Lesson Plan Format- The Judges by Halie Mangiaruga

I. Lesson Plan Overview and Description

The expected duration of the lesson is one class period. The Social
Science that this lesson involves is the government. The focus of this
lesson is on the State Government. Specifically, students will focus on
the judges branch of state government, how judges are appointed, and
what it means to be a judge. Students will also learn what skills and
knowledge makes an effective judge.
- Vocabulary, Skills
Content Outline:
Three Branches of State Government
The courts make up the third branch.
Judges make sure laws follow the state and national
constitution.
Judges decide if laws have been broken or not. They also
decide punishment for a broken law.
II.
Standards
o PDE SAS Civics and Governmento 5.1.3.C: Define the principles and ideals shaping
local government.
1. Liberty / Freedom
2. Democracy
3. Justice
4. Equality
o PDE SAS -5.3. How Government Works.
5.3.3.A: Identify the roles of the three branches of
government.
o NCSS Thematic Strands:
6. Power, Authority, and Governance
The development of civic competence requires an
understanding of the foundations of political thought, and
the historical development of various structures of power,
authority, and governance. It also requires knowledge of
the evolving functions of these structures in contemporary
U.S. society, as well as in other parts of the world.
III. Lesson Objectives
IV.
Teaching Procedures
o Anticipatory Set/Introduction
1. Before the lesson, teacher will hand out a copy to
each students of the content outline of the lesson.
2. Teacher will begin the lesson by facilitating a class
discussion. Teacher will ask students how they
would describe what the term fairness means.

Students ideas will be written down on the smart

board.
3. Teacher will then ask students what jobs require the
person to be fair. Students ideas will be written on
the smart board.
4. Teacher will show the Fair and Free video on the
smart board (duration is 4:28).
5. After watching the video, teacher will then facilitate
a discussion by asking questions such as:
How does the video discuss the idea of
fairness?
Which branch of government is responsible for
deciding fairness?
How is a referee similar to a judge?
o Lesson Input
1. Teacher will explain to the class that they are going
to be reading more about the judges branch of
state government. Teacher will discuss with class
how the judges make sure laws follow state and
national constitutions. Teacher will also explain that
the judges decide punishment went laws are
broken.
2. Teacher will distribute the reading page to the class.
3. Have students work in partners and read the page
together. Teacher will walk around during the
reading and answer any questions that the students
may have.
4. Once everyone is finished reading, teacher will
hand out the Judges: Playing Fair worksheet to
every student.
5. Students will work through the worksheet in pairs
and answer the questions based off of the reading
and class discussions. (Allow about 15 minutes for
this).
6. While students are working on the handout, teacher
will pull up the Informed Voters Project website and
show the students the map that shows how every
state selects their judges. Teacher will ask students
to notice how Pennsylvania selects their judges by
having a election.
7. Once students are finished with the worksheet,
teacher will collect them from everyone to be
reviewed for completion later.
o Guided Practice:

I.
II.

III.

The class will discuss what fairness is and what

jobs require fairness. They will also discuss
judges and what it takes to be a good judge.
They will gather new information from this
discussion and from reading the handout and
filling out the worksheet. They will use the
information learned when filling out their
worksheets.
o Independent Practice
Partners will read and fill out the worksheet
together.
Differentiation
a. I will differentiate this lesson based on the specific learning
and behavioral needs of my students.
Closure
a. Teacher will end the lesson by asking students to think of
one way the Judges branch of State Government is
different from the other two branches (lawmakers and
governor) and write down on an index card as an exit
ticket.
Teacher and Student Resources and Evaluation of Resources
a. Student Reading Resources:
i. The Third Branch Article
(https://cdn.icivics.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Jud
ges_Playing%20Fair.pdf)
a. Teacher Resources for Lesson Design:
1. https://cdn.icivics.org/sites/default/files/uploads
/Judges_Playing%20Fair.pdf
2. http://www.justiceteaching.org/lesson_plans.sht
ml
3. Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Book
4. http://ivp.nawj.org/downloads/FactSheet.Selecti
onSystems.pdf and http://ivp.nawj.org (video
on homepage)

Resource
Title
Selection
Fair Judges
Website

Influence
MI

Characteristi
cs
Somewhat
difficult to
navigate but
has useful
information
about the
judicial
branch, voter

Accessibilit
y
-Online
-Anyone
can access

Overall
Rating
3/5
Would be
good to use
for a lesson
on the
different
types of
selection

info, and fair

judges.
The Third
Branch
Article

SI

Justice
Teaching
Website

MI

IV.

V.

VI.

Includes
many
different
lesson plan
ideas on the
various
topics related
to civics and
government.
Easy to
navigate site
with a lot of
resources for
teachers.
Many lesson
plans and
ideas to look
through.
Reliable
website for
teachers and
schools.

-Online
-Must have
an account
-Teacher or
Student
can make
free
account
-Online
-Anyone
can access
but good
for
teachers

processes
for
appointing
judges.
5/5
Great
source for
planning
unit
plans/lesson
s on
government
.
4/5
Great
source for
planning
unit
plans/lesson
s on the
government
.

Formative and Summative Assessment of Students

a. Teacher will formatively assess students by observing their
participation in the class discussions and partner work.
b. The Playing Fair worksheet will serve as the summative
assessment. The worksheet should reflect the knowledge
the students have gained from the discussions and reading
article. This will be collected and read.
Technology/Materials/Equipment
a. Smartboard
b. Outline of Content worksheet (for each student)
c. Index Card (for each student)
d. The Third Branch article (for each pair of students)
e. Playing Fair worksheet (for each student)
Reflection on Planning

Resources: http://ivp.nawj.org video of fairness

http://ivp.nawj.org/downloads/FactSheet.SelectionSystems.pdf (how PA
selects judges)