Collaborative Lesson/ American Government

Date: 10 /15 / 2015

Content Area
Social Studies

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

Subject of the lesson

The House and Senate
Standards for the 21st Century Learner
1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.

Content Standards
Georgia Performance Standards

1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format ( e.g., textual,
visual, media, digital) in order to make inference and gather meaning.
2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

SSCG9 The student will explain the differences between the House of
Representatives and the Senate, with emphasis on terms of office, powers,
organization, leadership, and representation of each house .

Understandings

Essential Questions

Overarching Understandings

Overarching questions

Students will understand how population affects representation in Congress?

How does the legislative process work?

Students will understand the differences between the House and Senate and their
roles in the legislative process

How are citizens affected by the legislative process?

Topical Questions

Related Misconceptions

What are the terms of office for House and Senate?

The House and Senate are one body.

Who are the Majority and Minority leaders for each body?

The President makes laws.

All Congressmen and women are rich.
The legislative branch is dishonest.

Knowledge.What students know

Skills.What students will know

Students are aware of the three branches of government.

Students will know the number of members and what they are based on.

Students are aware of the system of checks and balances.

Students will know the leaders of each body.

Students will know the powers of each provided by the Constitution.

Stage 2:Assessment Evidence

Performance Task
Description

After the lesson the students will be able to describe the difference between the House and Senate. Students will be able to
describe roles of both branches of Congress.

Goal

Roles- Under the guidance of the instructor and media specialist the students will create an interactive poster and create a constructed response
Audience: 10th and 11th Graders teachers, media specialist
Situations Students will work in the classroom environment
Product: Students will create an interactive poster
Other Evidence: Students will be provided a handout on plagiarism

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Where are your students
heading? Where have they
been? How will you make sure
students know where they are
going?

Students will bring prior knowledge regarding the House and Senate. Students will answer a constructed response at the which will be
very similar to the one completed prior to the start of the lesson.

How will you hook students at the

beginning of the unit?

The lesson will begin with students watching the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qC32JRxOF8 . In this video students in
New York are asked to create a project on the differences between the House and Senate. After viewing the video students will be
asked what information they have on the differences between the two houses of Congress.

What events will help students

experience and explore the big
idea and questions in the unit?
How will you equip them with the
needed skills and knowledge?

The students along with their partners or by themselves will complete A Glogster Interactive poster on the differences. The teacher will
provide the students with a list of resources. The students are expected to list the difference in terms, leadership, powers, and
representation. The poster must include one of each.

How will you cause students to

reflect and rethink? How will you
guide them in rehearsing,
revising, and reefing their work?

Students will be provided a rubric to evaluate their work as they complete their posters. The students will be reminded to evaluate their
posters based on the rubric.

How will you help students to

exhibit and self evaluate their
growing skills, knowledge, and
understanding throughout the
unit?

Students will be encouraged to reflect on the information they have used to create their posters and answer the constructed response.
What are the differences? Do you see one body as more powerful than the other? Why or why not?

How will you tailor and other wise Students will be allowed to use the medium of their choosing to create the poster. They can use audio (voice), pictures, or websites to
personalize the learning plan to
create their posters. They can also choose other mediums such as easel.ly or power point if they choose.
optimize the engagement and
effectiveness of all students,
without compromising the goals
of the unit.
How will you organize and
sequence the learning activities
to optimize the engagement and
achievement of all students.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Class discussion on the legislative Branch

Introduction to Plagiarism and what is plagiarism.
Students complete interactive poster using Glogster.
Students complete constructed response.