South Orange-Maplewood School District

Sequence of Lessons
Grade 3
Focus Lesson(s)

Common Core State

Standard(s)
6.1.4.A.1
6.1.4.A.6

Subject: Social Studies (with Writing)

Topic: National Government / Running for Class
President
(Over the course of 3 days, ending government unit)

Explain how rules and laws created by community, state,

and national governments protect the rights of people,
help resolve conflicts, and promote the common good.
Explain how national and state governments share
power in the federal system of government.

Objective(s)

SWBAT
Identify the three branches of government and their
responsibilities.
Describe ways state and the nations interact.
Understand the responsibilities and roles the president
takes on.
Create a persuasive speech and poster involving why
they feel they are a good candidate for class president.

Materials/Professional
Resources/Websites

Professional Resources:
Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Communities textbook
Materials:
Brain Pop Video;
https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/government/preside
nt/
Worksheets
Students learn logs
Class President Planning Sheets
Poster paper
Interactive picture link;
http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/president_activit
y1/page-2.htm
Voting box
Voting registration slips
Voting ballot slips

Day 1: National
Government

Teacher will gather students at the carpet with their

social studies textbooks. Teacher will have anchor
charts displayed including information regarding local
and state government.
Statement of the Objective & Purpose
Teacher will say; We have learned all about our local and
state government, even having visited town hall and getting to
see where the mayor works. Since we know all about the roles
of mayors and governors, we are now going to learn about the
importance of our national government. This way, we can do
our class president activity I know you are all excited about.

We will be able to use what we have learned in writing

workshop about persuasive speeches to try and persuade our
classmates to vote for us in an election here in third grade. We
know there is not an actual class president for third grade, but
this is a fun activity that will allow you to see what goes into
the voting process. We will get to register to vote, say our
speeches aloud, and actually vote for who we feel would make
the best class president.
Teacher will wrap up government unit:
Active students prior knowledge and see what the
students know about the president and national
government;
o Who is our president?
o Who is our vice president? (Joe Biden)
o What are some jobs you think the president has?
(Solving problems in the world, meeting with
other leaders, leads our armed forces, keeps our
country safe)
Read Core Lesson 3 (pages 240-243) with students, both
out-loud and allowing them to partner read.
Show students Brain Pop video on the President.
Have students complete Reading Skill and Strategy and
Vocabulary Study Guide sheets (67-68) that correspond
with the core lesson.
*If extra time is allotted, teacher will go through interactive
pictures with the students on Scholastic to teach them more
about the president.
Link; What Does the President Do?:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/president_activity1/pa
ge
Closure: Students will write and share one thing they learned
and one thing they liked about our lesson today in their learn
logs.
Days 2 3; Class
President Activity

Teacher will gather students at the carpet.

Statement of the Objective & Purpose
Teacher will say: Today, we are starting our class president
activity. We will begin by brainstorming ideas together, using
our planning page. We have to make sure there are certain
things we include in our speeches. What do you think we must
include in our persuasive speech to show we would make good
candidates for a class president?
The teacher will jot ideas that students have on the
board as they brainstorm ideas.
Guided Practice / Teacher Modeling
Teacher will say: I want you all to help me with my planning
page. Lets go through it together.

Teacher will distribute planning pages to each child.

Teacher will then guide students through her thinking
aloud and say: I would definitely want to introduce myself
and state positive things about myself when first speaking. I
think a good quality of mine is that I am very organized and
hard-working. Those may be qualities I want to include. Who
can help me think of some responsibilities I might have as a
third grade class president?
Teacher will go through the whole planning page and fill
it out with her students on anchor chart paper,
modeling her thinking aloud, and allowing her students
to see what they will be doing independently.
Teacher will then read aloud an example of a persuasive
speech to the students, so they know what a good
speech should consist of. Teacher will also show
students samples of posters made by other students
through use of the SMART Board.
Independent Practice
Teacher will say: Now that you have helped me with my
planning page, I want you to go back to your seats and
brainstorm ideas, filling this planning page out. Once you are
finished, you may take out your writing notebook and write
your rough draft. After that is completed, you may write your
name on the board and I will meet with each of you individually
so we can make sure your piece is ready for final publication,
meaning you will get to type it on a chrome book.
As you wait, you may start designing a poster to go along with
your speech. Lets get to work!
Teacher will have directions displayed on the SMART
Board for students to refer to:
1) Fill out class president planning page.
2) Write rough draft in your notebook. Be sure to
read it back to yourself and check for grammar,
punctuation, and capitalization.
3) Write your name on the board to meet with a
teacher when you are finished.
4) While you are waiting, take a piece of paper from
the back table to start creating your poster to go
along with your speech.
*Students will work on their speeches for two days,
getting to take both the speeches and posters home to
work on them if they feel like it.
Last day of Class President Activity:
Teacher will say: Today, we will be sharing our speeches out

loud and voting! I know you are all very excited. First, I want to
explain to you that when you are over eighteen and get to
vote, you have to register. I know we read about this in our
textbooks, but I pulled up a New Jersey Registration document
that I wanted to show you.
Teacher will display documentation of what a
registration form looks like for students to understand
the concept of registering to vote.
(http://www.lizlempert.com/sites/default/files/updated_voter_reg_form
%20copy.jpg)

Teacher will say: We have to register to vote so that the

government knows exactly who we are, makes sure we are
legal citizens, and that we are of age to vote. I have created
little registration cards for you all to fill out, to go with our
voting process. Here is the plan for today.
Teacher will display the plan and directions for the day
using the SMART Board;
1) We will all take turns using the microphone,
standing up, and sharing our speeches with the
class, as well as showing our posters.
2) We will fill out our voting registration cards.
3) We will take turns coming to the back table and
voting for who we feel would make the best class
president, putting our ballot in the voting box.
4) The winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
The teacher will have created a voting box, registration
cards, and ballot slips. Once all is completed, teacher
will put together bulletin board, displaying students
speeches.
Closure/Assessment

Call students back to the carpet;

Have students share what they liked about this activity and
what they learned about the responsibilities of being a
president.

Differentiation to Ensure
Access for All:

Scaffolding and Support for Struggling Students:

Modifications/Accommod
ations:

Planning page and sentence starters for those who have

trouble coming up with strong sentences.
Provide a list of rights and responsibilities for those
students who are struggling to come up with third-grade
appropriate ones.
Directions posted on SMART Board.
One-on-one time with a teacher.
Provide a physical graphic organizer with bullets or some
other visual to aide in listing topics.
Students have certain number of sentences that is
expected of them that differ from child to child.

Formative Assessment(s)

How will you know if students have successfully met the

outcomes?
Students will have successfully completed a persuasive
speech and poster that will be on the bulletin board for
everyone to see.
Students will show me they understand rights and
responsibilities for a president through their worksheet,
guided discussion, and chapter test.
What does success on this lessons outcomes look like?
Students will feel satisfied and proud that they have
completed their speech, getting to read it to the class.
Students will incorporate writing workshop with social
studies and show me what they have learned in both
subject areas.