Lesson Planning Form for Differentiating Instruction Education 305

Teacher

Sam Steiner and Julia Dixon

Grade level and theme

4th- United States Studies

Thread/crossover

Public Discourse, Language Arts

I. Objectives
What is the main focus of this lesson?
The main focus of this lesson is for students to investigate and defend a side in the Medicaid vs. Education budget debate.
How does this lesson tie in to your Big Idea
This lesson shows students that there are big decisions to be made when it comes to deciding where the state of Michigan will invest
its money. It also demonstrates that when there are big investment decisions to be made, disagreement will often follow.
What are your objectives for this lesson? (students will be able to.) Indicate connections to applicable national or state
standards (glces). Indicate themes from any threads addressed in this lesson (ex-Geography-human environment interaction)
Students will be able to:
Investigate and defend a side in a public issue involving money.
Form a coherent oral response to the following question: Should Michigan be putting more money into Medicaid or
Education?
Identify public issues in the United States that influence the daily lives of its citizens. (4- P3.1.1)
Use graphic data and other sources to analyze information about a public issue in the Unites States and evaluate alternative
resolutions. (4- P3.1.2)
Compose a brief essay expressing a position on a public policy issue in the United States and justify the position with a
reasoned argument. (4- P3.3.1)
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. (4- W.1)

II. Before you start

Prerequisite knowledge and skills.
What are you assuming they know
or have already done?

It would be helpful for students to have some very basic knowledge about the nature of a
debate. They will also have knowledge about budget, as we talked about it in the previous
civics lesson.
Pre-assessment
- Education/Medicaid brainstorm at the beginning of class

Assessment
(formative and summative)

Key vocabulary for this lesson

(include key concepts from
individual threads ex- economicsopportunity cost etc)

Materials-what materials (books,

handouts, etc) do you need for this
lesson and do you have them?

Formative
- Discussion and brainstorm periods (i.e. T-chart listing pros for each side)
- Teacher will walk around the room and monitor students during group research time
Summative
- Debate participation
- Written opinion response
Public Discourse:
Debate- a formal discussion on a particular topic
Budget- an estimate of income and spending for a set period of time or for a specific project
Medicaid- the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with
low income in the United States
iPads or computers for students to share
Several scenario sheets per group
Handouts explaining the writing prompt

For a student with Aspergers Syndrome, the teacher could give an outline of the class period
to increase predictability and eliminate potentially stressful surprises. The teacher would also
closely monitor the noise level of the room during group work, as excessive noise could put
this student on edge.
Opportunities for differentiation

To increase difficulty, students could start the period by researching the Medicaid vs.
Education issue without the aid of their teacher.
To decrease difficulty, the teacher could provide students with fact sheets explaining each side
of the issue.

III. The Plan

Time
Parts

10

Motivation
(Opening/
Introduction/
Engagement)

The description of (script for) the lesson, wherein you describe teacher activities and student
activities
To introduce the topic of debate, the teacher will write EDUCATION on one side of the board and
MEDICAID on the other side of the board. In their table groups, students will brain storm what they
think they might know about these two topics. Naturally, it will be easier for students to gather
background knowledge about education than it will be for them to think about Medicaidthats okay.
This exercise is just to see what students already know and to get their gears moving. After a few minutes
of brainstorming time, the teacher will invite students to the board to write their ideas.
After ideas have been recorded, the teacher will draw attention to the ones that are on track. She will
explain that for education, we will focus on the operation of public schools from Pre-K to Grade 12. For
Medicaid, we will look at the providing of health-related services for people who cannot afford it.
The teacher will ask students if they know where schools get money for education and where health
businesses get money to provide their services. Once students give input, the teacher will explain that this
money comes from Michigans state budget. She will ask students to tell her what they remember about
government budget. She will ask the class if they have any idea what Michigans budget might be. She
will write $47,250,000,000$47.250 billionon the board and tell the class that this has been
Michigans average budget over the last several years. She will explain the largeness of this number.

Then, the teacher will show this chart to students:

Spending from 2008 to 2012

Year

2012
Development

2011

Elementary and
secondary education

Medicaid

27.2%

26.1%

$12.862 billion

$12.342 billion

27.6%

24.9%

$13.413 billion

$12.101 billion

28.4%

24.2%

$13.564 billion

$11.558 billion

28.9%

23.0%

$13.244 billion

$10.540 billion

29.5%

22.2%

$13.718 billion

$10.323 billion

Change

-2.30%

+3.90%

in %

- $856,000,000

+$2,019,000,000

2010

2009

2008

While this chart may be complicated for 4th graders to understand, the teacher can explain it simply by
saying that, in the past five years, Michigan has put less money into education and more money into
Medicaid. She will ask the class how they feel about this shift. (This discussion time can also be used to
clear up any confusion about the topic.)
10
The teacher will have students create a T-chart with Education on one side and Medicaid on the other
side. Students will brainstorm reasons why Michigan should put more money into each of these places.
They will then have the opportunity to share their thoughts with a partner.
After the brainstorming activity, the teacher will ask students who think more money should be spent on
education to go to one side of the room. She will ask students who think more money should be spent on
Medicaid to go to the other side of the room.
5

To introduce the debate activity, the teacher will show this funny video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m3B_zDcYPY. The teacher will ask what was happening in the
video. Why were the two men arguing?
The teacher will announce that students will be taking part in their own debate this weekthe class is
already divided based on what side they will defend. She will give each side of the issue a set of scenario
sheets that explain their position.

25

Students will be able to use iPads to research their side further. The rest of the class period will be a time
to research and gather ideas.
**NEXT DAY: The room will be set up with two rows of desks facing each other.
10

Students will come in and go to their respective sides. Each side will have several minutes to regroup and
gather their ideas.
The debate will begin with each side summarizing their position. Groups will then have a series of
chances to defend their arguments and respond to the other sides statements.

30

To conclude, the teacher will present the class with a one paragraph writing prompt:
10

Closure

Now that you have had a chance to be a part of the Medicaid vs. Education debate, I want to know:
What do YOU think about this issue? Make sure that you are clear about which side you support.
Also be sure to support your point of view with information from your research or the debate.
Based on how long the debate lasts, students may have some time to work on this assignment in class.

Source:
http://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_state_budget