LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

PART A: PRE-LESSON PREPARATION

Your Name: Jennifer Ferris

Course title: 8th Grade United States History

Unit title: Constitution and Citizenship

Unit questions:

  1. How has the Constitution set up a government that has lasted for over two centuries?
  2. What are the historical and philosophical foundations of American government?
  3. What are the principles of the Constitution?

Lesson Title and Number: Lesson 9: Citizenship Today

Materials to be used: Computer, Power Point presentation, SmartBoard, large post-it notes with citizenship quotes, lesson guide handout, “Where Is The Love” lyrics, “Where Is The Love” MP3, “Should Citizens Be Required to Vote?” handout, different colored highlighters, blank large post-its, index cards with Constitutional principles, markers, Creating America textbooks
Lesson Assessment Charts
List each lesson question for this lesson. / Where was this question addressed in this lesson?
1. What is the citizen’s relationship to the government? / Day 1 introductory activity (citizenship quotes), “Where Is The Love?” activity, mandatory voting article analysis, mandatory voting philosophical chairs (or letters to Representative), principles of Constitution “mini-murals,” Albert Einstein quote analysis
2. How does civic participation allow people to address public concerns? / Day 1 introductory activity (citizenship quotes), “Where Is The Love?” activity, letters to Representative, principles of Constitution “mini-murals”
3. How are the principles of the Constitution relevant today? / “Where Is The Love?” activity, mandatory voting article analysis, philosophical chairs (or letters to Representative), political cartoon analysis
List each lesson objective for this lesson. / How was this objective met in this lesson?
  • Students will understand the concepts of civic participation and popular sovereignty.
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  • Students will create their own definitions of these two terms.
  • In the “Where Is The Love?” activity, students are asked to consider what actions a person could take to address a public concern mentioned in the song.
  • Students gain an understanding of the importance of civic participation by analyzing newspaper articles on mandatory voting.
  • Students will reinforce their understanding of these two concepts by making the “mini-murals” and citing examples of these principles in the Constitution.

  • Students will make connections between values of citizenship and issues affecting their lives.
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  • In the Day 1 introductory activity, students must think about what citizenship and its responsibilities mean to them.
  • In the “Where Is The Love” activity, students consider what a public concern is, and how they affect people on global, national, and local levels.
  • By writing letters to their state representative, students understand their relationship to the government, and work on developing their own civic voices.

  • Students will be able to extrapolate data from a variety of sources (song lyrics, news clips, news articles)
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  • Students find examples of public concerns in the “Where Is The Love?” activity.
  • Students extrapolate information on low voter turnout from the NBC video.
  • Students identify arguments for and against mandatory voting by analyzing news articles on the topic.

List each NCSS Standard in this lesson / How DID YOUR STUDENTS MEET THIS standard?
IV: Individual Development and Identity / Through completing the “Where Is The Love?” activity, students consider which public concerns are of greatest importance to their personal lives, and what they can do to address them. Students also get the opportunity to develop their own views on a controversial issue – mandatory elections – through the philosophical chairs activity. Students also find a way to relate to the principles of the Constitution through the principle introductory activity.
X: Civic Ideals and Practices / Throughout this lesson, students gain an understanding of what civic participation is and why it is important. This is namely in the “Where Is The Love?” activity, in which students consider which issues are important to them, and how they could address them. Students also learn the consequences of a lack of civic participation through reading and analyzing newspaper articles on mandatory voting. Students are able to understand their relationship to the government by writing a fictional letter to their state representative. Additionally, through the “mini-murals” activity, students learn how the seven principles of the Constitution affect all citizens.
List each Delaware Standard in this lesson / How DID YOUR STUDENTS MEET THIS standard?
Civics Standard 3b (6-8): understand that American citizenship includes responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying the law, service in the armed forces when required, and public service. / Through reading about the cases for and against mandatory voting, students gain an understanding of civic responsibilities and their Constitutional foundations.
If Applicable, List the Common core in this lesson / How DID YOUR STUDENTS MEET THIS standard?
8. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas – Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims. / In the mandatory voting article analysis, students identify arguments for and against the author’s point of view. Students then assess how well the author was able to defend his/her position given the evidence in the article.

PART B: DAILY LESSON

(one to three days)

Lesson 9: Citizenship Today

Day 1

Lesson focus (3 minutes)
  • As students enter the room, the following question will be projected on the SmartBoard via a Power Point presentation: “What does it mean to be a citizen?” There will also be a directive on the board for students to place their homework on a stool at the front of the room as they walk in. The room will also be set up in a horseshoe arrangement for the final activity.
  • After students have taken their seats and the bell has rung, briefly review what was covered last class. Explain to students that we have seen that the Constitution can be changed, or amended.
  • Ask students to name the article of the Constitution that lays out this process (Article V). As a follow-up question, ask students how the amending process makes the Constitution a “living document.” (Students should already have ideas about this from the previous class and their homework assignment.) Emphasize that amending the Constitution allows it to adapt to American society’s needs and views as they change over time.
  • Tell students that today we will be discussing how the Constitution and its principles are relevant today. By the end of the lesson, students will understand why it is important to understand the foundations of American government, how they can use their civic voices to impact government, and why it is important to do so.
Intro activity (10 minutes)
  • Flip to the next slide on the PowerPoint presentation. Direct the students’ attention to the question on the SmartBoard: “What does citizenship mean to you?” Students will have one minute to respond to this prompt in their notebooks.
  • Tell students that there are six quotes pertaining to citizenship on large post-its around the room. The following quotes will be posted around the room:
  • “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” – President John F. Kennedy
  • “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke
  • “Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own opinion and stand by it.” – Martha Gellhorn
  • “Bad officials are elected by citizens who do not vote.” - George Jean Nathan
  • “At its most basic the democratic contract is a simple one: the right to vote comes with a responsibility to society, through tax payments and citizenship.” – Lucy Powell
  • “There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.” – Ralph Nader
  • Students will have one minute to decide which quote best reflects what citizenship means to them, and to stand by that quote, bringing their notebooks with them.
  • After they have chosen a quote, students will have two minutes to respond to the following prompt, which will be projected on the SmartBoard: “How does the quote you have chosen relate to your thoughts on citizenship?”
  • Students will then have two minutes to share their thoughts with their peers that have chosen the same quote.
  • The teacher will then call on one member of each group to briefly share what they think the quote means, and how this relates to their views on citizenship. Students will then be instructed to return to their seats.

Developmental section (57 minutes)

  • Defining popular sovereignty (5 minutes)
  • Students will return to their seats and receive a copy of the lesson guide handout.
  • Tell students that while the quotes represented different views, they did have something in common. To understand what that is we will briefly revisit the Preamble of the Constitution.
  • Briefly review the Preamble, showing the quote on the SmartBoard: “We the People…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
  • Ask students why the Preamble begins with “We the People.” What does this say about who gives the government power?
  • Explain that the Constitution is based on the concept of popular sovereignty, or the theory that “government is created by and is subject to the will of the people.” Project the definition on the SmartBoard and ask students to write it down in their own words.
  • After students have finished writing, ask a few student volunteers what they wrote for their definition.
  • Defining civic participation (7 minutes)
  • Using a think-pair-share strategy, students will be asked to consider how people give the government its power. Students should consider what was mentioned in the quotes they examined during the introductory activity. They will have two minutes to think and write down some ideas. Students will then have two minutes to discuss their answers with a partner, afterwards, the teacher will lead a brief class discussion on the question.
  • Possible student answers include: standing up for what is right, voting, having an informed opinion, service
  • Explain to students that all of these quotes somehow pertained to civic participation. Project definition of civic participation on the SmartBoard:
  • “Individual and collective actions designed to identify issues of public concern.”
  • Ask students to copy this definition on their handouts in their own words. After students have finished writing down their definitions, ask for a couple students to volunteer what they wrote.
  • Music and civics – “Where Is The Love?” (20 minutes)
  • Ask students what they think “public concerns” are. Explain that they are political and social issues that are faced by groups of people, and that people have differing opinions on.
  • On the lesson guide handout, tell students to write down two public concerns that the nation faces, and two public concerns that students face at Cab Calloway School of the Arts. Students will have three minutes to do this. Possible student answers to national concerns are: gay marriage, war, abortion, government spending, gun laws. Possible student answers to school concerns are: bullying, assessments, DCAS, cliques, safety. Share these as a class.
  • Pass out “Where Is The Love” lyrics. Explain that there are several public concerns mentioned in the song. As they listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics, students should be thinking about what these public concerns are, and what people can do to address them. Students should underline public concerns as the song is played.
  • Play “Where Is The Love” MP3.
  • Students will have five minutes to complete the following questions about the song, which are on the lesson guide handout:
  • What is the purpose of this song?
  • Name at least three public concerns mentioned in the song.
  • Pick the concern that you care most about. What are two actions (forms of civic participation) that you or other citizens could take to address it?
  • Review the questions as a class.
  • To highlight the need for civic participation and to make people aware of important issues in our society.
  • Terrorism, violence, racial discrimination, war, atrocities, greed, selfishness, violent images in media, inequality
  • Petition the government, protest, vote, contact elected officials, highlighting injustice, keeping up on current events, listening to and respecting others’ opinions, etc.
  • As students are volunteering their answers for this question, they will write their examples of civic participation on the whiteboard. In their notes, students will copy down this “master list” of forms of civic participation.
  • As students offer examples, follow-up by asking students why that particular form of civic participation is important.
  • Problems with civic participation (25 minutes)
  • Explain to students that various forms of civic participation allow citizens to have a voice in the government. There are many types of civic participation, which allow all people to have a say in how the government is run. While citizens must be 18 to vote, teenagers can still participate in civic life by contacting their representatives, staying up-to-date on current events and issues, and creating informed opinions in preparation to vote, and discussing issues with other people.
  • Tell students that civic participation is a responsibility of citizenship. While citizens have the right to vote, it is their responsibility to exercise that right. No one will make a citizen vote. In fact, many citizens do not.
  • Students will then watch a brief video clip from NBC Learn, “Vanishing Voter Project Examines Voter Apathy.” Tell students to listen for reasons why people do not vote in the video.
  • At 00:53, pause the video to explain the meaning of “apathy.”
  • In their notebooks, have students write down one reason why people do not vote. Students should then think of a possible solution to the problem. Call on a few student volunteers to share their answers.
  • If there is not enough time for students to brainstorm solutions, tell students that one solution that some people have proposed to increase voter turnout is to make voting mandatory.
  • Students will receive one of two articles: “Telling Americans to Vote, Or Else” or “A Case Against Mandatory Voting.” The former presents a case in favor of mandatory voting, and the latter presents a case against it. Students will also receive the “Should Citizens Be Required To Vote?” handout.
  • Students will initially work individually to identify the main idea and supporting arguments the author uses. Students will underline the main idea of the article, and highlight arguments in two different colors, depending on which side of the argument they represent. They will then compare their findings with a partner in order to complete the chart.
Wrap up/Closure/Culminating Experience (10 minutes)
 Option 1: Philosophical Chairs Activity
  • Explain to students that the reason the room is set up this way is for this final activity. Students will be debating about the articles they just read.
  • One side of the room represents those in favor of mandatory voting. The other side of the room represents those opposed. Students should sit according to which article they read.
  • There will also be a middle section that will be left empty for the start of the debate. This represents “undecided.”
  • The teacher will call on a student from either side to present an argument as to why mandatory voting should be enacted or not. The other side will then have the opportunity to refute that argument, and so on. As the debate progresses, students should move their seat depending on how their opinion changes.
  • The debate will progress until two minutes before the end of the period. At that time, students will be given a blank index card, and will write down their views on the issue as an exit slip.
  • Option 2: Letters to Representative
  • Writing from the opposite point of view than the article they read, students will write a brief letter to their state representative explaining why mandatory voting should or should not be enacted.
  • This will be handed in as an exit slip.

Day 2

Lesson Focus (2 minutes)

Remind students that last class we explored the individual’s relationship to government. We reviewed the Preamble and the fact that the government gets its power from the people. Ask the class what this concept is called (popular sovereignty). We also discussed how people can influence and have a say in government through certain actions. Ask the class what this concept is called (civic participation).

Tell students that this is their last class before the Constitution unit test. Today, we will be examining the seven principles of the Constitution, and how they relate to citizenship today.

Developmental Section