Instructional Strategies

Leading a discussion
Think Pair Share
Lecturer
Facilitating a Debate

The Importance of Voting 535 Ubd

UbD Stage One
The importance of voting!!!

Summary of Curricular Context:
This lesson is centered on showing students what representative democracy is and how if affects you when you do not participate in it. Students will first be shown this quote: “Democracy is the most demanding of all forms of government in terms of the energy, imagination and public spirit required of the individual” Students will then be asked to analyze this quote and make inferences as to what it might mean for them. Students will then be separated in small groups (4-5 people per group). They will be told that the school is being taken over by a new principal. This new principal has many new ideas about school programs and new rules that she thinks will make the school better. She has decided to meet with one student to find out about the school and discuss her plans. Each group must select a representative. First, they must make a list of qualifications they want this representative to have, and secondly, they must then consider each person in the group for the role, except for those people who have more than two piercings on their body. These "pierced people" can not be considered for the role of representative, and should not be given any say in the matter. Later on explain to the students that the people with piercings represented people who choose to not vote in an election. Then students will be asked to analyze the quote again and write a paragraph about eh quote and why it is important to contribute to American democracy.
Standard / Objectives for Unit or Lesson:
14.C.5 Analyze the consequences of participation and non-participation in the electoral process
14.C.4 Describe the meaning of citizenship at all levels of government and society in the United States.

Lesson Goal:
Students will know how a representative democracy works. Students will be able to identify their special role in a representative democracy.

Stage 1
Enduring Understandings

1. Understand the importance of one’s civic duties
2. Understand how people shape American democracy
3. Understand how a citizen’s democratic vote can promote positive change.
Essential Questions What are the essential questions you can ask to guide inquiry?
1. How do citizens of America have a role in democracy?
2. How has and will democracy shape America?
3. What does it mean to be a productive member of society?






Knowledge & Skills

Knowledge Skills
• Pick the member of group most suitable to be representative
• What it takes to be a good leader
• What being represented means
• What democracy is
• How to research people in the community







• How to Read
• Work in Groups
• Analyze quotes
• Computer skills
• Research

School of Rock

This video clip is from the movie school of Rock starring Jack Black. This movie is a about a teacher who is placed in a private school where it seems like the students are very bored with their everyday lives, and Jack Black is also very bored with his surroundings. Jack Black decides to create a band with his students with alternative motives in mind However by the end of the movie he ends up truly caring about the kids and their well-being. In this clip Jack Black is being observed by the principle because there have been complaints of "wired noises" coming from his classroom. The teacher is attempting to show how he uses music to help the children learn. I thought this was an interesting clip because I know has resident Teachers with A.U.S.L. we will be observed very often and will probably be very nervous at first like Jack Black seems to be in the clip. I also do think that there is definitely a different dynamic in the classroom when there is only the teacher and students compared to when there are administrators in the room. I hope as a resident teacher I can learn to bridge the gap between these two situations.

ADDIE Design Lesson Plan

Medieval Feudalism

1. Gain Attention: Show a short YouTube video clip of a Robin Hood story that shows familiar medieval characters such as kings, knights, peasants etc.  After the conclusion of the movie clip ask who wants to be king (or Queen) of the class.  Choose one student.
2. Establish Purpose: Explain to the class that today we are going to be learning about the Feudal system (write on the board) which was a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their land holdings among lesser lords or vassals. 
3. Stimulate recall: Ask the students to remind you of why people may have been organized in such a manner in 500 AD. (The fall of Rome, there was no centralized government, people needed to be protected, it was better to be under a lords control then to be out on your own) write these examples on the side of the board.
4. Present Content: On the board write all of the different roles that people played in the feudal system.  King, Knights, Vassals, the Manor, the 3 field system.
5. Guided Learning: Have the student who you chose to be king come up to the front of the class.  Then together pick four people to be lords, four people to be knights, and then tell the rest of the class that they are vassals (peasants).  On the board draw a large circle and explain that this is the Kings land and all of you play an important part of the workings of the land.  Then proceed to draw a castle (where the king lives) then draw some manors (where the lords and Knights lived) and then draw little circles of land that the vassals worked on. 
6. Elicit Performance: While drawing the different aspects of the Feudal system on the board, call on students to explain the roles of each of the people in the feudal system.
7.  Provide Feedback: While calling on the students to explain to you about the feudal system provide deeper meaning to the different roles of the ancient people and guide them to the correct answer if they do not know it at first.  Let students help one another out if they are called on and do not know the answer.
8. Assess Performance: After every student has been called on at least once erase everything on the board and ask the student to draw their own kingdom and tell them they must include: One king, four lords, four Knights, and eight vassals.  They also must either draw it or write  explaining the relationship they have towards one another.
9. Enhance Retention: Go back to the movie clip that you showed at the beginning of class and point to the different characters in the clip and have the students tell you who is the king, the vassal, the knight, etc…

Rubric for Feudalism Exercise

8 pts	There is the correct number of participants in the diagram and they are all in the right order and places in the “kingdom” The relationships are explained correctly
6 pts	All of the characters are there and the diagram is mostly correct, but not all the relationships are explained correctly
4 pts	Not all of the characters are depicted on the diagram, and not all of the relationships between the characters are explained correctly
2 – 0 pts	There are few or no characters on the diagram, there are no relationships explained.

Teaching Philosophy

As productive members of society we all have certain obligations to uphold, but it is in my opinion that teachers have one of the most important jobs of all.  Teachers are required to shape the minds of young people and prepare them for the real world with all its trails and tribulations.  As a social science teacher I have an advantage over many other subjects because of how all-encompassing the social sciences are.  I am able to utilize the benefits of the social sciences as a subject to excite my students about their education.  While teaching history I have the ability to show my students where they come from which can in turn provide them with a new found identity.  Helping my students become aware of the past can influence their possible accomplishments in their future.  By teaching young people the importance of the social sciences, emphasizing social and civic awareness, and creating a community in my classroom, I am able to find my students’ highest potential, and help them realize it as well.

           

 Young people need to feel that they have the opportunity for success in life and that they have the necessary tools to do so.  Teachers have the job of instilling knowledge in their students and demonstrating that they care about their futures.  By showing the significance of history in my student’s lives, passionate promoting civic ideals, and creating a supportive community of learners, I emphasize the individual potential of each student and help them apply it to a broader spectrum of possibilities. 

School

This is my first blog. Wooo!