Integrated Unit: People and Environments - The Role of Government and

Responsible Citizenship
By - Kate Saretsky
Grade: 5
Subject: Social Studies
Rationale:
Students at the junior level are developing in maturity and are beginning to understand that they
are part of a bigger picture and are gaining in independence. As part of nurturing that
independence, students needs to understand that they do have a voice and they can play a role
in important change. This unit will challenge students to organise, understand and present
information in a way that makes them part of the process of change, rather than passively
understanding facts.
Pathways to Success Rationale: This unit naturally encompasses the messages in Pathways
to Success by exposing students to variety of different careers available to them in various
government sectors and NGOs.
Integration rationale: This unit is open ended depending on what students choose to explore
so possible integration could be in science, any of the art strands, and history/geography. This
unit will integrate technology as a means of powerful communication and ELA, speaking,
reading and writing. The final project will include one form of art chosen by students to provide
emotional impact in their presentation or PSA.
Big ideas:

Every citizen has a role to play in the overall well-being of

our Canadian society.
Citizens and governments must work together to create a
healthy future for all Canadians.

Overall expectations:

B1. Application: assess responses of governments in

Canada to some significant issues, and develop plans of
action for governments and citizens to address social and
environmental issues (FOCUS ON: Interrelationships;
Cause and Consequence)
B2. Inquiry: use the social studies inquiry process to
investigate Canadian social and/or environmental issues
from various perspectives, including the perspective of the
level (or levels) of government responsible for addressing
the issues (FOCUS ON: Perspective)
B3. Understanding Context: demonstrate an
understanding of the roles and key responsibilities of citizens
and of the different levels of government in Canada (FOCUS
ON: Significance)

Specific expectations:

B1.2 create a plan of action to address a social issue of local,

provincial/territorial, and/or national significance (e.g.,
homelessness, child poverty, bullying in schools, availability of
physicians in remote communities), specifying the actions to be
taken by the appropriate level (or levels) of government as well
as by citizens
B2.1 formulate questions to guide investigations into social
and/or environmental issues in Canada from various
perspectives, including the perspective of the level (or levels) of
government responsible for addressing the issues
B2.2 gather and organize a variety of information and data that
present various perspectives about Canadian social and/or
environmental issues, including the perspective of the level (or
levels) of government responsible for addressing the issues
B3.5 describe key actions taken by different levels of
government to solve some significant national,
provincial/territorial, and/or local issues

Students will be able to:

brainstorm a list of social issues that are relevant and current

identify the different levels of government and identify which
levels they may access in order to make change or seek
information
find their local level of government and identify the best way to
communicate with them
research, gather and identify information that pertains to their
social issue
summarize and explain their social issue in detail and answer
further questions when asked
create a public service announcement that shows the depth of
their understanding

Cross-curricular
connections/ Integration:

Visual arts/drama/dance/music/literature
Science (for environmental issues)
ELA
Technology

Students will know (learning I can understand that different levels of government are
expectations):
responsible for different concerns and areas in our society.
I can understand that I can take action to make change in our
world.
I can explain what level of government is responsible for the
concern that I have chosen to explore, and what steps I can
take to make change.
I can make a PSA that informs the public on a specific issue
that includes ideas for improvement based on research I have
completed.

Essential questions:

What are some social and environmental concerns that we face

as a society today? Why is it important that we understand what
these concerns are and steps we can take to help?
What levels of government are responsible for social and
environmental concerns? What is the role of an NGO?
How can we as citizens work together for a more positive
future?

Teaching strategies:

think, pair share

reflections/journalling
group discussion
scaffolding research activity
graphic organisers
individual and group work
student presentation through video (public service
announcement format, or other format of students choosing)

Learning skills:

inquiry led learning

reading and summarizing
gathering and organising information
choosing credible sources for research
group work
decision making
presenting information to make an emotional impact
decision making
cause and consequence
identifying different perspectives
determining significance of issues

Time frame: 10 class

periods of 60 minutes, with
extensions into visual arts

This unit is heavy on research and inquiry based exploration to

gather information, so I think three weeks of around ten classes
is needed.
The first three classes will be building the knowledge required
to complete the research and culminating task.
Students will need one or two classes to focus their issue and
determine what they need to know to continue.
Students will need five or six classes to research, gather and
organise information and then turn that information into the
culminating task, which can be a public service announcement
or another form of their choosing.
The last class will be on presenting and reflecting the work that
has been done and determining what further follow up can be
achieved.

Assessments:

Formative:
exit slips
journal entries/online class discussion postings
graphic organisers with written research
collaborative creation of rubric

Summative:
video PSA that shows understanding of their research and
understanding of connection between social issues and
government
rubric will be teacher led and students will have input