Title of Unit: The importance of voting Title of Lesson: What are the issues Submitted By: Jennifer Nelson

A. Summary of the Lesson Plan: Students will continue working in their campaign teams, but now they will be researching the issues at stake in the election. What they find will be put on their posters and presented to the class. B. Target Population: Grade Level: 4 Skill Level: All learning levels Grouping: o Warm up- individual o Three changes activity- students will be working with partners. o Campaign teams- students will be working with their small groups (and as delegated the day before) o Closure whole class (stand up hand up pair up) C. Materials: Handout of current issues in the election to be posted on board (This will be printed out by the teacher for each group, current issues regarding the current candidates) Student journals Poster boards Colored pencils Computers

D. Objectives: o NV State Social Studies Standards

C.15.4.1 Describe the qualities of a leader. C15.4.3 Compare sources of information people use to form an opinion. C16.4.1 Identify their county, city, state, and country.

Student-Friendly Standards I will tell some traits of a leadership. I will compare information people use to form an opinion. I will find my county, city, state, and country.

E. Procedure: 1. Warm up- I will have a list of current issues posted on the board. I will have the students look them over and think about how they feel about the questions. Students will write in their journals which three they chose and why.
Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 1

Title of Unit: The importance of voting Title of Lesson: What are the issues Submitted By: Jennifer Nelson

2. We will do the three changes activity. For this activity, students will study each other carefully to improve information gathering skills. I will start the activity out by saying to the students: Perhaps you have lost some money or a toy in a room that you often play in. When you did, you probably looked around the room much more carefully than you ever did before. When we need to, we can observe or study a person of thing very carefully. In this game you will practice observing carefully. I will divide the students into teams of two, facing each other. All teams will play simultaneously. Tell the students to look at each other carefully. I will then tell them to turn back to back and tell them to make three changes in their appearance (change their hair, untie their shoelaces, tuck in their shirt, etc.) When they have made their changes, I will say, Face each other. I will then ask the students to identify the changes their partners have made. We will sit down and have a discussion about the following questions: o o o o o o Did you get better at observing another person? Do you think we should carefully observe a person who wants to be our leader? Why? How can we observe or get information about a person who wants to be our leader? What information do we need to know about a person who wants to be our leader? Who wants to be our leaders now? What information do you have about them? How can you find out more?

3. Students will then get into their campaign teams. Students will then be partnered up within their groups to research the issues going on within the election. Research stations around the room will already have the pertinent website the students will use for their research. They will research their specific issue and their candidates stance on that issue. The three issues the students will research are questions #25, #40 and #46 on the following website: http://2012election.procon.org/view.source-summarychart.php?topic=64 Information they find will need to be recorded in the journals. I will walk the room and ask questions about their topics and candidates. 4. Students will then return to their base groups and put the information they found on their posters. 5. As an extension, we will discuss what the students think these issues mean for where we live. (Nevada and Clark County.) 6. CLOSURE: I will ask students to do a stand up hand up pair up and discuss whether they were surprised by the research that they conducted about the issues and the candidates stance on them. F. Assessment: What will you use to measure student understanding?
Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2

Title of Unit: The importance of voting Title of Lesson: What are the issues Submitted By: Jennifer Nelson

I will look at their individual journals and their teams poster. Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson. Looking at their journals, I will see if they have any relevant information written in. Looking at their posters, I will see if information is clearly written and organized. G. Reflection: 1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? I think that facilitating the activity would be easy and fun for everyone. 2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? Coming up with questions for the groups, it is hard to pull yourself out of the teacher role of just telling the students the answers as they ask them.

3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? I could extend this lesson by conducting a debate. They would maintain their roles as members of the campaign team and debate the issues and the candidates stances using their own opinions. 4. What will you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? I would use the printouts given and walk them through on how to research the topics and candidates. 5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? I think that there are so many directions that this lesson can go, I would think maybe how they are researching the information or how they are grouped. 6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? I think that trying to prioritize time and activities within the lesson is a difficult task to do.

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

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