Austin Bogina

Social Studies Unit Plan

Title of Unit: Functions of the Government
Grade Level: 4th
Kansas Social Studies Discipline: Civics/Government

Lesson Plans
Lesson Number 1

Title: Branches of the Government

Discipline: Civics/Government
Standard: #5: Relationships among, people, places, ideas, and environments are dynamic.
Benchmark: 5.1- The students will recognize and evaluate dynamic relationships that impact lives
in communities, states, and nations.
Student Performance Objectives: The students will be able to describe how citizens can effect
changes in the government and which branches it includes.
List of Materials:

Large, white, sheet of paper

Markers and/or color pencils
Specific handouts
Computer for the teacher
Projector/Smart Board

Anticipatory Set: To stimulate interest from the students about starting a new unit and lesson
over the Government, I will start by visiting the website http://bensguide.gpo.gov/35/government/branches.html. This website offers great insight into the background and
development of the three branches of government and addresses several other topics that will be
covered during the remaining lessons for the unit. The best part of the website is that it follows a
similar path such as the one that we are taking for the unit with one topic leading right into the
next. Using the projector or Smart Board, display the website for the students to view and have
an interactive discussion and read-aloud over the material on the screen. You do not need to be
familiar with the website beforehand, such as for a substitute teacher, to be able to correctly and
successfully use it. We will start by explaining the reasoning behind the development of the
three branches of government and what distinguishes each of them from the others. The website
will take us further into our unit by discussing the House of Representatives, the Senate, and
Congress, as well as several other future topics.

Instruction/Modeling: Having started the lesson with the anticipatory set listed above, we
would have participated in both lecture and questioning for understanding as learning styles.

Next, with the students new knowledge and understanding of the three branches of government,
I would then move to the modeling part of the lesson. With large, white, sheet of paper and my
markers, I would first ask the students what we could draw to represent the different branches of
government. The answer I am looking for is a tree with three branches which is the activity that
the students will be participating in. I would begin by drawing a big tree trunk and then have
three separate branches stemming out from it. An example of what the drawling should look like
can be found by typing in three branches of government activity images into the search engine.
When you have the tree trunk and the three separate branches drawn, draw a bush or leaf on a
branch followed by a fact about that branch of government. This is meant to be a visual learning
tool for the students to relate to the world around them. During this part of the lesson, we will
also be focusing on other class subjects as well, including reading, spelling, art, and language.
After I have created my own picture, I will pass out a blank sheet of paper and markers/color
pencils to each of the students so that they can create their own Branches of Government
picture for their visual learning.

Check for Comprehension: For this part of the lesson, I will pass out a sorting activity for the
students to complete that will have the three branches of government listed and then several
different facts for them to sort into the correct branch. Each of the different facts will have a
specific letter to classify it and they will decide what branch the fact belongs to and then write
the letter of the fact with the correct branch.

Guided Practice: The students should understand that the governments job is to keep us safe
and to create and enforce rules that ensure our safety and protection. Since they will have
learned that no individual person makes all the decisions, split the class into three equal teams
representing the three branches of government. Since this is an interactive and discussing
activity, encourage each student to fully participate and not have a single spokesperson for each
group. I will then read different scenarios to the class and each group will decide whether it
would be their branches job to handle and also why.

Independent Practice: Have the students break into partners and explain that this portion of the
lesson will be working on their writing skills as well. Each group of partners should brainstorm
different parts of the three branches that they would add or remove things from. Their mindset

should be of themselves in the setting of time when the branches of government were first being
created. Have them write about what parts they would change about the different branches if
they would have been a part of the creators of the government branches. Since this is a lesson
for fourth graders, have them write at least two paragraphs with 3-4 sentences in each paragraph.
Remind them that if they do not know how to spell certain words then they can use a dictionary
or encyclopedia, but not the teacher. This portion of the lesson may take the longest so allow for
enough time for the students to not feel rushed while writing.

Closure: To close out the lesson, ask for several students to read their paragraphs aloud to the
class. Encourage positive comments and remarks from the classmates to promote a positive
atmosphere and learning environment. Also, have the class come up with three positive thoughts
about each readers story. Final review of the difference between each of the branches of
government can be done, but is not necessary.

Evaluation: I will collect each of the activities from the students so that I can view their
understanding of the lesson and material. I will have the drawings and the stories to reflect on
and make comments on before returning them to each of the students. Finally, the whole-class
activity where they were separated into the three different branches would have shown me if they
were grasping the concepts or not and if more time needed to be spent teaching the lesson in a
different way.