Elementary Education Program

Department of Teacher & Learning Sciences

Design Document for Lesson Plan

Name: Christy MacLaren, Abby Lucero, Hali Reece

Grade Level: 5th
Concept/Topic: Social Studies
Length of Lesson (in minutes): 30-40 minutes

10 minutes: Intro/lesson
- 5 minutes intro (schoolhouse rock) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0
- Lesson description
2 minutes: Split students into groups
15 minutes: Activity
- Legislative Branch: students in legislative to each come up with a law and vote as a group
on each law if they want to pass it
- Judicial Branch: students in the judicial branch debate whether 2 laws we created is
constitutional or not
- Executive Branch: students in the executive branch will pass or veto laws we created and
will have to justify their answer
5-10 minutes: Conclusion
- quick write: have students write about the three branches of government and describe
what each branch does

Learning Objectives: What are your learning objectives? (What new understandings will the
students have as a result of this lesson? Make sure learning objectives are measurable.)

Students will be able to identify each branch of government and their roles.

Under which standards from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NC-SCOS) do these
learning objectives fall?

5.C&G.1.2 Summarize the organizational structures and powers of the United States government
(legislative, judicial and executive branches of government).

Key Tasks/Activities: What are the key activities or tasks that you plan to use?

Students will break into three groups for the three branches of government.

Legislative: rest of class

Judicial: 3 students
Executive: 3 students
 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher & Learning Sciences

The students in the legislative group will write and propose bills, the students in the executive
group will execute their power of veto, and the students in the judicial branch will see if the laws
passed violate the existing classroom constitution.

What is your rationale for why you have selected these particular tasks/activities to meet your
learning objectives?

When interviewed, the students had a very basic understanding of the 3 branches of government
and did not really know what each branch did. The students will essentially be turning into the 3
branches of government and working together to pass new laws for the classroom. Through this
activity, the students will gain a greater understanding of how laws are created and how the
branches of government work together.

Anticipating Students’ Responses: How do you anticipate that students will respond to your
planned activities/tasks? This does NOT mean their response effectively, but instead their
response academically (e.g., What prior knowledge or conceptions might they bring? How do
you think they will approach or solve the task(s)?). When necessary, please insert images of
your handwritten anticipated approaches/strategies. Be specific! Use your anticipated responses
to help you plan your questions in the lesson plan.

We know that students will be bringing little to no knowledge about our intended topic - this is
due to a diagnostic form of assessment which was given prior to our activity

Students will most likely respond in an enthusiastic manner - which will require good classroom
management

Because of the nature of the lesson, students will most likely be very engaged during the entirety
of the lesson - since the students will be creating their own laws & mean something to them

Responding to Students’ Responses: Describe how you will provide scaffolding for students
who are stuck, and describe how you will extend the thinking of students who have a firm grasp
on the target content/objectives.

Explain what each branch of government does and how they work together to pass laws.

Explanations of whom make up each branch of government

How a bill becomes a law flow chart

Further discussion of why each branch is important to the running of our government
 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher & Learning Sciences

Development of Practices among Students: Which disciplinary practices does your lesson aim
to develop? (e.g., “construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others”, “develop
and use models”) How does the task(s) develop the target practice(s)?

Our lesson aims to align tasks with learning goals. We want students to learn about the three
branches of government so we are having them act as each branch of government.

Assessment: Describe your assessment plan for the targeted learning objective(s). What
specific data/information will you use, and how will that data/information tell you that the
students have/have not met the objective?

We will assess the students by having them complete a quick write. Students will write the three
branches of government and explain what each branch does. This assessment hits our target
learning objectives because it will have students summarize the organizational structures and
powers of the United States government. If students cannot answer what each branch of
government does, we will know they did not meet the objective. If students can answer what
each branch of government does, we will know they have met the objective.

Vocabulary/Language Function: Define vocabulary that students will need to know in order to
access the content and goals of your lesson. Be precise and careful with your language. Please
attend to three types of vocabulary:
● Content vocabulary (e.g., obtuse, molecule, civil rights)
● Academic language (e.g., represent, model, compare)
● Key non-content vocabulary that is necessary to understand the task/activity

Legislative - Makes laws

Executive - Carries outlaws

Judicial - Evaluates laws

Veto - the power of a government official or group to keep something from taking effect

Nomination - the act of choosing a person to run for office

 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher & Learning Sciences

Supreme Court - the highest federal court in the United States, consisting of nine

appointed justices whose decisions on constitutional cases set precedents for all other

courts in the nation.

President - the head of a government that takes the form of a republic.

Vice-President - the title of the elected official of this rank in the U.S. government, who

acts as president of the Senate.

Cabinet - a group of officials who give advice to the head of a government.

Congress - the branch of a national government that makes laws

House of Representatives - the lower legislative house in many governments, including

the United States, most U.S. states, and countries such as Mexico and Japan.

Senate - one of the two houses of the United States Congress, or a similar part of the

national government in other countries

Classroom Management Plan: Describe your classroom management plan. Explain how you
will motivate students to engage in the lesson, how you will set and enforce expectations, and
how you will ensure that transitions are smooth and efficient.

Each intern will manage a branch of government. To get the students excited and engaged about
the lesson we will talk about how the students have a huge responsibility to pass laws and how
they are in a position of power. The students will also be voting on laws that are important to
them. They will be empowered because they will be the governing body. By having an intern
working closely with each group the students will be on task.