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Lesson Plan Design

Subject: Social Studies Grade: 4th grade Lesson Topic: The Bill of Rights and Me!
Candidate’s Name: Tatianna Ortega ID # 040066666
Site Supervisor: Bob Bachmeier NU Supervisor: Jessica Rios
Date: _____11/13/18_______________
1. Introduction: (Identify Grade Level K12 Academic Content Standard(s), rationale, create bridges
from past learning, behavior expectations)
.
Standard: Rationale:
3.4.3 Know the histories of important local and national This will satisfy the California
landmarks, symbols, and essential documents that create a requirements in third grade for government
sense of community among citizens and exemplify cherished learning. All the needs of the whole class
ideals (e.g., the U.S. flag, the bald eagle, the Statue of will be met, including modifications for
Liberty, the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of ELL, special needs, and gifted students.
Independence, and the U.S. Capitol).
This activity is designed to reinforce prior
3.4.2 Discuss the importance of public virtue and the role of knowledge of the U.S. Government to help
citizens, including how to participate in a classroom, in the with learning new concepts such as the Bill
community, and in civic life. of Rights and the Constitution. With this
previous knowledge, students should have
Bridges from past learning: 90% mastery understanding those new
Prior week’s learning have discussed the three branches of concepts by the end of the lesson.
the U.S. government and what their roles and functions are
for the U.S. Discussion have also been had on what a Developing new knowledge of the U.S.
community is, how it functions, and the roles and Government and building a foundation,
responsibilities for each member. will help them later on with their Social
Studies development throughout school.
Behavior expectations:
The majority of the class are focused learners with minor
redirection needed. A few of the boys in the class will need
more monitoring and reminders that socializing instead of
work is not appropriate. The class has been active in learning
about the U.S. and CA government and are eager to continue
expanding on the knowledge they have attained.

2. Learner Outcome(s)/Objective(s): (What will students learn from this lesson? How will you
measure mastery of the outcome?)

Behavioral Objective: Rationale:

 Students will be able to correctly cut and glue 100% With 71% of students at or above grade
of the time, since they are now in 3rd and 4th grade, level, this activity should be not be
and mastered those skills in Kindergarten and first something they rush through, but
 grade.
 Students will be able to recognize all three Branches
of the Government correctly 95% of the time, and
correctly determine what each branch does and who
is in charge, 85% of the time.
 Students will be able to understand what the Bill of
Rights are and recognize at least one amendment by
the end of the lesson 90% of the time.
The class will first discuss what we have previously talked
about in the government. A cut and paste activity along with
a review will happen. Then a whole class reading will
happen, followed by a pair activity, then a whole class
sharing, and ending with an individual response to determine
material retained.
Teacher will observe students in paired groups, where they
will be able to apply knowledge recently learned. They will
be able to share and compare ideas. The class will then
reinforce what they learned during the whole class
participation.
Mastery and knowledge of retained material will be
determined after the class activity. Teacher will check work,
especially individual sentence and follow up with a mix and
match test in the next week.
Any ELL and special needs students will be assisted through
the class activity with help from the teacher or aide. They
will also be given pictures to go along with the 3 Branches
and the Bill of Rights, in order to help master.
3. Pre-assessment Activity: (Determine students’ abilities to achieve the learner outcome and
prescribe instruction accordingly. Consider: linguistic background, academic language abilities,
content knowledge, cultural and health considerations, interests and aspirations, physical
development, social development, emotional development. )
What do you know about this class?
This is a third/fourth grade combo class. The majority of
students are at or above grade level on academics. This
activity will be appropriate for their level and prior
knowledge of the subject.
Considerations:
Linguistic background – 64% of students (9 students) speak
only English at home, 22% (3) students speak both English
and Spanish at home, 7% (1) student speaks both English and
something that will challenge them and
require them to use previous knowledge.
When working with a peer, students can
use more relatable terms to help each other
understand vocabulary or concepts that are
still unclear. “Cooperative learning is
designed to encourage students to help and
support their peers in a group rather than
compete against them.” Pg. 162 (Eby,
Herrell, and Jordan, 2011) Peer work
should be encouraged and seen by students
as another tool to help them learn, rather
than a burden or punishment.
Students are also given the opportunity to
work individually with their own thought
processes. They will have time to ask
questions and get terms clarified
throughout the entire lesson. Individual
work is beneficial to all students, because it
gives them time to work and learn in their
own style and way.
Rationale:
Students have been learning about U.S.
Government for the past week. They have
developed a general concept about
government and how it runs. Being able to
break down the government and Bill of
Rights into more manageable pieces will
not only help them now, but later on in
high school government.
This activity will not only facilitate
Tagalog at home, and 7% (1) student speaks both English
and Punjabi at home.
Academic language abilities – STAR Reading tests have
determined that 71% (10) students are at or above grade level
in ELA, while 29% (4) students are below grade level in
ELA. 29% (4) of students participate in a Reading group
during school hours, ran by a retired teacher of 30 years.
Content knowledge – In STAR Math, 71% (10) students are
at or above grade level, and 29% (4) students are below
grade level. (The students who are below in both subjects are
different in Math versus ELA). Similarly, those same
students who are on or above grade level, are determined
through teacher assessments to be on or above grade level in
Social Studies, Science, and Religion. The same fluctuation
occurs with those students who are below grade level.
Culture and health considerations – One 3rd grade student
has diagnosed ADHD, and no other known allergies or
illnesses. There are zero students who qualify for ELL or
Special Education services. 3 students are regularly tardy,
while the entire class has great attendance.
Interests and aspirations – The majority of the boys have a
high interests in video games and sports. While the girls are
more interested in art and drawing. Half of the class are avid
readers, and the other half have low motivation to read, even
if the book is about something they like. They have goals set
all over the spectrum from sports players, to doctors,
scientists, and even a Priest.
students need to share with a peer, but also
to develop language that correlates with
government. By pairing up students to
share, this will help with their need to be
social during class time, and also give them
reassurance on any possible parts that they
need more clarification on.
We will refer back to government
throughout the rest of Social Studies this
school year, as well as make correlations
between the current government and the
law of the land in the Bible. (We are a
Catholic school and intertwine religion into
other subjects).
The teacher guided practice before and
after paired work, is designed to help those
who need more clarification and also work
better alone. Having the teacher lead the
beginning and end of the activity will keep
the students engaged and excited, as long
as the teacher keeps the material relevant
and relatable. Also, with teacher lead
activities, keeping the excitement up, will
help to alleviate some anxiety in those
students who feel they won’t or don’t
understand.

Physical development – Majority students seem to be at age

appropriate development with height and weight. Two
students are shorter for their age than their peers, while a 3
students are taller than their peers.

Social development – They are a very social group with

only a few who continuously follow the “no talking” time
rule. 64% (9) of students are involved in sports, music or
attend the extended day program after school. 50% (7) of
students receive free or reduced lunch.

Emotional development – All students except for one can

take constructive criticism well and transition great between
subjects. One student cries under the desk when is frustrated
with work, peers, or teacher. Parents are aware and working
with doctors and teacher to better help the student.
Socioeconomic Considerations – About half of the parents
hold jobs as professionals, while the other half work in the
service industry and day laborers.
4. Differentiation, Adaptation & Accommodation Strategies: (Based on the pre-assessments, modify
Learning Activities based on learner characteristics to meet the needs of ELL & special needs
students, highly achieving students and low achieving students)
During this activity, review of the branches of government
will be reinforced. New concepts such as the Bill of Rights
will be discussed thoroughly with the goal to have all
students understand the 10 Amendments, and have 3 or more
memorized by the end of the lesson.
Modification for ELL & Special Needs students:
 Utilize pictures to help to explain what each
amendment means.
 Work in small group with teacher or class aide to
reduce anxiety of working with a higher achieving
peer.
 Adjust handouts into a simpler form of writing to
help better understand the idea behind the
information being discussed.
 Teacher can use knowledge of learning style to
break apart the activity into manageable pieces.
 Whenever possible, have student work with a peer
who is compassionate to their needs and will help
them understand material.
Modifications for High Achieving Students:
 Group these students with lower achieving students
during pair work, to utilize their high knowledge in
a way that they are able to teach their partner.
 Call on those students during the class share activity
to get student engagement started.
 Have these students follow up lesson with a small
paragraph of their understanding of the
amendments.
Modifications for Low Achieving Students:
 Pair up with a higher achieving student to be able to
ask questions and receive information in a more
manageable and broken down way.
 Give the handouts in smaller manageable parts, so
not to overwhelm them with too much work in front
of them.
 Have teacher and aide check in with them often to
Rationale:
This activity is not only important to the
general class, but also to the ELL, special
need, higher achieving and lower achieving
students as well.
For ELL and special needs students, this
lesson will be broken down into more
manageable and understandable pieces a
little at a time. They will be able to work
with words that correlate with the actual
picture describing what the set of words
mean. They will have constant feedback
and guidance from the teacher or classroom
aide.
Higher achieving students can utilize their
quick mastery of the information learned in
the lesson, to be able to develop the
knowledge further and think outside the
box.
Lower achieving students will not only
have teacher support throughout the lesson,
but also have an opportunity to work with a
peer and hear the material spoken in a way
they can understand. Some will also feel
more comfortable asking a peer a question,
instead of the teacher.
Teaching for all levels and types of
students is an important part of being a
teacher. Adjusting and modifying lessons
should become like second nature once a
teacher is aware of their students learning
styles and educational needs. Adjusting
work for the different types of students,
allows all student an opportunity to learn in
a way that makes sense to them. Giving
 see if assistance is needed. students the opportunity to relate material
to real world examples not only helps them
understand the material better, but also
builds their confidence in learning.

5. Resources: (Identify materials needed for this lesson accounting for varying degrees of skill level)

Pre-Assessment Activities: Rationale:

The week prior to the activity, the class has been talking
about the U.S. Government and how it is ran.
Text book, handouts and small video clips have been utilized
in class
Explicit instructions:
Overhead projector with pull down screen
Various materials to use as examples
Guided activity and collaborative groups:
Guided activity with teacher:
Overhead projector with pull down screen
Social Studies journal
Various handouts
Scissors and glue stick
Previous work on the U.S. Government has
prepared them for this lesson and new
material. Some information will be a
review, while other information will be
new.
All the materials for the lesson and
activities are designed to meet the needs of
all students, while also encouraging
students to draw upon previously learned
knowledge of the subject.

Pairs:
Scissors and glue stick
Handouts
Social Studies journal

Individual activity:
Blank lined paper
Pencil and eraser
Student volunteers to share

6. Learning Activities: Explicit Teacher Instruction - (Explain, model, demonstrate, check for
understanding)
Explain: Rationale:
First teacher will explain to the entire class about the goal “Often teachers begin with a statement of
and learning objective of the lesson. purpose…called providing an anticipatory
set, is used both to gain attention and to
The goal for this activity is to understand the U.S. motivate students to be interested in the
Government better. The learning objective is to be able to lesson.” Pg. 135 (Eby, Herrell, and Jordan,
understand the government through learning and 2011) Goals and learning objectives are
understanding the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Model and demonstrate:
1. (10 minutes) Students will already have their Social
Studies journals, scissors and a glue stick prior to beginning
the lesson. The first handout with the 3 Branches of
Government and their descriptions are to be passed out.
Students are given instructions on how to cut and glue top
sheet. Once completed, students are asked which description
goes with which branch of government. Teacher will take
volunteers with quiet hand raised. Once all three descriptions
have been matched, they will be glued under their branch.
Teach is using overhead to model for students.
2. (15-20 minutes) Next, students will be given a handout
that talks about the Constitution. Students can volunteer to
read a paragraph at a time. Teacher will clarify any new
information or words after each paragraph or if any questions
come up throughout the reading. Teacher will also have the
reading material on the screen through the overhead
projector. Once completed with that, a hand out on the Bill of
Rights will be given to students to glue into their Social
Studies journals. Then one at a time, teacher and students
will go over the first 10 amendments for understanding and
clarity.
Check for understanding:
Once teacher has finished going over all the material with
students, teacher will ask open ended questions to check for
understanding of material. Questions could be: The
government can’t demand that this group stay in your home?,
or When can you use your freedom of speech?
7. Learning Activities: Guided Practice/ Collaborative Practice (Check for understanding and
provide feedback and re-teaching)
Guide practice:
3. (10-15 minutes) Teacher will explain that students will
pair up with the person in the next row over, row 1 with row
2 and row 3 with row 4. They will close all books and put
any handouts away. Each pair will be given a blank handout
pre-labeled one through ten. Then they will be given the 10
amendments on a handout in random order. They are to cut
out the 10 amendments, and then with their partner they will
try to place the amendments in the order they remember.
If ELL or Special needs students had been in the class, they
would have gone in a small group with the class aide to work
always an important part of any lesson
because it gets the students in the mind
frame for the information. This is also
important to help motivate the students to
want to know about what they are going to
learn and help to keep them engaged.
The handouts and journal will continue to
be referenced back through, throughout the
unit. Helping students to master the
information by the end of the unit.
Teacher modeling and explaining is always
important, especially for visual learners.
This will help all students to see exactly
what is expected of them throughout the
lesson and how to do tasks correctly.
Teacher modeling also sets the tone for
how the activity should flow. When
improper demonstrations or explanation
occur, students will get off task and do the
work incorrectly.
Student feedback is a great way for
teachers to assess which students acquired
which material from the lesson. Oral
assessments help teachers quickly find out
if the lesson was a good one for the entire
class or only select students. Teachers can
also find out who was listening and
actively participating with their partner.
Rationale:
Having students engage in pair work is
important to their learning process. Peers
can relate to each other and help each other
understand concepts and material in
different ways that make sense to them. It
also helps build social and communication
skills.
“Performance sampling is a form of
authentic assessment where a student is
observed in the process of accomplishing
on this assignment. They would be given pictures to go along
with the amendments to help them make better sense.
Check for Understanding:
After the time is up, the teacher will call on each group to
share what they believed was the correct order. Once all
groups have gone, teacher will place the correct order on the
overhead for all groups to see. Partners will both put their
names on their amendments and turn them in.
8. Independent Practice: (Provide practice that supports the learning outcome. Note: Independent
activities are assigned assuming that students understand the concept well enough to work on their
own.)
Independent Practice:
When finished with group work, students will move their
desks back to their original position. The will then be
allowed to use their notes and write a short paragraph, 3-5
sentences, on what they think is the most important
amendment and why. This work will be turned in when
finished.
Check for Understanding:
Teacher will be able to review individual short answers to be
able to assess where comprehension level is for each student,
after activity.
9. Assessment and Evaluation: (Describe how you will assess and/or evaluate the students’ learning.
Describe differentiating assessment strategies you will use for ELL, special needs students, highly
achieving students and low achieving students.)
Whole class assessment:
During the discussion and information sharing, teacher will
be able to assess who is paying attention and who is not.
Based on questions and answers, teacher will also be able to
assess who is comprehending the material, who is having
some trouble, and who is just not understanding.
Modifications for:
ELL – Teacher will be able to observe students during whole
class activity and paired work. Teacher can have students
draw some of the amendments they remember instead of
writing about them.
Special needs – Teacher will be able to observe student
during whole class and paired work. Depending on the level
of need and learning style for the students, teacher can have
academic tasks and is evaluated in the way
in which the tasks are done.” Pg. 124 (Eby,
Herrell, and Jordan, 2011) This way the
teacher can walk around listening and
observing the pairs. The teacher can
monitor who is participating and helping
and who is not even trying. The teacher can
also figure out what students still need
more help with mastering the material.
Rationale:
These small paragraphs will not only help
the students to think back on the entire
lesson and recollect material in order to
show what they have learned on the paper.
By putting their own ideas on paper, it
helps the teacher to be able to see their
amount if learning, as well as help the
students to make sense of the material.
Rationale:
This is just the beginning of their education
process of governments. Building a strong
foundation on terms and concepts will help
students throughout their years in school.
Modification for all students should be a
priority for teachers in order for all
students to be able to learn and retain
information. Making the work too easy or
too hard is more of a hindrance than a
learning process. Students should have
work that makes sense to them in a way
that challenges them to think and explore
new ideas.
them draw pictures of some of the amendments, utilize the
Chromebook to write out what they learned, or even have
them tell the teacher what they learned.

High achieving students - These students can write out a

longer paragraph explaining why all the amendments are
important, and if any need updating for this current day and
age.

Low achieving students – These students can still write out

what they think is the most important amendment to them,
but in simple sentences or bullet points for their reasons why.
They can even talk through the reasons with the teacher or
aide before writing.

10. Closure: (Describe how students will reflect on what they have learned.)

Once students are done with their writing, they will share
what they think the U.S. would be like if there had never
been a Constitution or Bill of Rights. Teacher will inform
them that volunteers will be called on first, and then the rest
of the class will be called on, that all student participate is
required. All students will get the opportunity to share
because there is really no right or wrong answer, and all
students should be able to come up with an idea. This will
also help the teacher in assessing who really understand what
the government does for the U.S.
Students will continue to review and use this information in
the days to follow, eventually ending with an end of unit test
to see if mastery of the concepts was achieved.
Rationale:
It is definitely important to review as a
whole class what was learned during the
lesson. Students can share ideas, opinions,
questions or even comments. Some
students will even get thoughts or concepts
clarified just by listening to other students
share.
“Summative assessments are typically
given at the end of a unit of study or
sequence of lessons to determine how well
individual students have mastered the
material presented.” Pg. 207 (Eby, Herrell,
and Jordan, 2011) Final assessments,
whether they are the standard paper test,
project, or even a poster should be
administered so that the teacher can see
where each student made the greatest gains
and where they were lacking in a particular
area. This also helps the teacher to adjust
and modify lessons for future classes.

11. Lesson Reflection/Assessment: (Collect student learning data to determine: What went well?
What needs to be changed? Were learning outcomes met? What activities will you add, change,
modify in the future? What can be done to follow up on the learning from this lesson? Who needs
additional help? Who needs enrichment or higher level work?)
 You will complete this in week four. You do not need to include it in your lesson plan.

Revised: 5/17
 Rubric

1 2 3 4

I can define the

I can define the Bill of Rights, and
Bill of Rights Still confused I know a little
Bill of Rights know many
amendments
I can give a I can define and
Constitution Still confused I know a little general description explain the
of the Constitution Constitution
I know all 3
3 Branches of I know all 3
I know the name of Branches, what
Still confused Branches and what
Government the 3 Branches they do, and who
they do
runs them
I stayed focused,
Overall work I was reminded I was only I stayed on task
participated, and
more than 2 times reminded once to and only got side
effort completed all my
to get back to work get back to work tracked very little
work