Three-Ring Government

Submitted by kathylowe on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 12:39Printable version Bookmark and Share
Created By:
Kathy Lowe
Title/Role:
Executive Director
Organization/School Name:
Massachusetts School Library Association
Location:
Massachusetts

Grade Level:
3
Type of Lesson:
Stand-alone lesson
Type of Schedule:
Combination
Collaboration Continuum:
Limited
Content Area:
Social studies
Content Topic:
Branches of the U.S. Government
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Skills Indicator(s):
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
Dispostion Indicator(s):
2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):
1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.
Scenario:
Third grade teachers have informed the school librarian that they are ready to begin their annual unit on the U. S. government. The teachers want their students to be able to name the three branches of government, the officials, and the responsibilities of each branch. They have requested that the librarian, as he has done in previous years, introduce the unit to the students with the Schoolhouse Rock song and video, Three-Ring Government. During their weekly 40-minute library class, the librarian guides the students in listening and watching for these facts. Each student, with assistance from the librarian, fills in a graphic organizer matching the name of each branch with its officials and major responsibilities. The librarian also prepares a display of books related to the topic, both fiction and nonfiction, that the students may browse and/or borrow during their 10-minute book-selection time at the end of the class. The third grade teachers continue with further instruction in their classrooms. In subsequent, specially arranged library visits, the librarian assists students in selecting resources for assignments on this topic.

Overview:
In social studies class, third grade students identify the structure of the federal government and describe the roles and responsibilities of government officials. The essential question framing the unit is: How is our government organized?

Final Product:
Students complete a graphic organizer matching the names of the three branches of the federal government with the officials and major responsibilities of each branch.

Library Lesson:
Students will learn to listen and watch for information, then record and categorize it using a graphic organizer.

Estimated Lesson Time:
30 minutes
Assessment
Product:
Students complete a librarian-created graphic organizer that resembles a circus’ three rings. They must (1) correctly identify the three government branches, (2) correctly list the official(s) for each branch, and (3) include one major responsibility of each branch.

Process:
Librarian observes students as they work on their graphic organizers and participate with the class in completing an accurate model.

Self Questioning:
Did I understand my task? Did I listen carefully enough to find the information I need? Did I complete the organizer with all of the information required? Did I place information correctly in the graphic organizer? Was all the information I included in the graphic organizer accurate?

Instructional Plan
Resources students will use:
Moving Image (i.e. animations, movies, tv program, video)
Text (books, letters, poems, newspapers, etc.)

Resources instructor will use:
Smart board
TV
VCR/DVD player

Instruction/Activities
Direct instruction:
The librarian introduces the lesson by showing the students the Schoolhouse Rock video, Three-Ring Government. Following the viewing of the video, the librarian displays a list of words from the song that pertain to the branches of the government on an interactive whiteboard and discusses their definitions with the class.

Modeling and guided practice:
The librarian distributes the lyrics of the song to the class. While they listen to the song again, students raise their hands each time they hear a word about a branch of the government. The librarian highlights these words on the whiteboard while the students circle them on their lyric sheets.

Independent practice:
Following a second viewing of the video, students label the three rings on their graphic organizers with the names of each branch and fill in the officials and major responsibility of the branches. The librarian assists students who have questions.


Have you taught this lesson before:
No