Learner Profiles:

Laura is 8-years-old and lives in Trenton, NJ. She moved to the United States from Honduras in
September of this year. Her family is still experiencing challenges from immigration, and Laura
is often absent as a result. She is an English Language Learner and currently does not speak any
English. She is friendly and has many friends in the bilingual class. Her class materials are
always translated into Spanish. She works individually with the ESL teacher for about an hour
once or twice a week. She struggles with reading English but is eager to learn and tries very
hard. However, without one-on-one support and guidance, she has trouble keeping up. We have
recently started pre-teaching material in Spanish so that when she hears English in the classroom,
she has an idea of what is being said.

Evan is 7-years-old and lives in Trenton, NJ. Evan has been diagnosed with ADHD. He
flourishes when he has one-on-one support from the teacher. When he is able to ask questions
and be asked scaffolding questions, he is successful in completing his work. Asking such
questions challenge his thought process and keep his brain from wandering. When he is working
alone, he tends to get out of his seat, call out, and express that he does not know how to do the
work. These challenges are more evident during writing and math. Evan has a difficult time
interacting with others, often resulting in his seat being moved. His behaviors are often
distracting to the rest of the class, especially when he does not attempt his work.

Christopher is 8-years-old and lives in Trenton, NJ. Christopher is exceptionally gifted in

reading and writing. He currently reads at a 4th grade level. He finishes his work very quickly
before his classmates. If he does not have something else to work on when he finishes his work,
he begins to act out. When given the responsibility, he enjoys helping his classmates by
proofreading their work and explaining different things to them.

Lesson Plan 1
School of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level
The Constitution; 2nd grade
2. Lesson Essential Question:
How does our government impact our lives?
3. Standards:
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to
think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make
informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive
citizens in local, national, and global communities.
6.1.4.A.4 Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States
Constitution defines and checks the power of government.
6.1.4.A.5 Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national
government.
4.
Learning Objectives

Assessments

SWBAT explain why the Constitution

established a government with three
branches.

Students will engage in a group activity and

discussion about why it is important to have a
balance of power.

5. Materials:

Easel paper, markers

Branches of government anchor chart and graphic organizer
Clipboards
U.S. Constitution video BrainPOP
A More Perfect Union: The Story of the Constitution by Betsy Maestro
20 rulers
Exit slip

6. Prior Knowledge/Lesson Beginning:

This will be the first lesson of the government unit. Students have had brief introductions to U.S.
Government in the 1st grade, so this lesson will serve as a re-introduction and review before we
delve deeper into the topics. I will have the class move to the rug to begin the lesson. I will read
A More Perfect Union: The Story of the Constitution. I will stop throughout the book to ask
questions, encouraging students to be reading detectives and use evidence from the book to
support their answers. Questions may include: what is the Constitution? What is the Bill of
Rights? What is included in the Constitution? Why does this seem important?
7. Instructional Plan:
Before I introduce the new material to the whole class, I will pre-teach my students who
are struggling. I will introduce the material before class, providing them with slightly
varied versions of the materials I intend to use with the rest of the class in order to
support them via differentiated content and process. I will meet with them at different
times, during my prep/their special, before school, or after school the day before. Laura
will receive translated materials that have both Spanish and English.
The class will be divided into three groups. I will give each student in the first group a
ruler. I will explain that the students holding rulers make all of the rules in the classroom
and that if you are not holding a ruler, you do not have the power to help make the rules.
I will tell the group with rulers that they have all the power, and I will ask them to create
any rules that they want. Then, I will ask the other two groups if they think this is fair. I
will repeat this process by giving rulers to the second group as well, asking the third
group if they feel this is fair. Once the last group is given rulers, I will ask the students to
explain why this is the most fair option? What happened to the power that each group
had when we added rulers? Why is it unfair for a group to have too much power? Based
on their responses, I will facilitate the discussion in order to touch upon main points: it
was not fair that only one group made all the rules; it was more fair when we all had
power to make rules; we all had equal power to make rules; if one group has all of the
power to make rules, the rules may only help them and not everyone.
I will explain to the class that these three groups are similar to our government's three
branches. Referring back to the book we read, I will remind students that the
Constitution is a document that was created to make sure the government did not have
too much power; this is why our Founding Fathers created these branches of government
to balance the power, just like we did with the rulers.
I will draw a tree with three big branches, explaining that these represent the branches of
our government. I will introduce the names of the three branches, explaining that we will
learn about these in the following lessons. Students will have clipboards and a similar
worksheet with the three branches so they can fill in the information as we discuss.
In order to differentiate the process for Laura, I will provide a translated version of A
More Perfect Union: The Story of the Constitution. I will include extra pictures in her

copy in order to provide more visuals, and I will chunk the information by having less
words per page. I will encourage to follow along with her finger while I read aloud. I
will also have her work with her assigned classroom buddy who is bilingual. This
student will help explain the directions and questions as necessary. Lastly, the BrainPOP
video will have Spanish subtitles. Evan has an assigned seat on the rug for any activities
or class time spent there; therefore, he will be sitting in his seat which is close to me.
This will allow me to redirect his attention as necessary through proximity and
non-verbal cues such as eye contact or a tap on the shoulder. During the group activity, I
will pair Christopher and Evan together in order to keep him on track. This will also
allow Christopher the opportunity to explain his answers with his group and with the
class in a leadership role.
8. Closure: I will end the lesson by giving each student an exit slip. On the slip, they will be
prompted to write one important thing they learned today. They will also be asked to
describe how they feel about what we learned by circling one of the three images: a sad face,
a medium face, a happy face.

Lesson Plan 2
School of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level
The Executive Branch; 2nd grade
2. Lesson Essential Question:
How does our government impact our lives?
3. Standards:
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to
think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make
informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive
citizens in local, national, and global communities.
6.1.4.A.4 Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States
Constitution defines and checks the power of government.
6.1.4.A.5 Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national
government.
4.
Learning Objectives

Assessments

SWBAT identify the key people, groups, and

jobs of the Executive branch of our
government.

Students will use their informational textbook

to complete a graphic organizer regarding the
Executive branch and its roles and
responsibilities.

SWBAT identify the checks and balances for

the Executive branch of our government.

5. Materials:

Easel paper, markers

Branches of government anchor chart and graphic organizer
Graphic organizer
Tablets or Computers
Executive branch video/BrainPOP
Woodrow, the White House Mouse by Peter Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes

 If I Were President by Catherine Stier

6. Prior Knowledge/Lesson Beginning:
Students will have the prior knowledge of the previous lesson where the branches of government
were introduced. I will have the class move to the rug to introduce the lesson. I will start by
asking the class if they know who the current President of the United States is, and I will briefly
mention the recent presidential election. I will read them a book called If I Were President.
After we read, I will ask the class to recall the different things the child would do if she were
president, and what they think it means to be the President of the United States. I will also ask
students what they would do if they were president.
7. Instructional Plan:
Before I introduce the new material to the whole class, I will pre-teach my students who
are struggling. I will introduce the material before class, providing them with slightly
varied versions of the materials I intend to use with the rest of the class in order to
support them via differentiated content and process. I will meet with them at different
times, during my prep/their special, before school, or after school the day before. Laura
will receive translated materials that have both Spanish and English.
I will return to the anchor chart of the tree with three big branches, explaining that we
will focus only on the Executive branch today. I will explain that this branch includes the
leader of our country, asking students to recall again who our current president is as well
as our recently elected, future president.
Building on the ongoing skill of research and using informational texts, I will have the
students work with a partner to use their textbook to identify the roles and responsibilities
of the Executive branch. They will identify important information about this branch and
fill out their worksheet together. Once they have worked for about 10 minutes, we will
come together to go over the roles and responsibilities of the Executive branch, filling out
our graphic organizer and going over the key information they found in their textbook.
In order to differentiate the process for Laura, I will provide her a tablet/computer where
she can watch a video about the Executive branch. Although the video will be in English,
it will have Spanish subtitles. I will also provide her flashcards that define and explain
important vocabulary in Spanish for her to refer to while watching the video. As her ESL
teacher encourages, we will focus on writing in her native language in order to better
develop her literacy. She will fill out her graphic organizer in Spanish. While the class is
working, I will circulate around the room, making sure to spend some extra time with
Evan. I will ask him questions about what he is reading in order to keep him on track.
He will be reading a picture book that includes the relevant information, but in larger
print and less information/words per page. Lastly, if Christopher finishes this assignment
early, I will ask him to become an expert about the Executive branch, providing him a
tablet to research the topic further.

8. Closure: I will end the lesson by writing three questions on the board regarding the
Executive branch. I will have students choose one of the three questions to respond to on an
index card in order to assess their understanding of the topic. Once students have completed
this assessment, we will watch the Executive branch BrainPOP video.

Lesson Plan 3
School of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level
The Legislative Branch; 2nd grade
2. Lesson Essential Question:
How does our government impact our lives?
3. Standards:
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to
think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make
informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive
citizens in local, national, and global communities.
6.1.4.A.4 Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States
Constitution defines and checks the power of government.
6.1.4.A.5 Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national
government.
4.
Learning Objectives
SWBAT identify the key people, groups, and
jobs of the Legislative branch of our
government.
SWBAT identify the checks and balances for
the Legislative branch of our government.

Assessments
Students will complete a Venn diagram
comparing the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
Students will answer comprehension
questions during the video-watching center.
Students will complete a worksheet which
involves matching the correct roles to either
the Senate or the House of Representatives.

5. Materials:

Easel paper, markers

Branches of government anchor chart and graphic organizer
Comparing Senate and House worksheet
Textbook
Tablets or Computers
BrainPOP videos and quiz

 Matching worksheet
House Mouse, Senate Mouse by Peter Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes
6. Prior Knowledge/Lesson Beginning:
Students will have the prior knowledge of the previous lessons, which involved the Executive
branch and why we have three branches of government. I will have the class move to the rug to
introduce the lesson. I will start by asking the class to remind us what we learned yesterday
about our government and to guess which branch we will be working on today. Using the tree
branches poster, we will quickly review the Executive branch before beginning with the
Legislative branch. Then, I will read House Mouse, Senate Mouse to the class. While I read, I
will stop to ask questions in order to keep students engaged and check for initial understanding.
7. Instructional Plan:
Before I introduce the new material to the whole class, I will pre-teach my students who
are struggling. I will introduce the material before class, providing them with slightly
varied versions of the materials I intend to use with the rest of the class in order to
support them via differentiated content and process. I will meet with them at different
times, during my prep/their special, before school, or after school the day before. Laura
will receive translated materials that have both Spanish and English.
I will return to the anchor chart of the tree with three big branches, explaining that we
will focus only on the Legislative branch today. I will explain that we will be detectives
in our centers today in order to figure out what will go onto the "leaves" of this branch of
government.
There will be three centers during this lesson:
o 1) Students will watch BrainPOP videos about the Congress (Senate and House of
Representatives) and will answer the comprehension questions that appear
throughout the videos.
o 2) Students will work with a partner to complete a vocabulary matching
worksheet.
o 3) Students will work with the teacher for guided reading of the textbook to
compare and contrast the Senate and the House of Representatives.
o Transitions: we have practiced and implemented our transitions between centers
many times; therefore, the students are aware of the rules and expectations for this
activity. There will be a timer that sounds at the end of 12 minutes, and I will also
give a verbal two minute warning to signal that it is time to wrap up and prepare
to switch. Before transitioning to the next station, students will place their
worksheet from each center into a designated bin located near their work area.
In order to differentiate the process for Laura, I will provide her a translated version of
the book we read as a class that includes more pictures and less words per page. There
will also be subtitles for each video. Further, she will be in a group and will work with
her assigned class buddy. When working with her buddy, Laura will be encouraged to

practice reading relevant words from the lesson in English. When working in the guided
reading center, she will refer to a nonfiction picture book with similar, but chunked,
information about Congress. While the class is working in their different centers, I will
take short breaks from the guided reading to circulate around the room, making sure to
spend some extra time to check in with Evan. He will be in a group and working with
Christopher. I will ask him questions about what he is reading and what he is learning in
order to keep him on track. Christopher will be helping Evan as necessary.
8. Closure: After each group has visited all three centers, I will bring the class back together to
the rug, one group at a time. We will return to our graphic organizer and anchor chart in
order to go over the leaves of the Legislative branch together. We will brainstorm aloud the
most important things we learned about this branch, and I will compile a list on the easel.
Then to wrap up, we will decide what will go on our graphic organizer and fill this in
together.

Lesson Plan 4
School of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level
The Judicial Branch; 2nd grade
2. Lesson Essential Question:
How does our government impact our lives?
3. Standards:
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to
think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make
informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive
citizens in local, national, and global communities.
6.1.4.A.4 Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States
Constitution defines and checks the power of government.
6.1.4.A.5 Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national
government.
4.
Learning Objectives
SWBAT identify the key people, groups, and
jobs of the Judicial branch of our
government.
SWBAT identify the checks and balances for
the Judicial branch of our government.

Assessments
Students will participate in a mock trial to
simulate the role of the Supreme Court in our
government.
Students will complete an exit slip which
requires they explain the role of the judge in
the trial.

5. Materials:

Easel paper, markers

Branches of government anchor chart and graphic organizer
Supreme Court BrainPOP video
Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse by Peter Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes
Plicker cards: https://www.plickers.com
Cell phone

 Smart board
Mock Trial scripts: file:///Users/Izzy/Downloads/FairyTaleMockTrial.pdf
Exit Slip
6. Prior Knowledge/Lesson Beginning:
Students will have the prior knowledge of the previous lessons, which involved the Legislative
and Executive branches. I will have the class move to the rug to introduce the lesson. I will start
by showing the BrainPOP video about the Supreme Court. Then, we will read the final book of
the government series, Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse to the class. After finishing both, we
will discuss how the fictional Marshall Mouse is similar to what we learned about during the
video with Tim and Moby. I will also ask any students if they know anything about courts and to
share what they know with the class.
7. Instructional Plan:
Before I introduce the new material to the whole class, I will pre-teach my students who
are struggling. I will introduce the material before class, providing them with slightly
varied versions of the materials I intend to use with the rest of the class in order to
support them via differentiated content and process. I will meet with them at different
times, during my prep/their special, before school, or after school the day before. Laura
will receive translated materials that have both Spanish and English.
I will return to the anchor chart of the tree with three big branches, explaining that we
will focus only on the Judicial branch today. Together, we will fill in the leaves of this
branch using the information from the video and from the book. Then, I will explain that
we are going to be part of the court system today in our own trial, the case of the Mean
Troll vs. The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
I will choose the students to fulfill each role using popsicle sticks, however, I will be sure
to "randomly" select specific students for certain roles based on their reading ability.
Each student will have a copy of the script, including the students who comprise the jury.
We will set up the room to simulate a courtroom and we will practice transitions and
positioning of characters before we begin. I will also allow each student to flip through
the script and get familiar with the pages before we begin in order to prevent any
distractions caused by the urge to flip ahead.
As we enact this mock trial, I will pause several times throughout to ask clarifying
questions, to highlight important information, to make important connections to our book
and video, and to keep the jury engaged, despite their lack of/minimal speaking role. Due
to the length of the mock trial script, we will likely modify what is included during the
role play.
At the end of the mock trial, the jury will use their Plicker cards to vote on the verdict of
the trial. After the entire trial is over, we will debrief what happened and how this relates
to the Judicial branch of our government, highlighting the purpose and role of the
Supreme Court.

 In order to differentiate the process for Laura, I will provide her a translated version of
the book we read as a class as well as a translated version of the mock trial script. Her
version will include less words per page and each page will include pictures that help to
illustrate what is being said. There will also be subtitles for the video. Further, I will
assign her the role as part of the jury with her buddy who can translate and help her
understand our discussions. When we use Plicker cards for the jury's verdict, I will have
questions and answer options in both Spanish and English, and I will have the questions
projected to provide a visual and I will read them orally to provide auditory support.
Evan will be given a role in the mock trial (Bailiff) that will keep him engaged and
focused, but will not require that he reads too much. Christopher will be assigned a role
that requires a lot of reading.
8. Closure: After the mock trial debriefing, students will be asked to complete an exit slip
which asks them to explain one of the following choices: what a judge does in court or why
court is important or why people go to court.

Lesson Plan 5
School of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level
The Law-Making Process; 2nd grade
2. Lesson Essential Question:
How does our government impact our lives?
3. Standards:
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to
think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make
informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive
citizens in local, national, and global communities.
6.1.4.A.1 Explain how rules and laws created by community, state, and national governments
protect the rights of people, help resolve conflicts, and promote the common good.

4.
Learning Objectives

SWBAT explain how laws are created.

Assessments
Students will work in jigsaw groups to become
experts on the different steps of the
law-making process.
Students will complete a graphic organizer
which outlines the law-making process.

5. Materials:

Bill to a Law BrainPOP video

How a Bill Becomes a Law worksheet
Jigsaw worksheet
Tablets or Computers
Textbook
Travels with MAX: How a Bill Becomes a Law by Nancy Ann Van Wie

6. Prior Knowledge/Lesson Beginning:

Students have the prior knowledge of the preceding lessons which introduced each branch of the
government. During each lesson, we have touched upon the roles and responsibilities of each
branch which also briefly involved the law-making process. This lesson will focus on this
process now that students have the knowledge of each branch. To begin the lesson, we will
watch the BrainPOP video on How a Bill Becomes a Law. Then, I will explain to students that
we will all become experts on the law-making process through a jigsaw activity.
7. Instructional Plan:
Before I introduce the new material to the whole class, I will pre-teach my students who
are struggling. I will introduce the material before class, providing them with slightly
varied versions of the materials I intend to use with the rest of the class in order to
support them via differentiated content and process. I will meet with them at different
times, during my prep/their special, before school, or after school the day before. Laura
will receive translated materials that have both Spanish and English.
There will be four groups of five students and each student will be assigned a number
1-5. This is the home group. This number will represent the step of the law-making
process about which they will become experts, and this is the group they will return to,
after they become experts, in order to share what they have learned.
I will assign each number/step a designated place in the classroom. All of the 1's will
join together, all of the 2's will join together in a different location, and so on. Each
group will be given a worksheet that contains each step. They will focus solely on the
part of the worksheet with their number (1-5). Once they read their section, they will use
their textbook to learn more. They will record this information on their blank worksheet
in the space designated for their group number/step of the process.
After 10-15 minutes, a timer will go off, indicating that students must stop their research
and return to their home groups. Once the home groups have reconvened, each student
will report the information on which they have become an expert, going in order of the
steps 1-5. Each member of the group will record the information shared by the experts
onto their own worksheets.
In order to differentiate the process for Laura, I will provide her a tablet/computer where
she can do her research for her assigned step of the process. She will be in the same
group as her buddy during the research/expert phase. When she comes together with her
home group, she will use text-to-speech on her tablet in order to report her information.
She will also be encouraged to practice reading English aloud to her group. Evan will be
provided a tablet/computer to do his research. However, it will be important to set up the
website from which he will research and to monitor his activity to prevent him from
straying from the task. Christopher will be instructed to research each step in order to
support and help the members of his home group. Christopher will be in the home group

of both Laura and Evan in order to help as needed and in order to fill in any missing
information.
8. Closure: Once each group has reported and recorded each step of the law-making
process, I will hand out an exit slip. The exit slip will ask students to circle a thumbs-up,
thumbs-down, or a thumb in the middle to describe if they understand what we learned today
about the law-making process. I will also leave space for students to write down their choice
of a question they have about the lesson or a fact they learned today about the law-making
process.

Lesson Plan 6
School of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level
The Law-Making Process; 2nd grade
2. Lesson Essential Question:
How does our government impact our lives?
3. Standards:
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to
think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make
informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive
citizens in local, national, and global communities.
6.1.4.A.1 Explain how rules and laws created by community, state, and national governments
protect the rights of people, help resolve conflicts, and promote the common good.
6.1.4.A.4 Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States
Constitution defines and checks the power of government.
6.1.4.A.5 Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national
government.
4.
Learning Objectives
SWBAT express what they have learned
about the U.S. government.

5. Materials:

White boards and markers

Assessment cubes
Project paper
Steps of law-making cards
Ipad

Assessments
Students will complete and present a final
project.

6. Prior Knowledge/Lesson Beginning:

This lesson serves as a conclusion to the unit. Students will review their previously acquired
knowledge and will express it via a final, summative assessment. To begin the lesson, I will ask
each student to get together with their jigsaw home groups. I will congratulate them for
becoming experts on the U.S. government, and I will explain that we are going to have a final
test of their knowledge today. We will complete a review game and then, we will work on our
final project.
7. Instructional Plan:
Each student will be given a whiteboard and marker. I will have one person from each
group help me to pass out these materials. These boards and markers are for answering
questions in the review game. The review game will include two questions per
lesson/covered topic. The game is not intended to be competitive; if a group gets a
question wrong, the other groups are encouraged to provide and explain the correct
answer.
After completing the review, I will have students regroup into their homogeneous groups
that we refer to as our "reading groups." This will allow for tiered assessment as well as
transition practice. I will provide red cubes for three groups of students. These groups
contain on-level students as well as above-level students, including Christopher. The
fourth group will have an orange cube. This group includes Evan and Laura as well as
other below-level students. The assessments vary between cubes; the red cube contains
higher order thinking tasks whereas the orange cube contains lower order thinking tasks.
Before students roll the cube in order to determine their final assessment, we will discuss
the rubric and how this assignment will be graded. I will explain the final assignment
and that it is meant to show me that the students really understand what we have learned
so far. I will also explain that once they have their question or prompt, they will decide
how they want to respond to and present their work. They have the option of writing
responses on our nice, bordered paper, they can type up their answer, they can put their
response on a colored piece of construction paper, they can include illustrations etc. I
will also allow students to come up with their own idea for presenting as long as it is
approved by me. Once students have a few minutes to consider these ideas, I will explain
that each student must present their final product to the whole class, to their group, or to
just me.
I will have each student look at the sides of the cubes in order to get an idea of what their
assignment may be. Then, we will discuss what they think they should do in order to get
a good grade. I will have a rubric template on the board with the headings filled in:
Criteria, 3 (exceeds), 2 (on target), 1 (needs improvement). Although this is not their first
time working with me to create a rubric, I will explain what these headings mean, and I
will ask students to think of examples of work that would deserve a 3, a 2, and a 1. We
will discuss what they should do when responding to the questions or prompts on the

cube. I will provide guiding questions in order to facilitate and guide the conversation
towards important aspects and criteria for the assignment. Ideally, students will
recognize that they should respond with correct information, they should give their best
effort, and that they should present their final product clearly and neatly. I will have
ready a version of the rubric based on my expectations, and I will add any additional
criteria if necessary based on the discussion with the class. I will project our rubric while
students work on their assignment, and I will remind them periodically to refer to it while
they work. The process of creating the rubric with the students provides them a sense of
ownership and responsibility.
Students will roll the cube once in order to determine their final assessment. They will
have the remainder of the class to begin their final project. They will have time to
complete their project the following day during class.
Once each student has completed their assessment, they will have the option of
presenting to the class, to their group, or to me only.
In order to differentiate the process for Laura, I will provide her a translated version of
the review questions before class. I will also provide a translated version of the cube.
When it is time to present her assessment, she will use text-to-speech on her tablet in
order to share her work. Evan will be assigned his assessment using a tiered cube with
tasks requiring lower order thinking. Christopher will be assigned his assessment using
the on-level cube; however, he will be required to roll twice and to complete two
assessments.
8. Closure: Once each group has completed their work, we will have presentations.

U.S. Government: Final Assignment Rubric

Criteri
a

Exceeds
3

On Target
2

Needs Improvement
1

Effort

Student worked on
the assignment until
it was completed,
giving his or her
best effort and
never giving up!

Student worked on
the assignment until
it was completed,
putting some effort
into the final
product.

Student put
minimal effort into
the assignment and
did not complete it.

Conten
t

Student response
demonstrated full
knowledge of topic.
This was
demonstrated in the
students attention
to detail in the
response and the
accuracy of the
response.

Student response
demonstrated
partial knowledge of
topic. Student
response was
sufficient but lacked
detail. Accuracy
was evident.

Student response
demonstrated
minimal knowledge
of topic. Student
response lacked
detail and depth.
Response was
inaccurate.

Present
ation

Student presented
his or her final
product to the class,
to the group, or to
the teacher, in a
very clear, neat and
well-organized way.

Student presented
his or her final
product to the class,
to the group, or to
the teacher in a neat
and organized way.

Student presented
his or her final
product to the
class, to the group,
or to the teacher in
an unclear and
unorganized way.