Subject / Course: HST510 AP Government

Topic: Federalism
Lesson Title: Federalism
Level: AP Lesson Duration: 60 minutes

Content Standards / Lesson Objectives:

Content Standards: 12.7 Students analyze and compare the powers and procedures of
the national, state, tribal, and local governments
Lesson Objectives: Define federalism and contrast the federal system of government
with the unitary and confederal systems in explaining where governmental power lies

Summary of Tasks / Actions:

Introduction: 10 minutes. Pedagogy: Warmup, helping the student relate to the
lesson, encourage critical thinking
Students enter the classroom with a warmup question on the board asking students two
questions: If they could choose between living in California, Washington, or Oregon,
which state would they want to live in and why? I will then pose the second question
adding the information that Washington has no income tax, Oregon has no sales tax,
and California has both.

Body: 40 minutes. Pedagogy: Visual scaffolding through the use of images, graphs,
and charts to bolster content. Bold key vocabulary terms so students can complete
Chapter 3 study guide as we go through the lesson. Link to prior learning by discussing
what we learned last session and what we are going to learn this session. Differentiation
in ways that the student has key vocabulary vocally spoken aloud by teacher, bolded
during lessons, visualized in study guides, and aesthetically added to through definitions
student independent practice through note taking.
Direct instruction that lasts for about 10-minute intervals and is then followed by 2-3
informal assessment questions directly related to previous intervals content. This
process repeats 2-3 more times but informal assessment changes format from polling
questions to critical thinking questions and graphic data and chart analyzation. All
informal assessments are made to increase exposure to AP test concepts.

Closure: 10 minutes. Pedagogy: Summary of lesson to help conclude learning.

Informal assessment through polling utilizing Kahoot to test for understanding.
Summarize key points of lesson, poll using Kahoot, explain expectations for homework,
and ask if there are any questions.

Motivation:
The ambiguity of federalism and the division of state and federal law is a topic that is
beneficial for those who want to participate in the political process through awareness,
discussion, voting, or volunteering
Twelfth grade government is a required class to graduate from high school, students
may want good grades, and many are planning to take the AP test

Materials / Equipment:
Chapter 3 study guide with vocabulary and no definitions
Kahoot and student cell phones or personal computers
Blackboard Connect tools: Chat box, polling tools, and board tools

Take Home Tasks:

Read chapter 3 of their textbook on Federalism
Informal Assessment: Complete Focus Activity: Federalism
Summative Assessment: Complete Wrap it Up: Chapter 3 Quiz