Locating and Partnering with Co-Teachers Plan

Partnering with Co-Teachers Plan of Action

1-    Name the professional educator you plan to partner with. Include the following information:

a.    Bob Hengge

b.    Lawyer at Hengge and Ray Attorneys at Law

c.     859-322-0026

2-    Describe the plan you have made with this person.

Bob Hengge is a lawyer at the law firm of Hengge and Ray. He has been a lawyer for three years and attended Chase Law School at NKU. He achieved his undergrad degree in political science at Murray State University. In his position he must understand how our government works and the reasons as to why we need laws and the judiciary system. Bob and I will be working together to create a Government and Civics Unit at the fourth grade level. With this being an election year we thought it would be a great time to review the importance of our government at the different levels, and the consequences of what it would be like to not have a government. Bob will be visiting our classes during the month of November (Election Month 2012) to discuss and work with the students on different components of our government.

Key Concepts

·      The Election Process

·      The Bill of Rights

·      Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches

Bob will participate in weekly lessons with our students during their social studies block to discuss the three concepts mentioned above. Many of these lessons will have Bob explain different parts of our government and will end with an activity that the students will perform in Cooperative Groups. (Marzano Strategy) The following plan consists of the lessons in which Bob and I came up with in creating the different

Each lesson will begin with Bob speaking for about 15 minutes on the topic of the day for each lesson. During this time, I will have the student’s video Bob by using our flip video camera so we can refer back to Bob’s discussions with the class. 

Lesson One

Title: Electing a President

15-20 Minuets

Listen to Lawyer Bob’s talk on the process of electing a President. Bob will speak on the following key points.

·      How to properly choose a candidate

·      Campaigning

·      Looking at the Candidates Qualities

·      Civic Responsibility of Voting

Activity-Electing a President

Our goal for this lesson is to get the students to focus on the qualities that are important to them in a leader. We will assess the students with an exit slip that asks that students the following question…

Step 1- The entire class will brainstorm qualities that they would look for in a president. We will list all the ideas on the whiteboard. Each team will come up with a list of 8 qualities from our main list and will rank them in order. One quality will be written on a piece of construction paper, so each group will have 8 pieces of construction paper with one quality on each. They will then stack them in order and hole punch them at the top.

Step 2- Bob will have already made a list of important qualities. We want to encourage the students to debate these qualities before hanging them on a hanger to display in the classroom. The students will then compare the different outcomes with each and with Bob’s list. We will look for common traits, what seemed to be the most important quality, and what was the least important quality. 

Assessment

Did your opinion of important qualities in a president change from the beginning of this lesson to the end of this lesson? What are your top five qualities?

Lesson 2

Title: The Bill of Rights

Goal:  By the end of the lesson the students will be able to explain how the Bill of Rights protects the rights of Americans.

15-20 Minutes

Listen to Lawyer Bob’s Talk on The Bill of Rights. Bob will be speaking on the following points...

·      The History of the Bill of Rights and how many people, were scared of a powerful government, so there was a group of people who wanted to make sure that the rights of the people were written down and guaranteed.

·      The first 10 Amendments of the Constitution (The Bill of Rights)

·      What it means for the Bill of Rights to protect and guarantee our rights as citizens of the United States.

Activity-Classroom Bill of Rights

Step 1- Students will get into groups of four.

Step 2-Complete the following....

• ·      On the Smart Board there will be three columns with the headings: 1.) Rights in School, 2.) Rights at Home, and 3.) Rights in Public.
• ·      As a class brainstorm ten rights for each column.
• ·      Hand out copies of the Bill of Rights

• ·      Have students identify which rights correspond to the items on their own list by
writing the number of the right next to them.
• ·      After discussing the Bill of Rights, create a class Bill of Rights
• ·      The class is then given time for informal debate and discussion over the various
rights proposals
• ·       At this point the large group must formally debate and vote on the individual rights they want to ratify. (Make into Laws)
• ·       Ratify the rights and post the Class Bill of Rights.

Assessment

For homework, the students will be given a copy of the newspaper from that day and they will need to go through the newspaper and find examples of laws of citizens being upheld or denied in their own community. Their goal will be to see every day examples of the Bill of Right in their own community.

Lesson 3

The Three Branches of Government

Goal: The students will be able to understand the responsibilities of each of the three braches of government.

15-20 Minutes

Listen to Lawyer Bob’s talk on the three branches of government. Bob will discuss why we have three types and will begin to explain some of the different aspect of each of the three branches of government.

 Activity-Presentations on the Three Branches of Government

Step 1- The students will be divided into three groups with each group having a focus on one of the three branches of government.

Step 2- The students will use a mobile lab to research their specific branch they were assigned.

Step 3- Each group will create a PRESI presentations (Students will have prior knowledge as to how to use the PRESI program) using the guidelines on their rubric.

Presentation Guidelines

·      Who makes up this branch of government.

·      The Responsibilities of that branch.

·      There groups opinion as to why this branch is important.

·      Some type of creative illustration to help us remember your branch.

·      Any other interesting facts you want include about your branch.

Assessment

Students will be assessed using a rubric that will incorporate the Common Core Public Speaking Skills, 21^st century skills, and Presentation Guidelines listed above.

Culminating Experience

As a culminating experience we plan to take a field trip to the Campbell County Court House. Bob will be escorting us around the courthouse and will be showing us some of the different things that we have discussed in a real life setting.

3.)       What are the school disciplines and specific, national, state, district or school standards that it will address?

Kentucky Core Content Standards Addressed

SS-04-1.2.1

Students will identify the three branches of Kentucky government, explain the basic duties of each branch (executive-enforce the laws, legislative-make the laws, judicial- interpret the laws) and identify important state offices/ leaders,

SS-04-1.2.2

Students will explain how power is shared among the different branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of state government.

SS-04-1.3.2

Students will describe specific rights and responsibilities individuals have as citizens of Kentucky (e.g., voting in statewide elections, participating in state service projects, obeying state laws) and explain why civic engagement is necessary to preserve a democratic society.

SS-05-1.1.1
Students will describe the basic purposes of the U.S. Government as defined in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (to establish justice, to ensure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare, to secure the blessings of liberty); give examples of services the U.S. Government provides (e.g., armed forces, interstate highways, national parks) and analyze the importance of these services to citizens today. DOK 3

SS-05-1.1.2
Students will explain and give examples of how democratic governments function (by making, enacting and enforcing laws) to promote the “common good” (e.g., public smoking ban, speed limits, seat belt requirements).

SS-05-1.2.1
Students will identify the three branches of the U.S. Government, explain the basic duties of each branch (executive-enforce the laws, legislative-make the laws, judicial- interpret the laws) and identify important national/federal offices/leaders, (President, Vice-President, Congress, House, Senate, U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, U.S. Supreme Court, judges) associated with each branch.

SS-05-1.3.2
Students will describe specific rights and responsibilities individuals have as citizens of the United States (e.g., voting in national elections) and explain why civic engagement is necessary to preserve a democratic society.