| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

So you Want to be President_Lesson Plan

Page history last edited by Emily Lane 14 years, 4 months ago

 

So you Want to be President Lesson Plan

 

Grade: 4th

Title: Resume: The perfect candidate for President!

MN Standards:

I. U.S. History, D. Political Unrest and the American Revolution 1763-mid-1791, The Student will demonstrate knowledge of how the principles of the American Revolution became the foundation of a new nation, 1. Students will know and understand basic principles of the new government established by the Constitution of the United States of America.

VII. Government and Citizenship, B. Beliefs and principles of United States Democracy, The student will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of principles and beliefs upon which our republic is based, 1. Students will explain the fundamental principles of consent of the governed, limited government, rule of law, democracy, and representative government.

 

NCSS Standard: 6. Power, Authority & Governance

 

Objectives:

Students will be able to identify the various responsibilities the President holds.

Students will be able to generate ideas of what character traits make a good president.

Students will learn new vocabulary related to the Presidency.

Class periods:  5 (45 minutes each)

 

Lesson # 1

 

Materials:

So you Want to be President by Judith St. George

Post-It Notes

So you Want to be President_Vocabulary Activities Overview (access tier 2 vocabulary list here)

 

Motivation:

Ask students if they ever wanted to know top secret facts about the past Presidents?

 

Procedure:

1. Give each student a post-it note to record at least 3 new vocabulary words heard as the story is being read.  Explain that each student should write down at least 3 new vocabulary words.

2. Read aloud So you Want to be President by Judith St. George.  (This story is a great hook to get students excited about the subject of United States Presidents).

3. Have students get in groups of 3-4 and make one list of words. 

4. Groups should work together to define as many words as possible.

4. Have all groups write new vocabulary words on white board or SMART board with definitions.

5. As a class, teacher led, the list will be refined with duplicates crossed off.  Make sure students have included the key tier 2 words (located in the vocabulary overview page-link under materials).  Add any necessary words to list that have not been identified by students.

6. The class will talk about the definitions, then decide on the best ones (teacher led).

7. The master list will be recorded by each student in notebook.

 

 

Assessment:

Each student's notebook will be checked for a final list of vocabulary words with definitions present.

 

Lesson # 2 (2 class periods)

 

Materials:

Computer lab, internet

Copy of Graphic Organizer Template

Pencil

 

Motivation:

Students will see what it would be like to be president for a day here: http://pbskids.org/democracy/presforaday/index.html.

Students can go to site and follow prompts.

 

Procedure:

1. Students will look at the words of the constitution in order to understand the job duties the President must fulfill.  The constitution (article 2) can be found here: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/art2.asp

 

2. Students will research other internet sources to find more information about the President's many jobs.  Appropriate sites can be accessed here:

So-you-Want-to-be-President_Resources

 

3. Students will create a graphic organizer to represent their research. 

Find a Graphic Organizer Template here: Graphic organizer.doc  

 

Assessment:

Student's will be monitored during research.  Students will hand in graphic organizer at the end of the second class period.  They should name all of the Presidents responsibilities for full credit.

 

These can be accessed here: So you Want to be President_Top Ten List.

 

Lesson # 3 (2 class periods)

 

Materials:

Computer, word processor

Graphic organizers from previous lesson

White board

 

Motivation:

Students will be asked what characteristics, based on their research, a president should have.  They should be probed with questions such as, "would a disorganized person make a great president?" or "would a person without compassion be a good candidate for president?".

 

Procedure:

1. Students will brainstorm ideas about what makes a great leader during a class discussion.  Brainstorm can be recorded on the white board.

 

2. Students will get their graphic organizer (made during previous lesson).

 

3. The teacher will review what a resume is with the class.  The following are good links to look at as a class or individually to further help students understand the resume process:

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/resume/

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101448941033.aspx

 

3. Students will use all of  the information gathered to make a resume as if the student were applying for the job.  The resume should be written on the computer using particular attention to grammar and detail. Students may format the resume however they want. This resume should include:

 

a. All of the necessary qualities this fictitious person has that make him/her a good candidate.

b. How they could fill each one of the job requirements or why they would be good at it (making sure to make reference to the responsibility).

 

Assessment:

Each student's final resume should be graded using the following rubric.

 

The Rubric can be found here: Presidential Resume Rubric.doc 

 

Print out rubric, have students self-assess, then turn in.  The same rubric can be used by teacher to assess projects.

 

 

So You Want to be President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.