Unit Topic #2: Foundations of Government

Subject/Course: Civics
Title: (9-10 days)
Grade/s: 7 Name: Dimitri Syros

Unit Focus/ Desired Results

Standards/Goals:

Standard 1 Demonstrate an understanding of the origins and purposes of government, law, and the
American political system

Standard 2 Evaluate the roles, rights, and responsibilities of U. S. Citizens and determine methods of active
participation in society, government, and the political systems

Supporting/Repeating Standards:
LAFS.68.RH.2.6 - Identify aspects of a text that reveal an authors point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded
language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
LAFS.68.RH.3.9 - Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

LAFS.68.RH.2.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
Enduring Understandings: Essential Questions:
Students will understand that
Why natural rights are considered Enlightened
Americas Founding Fathers were ideas?
influenced by a variety of Enlightenment
thinkers and ideas What evidence can be used to prove that the
United States democratic ideals were influenced
American colonists rebelled against British by John Locke and Montesquieu?
rule as a result of grievances against British
policies and actions.

The Declaration of Independence set the

stage for the development of the role of
American government. .

Students will know Students will be able to

Key Course Themes

Popular Sovereignty Recognize how Enlightenment ideas including
Civic Virtue for the Common Good Montesquieu's view of separation of power and John
Individual Rights Locke's theories related to natural law and how
Rule of Law Locke's social contract influenced the Founding
Separation of Powers Fathers.
Checks and Balances Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill
Representative Democracy of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine's
"Common Sense" had on colonists' views of
Major Concepts government.
Enlightenment ideas Describe how English policies and responses to
John Locke colonial concerns led to the writing of the
Declaration of Independence.
Montesquieu
Analyze the ideas (natural rights, role of the
Influence from Englands early government
 Magna Carta government) and complaints set forth in the
English Bill of Rights Declaration of Independence.
Mayflower Compact
Thomas Paines Common Sense
Declaration of Independence
Colonial Grievances/ complaints
Natural Rights
Parts of Declaration of Independence

Unit Vocabulary

(EOC Content Focus and Key Terms)

English Bill of Rights, colonial complaints, Enlightenment, founding fathers, Magna Carta, natural law, social
contract, limited monarchy, self-government, Mayflower Compact, Common Sense, oppression, tyranny,
assent Acts of Parliament, boycott, colony, common law, compact, consent of the governed, delegates,
democracy, endowed, grievances, independence, just powers, legislature, liberty, limited government ,
parliament, political systems, preamble (Declaration of Independence), precedent, repeal, sovereign, tariff,
taxation without representation, unalienable, quartering

Technology Resources

Soomo Publishing (Declaration of Independence music video)

www.Soomopublishing.com/declaration

FLREA (Civics Wheel, Section 2, Face Place & Montesquieu)

http://www.flrea.org/

iCivics.org
http://www.icivics.org

Center for Civic Education

http://www.civiced.org/

Boston Tea Party:

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/teaparty.htm

Declaration of Independence:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/web01/segment8.html

Colonial Resistance
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/web01/segment3.html

Revolution:
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/index.html

Joint Center for Citizenship: www.floridacitizen.org

Alignment to Class Vision

 One aspect of my vision is pushing my students to a high academic standard and challenging them with
high school materials. This unit will provide students with an opportunity to make connections as they
interpret difficult primary sources across a number of mediums and build upon their worldviews.

Another goal is for students to go beyond passively accepting things as they are and delve into how and
why our world is structured as it is. This unit will give students an opportunity to survey historical
documents and accounts so that they can adopt a mindset of questioning in coming to an
understanding of how history affects their daily lives

Additionally, I want my students to realize that without struggle, there can be no progress, both inside
and outside of the classroom. My class will feature an emphasis on student improvement as 100% of
students will be expected and deemed capable to reach their growth goals for the course. This unit will
give students an opportunity to build on their goals from the previous unit.

Formative Assessments/Evidence

Social Contract Case Study: Idi Amin & Uganda: Students will write a 5 paragraph essay utilizing DBQ-style stimuli
based around the dictatorship of Idi Amin in Uganda during the 1970s. The purpose of the essay will be for students to
demonstrate their understanding of social contract and whether or not the social contract was broken in the example.
This assessment will provide students with the opportunity to write a comprehensive 5 paragraph essay every 9
weeks with improvement in grammar and synthesis of ideas from quarter to quarter.

Colonial Grievances Newspaper Article: Students will create a newspaper article in small groups analyzing colonial
resistance to British rule in America based on British actions and policies. The purpose of this assignment will be to
access the depth of which students understand the impact of British tax acts and policies on American sentiments
during the period. The DBQ sources will provide the rigor for students to become high school-ready readers, writers,
listeners, and speakers.
Bell Ringers: Students will complete daily diagnostic assessments through bell ringer activities in their journals.

Vocabulary Quizzes: Students will be given between one and two vocabulary quizzes during the duration of the unit.
Each quiz will also be accompanied by a few multiple-choice questions tailored in the style of the End-of-Course Exam.
This assessment will help students practice in order to average an 80% or higher on all assignments, quizzes, and
tests. Furthermore, this assessment will expand on our broader goal of students averaging at least a 4/6 on their
Common Core Assessments.

CER Writing Segment: Students will review the Declaration of Independence and have a debate on: all men are
created equal Students will be presented with different sources and documents to support their reasoning in 7-9
sentences. This assessment allowed students to reach our broader goals of students will become enablers of their
own growth and actively leverage the history that they learn with their everyday life experiences, students will
understand how history shapes the world that we live in and how they fit into a larger system and students will
become more socially aware of oppressive systems that exist in society as a result of things that we learn
about in class.

Kahoot: Students will take teacher-created interactive quiz on Enlightenment Thinkers as a behavioral incentive.
Summative Assessment

The summative assessment for this unit will be based on a 20 question district provided benchmark assessment. Since
this assessment will be administered by the district via the online platform ThinkGate, I do not have access to the
question bank. The questions will be based on all standards and benchmarks outlined in the pacing guide and reflected
on above. A sample style question (as provided by the state EOC practice guide) has been provided below:
http://socialsciences.dadeschools.net/files/EOC%20Item%20Specs/SS.7.C.1.3.pdf

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their
CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.--
That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the
Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such
Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.
-Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776

11. Based on this excerpt, the Founding Fathers most likely justified their right to a new government based
more closely on the beliefs of which philosopher?

a. Thomas Hobbes
b. John Locke
c. Charles Montesquieu
d. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I will use this form of summative assessment because I know that it is tightly aligned to the state benchmarks and
standards of which my students will be assessed in their EOC exam. Furthermore, data from this assessment will be
organized by ThinkGate software into tight statistical analysis in which I can detect trends in the data, plan for
remediation and group students for differentiated instruction.
Day 1: SWBAT identify the philosophies of Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu, John Locke and others by
creating a graphic organizer (based on Flocabulary video).

Day 2: SWBAT understand the influence that Enlightenment philosophers had on the government created by the
Founding Fathers by cross analyzing texts (Locke and Thomas Jefferson).

Day 3: SWBAT understand the origins and purposes of government, law and the American political system by
completing a Why Government worksheet and beginning their social contract case study essays.

Day 4: SWBAT trace the impact of the following document (Magna Carta) had on the colonists views of government
and how it impacted the development of government in the United States by analyzing a rap video clip.

Day 5: SWBAT trace the impact of the following document (English Bill of Rights) had on the colonists views of
government and how it impacted the development of government in the United States by examining political cartoons.

Day 6: SWBAT trace the impact of the following document (Mayflower Compact) had on the colonists views of
government and how it impacted the development of government in the United States by analyzing video clips and
creating their own fictional country and compact.

Day 7: SWBAT trace the impact of the following document (Thomas Paines Common Sense) had on the colonists
views of government and how it impacted the development of government in the United States by completing a mind-
map and taking their vocabulary quiz.

Day 8: SWBAT understand how oppressive British policies lead the colonists to declare their independence from Britain
by creating colonial newspaper articles.

Day 9: SWBAT understand the grievances outlined by the Declaration of Independence by analyzing DBQ texts and
completing a CER writing segment.

Day 10: SWBAT be successful on their district-mandated benchmark assessment.

Learning Plan (Pacing)