Social Studies: The first iteration
What
Students have been learning a civics curriculum based upon the Constitution all year; this is part of a school wide civics initiative. In this lesson, they will learn about types of conflict resolution and the role the judicial branch plays in conflict resolution. They will develop their own skills both in understanding and in applying conflict resolution through a written response to a fictional situation. The goal is that students will increase their understanding of the judicial branch and increase their appreciation for why it is important and how they think it should be run. Students will be able to glean information about conflicts and conflict resolution from written texts, and they will be able to express their own opinions on a specific “case.”
How
Students will be able to access the lesson through reading their Civics Kids text, hearing the text read by classmates, discussing vocabulary in small groups, sharing their vocabulary with the whole group, listening to The Lorax read aloud, and writing a response based upon their own understanding of learned content and their opinions. I have tried to diversify the ways students can access information and demonstrate their knowledge to access different students’ different strengths. I have also incorporated different strategies (group read, read aloud, discuss, write) so that students will be able to find multiple points to get engaged.
Why
This particular lesson was chosen because it is the next in sequence in their civics unit. The overall idea and some materials for the lesson plan are from the Civics Kids curriculum, an initiative used by the whole school. Further, this material feels important so that students can think about conflicts, ways to resolve conflicts, and how conflicts might be resolved in a court of law. These are skills that may serve them as citizens and humans who may find themselves in conflicts.
The decision to instruct to the whole class rather than a small group is because the lesson covers objectives the whole class needs in sequence (as directed by the school wide initiative). Additionally, the curriculum is something both the students and I have used in the class before, so I feel comfortable implementing it whole class.
I chose to teach this lesson by using group read, read aloud, small group discussion, whole group discussion, and individual writing because I want each student to have at least one access point to the content given their particular strengths. This is largely based upon a belief in differentiated instruction and multiple intelligences as described by Howard Gardner.
Goals / Objectives
1. Students will be able to demonstrate an increased understanding of what happens in a real court of law and why it is useful.
2. Students will be able to understand types of conflict resolution (negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation) and to reason in writing about what they think might be a best resolution in a fictional text.
Standards
CCSS-ELA-Literacy RL 4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS-ELA-Literacy W 4.4: Provide clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Materials and preparation
Civics Kids books
The Lorax by Doctor Seuss
Lorax worksheets (see attached)
Learning environment and management issues
Lesson will take place with whole class. There will be 27 students at table groups of either 4 or 5, the way they are used to sitting. There will be 2 behavior aides in the room. The students are used to reading “popcorn” style, looking at the projector, listening to stories being read, and writing constructed opinion responses. They have known me as a part of their classroom since the first day of school and feel comfortable asking for my help in small groups and independent work. They may be amused and excited to see my teach the whole group or they may not think it is strange; I am not sure which is more likely.
Plan
Hook (5 minutes max.):
1. Ask students what they know about courts of law (“What have you heard about trails?” and “Who do you find in a trial?”). 2 minutes.
2. Connect trials and courts to the judicial branch (about which they have already learned) if a student does not do so during first questions. 1 minute.
Body (30-35 minutes):
1. Popcorn read Civics Kids “Lesson 4: The Judicial System.” 7-10 minutes.
2. Have each table group review negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation and develop own definition to share with whole class. Two table groups will do mediation and arbitration. 2-3 minutes.
3. Ask a student representative from each group give their definition. 4 minutes.
4. Read The Lorax on projector to the class. 12-14 minutes.
5. Distribute The Lorax worksheets. Read directions, answer some questions. 3 minutes.
6. Students work individually on worksheets. I will circulate answering questions.
Closure (3-4 minutes):
1. One to two students say their answer to the worksheet’s main question. They can read their answers if they prefer.
Assessment of the goals/objectives listed above
I will assess goal attainment by listening to small group discussions, by listening to student definitions of the types of conflict resolution, and by reading student responses on The Lorax worksheets. I will be looking for coherent explanations of the types of conflict resolution and for questions that indicate deep thinking about the types (for example, “why are these types different?” and “what does another person add to mediation?”).
Anticipating students’ responses and your possible responses
Students may struggle with each of the definitions, especially differences between mediation and arbitration. If this topic seems particularly difficult I plan to ask two students to come to the front of the class, pretend to argue about which one of them gets the last cookie, and act first as a mediator and second as an arbiter.
If students struggle with writing enough for the worksheet, I will reference the constructed responses they do each day in journal. I will also ask questions about their thinking and personal opinions.
If I have behavior concerns (especially talking out of turn), I plan to employ wait time, a strategy they are used to their classroom teacher using, to enforce class rules of listening and hand raising.
Accommodations
“Popcorn” reading allows students to opt in or out of reading whole group, allowing students to push themselves as much as feels comfortable and productive.
This lesson incorporates group work, individual work, and whole group work, allowing students to access different interpersonal strengths and academic strengths. Students will have the chance to share with the whole group, if they feel ready.
The writing response allows students to write more or less complex responses based upon their current level.
Lorax Worksheet Content:
The Lorax and the Once-ler have a lot to say. However, they do not seem to be able to resolve their conflict. Imagine that they tried to negotiate and failed; that they tried mediation and failed; and that they tried arbitration and failed. The next step would be to go to litigation; in other words, to have a trial. If they go to trial over their differences, who do you think would be the defendant and what would the charges be?
Civics Kids Reading:
Lesson 4: Principles of Justice and the Role of the Judiciary
Isabella thinks Vivien took her bicycle without permission. Isabella decides to confront Vivien. Vivien says that she did ask Isabella for permission to borrow her bicycle and that Isabella said it was okay. Isabella decides to negotiate with Vivien to get her bicycle back. (Negotiation is a conversation between two people with the goal of resolving a conflict.) After several attempts at negotiating the conflict, Isabella feels she needs some help. She asks her teacher to mediate the disagreement she is having. (Mediation is when a third party helps two people resolve their conflict.) As with her attempt at negotiation, Isabella’s attempt at mediation fails. Her next step is to enter into arbitration. (Arbitration is a method in which a third party hears both sides and decides the outcome.) In a short period of time, Isabella realizes that arbitration is not going to work either. Her goal is to get her bicycle back and none of her attempts to resolve the conflict have worked. Isabella realizes that it is now time to enter into litigation. (Litigation is the process of having a trial with a jury as a way to resolve your conflict.) Trials are held when a conflict that parties are having is unable to be resolved by negotiation and/or mediation and/or arbitration.
There are lots of people involved in a trial. First there is the judge, the person who is in control of the trial and hears the case. The Judge tells the jury what the law is. The judge is supported by a bailiff who swears in the witnesses and marks the evidence, and the court reporter who takes down what is being said during the trial. The attorneys or lawyers present the case to a jury. Each side has an attorney. The attorney’s job is to tell their side’s story through the witnesses. The jury decides what the facts are. Did Isabella give Vivien permission to borrow the bike? A jury is made up of between 6 and 12 people. The jury decides the verdict as well as the sentence. When a U.S. citizen turns 18, he/she gets to register to vote. Once registered, people become eligible to serve on a jury as long as they are proficient in English, have lived in their district for at least 1 year, and have not been convicted of a crime. It is everyone’s civic responsibility to serve on a jury when asked.
Students have been learning a civics curriculum based upon the Constitution all year; this is part of a school wide civics initiative. In this lesson, they will learn about types of conflict resolution and the role the judicial branch plays in conflict resolution. They will develop their own skills both in understanding and in applying conflict resolution through a written response to a fictional situation. The goal is that students will increase their understanding of the judicial branch and increase their appreciation for why it is important and how they think it should be run. Students will be able to glean information about conflicts and conflict resolution from written texts, and they will be able to express their own opinions on a specific “case.”
How
Students will be able to access the lesson through reading their Civics Kids text, hearing the text read by classmates, discussing vocabulary in small groups, sharing their vocabulary with the whole group, listening to The Lorax read aloud, and writing a response based upon their own understanding of learned content and their opinions. I have tried to diversify the ways students can access information and demonstrate their knowledge to access different students’ different strengths. I have also incorporated different strategies (group read, read aloud, discuss, write) so that students will be able to find multiple points to get engaged.
Why
This particular lesson was chosen because it is the next in sequence in their civics unit. The overall idea and some materials for the lesson plan are from the Civics Kids curriculum, an initiative used by the whole school. Further, this material feels important so that students can think about conflicts, ways to resolve conflicts, and how conflicts might be resolved in a court of law. These are skills that may serve them as citizens and humans who may find themselves in conflicts.
The decision to instruct to the whole class rather than a small group is because the lesson covers objectives the whole class needs in sequence (as directed by the school wide initiative). Additionally, the curriculum is something both the students and I have used in the class before, so I feel comfortable implementing it whole class.
I chose to teach this lesson by using group read, read aloud, small group discussion, whole group discussion, and individual writing because I want each student to have at least one access point to the content given their particular strengths. This is largely based upon a belief in differentiated instruction and multiple intelligences as described by Howard Gardner.
Goals / Objectives
1. Students will be able to demonstrate an increased understanding of what happens in a real court of law and why it is useful.
2. Students will be able to understand types of conflict resolution (negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation) and to reason in writing about what they think might be a best resolution in a fictional text.
Standards
CCSS-ELA-Literacy RL 4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS-ELA-Literacy W 4.4: Provide clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Materials and preparation
Civics Kids books
The Lorax by Doctor Seuss
Lorax worksheets (see attached)
Learning environment and management issues
Lesson will take place with whole class. There will be 27 students at table groups of either 4 or 5, the way they are used to sitting. There will be 2 behavior aides in the room. The students are used to reading “popcorn” style, looking at the projector, listening to stories being read, and writing constructed opinion responses. They have known me as a part of their classroom since the first day of school and feel comfortable asking for my help in small groups and independent work. They may be amused and excited to see my teach the whole group or they may not think it is strange; I am not sure which is more likely.
Plan
Hook (5 minutes max.):
1. Ask students what they know about courts of law (“What have you heard about trails?” and “Who do you find in a trial?”). 2 minutes.
2. Connect trials and courts to the judicial branch (about which they have already learned) if a student does not do so during first questions. 1 minute.
Body (30-35 minutes):
1. Popcorn read Civics Kids “Lesson 4: The Judicial System.” 7-10 minutes.
2. Have each table group review negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation and develop own definition to share with whole class. Two table groups will do mediation and arbitration. 2-3 minutes.
3. Ask a student representative from each group give their definition. 4 minutes.
4. Read The Lorax on projector to the class. 12-14 minutes.
5. Distribute The Lorax worksheets. Read directions, answer some questions. 3 minutes.
6. Students work individually on worksheets. I will circulate answering questions.
Closure (3-4 minutes):
1. One to two students say their answer to the worksheet’s main question. They can read their answers if they prefer.
Assessment of the goals/objectives listed above
I will assess goal attainment by listening to small group discussions, by listening to student definitions of the types of conflict resolution, and by reading student responses on The Lorax worksheets. I will be looking for coherent explanations of the types of conflict resolution and for questions that indicate deep thinking about the types (for example, “why are these types different?” and “what does another person add to mediation?”).
Anticipating students’ responses and your possible responses
Students may struggle with each of the definitions, especially differences between mediation and arbitration. If this topic seems particularly difficult I plan to ask two students to come to the front of the class, pretend to argue about which one of them gets the last cookie, and act first as a mediator and second as an arbiter.
If students struggle with writing enough for the worksheet, I will reference the constructed responses they do each day in journal. I will also ask questions about their thinking and personal opinions.
If I have behavior concerns (especially talking out of turn), I plan to employ wait time, a strategy they are used to their classroom teacher using, to enforce class rules of listening and hand raising.
Accommodations
“Popcorn” reading allows students to opt in or out of reading whole group, allowing students to push themselves as much as feels comfortable and productive.
This lesson incorporates group work, individual work, and whole group work, allowing students to access different interpersonal strengths and academic strengths. Students will have the chance to share with the whole group, if they feel ready.
The writing response allows students to write more or less complex responses based upon their current level.
Lorax Worksheet Content:
The Lorax and the Once-ler have a lot to say. However, they do not seem to be able to resolve their conflict. Imagine that they tried to negotiate and failed; that they tried mediation and failed; and that they tried arbitration and failed. The next step would be to go to litigation; in other words, to have a trial. If they go to trial over their differences, who do you think would be the defendant and what would the charges be?
Civics Kids Reading:
Lesson 4: Principles of Justice and the Role of the Judiciary
Isabella thinks Vivien took her bicycle without permission. Isabella decides to confront Vivien. Vivien says that she did ask Isabella for permission to borrow her bicycle and that Isabella said it was okay. Isabella decides to negotiate with Vivien to get her bicycle back. (Negotiation is a conversation between two people with the goal of resolving a conflict.) After several attempts at negotiating the conflict, Isabella feels she needs some help. She asks her teacher to mediate the disagreement she is having. (Mediation is when a third party helps two people resolve their conflict.) As with her attempt at negotiation, Isabella’s attempt at mediation fails. Her next step is to enter into arbitration. (Arbitration is a method in which a third party hears both sides and decides the outcome.) In a short period of time, Isabella realizes that arbitration is not going to work either. Her goal is to get her bicycle back and none of her attempts to resolve the conflict have worked. Isabella realizes that it is now time to enter into litigation. (Litigation is the process of having a trial with a jury as a way to resolve your conflict.) Trials are held when a conflict that parties are having is unable to be resolved by negotiation and/or mediation and/or arbitration.
There are lots of people involved in a trial. First there is the judge, the person who is in control of the trial and hears the case. The Judge tells the jury what the law is. The judge is supported by a bailiff who swears in the witnesses and marks the evidence, and the court reporter who takes down what is being said during the trial. The attorneys or lawyers present the case to a jury. Each side has an attorney. The attorney’s job is to tell their side’s story through the witnesses. The jury decides what the facts are. Did Isabella give Vivien permission to borrow the bike? A jury is made up of between 6 and 12 people. The jury decides the verdict as well as the sentence. When a U.S. citizen turns 18, he/she gets to register to vote. Once registered, people become eligible to serve on a jury as long as they are proficient in English, have lived in their district for at least 1 year, and have not been convicted of a crime. It is everyone’s civic responsibility to serve on a jury when asked.
Feedback
The overarching theme of the feedback for this lesson was to deepen and clarify. Most of the changes I made to the lesson plan itself were adding information that I had decided or knew in my mind but had not thought to include in the plan, such as the age group of the children. I added more of the language I plan to use when asking the students questions, and I added clarification as to what prior knowledge I already know students have because I have been in their previous civics lessons with them. I clarified somewhat what certain classroom norms mean, such as "popcorn reading," because while I know that the students know how to do this, someone reading my lesson plan might not be familiar with the term.