Rachel Reinicker, Houghton Mifflin Unit 4: Community Government,

Types of Local Government, 3rd Grade

Background Information
Skills
Compare and Contrast- Venn Diagram
Collaboration
Research
Writing a letter
Vocabulary

Mayor: leader of a citys government

Council: group of officials who make rules or laws

County: area of the state that includes several communities

Concepts
Students will be learning about the different types of a local
government
Students will be learning in detail about who a mayor is and what a
mayor does
Students will listen to a presentation from their mayor and will learn
different things going on in their community that the mayor deals with
Integration of Learning Outcomes
Students will name and briefly describe the two types of government
Students will write a short reflection after the mayors visit
Students will write a letter to their mayor about something they would
like to see changed in their community and know why this is important
Standards
NCSS C3 Framework Standards:
D2.Civ.1.3-5. Distinguish the responsibilities and powers of government
officials at various levels and branches of government and in different times
and places.
D2.Civ.2.3-5. Explain how a democracy relies on peoples responsible
participation, and draw implications for how individuals should participate
PA Standards:
5.3.3.C: Identify services performed by the local governments.
5.3.3.C: Identify services performed by the local governments.
Anticipatory Set
To engage my learners I will ask them, What do you know about our local
government? Does anyone know who our mayor is? Has anyone ever met the
mayor? Then I will tell them, Later today the mayor will be coming in to
talk to us, but first we need to learn a little bit more about the mayor so we
are ready for his visit.
Procedures
1. First I will have them quietly read the sections of the book titled,

Types of Local Government to refresh their memories. (p 228-229)

2. As a class we will make a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the
differences between a city government and a county government.
They will be encouraged to use their books as resources but also to
share what they already know about either of the two.
3. Next they will get in groups of 3 or 4 and make a list of what they know
about our local government specifically for about ten minutes.
4. I will pull up our local government website on the SmartBoard and we
will explore the website to find the name of our mayor and look at
some things that are happening in our local government right now.
5. The mayor will come in and talk more in depth about what he does,
what topics are big right now in our local government, and how
students can get involved.
6. Students will write three things they learned from the mayors visit.
7. After the mayor leaves students will write a one page letter to the
mayor about something they think can be changed in the community.
This should include at least one way they think it could be changed
and at least two reasons why. Letters should be written on the
template provided.
Examples of things to change:
Pot holes in front of the school
Put in a local playground
Update the library
Kid representatives in the local government
Child crossing signs at crosswalks near the school
Game nights for families
8. Students will address the envelopes and I will send them later that day.
Differentiation
For gifted students, I will give them an option to write a longer letter and tell
them they dont need to use the template if they want to write more.
For students who struggle with writing they will have the option to write their
letters on a computer and type them.
Closure
For my closure I will have three students to volunteer to share what they
want to see changed in our community and why they think it is important.
Formative / Summative Assessment
Formative Assessment: I will monitor each group to make sure all students
are participating. I will also try to have all students participate when we are
making the Venn diagram as a whole class. Each student should write a short
reflection after the mayors visit including three things they learned from the
mayors visit. Each student should also write a letter in the correct format
and have something they want to change, how it can be changed, and why it
is important.
Materials / Equipment
Textbook
Letter to the mayor templates (enough for all students)
Envelopes (enough for all students)
SmartBoard
Technology
I will use the SmartBoard to pull up the local governments website.

Reflection on Planning
I think my planning went very well for this lesson. I first looked at what the
textbook had in terms of content and went from there. I thought the main
concept in this section of the book was the mayor so I based my lesson on
that. I briefly touched on the differences in the city government and the
county government so the students are still getting that information but the
main focus was on the mayor. From there I thought about what would make
this information stick in their heads the best. I figured that since we were
talking about local government it should not be hard to have the mayor come
into school and give a short presentation to the class. I knew I would need a
follow up activity so that is where the letters came in. I think this is an
activity that will stick in their heads for a long time.
Something I need to think about when doing the lesson is to make sure all
students are paying attention during the presentation. I also need to make
sure the students ideas of things they would like to see changed in the
community are achievable and serious since the letters will actually be sent
to the mayor.

Content Outline

i. Types of Local Government

Different communities have different types of
government
Mayor: leader of a citys government
1. City Government
a. City council
b. Council: group of officials who make
rules or laws
i. Manager to run the city
ii. Manager does not help make laws,
obeys council
2. County Government
a. County: area of the state that includes
several communities
i. Vote for sheriffs and commissioners
b. Every community is different, every
community has its own government
3. Activities
a. Drama: Role-play of Local Government
i. Brainstorm ideas for community
problem to be discusses or a rule
(law) to be made
ii. Plan and present; take parts of
mayor, city manager, council
members, commissioners as they
discuss problem or make new laws
b. Language Arts: Make a Pamphlet
i. Create pamphlet to explain local
government to newcomer
ii. Research town government
iii. Both text and pictures

ii. Extend Lesson 1: Citizenship How to Vote

iii. Skill Builder: Point of View

Lesson Plan Elements

Point Value
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Lesson Plan Details

Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography. PA
Common Core (Language Arts and/or Math), NCSS
Anticipatory Set
Procedures
Differentiation
Closure
Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)
Materials/Equipment, Resources, Citation of Sources
Technology
Reflection on Planning
Submitted peer feedback and final on time
Content Outline

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