Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

Phase 1 -- Deciding on the objectives of the topic to be studied (3/18)

Unit Topic: Government

Grade: Fourth Grade Unit Length: 8 Weeks

Standards 5.1.4.C - Explain the principles and ideals shaping local and state government.
Addressed in this ● Liberty / Freedom
Unit ● Democracy
● Justice
● Equality
5.1.4.D - Identify key ideas about government found in significant documents:
● Declaration of Independence
● United States Constitution
● Bill of Rights
● Pennsylvania Constitution
5.2.4.A - Identify individual rights and needs and the rights and needs of others in the classroom, school, and
community.
5.3.4.A - Identify the roles of the three branches of government.
5.3.4.C - Identify the services performed by local and state governments.
5.3.4.E - Explain the voting process.
6.3.4.A - Explain how government responds to social needs by providing public goods and services.
6.3.4.B - Describe the impact of government involvement in state and national economic activities.
1.1.4.E - Read with accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
1.4.4.M - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events
1.4.4.M - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.

Essential Questions Why are all of the basic principles of government important to how our government functions?
How do the different level of government differ from each other? (Federal, State, and Local)
How do the three branches of government interact, both with each other and independently to help the government
function?
What role does the right to vote play in a democratic government?
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

What characteristics of the United States government make it a democracy?

How do the actions of politicians affect the people in a society?
How do the people of a democracy affect the politicians?
How does government involvement impact federal economic activities?

Unit Strands Civics and Government

Economics

History

Concepts Principles of Government

Branches of Government

Democracy

Societal Interactions

Government Officials

Voting

Economics and Government Involvement

Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

Learning Objectives 1. When given the principles of government, students will be able to analyze the principles and their importance
by describing them to the teacher’s satisfaction.
2. When given examples of the different levels of government, students will be able to describe the different
levels and how they are different from each other using characteristics to the teacher’s rubric.
3. Students will be able to list and describe the three branches of government, when given an informal assessment
with 90% accuracy.
4. When participating in a mock election, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the voting
process to the best of their ability.
5. Following democratic citizen instruction, students will be able to analyze how citizen rights and
responsibilities relate to how a democracy functions effectively, to the best of their ability.
6. After reading If I were President by Catherine Stier, students will be able to write their own narrative writing
piece detailing what they would do as president, to the best of their ability.
7. When presented with an economic scenario, students will be able to analyze the economic impacts that each
scenario presents to the teacher’s satisfaction.

Academic Government: Any group of people living together in a country, state, city, or local community has to live by certain
Vocabulary rules. The system of rules and the people who make and administer them

Levels of Government: Federal, state, and Local

Federal Government: The government for our country

State Government: The government of our state

Representative Government: A government where people choose representatives to act for them

Branches of Government: Different parts of the government that have different powers

Judicial Branch: The branch of the federal or state government responsible for seeing the the laws are fair and for
judging the people accused of breaking the law.
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

Legislative Branch: The branch of federal or state government responsible for making the laws.

Executive Branch: The branch of federal or state government responsible for making sure laws are carried out.

Democracy: A government in which the people take part.

Core Democratic Values: The things that people believe in that unite all Americans

Civics: The study of the rights and duties of being a citizen

Constitution: The plan of government for the nation.

Bill: A draft of a proposed law

Law: A system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior

Citizen: A person who legally belongs to a country and has the rights and the protection of that country

Rights: Principles of Freedom or entitlement

Civic Responsibilities: Duties of the citizens

Liberty: The condition of those who are free and independent : freedom

Equality: The quality, fact, or state of being equal

Democratic Listening and expressing opinions and reasons

Participation Skills
to be Developed ● Mock Election

Participating in classroom, school, and community decision making, especially participating in group discussions

● Citizenship Readers Theater

Accessing, using and creating community resources

Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

● Guest Speaker (Senator, Representative)

Unit Description:
In the 4th grade Social Studies Government unit, students will learn about their federal government, why their government is a democracy, and
how the government and citizens have a reciprocal relationship within society. The unit will tie in concepts of government, economics, citizenship, and
geography, and will show how the government, specifically on a federal level, plays a large role in the lives of everyday citizens on a number of levels.
Students will begin by learning about the three branches of government and how they work collaboratively, as well as learning about the distinctions in
the powers and functions of each branch. Students will also compare and contrast the different levels of government (local, state, and federal).
Throughout the unit, students will learn about the effects of the government on different domains of society, as well as the ways that society can influence
the government through processes such as voting.
Students will learn about different government concepts through a variety of authentic activities and simulations. Throughout the unit, students
will be encouraged to become personally engaged in activities such as a citizenship test, a constitution escape room, and a branches of government flip
book. Students will also engage with content through a guided & interactive notebook for the duration of the unit, where they will write about their
experiences and ideas. As students continue through the unit, they will be assessed in a variety of formative and summative manners. Primarily, formative
assessment will occur during all lessons as they are occurring. Multiple large summative assessments will occur in an authentic format that synthesizes
content and skills from multiple areas of social studies. For example, students will engage in a mock election at the end of the unit, which will require an
understanding of government, history, economics, citizenship, and geography, among other concept areas.

List of Activities:
● Social Studies Interactive Notebook
● We the “Kids” Preamble Activity
● Bill of Rights Sort
● Bill of Rights Riddles
● Freedom and Liberty Quote Matching
● Levels of Government Book
● Levels of Government Circle Graphic Organizer
● Characteristics of the Levels of Government Sort
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

● Branches of government Flip Book

● Branches of Government Class Tree
● Writing Your Own Law Activity
● Mock Election
● Voting Booth Simulation
● Election Day Writing Prompt
● Duck for President Ballot Vote and Graphing Activity
● Voter Registration Form
● Citizenship Reader’s Theater
● Citizenship Test (Kid Version)
● Citizenship rights and responsibilities reading and questions
● “If I were President…” Writing Activity
● Brown Bag Economy Activity
● SPENT Poverty Simulation and Discussion
● Candy Bar Supply and Demand Activity

Phase 2 -- Determining Assessments (3/25)

Summative Assessment (be specific) How will this assessment(s) tell you if the students
learned the main ideas, key concepts and skills
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

The summative assessment for our unit will be a mock
election. The students will participate in this election at the
end of the unit as a culminating activity that ties all content
and strands of social studies together. Students will be
presented with Candidate #1 and Candidate #2, created by
the teacher. Each candidate will take different stances on
areas such as economics (for example, “I want to lower
taxes”), community efforts, government structure, etc. The
students will hold a formal class election where they will all
pick a candidate and vote for the candidate. A winner will
be chosen, and the class will discuss the results and what
to do when one’s chosen candidate does not win.
After voting, students will be required to write a short 3-4
paragraph essay explaining why they voted for their
preferred candidate. Students will be given a checklist to
ensure that they explained their position on the candidate’s
social stance, economic policies, etc. to ensure that
students have learned the main concepts from the content
throughout the unit. Additionally, skills such as proper
citizenship (respecting the opinions and rights of others),
participating in a democratic society (being sure to register
to vote, showing up to vote, taking voting seriously), and
more will be measured throughout the election process
with a variety of assessments.

Other concepts of a democracy will be included in the

mock election. For example, students will be required to
submit their “voter registration” on time to the teacher in
order to participate in the vote. Students will be
encouraged to take the election very seriously, and will be
expected to apply their acquired knowledge when
choosing who to vote for.

Learning Objective Instructional Activities Assessment

(indicate informal or formal)

1. Social Studies Interactive Notebook Bill of Rights Sort (Informal)

When given the principles of government, We The Kids Preamble Activity Interactive Notebook Check-ins (Formal)
students will be able to analyze the Bill of Rights Sort (File Folder)
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton
principles and their importance by
describing them to the teacher’s
satisfaction.
2. Mike Lesson Plan
When given examples of the different
levels of government, students will be able
to describe the different levels and how
they are different from each other using
characteristics to the teacher’s rubric.
3. Eden Lesson Plan
Students will be able to list and describe
the three branches of government, when
given an informal assessment with 90%
accuracy.
4. Sarah Lesson Plan
When participating in a mock election,
students will be able to demonstrate their
understanding of the voting process to the
best of their ability.
5.
Following democratic citizen instruction,
students will be able to analyze how citizen
rights and responsibilities relate to how a
democracy functions effectively, to the best
Bill of Rights Riddles
Freedom and Liberty Quote Matching
Levels of government book
Levels of Government Circle Graphic
Organizer
Characteristics of Levels of Government
Sort
Branches of Government Class Tree
Branches of Government Flip Book
Writing Your Own Law
Mock Election
Voting Booth Simulation
Election Day Writing Prompt
Duck For President by Dorene Cronin w/
Ballot Vote & Graph Activity
Voter Registration Form
Citizenship Reader’s Theater
Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities
Citizenship Test (Kid Version)
Senator Visit/ Letter and Questions
(Formal)
Characteristics of Levels of Government
Sort (Informal)
Branches of Government Class Tree
(Informal)
Writing Your Own Law (Formal)
Branches of Government Chalkboard
Champs (Informal)
Mock Election (Formal)
Candy Bar Election (Informal)
Reader’s Theater Debriefing (Informal)
Citizen Rights and Responsibilities Exit
Ticket (Formal)
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

of their ability.

6. Melanie Lesson Plan If I were President by Catherine Stier w/

After reading If I were President by Writing Activity “If I were president…” Writing Activity
Catherine Stier, students will be able to How Government Works: The (Formal)
write their own narrative writing piece President’s Job Article
detailing what they would do as president,
to the best of their ability.

7. Brown Bag Economy Activity SPENT Class Discussion (Informal)

When presented with an economic SPENT Poverty Simulation and Rate Your Own Learning on Supply and
scenario, students will be able to diagnose Discussion Demand (Formal)
the economic impacts that each scenario Candy Bar Supply and Demand Activity
presents to the teacher’s satisfaction.

Phase 3 -- Selecting Instructional Resources (4/1)

Resource Explanation Defense L.O #

Article #1 State/Local/Federal Government
- This website gives a great
summary of the three branches
https://newsela.com/read/lib-
state-local- of government, and how they
interact with each other. It is
government/id/30875/
from NewsELA, and is adjusted
to a lexile level that is
appropriate for 4th grade
students. This article also gives
information to compare and
This article provides a great
base of knowledge regarding
the basic structure of
government so that all students
can be brought to the same
basic level of understanding in a
short and succinct reading LO: #2
assignment.
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton
Article #2
https://newsela.com/read/elem
-govt-president-job/id/28727/
Article #3
https://newsela.com/read/elem
-govt-citizenship/id/29486/
Article #4
https://newsela.com/read/midt
erms-2018-overview/id/46774/
contrast local, state, and federal
governments.
How Government Works: The
president’s job - This article
gives students a great overview
of the president’s role within the
government. The article does a
good job of hitting the main
relevant points: the history of
presidency, what the president
does, and the political struggles
that the president may face.
What is citizenship and how
does it affect government - This
website gives a summary of
what citizenship is, what one
must do to be a citizen, the
rights and duties of citizens, and
how someone can lose
citizenship.
This website gives an overview
of the 2018 midterm elections. It
discusses the members of
Congress, and how
congressional elections take
place. It also briefly discusses
some hot topics in the 2018
midterm elections, and talks
This NewsELA article is
adjusted to a simple lexile level,
which allows for students to
access relatively complicated
material at a simple and LO: #3
straightforward level.
LO: #6
This NewsELA article is another
great way of bolstering LO: #1
background information and
ensuring that all students are
LO: #5
beginning a lesson with the
same background content.
When dealing with issues of
citizenship and duties of
citizens, depending on what
students have seen at home,
many students may not fully be
aware of what citizenship fully
encompasses.
This NewsELA article will serve
as a current event at a 4th grade
lexile level, and will not only
teach students about midterm
LO: #3
elections in general, but will also LO: #4
engage students in modern
issues from real current
elections.
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton
Article #5
https://newsela.com/read/elem
-govt-purposes/id/29108/
Text #1
Duck For President By
Dorene Cronin
Text #2
If I were President by
Catherine Stier
Text #3
What is the Constitution by
Patricia Brennan Demuth
about local ways to vote.
The purposes of government -
This website gives a higher-level
analysis of why government
exists, what government does
for us, and some examples of
how we are all impacted by the
government.
This book is a fictional story
about a duck that begins by
running for the leader of a farm,
and eventually works his way
into the Presidential office.
This book is a fictional
introduction to the Presidential
position. It gives different ideas
of what someone could do as
President for a day.
This book gives a nonfiction
overview of what the constitution
is, how it came to be, and many
of the important names and
dates in the process of creating
the constitution.
This would be a great article to
read and discuss, or chunk into
different areas that students
could become experts on and
share with peers. This NewsELA
LO: #1
article is important because it LO: #2
can help to provide concrete
starting points to answer the
larger question of why
government is needed, and to
what extent government should
impact the lives of its citizens.
This book gives a fun and
logical view into the role of the
President, the importance of
voting and elections for citizens,
LO: #4
and democracies in general.
This book is an engaging way to
get students thinking about the
powers of the President and the
ways that government affects its
LO: #6
citizens.
This book provides a way for
students to learn about facts of
history in a manner that makes it
engaging because of true
LO: #1
stories about historical
arguments, etc.
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton
Text #4
What Can a Citizen Do? By
Dave Eggers (text)
Text #5
We the People: The Story of
Our Constitution, by Lynne
Cheney
Website #1
https://www.icivics.org/teach
ers
Website #2
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/
classroommaterials/themes/
civics/lessonplans.html
Website #3
This story consists of several
children performing seemingly
unrelated actions which all help
to turn a lonely island into a
community. It also goes over
what the world should be to
what the world could be if we all
chip in!
This is a factual retelling of the
birth of our nation. This book
starts at the heels of the
American Revolution where
Thirteen separate states were
squabbling with one another.
Through this story students
learn about the founding fathers,
their famous meeting in
Philadelphia Pennsylvania and
the framework that they created
the country we know today.
Teacher resource including
games and activities that help
students better understand
important contributing factors of
government.
Resource for the teacher’s use
in order to plan and teach the
historical components of today’s
government, including the
Constitution and the Bill of
Rights.
Students will virtually view the
This book helps to show our
students how small actions
taken by each individual citizen
can make a big impact! This
LO: #5
also helps to teach the basics of
citizenship.
We plan on using this book to
help teach students about the
constitution and the historical
decisions that lead to the
LO: #5
formation of the country and
government that we know today.
This website provided multiple
resources to make learning
about the various components
of government fun and
LO: #1-7
interactive for students.
The teacher will be able to use
ideas and lesson plans from this
website to help students
understand the important
LO: #1
historical foundation of the
government that they know
today.
This activity will show the steps
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton
Election Day Virtual
Viewing Party
http://www.discoveryeducation.
com/Events/monthly-
themes/election-day-
2016.cfm?
utm_source=Web&utm_campa
ign=Usage_Stim&utm_medium
=VFT_Page
Website #4
SPENT Poverty
Simulation
http://playspent.org/
Video #1
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=HuFR5XBYLfU
democratic process and explore
how the president is elected
through the popular vote and the
electoral college.
In this simulation, students are
faced with several different
economic obstacles that will
require them to make crucial
decisions in order to be able to
support themselves and their
families. Potential decisions can
include career choices, medical
situations, etc.
How is power divided in the
United States government? --
The video talks about the history
of the U.S. government and how
the powers are divided into
branches and their roles.
to electing a president. A
common misconception is that
the people's vote is the only
deciding factor in electing the
LO: #4
president; however, this video
will show that the electoral
college also plays a major role.
This simulation provides
students with real-life scenarios
involving economic situations
that many people around the
world experience everyday. LO: #7
This will not only show students
how the economy can affect
citizens but it will also make
them aware of the struggles that
individuals and families around
them face.
Students will watch this video as
a class and write down three
facts that they learned about the
branches of government and will
LO: #3
then share what they learned in LO: #6
connection to what else they
have learned previously.
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton
Video #2 The U.S. Presidential Voting
Process -- The video explains
https://www.youtube.com/watc the voting process and how the
h?v=4HPOWFL1ZAc votes result in the election of
government officials.
Video #3 This video is a fun and engaging
Schoolhouse Rock way to teach students the steps
I’m Just a Bill as to how a bill becomes a law.
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0
Classroom Guest Students will write a letter to the
senator telling them what they
State Senator have learned and any questions
that they might have about
government before the visit. The
senator will then describe his
role and answer any and all
questions.
Field Trip Students will visit the state
capitol building in Harrisburg.
Trip to State Capitol Building They will tour the building and
potentially meet and speak with
government officials working in
the building.
We will use this video as an
introduction to the voting and
election process to help prepare
them for their mock election.
LO: #4
This video will be used to further
explain to students how a bill
becomes a law. This will appeal
to various learning styles that
are present in the classroom
which will allow for better
understanding for all students.
We feel that it is important for
students to have the opportunity LO: #3
to speak with someone in a
political position that represents
LO: #6
their local government.
Students will be able to see and
experience where their local and LO: #3
state government officials and
play out their roles.
LO: #6
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton

Phase 4 -- Choosing Appropriate learning activities and integrating the curriculum (4/8)

Four Lesson Plans

● Two must be integrated across the curriculum: using related science, ELA, Math, Art, etc.
● Lessons will be created to teach the key concepts of your unit
● Differentiated Instruction
○ Identify two children with special challenges in the class and indicate the nature of their challenges
○ Modifications suitable for these children
○ All lessons must include remediation and enrichment
10 Minute Oral Presentation of unit with a visual display of key parts
Links:

https://www.ducksters.com/history/us_government/becoming_a_us_citizen.php

http://howtohomeschoolmychild.com/3-branches-of-government-for-kids/

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Branches-of-Government-1104262

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Government-Simulation-Making-US-Government-Relevant-for-Kids-
1531628

https://kaysemorris.com/free-social-studies-interactive-notebooks/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/540080180309958633/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AXAHWuVbhjX6nnjFEau2UGNTw4IhENzYMOuDhUXnKvE0KJCtguzOGqk/ (readers theater)

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Citizenship-Rights-Responsibilities-1983577
Sarah Hamonko, Melanie Haas, Eden Cornette, Mike Hamilton