Lesson Plan: U.S.

Government Unit: Local Government

Muscatine High School Subject: Civic Engagement: Service Learning Project Time Frame: 9 weeks (1 to class period Grade: 12 (90 min block) per week)
Iowa Core: Political Science/Civic Literacy Standards (9-12)

Teacher: Ms. Wilford/Ms. Aring/Ms. Yocum

Standard: Understand the rights and responsibilities of each citizen and demonstrate the value of lifelong civic action. Understand participation in civic and political life can help bring about the attainment of individual and public goals

Standard: Understand strategies for effective political action that impacts local state and national government Understand the concept of civic responsibility. Understand the importance of political leadership, public service, and a knowledgeable citizenry in American democracy. Understand the concept of political leadership in the students own school, community, state, and the nation.

Standards for Literacy in Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects: Gr. 11-12 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

Unit Essential Learning: I want my students to understand that...

UEL 1: There are intrinsic, fundamental components necessary to sustain democratic societies. As American citizens, we have certain rights such as the right to free speech and to practice our religion, and we have certain duties, such as the duty to obey the law or pay taxes; fundamentally, we are responsible to be good citizens. UEL 2: The American ideal of citizenship has always stressed each citizens responsibility to participate in the community and in the different levels of government. UEL 3: Ideally associations are formed with the aim of achieving some good, and as part of a society, individuals can achieve higher good as a consequence of living under the umbrella of citizenship of a political community. UEL 4: When there are many different groups within a nation, citizenship can be a bond, which unites everybody as equals without discriminationit is a "broad bond" linking "a person with the state" and gives people a universal identity as a legal member of a specific nation.[22]

Unit Vocabulary & Definition: Deep Understanding

Classical Republicanism: classical republicanism embraces a republican system of

government and holds that notion that civic virtue and concern for the common good are essential for good government. Citizen: a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection

Classical Citizenship: Views citizenship as an active process as citizens are viewed as having both rights and responsibilities within a state and should be active participants in government and community affairs.
Civic Engagement: Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.A morally and civically responsible individual recognizes himself or herself as a member of a larger social fabric and therefore considers social problems to be at least partly his or her own; such an individual is willing to see the moral and civic dimensions of issues, to make and justify informed moral and civic judgments, and to take action when appropriate. (Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000)

Unit Vocabulary & Definition: General Understanding

Democracy: a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people
and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system Republic: A Republic is a representative democracy with elected leaders, whose terms may be limited by the electoral process Public: the people constituting a community, state, or nation Community: A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government. Service learning: integrates meaningful community service with instruction reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage lifelong civic

engagement and strengthen communities for the common good.

Unit Outline &/or Activities Week 1: Day 1: Introduction to Civic Engagement Project: Brainstorming and team/partner formation/ project timeline/rubric shared. Week 2: Day 2: Portfolio 1 due (project proposals/investigations) Week 3: Day 3: Work day Week 4: Day 4: Portfolio 2 due (exploration of current solutions/alternative solutions) Week 5: day 5: Work day Week 6: day 6: Portfolio 3 due (Policy proposal to deal with problem) Week 7: day 7: Final work day Week 8 day 8: Portfolio 4 due (Developing an Action Plan and implementing) Week 9: Presentations of project activities: Journals due. Unit Skills: Students will be able to...

Explain the importance of participating in government and civic life. Identify the importance of political leadership and public service in the school, community, state and nation. Describe ways citizens can influence the decisions and actions of government. Identify ways to participate in government and civic life. Conduct investigative research using a variety of methods and sources Use technology to share and present information Write
informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content Unit Assessments

Formative: Students will be asked to keep individual reflective journals outlining their

efforts and actions in the service-learning project. Students will be required to submit project portfolio papers every 2 weeks

Summative: Resources for Unit: PowerPoint introducing service learning project Rubric for project evaluation Students will do classroom presentation outlining civic engagement actions and results (see rubric)