Name:
Lesson:
Molly Zeins and Matthew Lummel
Date:
Monday September 20, 2010
1.06 Exploring Types of Government through the
Subject: American Government
lens of Chinese and American Schools
VSC:
2.2.1 The student will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various types of governments
throughout the world.
Objective: Students will be able to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of authoritarian and democratic
governments by using visual discovery to compare the governments of China and the United States and by
writing letters as if they were from each of the different countries.
Agenda:
Key Terms:
Materials:
1. Door Greetings
 Authoritarian: form of
 LCD Projector
2. Call To Order
government in which those who
 Notebooks
3. Stamp/Go over/Collect HW
govern have complete power
 Graphic Organizers
4. Call to Order refresh
over citizens and there are few
 Pictures of the tank man for
5. Vocabulary Preview/Review:
individual rights
notebooks
Authoritarian, Democratic,
 Democratic: form of government
 Stamp
Tiananmen Square Massacre
in which citizens have a say in
 Armbands
6. Tiananmen Square Massacre
how they are governed and
 Guided Reading on Swaziland
reading
maintain some individual rights,
(HW)
7. The Tank Man documentary
which are protected by the
 Anne Frank primary documents
8. Comparison between American and
government
Chinese schools
 Oligarchy: When power is held by
9. Scenario evaluation/Graphic
a small group of wealthy few.
Organizer
10.
Assessment: Writing
Assignment
11.
HW Distribution
12.
Adjourn
Call To Order: (10 min)
Accommodations:
Students will staple a picture of the Tank Man into their notebooks.
The teacher will provide
verbatim reading of all Call
A picture of the Tank Man will be projected on the screen. Students will answer the
to Order questions.
following questions in succession in order to visually discover the Tiananman Square
Massacre:
 List 3 details from the picture
 What kind of vehicle is being shown in the picture and what is this kind of vehicle
usually used for?
 Does the man in the picture look scared? How can you tell whether or not he looks
scared?
 Why do you think the man is standing in front of the tank?
 What do you think is going to happen to the man if he continues to stand in front of
the tank?
As students are working, the teacher will stamp homework assignments with the date, as
to mark them on time.
Refresh and Review: (10 min)
The teacher will review the Types of Government Headlines homework, which was
Teacher will provide
distributed Friday. Students who did not complete the homework over the weekend will
verbatim reading of
have the opportunity to make up the work during this time for 75% credit.
homework questions.
The teacher will collect all homework assignments at the completion of the review and
stamp call to orders in the notebook.
Introduction to New Material: (30 min)
Procedure:
Notebook Product:
Teacher will lead students in a discussion regarding
their visual discovery, going through the questions of
the call to order one by one and awarding
participation with positive praise, and potentially
stickers.
Teacher will try to question students about what they
see in the picture and refresh vocabulary from last
week, especially the word “Authoritarian”.
Students will have the tank man
photo, their call to order
responses, their film focus
questions and responses, and
their graphic organizer of
differences between
authoritarian and democratic
governments in their notebooks.
Visuals will be provided on
the LCD projector.
Teacher will explain the key points of the Tiananmen
Square Massacre:
-1989, a group of students protested the force of the
communist government in China
-Hundreds gathered in Beijing’s center, Tiananmen
Square
-The government sent in army tanks to disperse the
citizens
-Over 2600 people died
Students will watch a short video clip of news
reporters covering the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Students will write the following film focus in their
journal, and respond:
Film Focus: What did the government do to stifle the
protestors?
Teacher will debrief and have students read a short
news clip of the massacre, projected on the screen.
Teacher will have all students be the “passage
master” (see lit circle roles lesson 0.07) and circle the
part of the article they think is the most interesting.
Each person will share out at their table and then the
teacher will call on various people around the room
to share out (Think, Pair, Share)
Students will watch a short video clip of Beijing
students responding to a picture of the Tank Man, not
knowing what it is. Students will write the following
film focus in their journal, and respond:
Film Focus: Why do you think that students in Beijing
had never heard of the Tiananmen Square Massacre?
Could a massacre like this have been covered up in the
United States? Why or why not?
The teacher will question students about their
responses to the film focus, leading students to a
discussion of democracy and free speech. The
teacher will discuss the purpose of government in the
united states of protecting individual rights.
In order to reinforce the subject of individual rights,
especially in schools, the teacher will lecture about
Small group work will be
facilitated through the
Think, Pair, Share
technique. This provides
an active reading strategy
for struggling readers, and
reinforces one of the many
lit circle roles that were
taught in the second week
of school.
Tinker v. Des Moines from a power point. The
teacher will have students create an armband for
something they stand for and wear it throughout the
class. Teacher will debrief this activity by telling
students that this freedom of expression would never
fly in China, or in any state where there is an
authoritarian power.
Guided Practice: (20 min)
Teacher will distribute the T-shirt assignment from the day before, scissors, and
stapler/glue/tape. Students will cut out their T-shirts from the day before and dress the
human form for each country with the advertisement of that government. Students will
also label the graphic organizer and provide a brief description of how they perceive the
advantages are for living in that country.
This will be a pre-writing
strategy for the following
writing assignment.
Students will be able to use
the graphic organizer for
their writing.
The teacher will distribute the Anne Frank reading, calling on students to read aloud from
the text. The teacher will question students and lead them to filling in the graphic
organizer from the reading.
Independent Practice: (20 min)
Students will write a letter as if they are a student living under an authoritarian
government to a student living in the United States. This letter can but does not have to
be about living through the Tiananmen Square Massacre. These letters will be used the
next day in class, and students will respond to those letters written to them (they will be
redistributed to a different class period). A wordle will be projected on the board in order
to provide visual cues to students as they write. A timer will be visible to students so they
can pace themselves appropriately.
Closure:
(8 min)
Teacher will give an exit ticket to students to assess knowledge of the differences
between authoritarian and democratic governments and is comprised of sample HSA
questions.
Homework:
Students will finish their letters at home.
Assessment:
Teacher will give an exit ticket to students to assess knowledge of the differences
between authoritarian and democratic governments and is comprised of sample HSA
questions.
Rigor:
Engagement:
Intervention:
The lesson will be student-driven.
Students will be engaged in visual and Small group work and multiple, short
Most of the information will be
video discovery. In addition, students activities will ensure that all are
derived through questioning. In
will be asked to take a stand on
participating and active in the
addition, students will be asked to
something by creating armbands.
classroom. In addition, opportunities
apply concepts that they learned at
will be given for homework to be
the end of the previous lesson and
made up during class time.
evaluate their significance within a
context. This lesson also incorporates
content from Unit II (Tinker v. Des
Moines), Unit V (the Supreme Court)
and Unit VI (foreign policy, China).
Spiraling in these topics now will
mean more schema to activate when
lessons come down the road.
Notes: