Title: Alive and Real - The Government

Grade Level: Intermediate Grades 4-6

Subject(s): Social Studies/Language Arts

Learner Outcomes :

•    The student will learn the three branches of government
•     The student will be able to discuss how government affects citizens.
•     The student will be able to discuss how he/she can make a difference.
•     The student will communicate with members of the legislative and executive branches of     government.

Materials: Reference materials, books on the government, U.S. maps, W.V. maps, Jefferson County Maps, and local newspapers.

Technology Tools/Courseware: PowerPoint presentation on Branches of the Government; computers with Internet access, word processing, email, projectors to display PowerPoint presentation.

Teacher Notes:

• Make sure students have parental permission to review Internet.
• Collect the email addresses from the local city manager, the State Senators and  House of Delegates, the governor, US Senators and House of Representatives.

1. As a class, review the three branches of government by viewing the PowerPoint presentation titled "Jello". Discuss how each branch of government might affect their lives now and/or in the future using the presentations, the maps, the newspaper, and the books.
2. Students will complete the worksheet that is attached as a study sheet or later as a type of assessment.
3. As a class, brainstorm and record on chart paper or electronically a list of ways that government has changed their lives such as the bike helmet, seat belt laws, driving laws, conviction of a crime, the 4-H camping program, the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. .
4. Students can refer to local newspapers for current topics or invite the city manager in to discuss how the local government operates.  In fact, the students could participate in the role-playing of a city council meeting, the breaking of a city ordinance, and the appearing before a city judge.
5. Working in small groups and taking turns, each group can search one topic from the generated list on the Internet. A suggested search engine is google.com. Students are looking for information concerning the health and safety issues of a law as well as the affects the law has on their lives.  Students will form an opinion concerning the law or ruling.
6. The group of students will write a positive response to the topic they have chosen.
7. Students can either exchange their opinions by email or a letter to the appropriate individuals such the governor, US Senators Byrd and Rockefeller, and President Bush.

Modifications:

• If there is not enough time as small groups to work on the Internet, then as a class, the students form one opinion on a topic or concern and email it to the appropriate individuals.
• Adapt the terminology for the titles of the governmental branches to fit the learning capabilities of the students.

•     Find a court case that started in the circuit court, that has been appealed to a higher court, and follow it on the Internet until it is settled.
•     Follow and record the President's schedule for a week or a short period of time through the Internet.
•     Find on the Internet photographs of the individuals mentioned in the earlier discussion and publish them.

• Their emails to a governmental figures.
• Their ability to access the Internet for information.
• Their completion of a worksheet that refers to the three branches of government at three different levels.

Social Studies 4.1, 4.2, 4.7, 4.8, 4.10, 5.4, 5.8, 5.9, 6.4

Language 4.69, 4.70, 4.71, 4.72, 5.62, 5.97, 5.98, 5.100, 6.90, 6.91, 6.92, 6.93

Technology 4.77, 4.78, 4.79, 5.65, 5.66, 6.59
 

    Language - 1.Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
                      4.Gathers and uses information for research purposes

    Social Studies - 8.Understands the institutions and practices of government created during the      Revolution and how these elements were revised between 1787 and 1815 to create the foundation of the American political system based on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights

    Technology - 1.Knows the characteristics and uses of computer hardware and operating systems

Job/Career Clusters: Fine Arts and Humanities

References:  States and Regions, Harcourt Brace and Company. Printed in the United States of America,  1997

Author:  Linda Work, Ruth Potts, and Peggy Grantham
            South Jefferson Elementary
 

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Overview

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5