Title: Separation of Powers: What’s for Lunch?
Grade: 5th Grade
Time Needed: one class period
Essential Standards:
Social Studies
C&G.1.2 Summarize the organizational structures and powers of the United States government (legislative, judicial and executive branches of government).
Integrated Standards:
Language Arts
5.W.2.4 Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
5.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Healthful Living
5.NPA.2.2 Infer the benefits of limiting the consumption of foods and beverages high in fat and added sugar.
Objectives:
Students will be able to...
Materials: Rate Your School Lunch sheet (1 per student), Activity sheet, double sided (1 per group), Guided Notes page (1 per student), Document camera, Separation of Powers Prezi, Transparency 2 sheet, Projector or Interactive Whiteboard, Timer, student journals
Procedures: This lesson will be taught cooperatively by two teachers using the team teaching method.
Before (Teacher 1 leads)
Differentiation:
Assessment: Students will be assessed on whether they have met the objectives for the lesson. These objectives will be explained to students in the beginning of the lesson so they know what is expected of them. Teachers will keep track of this through a check list. During each activity, teachers will walk around to see how well students are modeling the branches of power and cooperating together in a group. A (+) on the checklist indicates that the student has met the objective and a (-) shows that the student has not. Notes can be written in place of, or in addition to, a plus or minus so that the teachers are aware of how the student has not yet met the objective or perhaps exceeded expectations. Later, teachers will collect the guided notes worksheet from each student. Based on the student’s work the teacher will determine if they have identified the main role and function of each branch of government and defined ‘separation of powers’ and ‘checks and balances.’
Resources:
Grade: 5th Grade
Time Needed: one class period
Essential Standards:
Social Studies
C&G.1.2 Summarize the organizational structures and powers of the United States government (legislative, judicial and executive branches of government).
Integrated Standards:
Language Arts
5.W.2.4 Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
5.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Healthful Living
5.NPA.2.2 Infer the benefits of limiting the consumption of foods and beverages high in fat and added sugar.
Objectives:
Students will be able to...
- Model the roles of each of the three branches of government in relation to forming a new lunch menu for school
- Identify the main role and function of each of the three branches by taking notes about what each part of the role-playing activity represented.
- Cooperate in groups to create and assess a new school lunch menu based on criteria for a healthy meal
- Define ‘separation of powers’ and ‘check and balances’ by explaining the relationship between each branch of government
Materials: Rate Your School Lunch sheet (1 per student), Activity sheet, double sided (1 per group), Guided Notes page (1 per student), Document camera, Separation of Powers Prezi, Transparency 2 sheet, Projector or Interactive Whiteboard, Timer, student journals
Procedures: This lesson will be taught cooperatively by two teachers using the team teaching method.
Before (Teacher 1 leads)
- Distribute the Rate Your School Lunch sheet to the students. Explain to them that they will be working together to create new menus for school lunches, but first they need to get a good understanding of how their peers feel about the current lunches. Ask the students to complete the survey.
- When everyone is finished, ask for a quick show of hands in response to each question and display the results for the students. Tell the students that they should use this data to help them when they are creating their menu.
- Divide students into three groups of 2-4 students; arrange the groups in a circle. If there are enough students in the class to create more than one circle, do so. Each circle of three groups will complete the activity together.
- Distribute one activity sheet to each group (i.e. three per circle).
- Go over the directions for Round One with the students. Give them 3 minutes to complete Round One.
- When 3 minutes are up, have each group pass their paper to the group to their left, their Menu Writers. Discuss the directions for Round Two and give the students 5 minutes to complete it.
- Have the groups pass their paper back to its original owners, the Lead Chefs, for Round Three. Discuss the directions for this round and give 2 minutes to complete it.
- If the Lead Chefs approve the menu, have them discuss what makes a school lunch healthy while they wait for the rest of their circle to be finished. If the Lead Chefs reject the menu, have them send it back to the Menu Writers for revision. The Menu Writers will now be in Round Four, where they decide whether or not to overrule the Lead Chefs’ veto. Give them 5 minutes to review the directions and complete the process of revision if necessary. As groups finish, have them discuss what makes a school lunch healthy.
- Once everyone’s menus have been approved by the Lead Chefs, it is time to move on to Round Five. The Lead Chefs will pass their paper to the group in their circle who has not seen it yet, who will serve as the Judges. The Judges will determine their rule for what it means to be a “healthy” lunch and decide if the proposed menu meets that rule. They will then pass a final decision.
- Call the whole class back together to share some of the menus and the final verdicts. If any of the Judges voted against a menu, have them explain why.
- Distribute the Guided Notes pages. Explain to the students that they just modeled the process that the three branches of government go through when passing and implementing a law. Introduce the terms “separation of power” and “checks and balances”. Ask the students to do a think-pair-share about what they think these terms mean and why we have such a system in place.
- Present the Separation of Powers Prezi. Teacher goes through presentation reviewing the different branches of government and how they balance power. Students should take notes on their Guided Notes page. http://prezi.com/zvrhqkz6c87-/separation-of-powers/
- After the presentation, have the students write their own definition of “separation of power” and “checks and balances” on their Guided Notes.
- Put Transparency 2 under the document camera, with both columns covered. Ask students to describe what happened in each round, then ask what that might look like in the government. Discuss the answers after revealing them. Students should use this information to complete the bottom of their Guided Notes. Teacher 1 should be circulating to assist with the Guided Notes.
- Close by reiterating the terms that they have learned. Ask the students to recall what they mean and give an example. Ask students to summarize what they did in their journals and how this activity relates to the US government.
Differentiation:
- Students with difficulties in writing (ESL or other) will be given an opportunity to answer the questions on the guided notes sheet orally.
- ESL students may use bilingual or picture dictionaries to aid in the understanding of important terms.
- A video is included in the presentation to aid visual and auditory learners in understanding the idea of separation of power.
- Students will social and behavioral issues can be given a review or outline of what is expected when working in groups and then be given specific behaviors to work on during the lesson. If they are successful with those specific behaviors then they will be counted as having met the objective for cooperating in a group.
- For those students who have mastered the content already, they may choose to work on an alternate project that explains separation of powers and checks and balances in more detail. This could be through their own project in the form of a video, essay, powerpoint, etc. The students will create a contract with the teachers that insures that they will be on task and working throughout the class period.
- Other opportunities to extend or reinforce students’ understanding can be found on the iCivics website. Students may play an online interactive game that has them experience the roles and interactions of the three branches of government: http://www.icivics.org/games/branches-power
- They may also use an online webquest to learn more about each branch of government and answer questions about their findings: http://www.icivics.org/web-quests/three-branches
Assessment: Students will be assessed on whether they have met the objectives for the lesson. These objectives will be explained to students in the beginning of the lesson so they know what is expected of them. Teachers will keep track of this through a check list. During each activity, teachers will walk around to see how well students are modeling the branches of power and cooperating together in a group. A (+) on the checklist indicates that the student has met the objective and a (-) shows that the student has not. Notes can be written in place of, or in addition to, a plus or minus so that the teachers are aware of how the student has not yet met the objective or perhaps exceeded expectations. Later, teachers will collect the guided notes worksheet from each student. Based on the student’s work the teacher will determine if they have identified the main role and function of each branch of government and defined ‘separation of powers’ and ‘checks and balances.’
Resources:
- Lesson and extensions from http://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/separation-powers-whats-lunch
- Petrosky, L. (2013) Separation of powers. http://prezi.com/zvrhqkz6c87-/separation-of-powers/