Comparing Political Systems Unit Assessment Plan

Entry-Level Formative Summative

Brainstorming Political Systems – Writing all the prior
knowledge about each political system
Guided Notes – Students will fill out the guided notes for the
teacher lecture and answer the questions that are listed at the
end of the guided notes
Kahoot Quiz – Quiz about the properties of each political
system
Graphic Organizer – Student groups create a graphic
organizer for a political system and present it to other groups
Advantages and Disadvantages – Students write op-eds about
the advantages and disadvantages found in each political
system
Venn Diagram – Compare
and contrast properties of
political systems then present
it to the class
Flashcards – Student groups make flashcards about important
people and events in the history of a government
Timeline Presentation –
Students create the timeline
of the history of a
government and present it to
the class

Assessment Summary
This Assessment Plan is designed to ensure that all students are able to meet the Student
Learning Objectives for the Comparing Political Systems Unit. The first objective is that students
will be able to explain the nature of various political systems, including the structure and
philosophy of those political systems. The second objective is that students will be able to
compare and contrast political systems, explaining why they are similar and different from each
other. The third objective is that students will be able to explain how governments based on
those political systems came into power and either fell or remained in power. Each assessment
has been added to this plan to ensure that students meeting the objectives.
The entry-level assessment is designed to gauge how much knowledge students have
about each political system. They will work in pairs to brainstorm as much information as they
can about each system. This will activate their background knowledge so they can better learn as
well as give the teacher information on what students already know, what misconceptions they
may have, and what they need to be taught.
 The formative assessments are supposed to monitor the progress of students as the unit
goes along. While students are listening to the teacher lecture about the different political
systems, they will be filling in the guided notes. At the end of the guided notes, students will
write down their own responses to the questions that have been provided about the political
systems. The Kahoot Quiz will take place after students have heard the teacher lecture about the
different political systems and written their guided notes. It will make use of the iPads and
personal devices that students have to measure whether students understood the information. For
the graphic organizer, students will be organized into groups where they will pick a political
system to focus on. Using Popplet on their iPads, each group will create a graphic organizer that
shows the properties of their political system, including its structure, philosophy, and examples
of it. The groups will then present their graphic organizers to other groups. The Op-Ed piece will
be worked on by these same groups, where they will write a piece discussing the advantages and
disadvantages of their political system. These Op-Ed pieces will be given to all the students to
read, as well as posted on the unit website. While working on their timeline for the history of
governments, students will as a first step create flashcards using Quizlet to detail what people
and events they will put on their timeline. This will allow the teacher to monitor whether they
have selected people and events that are appropriate to the assignment. These assessments will
also allow students to practice working with technology and working together in groups.
The summative assessments are designed to measure whether students have met the
objectives of the unit by the end of the unit. The Venn diagram assignment will measure how
well students know the properties of different political systems, including their structures and
philosophies. Students will have to know these in order to properly compare and contrast them,
which this assignment will also measure. Students will work in groups that have been assigned a
political system. They will then choose one system they think is most similar to theirs and
another they consider to be most different. They will create two Venn diagrams showing the
similarities and differences between their political system and the others they have selected. Each
group will then present their Venn diagrams to the class and explain why they chose each
system. The Timeline project will measure how well students can explain the history of a
government based on a political system, including why it came to power and either fell or
remained in power. Students will work in groups and choose a country that had a government
based on their political system. They will create a timeline using Timetoast showing the history
of that government with important people and events. The timeline will show how the
government was created and how it either fell or remained in power. The groups will then
present it to the class. Both these summative assessments should indicate whether students have
achieved the Student Learning Objectives for this unit. They will also give students the
opportunity to practice using technology, working in groups, and giving presentations.