Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2 3 4 5Introduce Unit

Have students write down essential questions and enduring understandings

Ask students what their previous experiences are in regards to government in the United States. (Field trips, classes, etc.)

Concept Formation Democracy Discuss

definition/examplesLecture (PPT):

Theories of democracyo Contemporary

American democracy

Challenges to Democracy

o Limited participation in government

o Diverse Political Interests

o Increased complexity issues

Introduce Formative Assessment- Timeline Blog

Students will be working on this throughout the unit. Updating the blog each day with one or two posts about the information learned in class.

Assign Text Readings for the Week

Pages 8-59

Introduce Performance Summative Assessment- Be Your Own Delegate

Students will be working toward throughout the unit

Lecture (PPT) American Political

Cultureo Libertyo Egalitarianis

mo Individualismo Laissez-faireo Populism

The Scope of Government in America

Cooperative Groups Students will be

working in groups to create a list of ways citizens are involved in the democracy

Students will view two websites and comment on at least one article

o www.politicalwire.com

o www.realclearpolitics.com

Assign “Governments Around the World” Assessment

Students will research 3 different types of governments around the world and give 5 characteristics for each type of government.

Students will turn this in the next day as part of their homework grade.

Opening Exercise- Quick Write

Students will be given the Declaration of Independence preamble and will comment on the importance of the document and the relation to the theories of democracy studied in class.

Lecture (PPT)

The Origins of the Constitutiono The road to

Revolutiono Cause and effect

relationshipso Declaring

Independenceo The power of

ideas The Government that

Failedo The Articles of

Confederationo Economic

Turmoilo Change in the

StatesStudent Directed Investigation

Students will be given the task of investigating one thinker from the Enlightenment and analyze their effect, if any, on the Declaration of Independence

Students will then fill out a worksheet with their own conclusions about the impact of the Enlightenment on the founding of the nation.

Students will be asked to complete this as homework if not finished in class.

Lecture (PPT) The Philadelphia

Conventiono Nature of

Governmento Philosophy

into Action Critical Issues at the

Conventiono The Equality

Issueso The

Economic Issues

o The Individual Rights Issues

The Madisonian System

Cooperative Groups Students will be

working in groups to analyze the similarities and differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalist.

Students will view one Anti-Federalist paper and one Federalist paper and find at least 2 pieces of evidence.

Opening Exercise-Quick Write

Students will be given 5 minutes at the beginning of class to reflect on their activities from the previous day.

Students will comment on new information they found confusing or something they didn’t previously know.

Student Directed Investigation

Students will investigate different ways the changes to the Constitution can be enacted.

o The Formal Amending Process

o The Informal Process

o The importance of Flexibility

Class Discussion All students will

participate in a discussion about the Constitution, democracy and the scope of government.

Students will be asked questions such as “How does the Constitution reflect ideas of democracy?”

After class discussion students will have 5 minutes to write about the Constitution and how it relates to the ideas learned earlier in the week

6 7 8 9 10Cooperative Groups

Students will be given the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation in their original language

Working in groups of 2-3 students will complete the “Constitution and Articles of Confederation Scavenger Hunt” Worksheet

Class Discussion All students will

participate in a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of both the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation

Students will use the evidence found in each document, the text and any supplementary readings to support their arguments.

Assign Text Readings for the Week

Pages 65-89

Opening Exercise- Quick Write

Students will be asked to comment on the term ‘federalism’. They will discuss what they believe federalism means and how it connects to the unit as a whole.

Class Discussion Students will have a

discussion as a class about their own definitions of federalism and where they have encountered the term before.

This discussion will be used to see if they students have a common background or experience with the term.

Lecture (PPT) Defining Federalism

o What is Federalism?

o Why is Federalism so Important?

Constitutional Basis of Federalism

o Division of Power

o Establishing National Supremacy

o States’ Obligations to Each Other

Lecture (PPT) Intergovernmental

Relations Todayo From Dual to

Cooperative Federalism

o Devolutiono Fiscal

Federalism Understanding

Federalismo Federalism and

Democracyo Federalism and

the Scope of the National Government

Student Directed Investigation

Students will investigate two topics such as educational policy and analyze the role of federalism in policy implementation.

Students will complete a flow sheet corresponding to each level of government. They will identify which level of government is responsible for which step of implementation.

Students will be asked to complete this as homework if not finished in class.

Simulation- Be Your Own Delegate

Students will be given a character to play in a simulated Constitutional Convention. Students will research the given character and how they would have approached the convention. They will have to speak on behalf of the individual state and argue, as the delegate would have.

In addition to the oral debate (mock-Convention), students will complete a series of journals, chronicling their journey to the Convention and the day’s proceedings. Students will analyze the actions of their own delegate based on ideological beliefs about the role of government.

Opening Exercise- Simulation Conclusion Journal

Student will write a concluding journal about the Convention simulation. The journal will focus on their own conclusion that they have formed about government through the simulation and also the unit as a whole.

Unit Test Review Students will review for

the test through a review game

The class will be divided into two sides and each side will have the opportunity to answer multiple questions (jeopardy style)

While participating in this review activity students will fill out their individual note packets that they will use to

11 12 13 14 15Unit Test

Students will complete a test that includes selected response, short-answer and a free response question (based on the style of an Advanced Placement exam)