #70 as you discuss the right to “vote.” Make sure you help students connect the importance of voting to what they have learned so far in this lesson. For example, explain that because we have a democracy, people hold the power of government. They exert their power through voting.

2 The timeline used in this step has some difficult terms. Keep stressing the idea that voting rights have evolved over time through amendments to the Constitution.

3 This is a very wordy overhead because it is an exact copy of what is given to Michigan voters. Make sure to explain this to students. Don’t get bogged down in all the text. Choose some of the more important bullets to talk about.

4 Use Word Card #71 with this step as you discuss the importance of being informed about “candidates” in an election.

5 Make sure to provide a “reading buddy” for students for this step since the information sheet has a lot of text.

6 The important point of this step is for students to recognize that there is a huge system in the United States that runs elections. Ultimately, even when people are voting for the President, they vote in their local community and local communities run the election.


7 The Internet simulation suggested in this step provides a nice activity for students, providing that you have them work in pairs.

8 Students who lack reading and writing skills might have high quality skills when it comes to developing posters that promote voting. Be sure to celebrate these skills. On the other hand, students who are strong writers and readers might not have confidence in themselves to develop good posters. Match students up with one another, as appropriate, to work on these posters.

9 Make sure to highlight important terms as you discuss Overhead #3. If there is currently an election going on it will be easy to bring in some visuals for this lesson, such as campaign buttons or posters.

10 Make sure to assign students to supportive group that will include all members in the planning and presenting of the public service announcements.


The assessment, as described in the lesson, should work. Instead of the short essay, however, just have students write a few sentences or draw a picture describing the importance of the right to vote.


Since this lesson is the final lesson in the unit make sure to include some review of concepts from the previous lessons.


Documents

Lesson Accommodations · Web viewLesson 1 – Why Do We Have a Government? (SS050101) Subject Area: Social Studies Grade Level and Course Title: Fifth Grade/American History Unit