Checks+and+Balances,+K.+Hladek

Kelly Hladek In discussing reading as it relates to inquiry, Barbara K. Stripling, in __Curriculum Connections through the Library__, profiled researcher Jean Chall’s six stages in the process of learning to read. Chall believes that students in grades four through eight are in Stage Three when they begin to make the shift from “‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’” (7). This lesson helps facilitate that transition for eight-graders who are learning a great deal about their government and how it operates while they continue to practice their reading skills. In this lesson, parts of which are adapted from online ideas, students 1) will become more knowledgeable in the area of the U.S. constitution and the democratic ideals that are its foundation, and 2) simulate the process of passing a law on an issue affecting their individuality and environment: the school dress code. || **Inquiry Skill** – 12th grade In __The Blue Book: On Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy__, Daniel Callison included a list of tasks the average high school student should be able to perform through the information inquiry process. Among them are two tasks that play prominent roles within this lesson. A student: In this lesson, parts of which are adapted from online ideas, students 1) will utilize their own critical thinking skills to draw conclusions about hypothetical life situations based on evidence within the Constitution, a primary source document, and 2) examine other secondary source documents to determine how the Constitution impacts society. || This lesson, which places an emphasis on scaffolding, challenges students to build on their acquired knowledge of the Constitution and the branches of government, and apply, in a very basic way, the system of checks and balances to a situation affecting their school environment. Specifically—students should 1) receive a solid introduction to the country’s Constitution, the three branches of government, and the system of checks and balances and 2) develop a basic appreciation for the complexities that are inherent in the system. || **Overview:** Seniors in high school (who, by the way, become eligible to vote on their 18th birthdays) revisit the three branches of government when they take the required government class. The separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are studied as part of a unit on the basic principles of the Constitution. Seniors study in greater detail the functions, procedures, and processes of the three branches of the United States government and contemplate how the branches’ actions impact society. This lesson, which places an emphasis on scaffolding, challenges students to build on their acquired knowledge of the Constitution by assuming the responsibilities of the three branches and applying the system of checks and balances to hypothetical situations involving the 27 Amendments to the Constitution. Specifically—students should 1) have a strong understanding of the country’s Constitution and the system of checks and balances from the perspective of the three branches of government and 2) identify ways in which society is impacted by governmental actions. || // Standard 2: Civics and Government // 8.2.1 Identify and explain essential ideas of constitutional government, which are explained in the founding documents of the United States […]. 8.2.3 Explain how and why legislative, executive and judicial powers are distributed, shared and limited in the constitutional government of the United States. // 21st-Century Learner Standards // 1.1.9-Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. 1.3.4-Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 2.4.3-Recognize new knowledge or understanding. 4.1.6-Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily. || ** High School (12th grade) ** // Standard 3: Purposes, Principles and Institutions of Government in the United States // USG.3.7 Explain the relationship among branches of the United States government, which involve separation and sharing of powers as a means to limited government. USG.3.9 Explain how a bill becomes law in the legislative process of the United States. USG.3.11 Analyze the functions of the judicial branch of the United States with emphasis on the principles of due process, judicial review and an independent judiciary. USG.3.12 Analyze the functions of major departments of the executive branch in the United States. // 21st-Century Learner Standards // 2.1.5-Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. 2.1.6-Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that create new understandings. 3.1.5-Connect learning to community issues. || Time required: one to two class periods The Lesson: Time required: one to two class periods The Lesson: > > Handout B supplies the answers. The teacher’s role during this aspect of the activity is to facilitate an understanding of each government branch and appreciate the system of checks and balances in place. > > Student materials include: Students materials include: When comparing the two lessons, both of which emphasize scaffolding, the most obvious difference in maturation and depth from one grade level to another is that, while the 8th grade lesson stresses accumulating and retaining factual knowledge and offers students a brief glimpse into law-making, the 12th grade lesson stresses the students’ ability to analyze that factual knowledge and identify examples of the branches of government or laws in action within their world. The specific skills emphasized—gathering facts, evaluating/analyzing information, applying/synthesizing knowledge, etc.—evolve (and improve) over time with repeated practice at varying degrees of difficulty. The 12th grade lesson is more challenging than the 8th grade lesson, helping students move from one level to the next level in their understanding. The scaffolding provided to the 8th grade students centers on knowledge that is primarily factual in nature. Students get their primary information from their textbooks, and that information is reinforced through the video programming, online games, and the card game. It isn’t until the end of the lesson that students experience a rudimentary opportunity to apply that information to their lives. The scaffolding provided to 12th grade students has factual information as its foundation (comprehension), but the scaffolding quickly involves deeper levels of critical thinking (application, analysis, and evaluation). More of the seniors’ time during the lesson is spent at these challenging levels. The expectation is that 12th grade students should be able to complete the more difficult tasks and more readily see how their lives (and society) are affected by government. Why? Very soon they will be fully participating members of society with their own voting privileges to exercise. Eighth-grade students are not at the same place psychologically or emotionally. These students may be able to understand how our government functions, but they may be more willing to master the subject matter if they can “see” it applied to their smaller spheres. Information scientists at the 8th grade level may benefit, at least initially, from more controlled or guided levels of inquiry. The U.S. Constitution, the branches of government, and the systems of checks and balances can be daunting concepts for these students to absorb. The media specialist at the middle school level could help locate materials that would reinforce these concepts in a greater variety of ways. The videos, online quizzes, and games, featured in the 8th grade lesson’s Overview and Teacher Materials sections, are just the kind of activities that would balance out the “straight read” of the textbook. Information scientists at the 12th grade level, depending on the class and students, should be capable of the modeled or free levels of inquiry—the levels of inquiry through which discoveries are typically self-generated. The media specialist at the high school level can help students access as many sources as possible that will support the inquiry process and assist them in mastering the use of the school’s online resources (mentioned in the Teacher Materials section of the lesson). Why would the roles be different at the two levels? The levels and lessons themselves are different, necessitating approaches appropriate to the learning goals. The standards cited in the 8th grade lesson [//1.1.9-Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. 1.3.4-Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community.// //2.4.3-Recognize new knowledge or understanding. 4.1.6-Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily.//] emphasize successful interactions with others and suggest a smaller focus in order to obtain new information. The standards cited in the 12th grade lesson [//2.1.5-Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. 2.1.6-Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that create new understandings. 3.1.5-Connect learning to community issues.//] also advocate collaboration with others, but added emphases on community issues and the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills give this lesson a broader focus and take it to a more challenging level. || ** Works Cited: ** Callison, Daniel, and Leslie Preddy. __The Blue Book: On Information Age Inquiry, Instruction__ __and Literacy__. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. Stripling, Barbara K. “Inquiry-Based Learning.” __Curriculum Connections through the Library__. Ed. Barbara K. Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. ** Helpful websites: ** Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids (middle school) [] Constitution of the United States (high school) [] Discovery Learning (all grades) [] Law Focused Education, Inc.’s Branches of the Federal Government Game (middle school) [] TeacherVision (all grades) [] Truman Library’s Three Branches of Government Game (middle school) [] ||
 * Project 2: Checks and Balances **
 * ** Project 2: Checks and Balances – An 8th grade and 12th grade lesson ** ||
 * **Inquiry Skill** – 8th grade
 * understands and is familiar with documents that have different purpose scope, perspective, and bias.
 * can develop and define the terms in a question regarding a problem, or otherwise limit a topic (90).
 * **Overview:** Eighth-grade students are introduced to the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances during an extensive unit on the Constitution that covers the basic philosophical principles of the Constitution, the Articles, the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10), and Amendments 11-27 to the Constitution. Teachers who need a visual companion to supplement the textbook material can access entertaining contemporary "Practically Painless Guide to..." mini-videos on the Constitution and the branches of government from [|Discovery Learning] . (Note: I tried to attach all five Discovery Learning videos but was unsuccessful. When I uploaded them, they didn't appear on the preview page. If you are interested, I will try to get them to you another way.)
 * ** Middle School (8th grade) **
 * ** Teaching Materials **
 * 1) Students will have already spent some time with the textbook section on The Constitution of the United States (including the Articles and Amendments) and perhaps watched the suggested videos. This lesson will reinforce these learned concepts.
 * 2) The teacher will divide the students into three groups. The teacher directs the first group to the [|Truman Library’s Three Branches of Government Game] online where one or two students can play a Jeopardy-version of a quiz game covering the three branches.
 * 3) The teacher directs the second group to [|Law Focused Education, Inc.’s Branches of the Federal Government Game] online. In this game, the government branches are symbolically represented by tree branches. Students use their knowledge to electronically place the “branches” in their correct place on the tree.
 * 4) The third group will play [|TeacherVision’s Three Branches, One Government Game] at a table. Students may play individually, in pairs, or as a group. Directions to the game can be found on the link. Essentially students match provided clues to their corresponding branch of government.
 * 5) The teacher should make sure student groups rotate so that everyone has an opportunity to participate in all three review activities. The teacher also should verbally check to make sure students understand the roles of the three different government branches.
 * 6) On the second day, the teacher puts students back into their groups (or into three //different// groups)—each group representing one branch of government. The Legislative Branch will write a “law” that introduces a new dress code at the middle school and requires students to wear uniforms. The document will need to specifically outline the various aspects of the law. The Executive Branch will decide to support or veto the legislation and explain either decision. The Judicial Branch will decide if this law violates students’ constitutional rights and explain their decision. (Referring the Legislative Branch group to the student handbook, where students can find helpful wording about the school’s current dress code that does not require a uniform, will give them the head start they need to compose the law.) The teacher should circulate around the room at this point and help facilitate group discussion.
 * 7) Each group will be required to present its case to the other two. At the end of the activity the new law will be passed, vetoed, or declared unconstitutional.
 * 8) Ask students to individually summarize their observations of their group interactions in a journal entry. [[file:Legislating the School Dress Code criteria.doc]] Students who address all the criteria should receive credit for participating in the activity. Teachers may adjust the awarded credit accordingly for students who do not address all the criteria.  || ** Teaching Materials **
 * 1) Students will have already become reacquainted with the three branches of government, the system of checks and balances, and with the amendments to the Constitution through their textbook reading (assigned as either reading homework or read together as a class).
 * 2) The teacher will supplement the reading with a handout that visually illustrates the system of checks and balances of the three branches. //The teacher can opt to use the handouts as either a tool for generating discussion or as a graded activity.// Note: Handout A is an empty flow chart on which students can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups using their textbooks or Internet resources to add the “checks” that each branch has on the other two. [[image:checks_and_balances_handout_A.jpg width="208" height="150" align="center"]]
 * 1) After the handout activity, the teacher will divide the class into three groups—each group representing one of the three branches of government.
 * 2) The teacher then introduces students to the “Constitutional Power Grab” game via a PowerPoint presentation. [[file:Constitutional Power Grab.ppt]] Teachers should preview the game before using it.
 * 3) __The instructions to the game are outlined on slides two and three__. Essentially the class is divided into three groups representing the three branches of government. During every “round,” students in each branch are presented with a hypothetical—and unconstitutional—situation and asked to prove why the situation is unconstitutional through their access to the Constitution and its amendments. The teacher should check if students have other questions before beginning the game.
 * 4) The answer to each question appears on the very next slide. The “branch” that makes the most power grabs accumulates the most points and wins the game.
 * 5) For the next activity, the teacher asks students to locate a current online article that demonstrates the checks and balances system in action or the application of one of the amendments. Students should search the online resources that are available in their school media center. Attached to the article, the student should submit a brief report, detailing the information depicted. The teacher should share the rubric for this activity (which also includes the assignment instructions) with students ahead of time so that students will know how their reports will be evaluated. [[file:Our Government in Action rubric.doc]]Teachers also can opt to add a presentation component to the lesson to enable students to share their findings. ||
 * ** Student Materials **
 * history textbooks
 * the “Practically Painless Guide to…” mini-videos (was not successful in attaching)
 * Internet access
 * pre-made game pieces for the [|Teacher Vision’s Three Branches, One Government Game]
 * “Legislating the School Dress Code” journal entry criteria (attached) || ** Students Materials **
 * government textbooks
 * handout A-flowchart (attached)
 * handout B-answer key (attached)
 * copies of the Constitution or [|Internet access to the Constitution text]
 * an LCD projector
 * the PowerPoint “Constitutional Power Grab” game (attached), which can be edited easily to adjust content or accommodate learning styles and special needs
 * directions/rubric for the “Our Government in Action” activity (attached) ||
 * ** Lesson Comparison **