Grace Donovan

I.

State Government: The Governor

a. Expected Duration: 25-35 minutes
b. Social Sciences: Civics
c. Concept: The governor is the head of the second branch of state
government.
d. Vocabulary: governor; capitol
e. Skills: Listening, taking notes, asking/answering questions, researching,
writing
f. Broad Goals of Lesson: The focus of this lesson is on the state government.
Specifically, the students will be learning about what a state governor is.
Throughout the lesson, the students will learn what a governor is, what
he/she does, how long a governor term is, and more.

II.

Content Outline
a. What Is State Government?
i. Governor
1. The governor is the head of the states second branch
2. People in each state elect their governor.
a. In most states, governors serve a 4-year term.
b. In some states (i.e. Vermont and New Hampshire), a
governor only serves a 2-year term
3. Pennsylvanias governor: Tom Wolf
4. Works in the capitol
a. This is where leaders meet to create the laws.
ii. Responsibilities
1. The governors main job is to carry out the state laws
2. He/she signs laws to make them official
3. Governors may also veto, or stop, new laws
a. This happens when a governor doesnt agree with the
law
4. He/she also selects state workers to head departments
a. This is to make sure that safety, environmental, and
other laws are followed.
iii. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (http://www.governor.pa.gov/ )
1. PAs 47th governor as of January 20th, 2015
b. Vocabulary
i. Governor the head of the states second branch
ii. Capitol the building where leaders meet to make the laws
iii. Veto to stop or reject

III.

Standards PA Academic Standards for Civics and Government; PA

Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
o PDE SAS- 5.2.3. GRADE 3 How the Government Works

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Leadership and Public Service

5.2.3.C. Identify leadership and public service opportunities
in the school, community, state, and nation.
Branches of Government
5.3.3.A. Identify the roles of the three branches of
government.
Structure, Organization, and Operation of Governments
5.3.3.B. Identify how laws are made in the local community.
o 1.4.3. GRADE 3 1.4. Types of Writing
Informational
1.4.3.B. Write informational pieces using illustrations when
relevant (e.g., descriptions, letters, reports, instructions).
NCSS Themes and Subthemes
X.A assist learners in understanding the origins and continuing influence of
key ideals of the democratic republican form of government
X.B prepare learners to analyze a variety of public policies and issues from
the perspective of formal and informal political actors
IV.

V.

Lesson Objectives
a. The students will be able to identify who is the head of the second branch
of state government.
b. Given an iPad and a grade-appropriate website on the states governor, the
students will be able to research information on Tom Wolf.
c. Each student will be able to write a short biography on Tom Wolfs life,
including any laws that he has signed or important issues in their state at
this time.
Teaching Procedures
a. Introduction/Anticipatory Set
a. Introduce the lesson with a picture of Tom Wolf on the SmartBoard.
Ask the class, Yesterday, we talked about the first branch of state
government. Can anyone tell me who this is? See if any of the
students have any ideas.
b. If they dont know who he is, remind the students that theyve been
talking a lot about the government recently. See if the students might
have a guess.
c. If they know, say, Very good! We are going to talk more about him
later this morning. If they dont know, let them know that they will
soon learn who he is.
b. Lesson Input

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a. The majority of this lesson will be a short PowerPoint presentation with

some time for full-class discussion.
b. With the whole class, go through the PowerPoint presentation,
discussing the second branch of state government (the governor and
his/her responsibilities). Throughout the discussion, have students take
notes to reinforce their understanding of the material.
c. Lastly, spend time answering questions that any students might have
regarding the lesson.
c. Guided Practice
a. Pull up the picture of Tom Wolf again for the class. Now that weve
talked all about state governors and their responsibilities, who do you
think this is? Wait for responses. Good! This is our state governor.
His name is Tom Wolf. And today, youre going to get to know
Governor Wolf.
b. Im going to pass out iPads, and I am going to give you Governor
Wolfs website. With this link, I want you to look up anything you can
on the governor. See if you can find how long hes been in office, or
maybe where he grew up. You can even look up any laws that he might
have signed or any important issues that are going on in our state. Take
notes on the information you find because we are going to write
biographies on him after we are done researching!
i. http://www.governor.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx#.VPZEGvzF8kc
c. Pull up the website link on the SmartBoard to show the students where
to go on the classroom iPads. Give them the chance to explore the
website. Remind the students that they can only look for information on
this website, and they should take notes on their research because they
will need to use it later.
d. Independent Practice
a. Now, weve been working on a biography unit in reading class; so
today, I want you to take the research you found and create your own
short biography of Governor Tom Wolf. It should be at least one
paragraph long. Give the students time to work on their biographies,
and walk around to assist them.
e. Differentiation
a. I will differentiate this lesson based on the specific learning and
behavioral needs of my students.
i. If there are students that are above-level, I will ask them to write
a 2-3 paragraph biography on the governor.

Grace Donovan

ii. If there are students that are below-level, I will only have them
write a one paragraph biography on the governor. I will also be
walking around to give extra support.
f. Closure
a. To conclude the lesson, I will post three questions on the SmartBoard
and have the students complete an exit slip by answering the questions:
i. Who runs the second branch of the state government?
ii. What are some of the things that the governor does?
iii. Who is the governor of Pennsylvania?
VI. Teacher and Student Resources and Evaluation of Resources
Resource Title/ Influence
3+ Characteristics
Accessibility
Website Address
HoughtonMI
Accurately talks about the Easy
Mifflin Social
role of the governor in state accessibility
Studies
through a hard
government
Textbook; 2005
copy
Gives grade-appropriate
Edition
definitions for vocabulary
terms
Contains pictures related
to the topic
http://apps.irs.g SI
Easy
Offers a variety of
ov/app/underst
accessibility
information on taxes
andingTaxes/stu
Gives lots of details about through the
dent/whys.jsp
Internet
taxes (including history of
taxes, taxpayers and their
role, etc.).
Website is set up in a way
that breaks down taxes into
different sections and
themes (i.e. Why Pay
Taxes?, How Taxes Evolve,
Taxpayer Rights, etc.).
http://www.gove SI
Easy
Offers accurate
rnor.pa.gov/Page
accessibility
information and up-to-date
s/default.aspx#.
through the
news regarding the
VPZEGvzF8kc
Pennsylvania state governor, Internet
Tom Wolf
Displays videos of Tom
Wolf and his speeches

Overall
Rating
3/5
Used as a
solid basis
resource for
the lesson

5/5
Used as an
important
guide to
finish the
lessons
exercise;
contains
information
on the topic

5/5
Used as a
necessary
tool to
complete the
lesson
activity; full
of

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Provides contact
information for those who
wish to reach Tom Wolf

appropriate
information
on the topic

VII.

Formative/Summative Assessment(s)
a. Formative assessing will take place throughout the full-class discussion. As
I teach through the PowerPoint, I will be observing who asks questions,
answers questions, and makes comments/observations.
b. I will also formally assess through the students short biographies and exit
cards.

VIII.

Technology/Materials/Equipment
a. Materials
i. SmartBoard
ii. Classroom iPads/computers for research
iii. PowerPoint Presentation should be prepared ahead of time
iv. Exit slip papers
b. Technology
i. This lesson requires a SmartBoard in order to present the
PowerPoint. Also, in order to complete the writing assignment, this
lesson needs classroom computers or iPads to do research.

IX.

Reflection on Planning
a. Because this lesson takes place in the middle of the unit, the lesson involves
a lot of guided practice. Although the teacher is speaking more in the
beginning and giving the information about governors and their
responsibilities in the state government, the students are actively listening,
taking notes, and asking/answering questions. From there, the lesson
becomes much more student-centered. The students are doing their own
research, asking their own questions, and writing their own biographies.
The teacher is still around for extra support and guidance, but towards the
end of the lesson, the students should be working more independently. I
think that posting a picture of Tom Wolf at the beginning of the presentation
should gain the students attention and engage them in the lesson. Using
what they learn in the full-class lecture and discussion about state
governors, the students should be able to create their own questions to
answer when completing the research and writing their biographies on
Governor Tom Wolf.