Lesson 8: Wisconsin Government Assessment
Teacher: Brittany Hughes
Grade Level: 4th Subject Area: Social Studies
Time Needed: 1 Class period Topic: End of Unit Assessment
Essential Questions:
· What are the main steps of the election process?
· How do citizens affect the community?
· What are the main duties of each branch of government?
Lesson Goals:
· Students will fill out a Wisconsin Government Unit assessment in class.
· Students will demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the lessons explored during the Wisconsin Government Unit by completing an assessment with varying types of questions.
MMSD Standards:
NCSS Standards:
Materials Needed:
· 1 Copy of Unit Assessment for each student
· Folders, pencils, pens, erasers, stickers, candy (various supplies students may use in school)
Lesson Context: This is the final lesson from the Wisconsin Government Unit. It is an assessment that can be used to measure the students’ understanding and knowledge of what they have been exploring the past few weeks. This lesson is set up in test form that includes a variety of question types including fill in the blanks, word banks, and short essay. This type of assessment was chosen because many of the students that are in the class I taught this too are English Language Learners. These students struggle with long essay type assessments because they have trouble comprehending what is expected of them and forming the words and thoughts that they want. As a result, instead of solely an essay type assessment I chose an assessment with varied types of questions. The English Language Learners seem to comprehend questions better with straight forward and clear directions and expectations. This particular assessment appeals to multiple learning styles and abilities.
Lesson Opening: Spend a few minutes discussing all of the aspects of the Wisconsin Government Unit the class covered over the last couple of weeks. Remind students that we discussed citizenship, taxes, the three branches of government, and the election process. Ask students to volunteer answers about what they remember about each lesson and what they think is important about each of the lesson topics we talked about. Ask students if anyone has any questions. Answer any questions that are asked by first asking the other students if anyone can answer the question. Allow students to offer their insights on the answer and then add any additional comments.
Procedures:
1. Pass out the Wisconsin Government Unit Assessment to each student. Walk through the different sections of the lesson before students start. Make sure all students are listening to your explanations by having them keep their pencils on their desk while looking up at you. Inform students what their task is at during each section of the task and point out to them different aspects of the section such as word banks, fill in the blanks, or short answer responses. Specifically read through the short essay question with the students at the end of the test. Explicitly tell students what is expected of them for this question. For example, let them know you expect their essays to be thoughtful and include lots of detail about what exactly they would be doing while campaigning and that they cannot simply say they are running for governor. Ask students if they have any questions about what is expected to them.
2. Allow students the rest of the time period to work on the test. Individually answer questions for students who raise their hand for help. As students finish the test have them turn their tests into you and allow them to free read for the rest of the period.
3. When students have all finished their assesment call them back all together. Ask students to take out their Raccoon Dollars they have been earning throughout the semester. Ask them if anyone can remember why they first started earning them. Student should be able to tell you that they earned them as a paycheck for doing tasks you assigned them and that you, the teacher, took taxes out of them to pay for things for the room.
4. Next, ask students what their parents or gaurdians use their paycheck for. Students should respond with necessities like food, shelter, clothes, and also more entertainment related things like toys, trips, movie tickets, etc. Tell students that since they earned their Raccoon Dollars in school you want to give them the chance to use their hard earned money to purchase school related merchandise. Show students the items you have brought for them to bring and explain tha in a few minutes they will get to buy these things.
5. Go over the logistics of the classroom store. Tell students that there is no running, yelling, or touching of other friends while shopping. Explain that the itens will be in different areas of the room and they are to go from area to area to get what they want and then come up to the teacher in the front of the room to pay for their purchases. Tell students that everything is 1 Raccoon Dollar.
Closure/Assessment: Dismiss students to the classroom store. Monitor their activities to make sure everyone is on task and using the store in the correct way. Take students' money as they come up to pay for their purchases, making sure they have paid the correct amount. Continue this until all students have bought what they needed. Thank students for their hard work and cooperation throughout the whole Wisconsin Government Unit.
Grade Level: 4th Subject Area: Social Studies
Time Needed: 1 Class period Topic: End of Unit Assessment
Essential Questions:
· What are the main steps of the election process?
· How do citizens affect the community?
· What are the main duties of each branch of government?
Lesson Goals:
· Students will fill out a Wisconsin Government Unit assessment in class.
· Students will demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the lessons explored during the Wisconsin Government Unit by completing an assessment with varying types of questions.
MMSD Standards:
- Political Science and Citizenship: Standard 2: List the ways in which a citizen can participate in state government.
- Political Science and Citizenship: Standard 3: Identify a major government official at the state level and explain how he/she is elected.
- Political Science and Citizenship: Standard 4: Identify the characteristics of responsible citizenship.
NCSS Standards:
- Standard 3: People, Places, and Environments
- Standard 4: Power, Authority, and Governance
- Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
- Standard 10: Civic Ideals and Practices
Materials Needed:
· 1 Copy of Unit Assessment for each student
· Folders, pencils, pens, erasers, stickers, candy (various supplies students may use in school)
Lesson Context: This is the final lesson from the Wisconsin Government Unit. It is an assessment that can be used to measure the students’ understanding and knowledge of what they have been exploring the past few weeks. This lesson is set up in test form that includes a variety of question types including fill in the blanks, word banks, and short essay. This type of assessment was chosen because many of the students that are in the class I taught this too are English Language Learners. These students struggle with long essay type assessments because they have trouble comprehending what is expected of them and forming the words and thoughts that they want. As a result, instead of solely an essay type assessment I chose an assessment with varied types of questions. The English Language Learners seem to comprehend questions better with straight forward and clear directions and expectations. This particular assessment appeals to multiple learning styles and abilities.
Lesson Opening: Spend a few minutes discussing all of the aspects of the Wisconsin Government Unit the class covered over the last couple of weeks. Remind students that we discussed citizenship, taxes, the three branches of government, and the election process. Ask students to volunteer answers about what they remember about each lesson and what they think is important about each of the lesson topics we talked about. Ask students if anyone has any questions. Answer any questions that are asked by first asking the other students if anyone can answer the question. Allow students to offer their insights on the answer and then add any additional comments.
Procedures:
1. Pass out the Wisconsin Government Unit Assessment to each student. Walk through the different sections of the lesson before students start. Make sure all students are listening to your explanations by having them keep their pencils on their desk while looking up at you. Inform students what their task is at during each section of the task and point out to them different aspects of the section such as word banks, fill in the blanks, or short answer responses. Specifically read through the short essay question with the students at the end of the test. Explicitly tell students what is expected of them for this question. For example, let them know you expect their essays to be thoughtful and include lots of detail about what exactly they would be doing while campaigning and that they cannot simply say they are running for governor. Ask students if they have any questions about what is expected to them.
2. Allow students the rest of the time period to work on the test. Individually answer questions for students who raise their hand for help. As students finish the test have them turn their tests into you and allow them to free read for the rest of the period.
3. When students have all finished their assesment call them back all together. Ask students to take out their Raccoon Dollars they have been earning throughout the semester. Ask them if anyone can remember why they first started earning them. Student should be able to tell you that they earned them as a paycheck for doing tasks you assigned them and that you, the teacher, took taxes out of them to pay for things for the room.
4. Next, ask students what their parents or gaurdians use their paycheck for. Students should respond with necessities like food, shelter, clothes, and also more entertainment related things like toys, trips, movie tickets, etc. Tell students that since they earned their Raccoon Dollars in school you want to give them the chance to use their hard earned money to purchase school related merchandise. Show students the items you have brought for them to bring and explain tha in a few minutes they will get to buy these things.
5. Go over the logistics of the classroom store. Tell students that there is no running, yelling, or touching of other friends while shopping. Explain that the itens will be in different areas of the room and they are to go from area to area to get what they want and then come up to the teacher in the front of the room to pay for their purchases. Tell students that everything is 1 Raccoon Dollar.
Closure/Assessment: Dismiss students to the classroom store. Monitor their activities to make sure everyone is on task and using the store in the correct way. Take students' money as they come up to pay for their purchases, making sure they have paid the correct amount. Continue this until all students have bought what they needed. Thank students for their hard work and cooperation throughout the whole Wisconsin Government Unit.
Wisconsin Government Unit Assessment
