Lesson Plan

Lesson Author Sam Costello

Date 08 Nov 2018
Period Core 2
Grade Level 8th Grade
Time Allotted 50 minutes
Context/ This lesson is near the end of the Unit Plan: New Nation/Government. This lesson is day
Rationale seven into the Unit Plan of fifteen days. This lesson will be taught in an 8th-grade
classroom towards the end of the larger unit to help make connections between North
Carolina’s State Government and the Federal Government of the Union. The class will be
made up of around 27 students of mixed achievement levels, however two students in the
class have IEPs and will need additional in class accommodations. The school that this unit
will be taught in is a heterogeneous school located within an urban area of Apex, NC called
Salem Middle School.

The purpose of this less is for students to understand the process, the construction, and the
responsibilities the new form of government developed by this New Nation, who has
recently won the Revolutionary War against Britain. To be a self-governing nation, a
democracy had to be formed and a government had to be established that had three
different branches, and those branches have checks and balances to look and keep each
branch from being too powerful. This Unit is important to help students create connects
and meanings to their government and how it represents and affects them each and every
day with laws that rule and guide this nation’s constitution from the beginning, now and
into the future. By the end of the unit, students will be able to apply knowledge and
understandings of the creation and development of North Carolina and the United States
governments in their own words.

Central Focus The Three Branches of the Federal Government are split into executive, legislative, and
judicial branches that helped a new nation avoid a situation like a monarchy from which
they had just broken free from. But more especially the Judicial Branch of government
with the Supreme Court and its 9 justices that scrutinize and unpack laws to verify their
constitutionality to the US Constitution.

Essential/ Compelling  In what ways is our Constitution a living and breathing document?
Question(s)
 What different influences and ideas did the various framers propose as the new
system of government was being constructed?

Goals Objectives:
 Students will be able to compare the three branches of the Federal Government
with emphasis on the Judicial Branch’s duties.
 Students will be able to explain the “check and balance” system of the Federal
Government as a way to keep any the other branches from getting too powerful.

Standards
 C&G.1 - Analyze how democratic ideas shaped government in North Carolina and
the United States
 H.1 - Apply historical thinking to understand the creation and development of
North Carolina and the United States
Assessments Informal Formative Summative
 Ask  Exit Ticket - “Two Roses and a  Summative will be
questions to Thorn” on what they learned about given on
see if the meaning of the Judicial Branch Wednesday Nov.
students have 14, 2018.
comprehende
d teaching of
Judicial
Branch of
government.

Language Supports Language Function Vocabulary Syntax/Discourse

 Judicial Branch
 Understand  Checks and Balances  Worksheet
 Evaluate  Supreme Court o Academ
 Analysis  Treason ic
 Bicameral reading
&
written
acknowl
edgeme
nt for
compre
hension.
 Graphic Organizer
o Visual
&
written
example
s for
compre
hension
 Quick Write
o Written
understa
nding

Materials & Technology What texts, materials, websites, and equipment do you need to implement your plans? Include materials that
students and teachers may need (and are available at your school). What technology are you using in your lesson?
Include hyperlinks.

 Judicial Branch Video

 Hand-out for Summary - Judicial Branch of Government

 Infographic of 3-Branches of Government

  Graphic Organizer

 Document scanner

 Note/index cards for exit ticket

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
How are you inviting students to learn? How are you moving them through the lesson and engage them in the activities? How are you
bringing the lesson to a close? Provide basic “step-by-step” directions and prompts for implementing these areas of the lesson. A substitute
teacher should be able to pick up your lesson plan and say and do everything you would have if you were there. Please be explicit and
specific. Remember – YOU CAN (and likely SHOULD) ADD ROWS.
Time Lesson Component Teacher AND Learner Roles/Procedures (what are you doing? what are
students doing?) both should be present.
 I will review with the class and ask the students, “Can
anyone explain one of the branches of government we
discussed these last two days?”
5 mins  Warm-up  I then will ask for the other branch of government.
o Legislative - make and write laws
o Executive - heads of government elected by the
people
 I will tell them there is a third branch of government called
the “Judicial Branch.”
 I will ask, “Can anyone tell me what they think the
Judicial Branch does?”
o The Judicial Branch: “Is a system of courts that
look at the law(s) and applies it to different
cases.”

 Pass out Judicial Branch summary to students

 Tell Students that Article 3 of the Constitution is the
creation of the Judicial Branch that has 9 Supreme Court
Justices and one being a Chief Justice (most senior
justice).
 Article 3
 Watch video on Supreme Court
30 mins Summary of
o Judicial Branch Video
the US
 Read out loud first paragraph to students and annotate
Constitution -
important facts, then fill in adjoining question box as
- the Judicial
model for students.
Branch
Worksheet  Pedagogy Content Knowledge: explain to students the
“constitutional box” theory:
o Constitution creates boundary for all US laws,
which represents the “box” or framework to
follow.
i. The size of the box changes when laws
are created to make it smaller.
ii. When amendments are created it makes
the box larger
 o Supreme Court determines whether or not a law
is constitutional or not (fits in the box), and this is
the “ball.”
o Depending on the Justices political affiliation
he/she can look at the constitution as either the
box is larger as a liberal or the box is smaller as a
conservative.
o “So, do you think these laws fit in the
Constitutional Box?”
. Flag Protection Act of 1989
 No, unconstitutional - 1st
Amendment
i.Voting Rights Act Amendment of 1970
 No, but amended by Supreme
Court and not is.
ii.Fortnight Video Game (Pedagogy Content Knowledge)
 No, unconstitutional - 1st
Amendment
 Have students collaborate together to read and fill in the
blanks with the Judicial Branch summary worksheet.
 Allow students 15 mins to complete the activity and go
over with students the answers to the questions.
 Ask students if anyone has any questions about the
Supreme Court.
 Pass out graphic organizer sheet
10 mins  Graphic  On whiteboard or document scanner, draw graphic
Organizer of organizer and have students fill in blank boxes for Federal
3 Branches of and NC State Governments.
Federal and  Students will copy on their own graphic organizer from
State example on whiteboard or document scanner with teacher
Government and graphic organizer template
o Ask students what Bicameral means - this was on
previous discussion of Legislative Branch.
 Ask students if they have any questions

5 mins  Two Roses and a Thorn - Students perform a quick write

to reflect on the mini-lesson with two statements and one
 Exit question.
Ticket  I will ask students to write on a index card as an exit ticket
from class to tell me, “Two things that they learned today
about the Judicial Branch and one question that they may
still have about it?”
 “Please put your name on it for class participation credit,
and”
 “Place the exit ticket on my desk as you leave the
classroom.”
 Accommodation
After you review various data (collected through your own observations, discussions with your cooperating teacher, student conferences, etc.),
how will you adjust instructional materials, activities, and sequencing given what you have learned about students’ academic skills, attitudes, and
needs?
Learning Needs IEPs/504s Striving Readers/RTI/MTSS ELL Gifted/AIG
 Allowing Support
 n/a
 Using a visual students more  Allowing students more  n/a
display of the time to read to time to read to allow the
“constitutional allow the students who cannot read
box” as a way to students who as fast or well to follow
explain the how cannot read as along and collaborate
laws fit into the fast or well to with other students to
framework of the follow along help understand or
constitution. and collaborate comprehend the reading.
with other
students to help
understand or
comprehend
the reading.