Unit Plan: U.S. Government - Eric Newcombe Portfolio



Eric NewcombeUnit Plan: U.S. GovernmentPolitical Parties: Beginning, Development and NowEric Newcombe4/2/20124030980129540Democratic4000020000Democratic20955118110Republican4000020000Republican34772601685290Libertarian4000020000Libertarian2654302571750Green4000020000Green Eric NewcombeKathy ZimskiHIS 4992 April 2012Unit Plan: United States GovernmentTitle: Political Parties: Beginning, Development and NowCreated by: Eric NewcombeLearners and LearningLearners: This unit is for a 12th grade Government and Economics class consisting of 14 boys and 16 girls. Two students have issues with attention, one student has documented reading limitations, six English language learners in the class, three of whom are new to the school, ethnicities presented include Anglo, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, and multi-ethnic, and eight of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.When considering reading limitations there will be more time given on the readings or students will work in pairs with someone at a higher reading level. For the English language learners there will be pictures and graphic organizers given out to help them and other students. -Sources for bias: Religious backgrounds, ethnicity, cultural. In addition, this lesson can be quite a problem for bias because we are talking about political parties. This is a highly contentious issue that many students will have grounded beliefs in. It is important for the teacher to realize that the job here is to present the material in a non-biased fashion and let the students make up the ideas themselves.-Strategies: Scaffolding and road maps for anxiety, for distractions make sure to call the students attention back to you as the teacher. In addition, many of the distractions might come initially from those students who do not feel engaged. This will not be the case in this unit. This unit is a unit that focuses on student participation, even within lectures. For example, I will be asking the students questions while lecturing to keep them involved. In addition, I will use strategies like Think, Pair, Share and Cold Calling that will help maintain an atmosphere of high expectations, while keeping students engaged.Learner Environment:The classroom will have a set of established rules that will focus on reinforcing the ideals that the teacher has the right to teach, the student has the right to learn, and everyone should treat each other with respect. Those rules will include, only one person speaking at a time, no personal attacks when discussing other people’s viewpoints, and no cell phones or iPod’s in the classroom. In addition, this lesson and the classroom in general will focus on student engagement with high expectations. Although it is vital for us to engage our students, it is also important to not do so at the cost of lowering our standards for our students. This classroom will attempt to both engage the students in a safe learning environment while maintaining high expectations.Content and SkillsEnduring Understanding-How we, as citizens of the United States of America, interact with our government.-The ability to analyze different types of primary and secondary sources.Essential Questions-Where does the power truly lie in our governmental system?-How do we as citizens interact with our government through political parties?-Why do we have political parties in the USA?-How did political parties begin?-Why did political parties develop?-Are political parties still necessary?-Should we abandon the two-party system?ObjectivesContent Objectives-Students will be able to trace/identify the roots of our two-party system in the United States of America.-Students will be able to summarize the development of the political party system in the USA.-Students will be able discuss the political beliefs of the numerous parties in the USA.-Students will be able to comprehend how they, as citizens, can interact with the federal government through political parties.Skill Objectives-Students will be able to analyze secondary and primary sources that concern the beginning, development and current state of political parties.-Students will be able to evaluate the effects of political parties on our governmental system.StandardsContent StandardsArizona History Content Standards-Strand 3: Concept 2: PO 5b: role of competing factions and development of political parties.-Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 3a: connections between self-interest, the common good, and essential element of civic virtue.-Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 3d: analyzing public issues, policy making and evaluating candidates.-Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 5: describe the role and influence of political parties, interest groups, and mass media.-Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 5a: political perspectives (e.g., liberalism, conservatism, progressivism, libertarianism.)NCSS Themes-Theme #5-Individuals, Groups and Institutions-Theme #6-Power, Authority and Governance-Theme #10-Civic Ideals and Practices.National Standards for Government and Economics-III. How does the Government established by the constitution embody the purposes, values and principles of American Democracy?-E. How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?-4. Political parties, campaigns, and elections.?Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions about the roles of political parties, campaigns, and elections in American politics.-4.1-describe the origins and development of the two-party system in the United States of America.-4.2-evaluate the role of third parties in the United States.-4.4- explain the major characteristics of American political parties, how they vary by locality, and how they reflect the dispersion of power providing citizens numerous opportunities for participation.-4.5- describe the role of political parties in channeling public opinion, allowing people to act jointly, nominating candidates, conducting campaigns, and training future leaders.Skills StandardsArizona History Skills Standards-Strand 2 Concept 1 PO1- Interpret historical data displayed in maps,graphs, tables, charts, and geologic time scales.-Strand 2 Concept 1 PO 5- Evaluate primary and secondary sources.-Strand 2 Concept 1 PO 7- Compare present events with past events.Unit Rationale-Objective: Students will be able to understand the roots of our two-party system in the United States of America.-Objective: Students will be able to summarize the development of the political party system in the USA.-Standards Addressed:-AHCS- Strand 3: Concept 2: PO 5b: role of competing factions and development of political parties.-NCSS Theme- 5 and 6.-NSGE 4.1-describe the origins and development of the two-party system in the United States of America.-Rationale- Through both lecture and an examination of the primary source of George Washington’s Farewell address students will come to understand the origins and development of the two-party system in the United States of America. This is probably the most important part of this unit. It strives to help students understand the roots of this system and why it is the way that it is today. In addition, by looking at the origins and development of such a powerful and rooted institution as the party system, this unit is addressing the NCSS themes by showing students the amount of power and influence that this institution has.-Objective: Students will be able discuss the political beliefs of the numerous parties in The USA.-Standards Addressed:-AHCS- Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 5: describe the role and influence of political parties, interest groups, and mass media.-AHCS- Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 5a: political perspectives (e.g., liberalism, conservatism, progressivism, libertarianism.)-NCSS: Theme #5-NSGE 4.4- explain the major characteristics of American political parties, how they vary by locality, and how they reflect the dispersion of power providing citizens numerous opportunities for participation.-Rationale – In addition to the origin and development of the political parties, this is the other most important facet of this unit. Students will gain an important insight into the main views of the political party by actually looking up the party platforms on the internet and analyzing what they think that they are actually saying. By doing this, students are engaging in current material that can affect them in the future, as well as gain an insight into what the parties truly believe. Through this activity students will gain an understanding of the basis of each party’s beliefs and goals.-Objective: Students will be able to comprehend how they, as citizens, can interact with the federal government through political parties.-Standards Addressed:-AHCS- Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 3a: connections between self-interest, the common good, and essential element of civic virtue.-AHCS- Strand 3: Concept 4: PO 3d: analyzing public issues, policy making and evaluating candidates.-NCSS- Theme #10-NSGE 4.5- describe the role of political parties in channeling public opinion, allowing people to act jointly, nominating candidates, conducting campaigns, and training future leaders.-Rationale – Part of the impetus for this unit and for the class in general is for students to understand how they can and should interact with the federal government. As citizens of the United States of America, these students will have civic duties and rights that they should be aware of. In addition, students need to be made aware of how they can interact with the government and enact change if desired. Through lecture and group activities, this unit will address this important issue and the standards that if follows from.Background InformationThis lesson on the origin, development and current role of political parties will require some knowledge of how the two-party system developed within the United States of America. The roots of our political party system stem from the British Government pre 1776 when we established our independence. The major political parties in the British Government at that time were the Whigs and Torries. After our declaration of independence in 1776 and in the following years, our founding fathers warned us against political factions because they thought that it would be detrimental to the republican system of government that they were trying to set up. In addition, there is absolutely no mention of political parties or any sort of party system in the Constitution. George Washington, in his Farewell Address after his first term, strongly urged the people of the nation against political parties and the evils that they harbored. However, there were some like James Madison that thought that there would always be people who grouped together no matter what and that the size of the nation would inhibit one group from completely dominating the political spectrum. Madison addressed these concerns and many more in the essays in the Federalist Papers. However, by 1796, we had a two-party system. Two political parties quickly emerged, the Federalists, led by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists favored business development, a strong national government, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The Democratic Republicans, on the other hand, called for society based on small farms, a weak central government, and a strict interpretation of the constitution. Those two political parties stayed at odds until the emergence of the Jacksonian Democrats and the Whigs in the 1820’s. Finally, the Civil War is the great divide that split not only our country in half, but also revolutionized the political party system in this nation. The emergence of the Republican Party began during this time with the election of Abraham Lincoln. After the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated the political scene for most of the latter half of the 20th Century until the Great Depression, when there began a major shift in political party allegiance. The policies of Roosevelt’s New Deal would dominate the political spectrum until the 1960’s when the Republicans would have resurgence with the election of Nixon in 1986. The role of third parties within our political party system is also very important for our students to understand. Third parties play an important role in that they have often served to shake up the dominance of the two-party system and organize new voters and issues into politics. Issues like the abolition of child labor, the progressive income tax, the direct election of U.S. senators, and women’s suffrage were all first pushed by third parties and then adopted by the two-party system. Some of the more effective and successful third parties throughout history have been the Populists in 1890’s, the Progressives in 1924, the Socialist Party 1912, The Reform Party, the Green Party and the Libertarian Party.Students might also ask why we do have a two-party system. Although it may look like to the outside that we have a two-party system because of fundamental political differences, which there are, but the real reason come from the structure of single-member or winner-take-all electoral system. This system does not allow for smaller parties to win any representation, therefore rendering them invisible within our government. Finally, what are the roles that Political Parties play? The main roles that political parties play within our governmental system include running candidates for political office, checking the other party, informing the public about issues, organizing the government. A great summary and in depth analysis of this information can be found at /5a.asp.Although this is a much abbreviated version of the events and material that actually took place over the history of our nation, it is a good summary to show how political party politics have shifted in this nation and how it has developed over time. There are several beneficial websites out on the internet that provide great information on this topic as well as some very good books that you can use.Instructional PracticePre-assessment:- KWL chart that is started in the beginning of the unit, and finished at the end ofthe unit will allow the students to gain some knowledge about where the unit isgoing, as well as allow the teacher to gain some knowledge about themisconceptions that students have about the overall subject.- Students will respond daily to a prompt from the teacher in the form of asingular question that will take only 3-5 minutes. This will allow the teacher togain some measurable data as to how the students are progressing in their learningand how the instruction of the unit is affecting the learning gains of the students.Formative Assessments:-The teacher will perform a couple of minutes of Cold Calling in the beginning minutes of class. These questions can come from the previous day’s material, the assigned homework, or from any of the sources that are being used in class. This informal form of assessment will allow the teacher to understand if the students fully comprehend the material or if they do not understand the material. - Students will also complete a TOTD (Ticket Out the Door). These daily prompts from the teacher should only take 3-5 minutes for the student to respond and should take place at the end of the lesson. TOTD's will allow the teacher to understand if the students comprehend the material that the teacher is presenting. In addition, this formative assessment will allow the teacher to make changes to the schedule if students are not grasping the material.Intervention Strategies for Re-teaching:- If students do not understand the prompts from the normative assessments or thepre-assessment activities, then the teacher will explain those prompts and addthem to the summative assessment to ensure that students understand the material.-The normative assessments will come in the form of the TOTD and Cold Calling the next morning. After seeing the performance on both of these activities by the students, the teacher may then re-teach the material that the students are not fully grasping. - The teacher will make and provide notes that will help comprehension whenreading the text. These notes will help as a guiding agent in relation with the textand will allow students to comprehend the text at a higher level.Summative Assessment:- Students will respond to 3 short answer questions demonstrating their understanding of the development of political parties. 1. What country did our political party system originate from and what were some of the concerns that our founding fathers had about political parties? 2. Explain 1 social policy difference and 1 economic policy difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.3. Explain the role that third parties play within our current party system.-KWL chart completion. Student will finish filling out the KWL chart started at the beginning of the unit to see what they have learned throughout the unit. They will be able to see how they have broadened their knowledge of the development of political parties. As teacher's we will see if all of our objectives and enduring understandings were reached.Instructional ActivitiesDay #1: Introduction and Origins-Start KWL Chart. Begin working on individual charts and then move to sharing what they put on their charts with the class. 10-15 minutes.-Pass out and have students complete Which is which? handout. Discuss and give answers. 10-15 minutes-Introductory lecture about the origins of the political parties and their initial development in the United States of America. 15-20 minutes.-Students should be taking notes during lectures because of Cold Calling the next day. In addition, I will be asking students questions throughout the lecture.-TOTD (What governmental system did the early United States get the two-party system from?) 3-5 minutesDay #2: Lecture and Primary Source Work-Bell Work and Cold Calling. 7-10 minutes.-Lecture: Founding Fathers concerns with political parties and different parties throughout history. 20-25 minutes.-Students should be taking notes during lectures because of Cold Calling the next day. In addition, I will be asking students questions throughout the lecture.- Begin Primary Source Analysis: George Washington’s Farewell Address. 10-15 minutes.-Jigsaw. Have students split into four groups. Give each group copies of 2-3 pages of George Washington’s Farewell Address. Have each group summarize what is in their part. Then bring the class back together and have each group share what he was talking about in each section. -TOTD (How did our Founding Fathers feel about political parties? Provide 2-3 examples as to why they either liked or disliked political parties.) 3-5 minutes.Day #3: Lecture and Primary Source Work-Bell Work and Cold Calling. 7-10 minutes.-Finish Primary Source Analysis: George Washington’s Farewell Address: 10-15 minutes.-Lecture: Role of third parties in party system and current political parties. 20-25 minutes.--Students should be taking notes during lectures because of Cold Calling the next day. In addition, I will be asking students questions throughout the lecture.-TOTD (Provide 3 examples of how third parties have or do currently contribute to the political party system) 3-5 minutes.Day #4: Lecture and Group Activity Introduction-Bell Work and Cold Calling. 7-10 minutes.-Lecture: Actions of Political Parties and civic duties of citizens. (e.g. conventions, primaries, influence from lobbyists.) 25-30 minutes.-Students should be taking notes during lectures because of Cold Calling the next day. In addition, I will be asking students questions throughout the lecture.- Introduction to Platform Group Activity. 3-5 minutes.-TOTD (Provide 3 examples of civic duties that we have as citizens of the Unites States of America) 3-5 minutes.Day #5: Library Research-Grouping of students and explanation of *Platform Group Activity Assignment. 7-10 minutes.-Student Research Time. 40 minutes.Day #6: Group Presentation-Group presentation of party platforms and missions. 50 minutes.Day #7: Summative Assessment-Summative Assessment 35-40 minutes.-Finish KWL Chart. 5-10 minutes.*Platform Group Activity Students will be broken into groups and asked to find the party platform and mission statement of the Republican Party, Democratic Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party and Tea Party. Students will be asked to find how each party views the following topics, taxes, education, defense, environment and healthcare. The mission statement may not be easily found upon the party website. Instead, students might need to Google that material. Then students will be asked to present, summarize and explain the party mission statement and the views that each party has on those topics that their group researched on the following day. Put up all of the views on one big chart and compare and contrast the views. Rubric to follow.Required Elements:Party Mission StatementSummary of the party view on the following topicsTaxesEducationDefenseEnvironmentHealthcareCorrect and adequate sourcing Technology-I will be using a PowerPoint from an online source.Materials Needed:-Whiteboard-Computer Lab-George Washington’s Farewell Address Handout-Which is which? Handout-PPT from Available for:-TOTD-Platform Group Activity Presentations-Short Answer Assessments.Ticket out the Door:Student Name: ? ? ________________________________________ CATEGORY 10 8 6 0Comprehension Answers all the question(s) in complete sentences. Answers some of the question(s) in complete sentences.Answers some or all of the questions, but not in complete sentences. Does not do the TOTD Short Answer Assessment Rubric:Student Name: ? ? ________________________________________ CATEGORY 10864Content There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information. Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general. Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information. The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information. Support for Topic (Content) Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable. Supporting details and information are relevant, but one key issue or portion of the storyline is unsupported. Supporting details and information are relevant, but several key issues or portions of the storyline are unsupported. Supporting details and information are typically unclear or not related to the topic. Accuracy of Facts (Content) All supportive facts are reported accurately.Almost all supportive facts are reported accurately.Most supportive facts are reported accurately.NO facts are reported OR most are inaccurately reported.Grammar & Spelling (Conventions)Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distracts the reader from the content. Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distracts the reader from the content.Platform Group Activity Presentation:Student Name: ? ? ________________________________________ CATEGORY 10 8 6 4 Required Elements The presentation includes all required elements as well as additional information. All required elements are included in the presentation. All but 1 of the required elements is included in the presentation. Several required elements were missing. Content - Accuracy Information presented is accurate and clear. Information presented is somewhat inaccurate and somewhat unclear. Information is mostly inaccurate and mostly unclear. Information is inaccurate and unclear. Group Participation and ProfessionalismAll members of group helped to present and members did so in a professional manner. Most members of group presented and some unprofessional manners when presenting. Some members of group presented and some unprofessional presenting. Only one member presenting and done so in an unprofessional manner.BibliographyAmerican Government. “Political Parties.” . (accessed March 30, 2012).Center for Civic Education, eds. We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution. 6th ed. Center for Civic Education, 1998.De Luca, Tom, Bruce Miroff, Raymond Seidelman, Todd Swanstrom. The Democratic Debate: American Politics in an Age of Change. Wadsworth, Canada: Cengage Learning Products, 2010.Green, Carl R. and William R. Sanford. Basic Principles of American Government. Amsco School Publications, 2006. ................
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