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
Carly,
ReplyDeleteI love the lesson and you've got some heavy-hitting Enduring Understandings. But our students have got to learn this and the sooner the better. Although we have already developed our lessons via the ADDIE model, I don't think this is the place for a play-by-play of what will happen in your classroom. In fact, starting from scratch with Understanding by Design, you would not yet know how you will reach your goals, only what they are. Actually creating the lesson is saved for the end in the "design" stage. If you have time with this lesson, you could blow it up a little bit and give students a few days to prepare and actually present their cases to some outside authority (the principal may not have enough time for this). Maybe they can actually use this process to make a difference in the school, actually getting something done like campaigning for access to a pond for the life science classes.
Carly I really like this topic. I think it is one the the whole country needs a bit of a refresher on, particularly with another presidential election coming up just over a year from now.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering a little bit about your Enduring Understandings. These questions should "drive discovery and allow for student participation in this discovery/understanding?" This is a great lesson to talk about whether or not the average citizen has any power at all in the creation and evolution of government.
I think a great hook for this lesson would be to talk about voter participation amongst different countries. Looking at statistics on this issues are often mind boggling but also create great conversations because it also raises more relevant questions.