Fossil Fuels
Days 1-10
Social Studies
Lesson Plan
Grade: 7th
2013-2014 School Year
Lesson Title: In Order to Form a More Perfect…Lunar Colony!
STRANDS
Governance and Civics
LESSON OVERVIEW
Summary of the task, challenge, investigation, career-related scenario, problem, or community link.
This lesson focuses on the processes of Congressional apportionment and redistricting. Beyond simply learning about these concepts, students will experience firsthand
some of the obstacles that legislators face when drawing district lines and how the drawing of district lines can have a political and social impact. This lesson offers
students a glimpse of higher-level mathematics via the method of equal proportions. Additionally, there are strong English Language Arts ties as students will compose
an essay outlining their own plans for apportionment and redistricting in a fictitious lunar nation.
Hook for the week unit or supplemental resources used throughout the week. (PBL scenarios, video clips, websites,
literature)
MOTIVATOR
Each day of this lesson features interesting and relevant videos to draw students in to the lesson. Additionally, students will be presented with practice questions they
may encounter on a state standardized test.
DAY
Objectives
(I can….)
1
Materials & Resources
Instructional Procedures
Differentiated
Instruction
Assessment
Project Day – Refer to Unit Plan
Model Rocket Launch
2
I CAN explain

the process of 
Congressional 
apportionment


iPad
Socrative.com
Constitution of the
United States (iPad
App or digital copy
from the National
Archives)
Video: The U.S.
Census and the
Amazing
Apportionment
Machine (Appendix
A)
Apportionment
Assignment
(Appendix B)
Essential Question:
What is the Constitutional basis for Congressional Apportionment?
How are seats U.S. House of Representatives distributed amongst the
fifty states?
Enrichment:


I.
Activating Strategy:
a. Using the short answer function on Socrative.com,
have students answer the following review question
pertaining to the three branches of government:
The three branches of the Federal government are the
_______, the _______, and the ______. The
instruction for how our government is structured can
be found in the __________.
II.
Teaching Strategy
a. Review with students the three main branches of
government. (For purposes of this lesson, it may
be worthwhile to review with students the
structure of the State government as well).
b. Focus on the Legislative branch of government
and the bicameral nature of Congress. Ask
students: “What is the basis for the structure of
our government?” Allow students to derive the
correct answer, The U.S. Constitution.
Formative
Heterogeneous 
grouping
Peer Tutoring


Remediation:




Activating
question.
Apportionment
Assignment
Student
observation
Classroom
discussion
Popcorn
Summary
Heterogeneous
grouping

Peer Tutoring
Extended time
on
assignments
Summative
for selected
students
 Student
mastery of the
content
standards will
be assessed in
the Lunar
Nation Essay.
c. Instruct students to read Article I, Sections I-II of
the Constitution. Within their collaborative
groups of three of four, have students interpret
the meaning of the passage.
d. Allow the groups to share, guiding student
thinking line by line. Be sure to cover the
concepts of the Census and Apportionment.
e. Explain that, following a census, seats in the
House of Representatives are automatically
reapportioned according to the census data. If a
state has gained population, it may receive
additional seats. If a state has lost population, it
may lose seats.
f. Emphasize to students that there is actually a
good deal of math involved in the apportionment
process. Play the U.S. Census and the Amazing
Apportionment Machine video to demonstrate
this point.
g. Distribute the Apportionment Assignment.
Review with students the assignment, specifically,
the maps from previous decades of census data
and resulting apportionment.
III.
Summarizing Strategy
a. Popcorn Review: Toss an inflatable globe or ball
around the room to students, asking about key
terms and concepts presented during the lesson.
Move chronologically through the lesson, from
branches of government to the apportionment
process.
3
I CAN describe
the
Congressional
redistricting
process.




Socrative.com
iPad
Map of respective
state’s Congressional
districts (Appendix A
or State Government
Website, for
example)
Redistricting
Assignment
(Appendix B)
Essential Question:
Enrichment:
Following the apportionment process, how are the Congressional seats
 Heterogeneous
filled?
Who is responsible for the redistricting process within our state?
grouping
 Peer Tutoring
I.
Activating Strategy:
a. Present students with the following question, allowing
them several minutes to think individually and then
Remediation:
discuss with a partner.
 Heterogeneous
grouping
We learned yesterday about the process of
 Peer Tutoring
Congressional apportionment. Once the number of
 Extended time
House seats is apportioned to the states, how would
on
you fill those seats so that every citizen in our state is
assignments
represented equally?
for selected
students
Talk through the processes that students generate,
 Check often for
asking guiding questions to direct their thinking and
understanding
proposed processes to replicate Congressional
of subject
redistricting.
matter
II.
Teaching Strategy:
a. Review the apportion process (as necessary) and then
explain that students will be learning about the
process of redistricting, or, the process by which state
legislators or officials draw the lines for congressional
districts within a state. Be sure to specify which group
is responsible for drawing district lines within your
specific state (e.g. Tennessee’s State Legislature is
responsible for drawing the district lines)
b. Explain that redistricting became especially important
after 1910, when Congress capped the size of the
House of Representatives at 435. After 1910, if a state
gained a seat, another state had to lose a seat to make
Formative:



Student
observation
Class
discussion
Exit ticket
Summative:

Student
mastery of the
content
standards will
be assessed in
the Lunar
Nation Essay.
III.
up for it.
c. As time allows, hold a discussion with students how
government might be impacted if the House was not
capped at 435 seats (i.e. inefficiency of government).
d. Display to the class a map of your states particular
Congressional districts and explain to students that
redistricting is not an easy task.
e. Distribute the Redistricting Assignment. Review the
imaginary state portion and allow students the
remainder of class time to work in small groups to
complete that portion of the assignment.
Summarizing Strategy:
a. Using the short answer function of Socrative.com, ask
students the following questions:
- Congressional redistricting is done every ___ years.
- Congressional redistricting is completed by the ___.
- The number of Congressional districts is dependent
upon the ___.
4
I CAN describe
the impact
Congressional
redistricting
can have on
political party
shifts.



iPad
Political Cartoon:
Gerrymandering
(Appendix A)
Video:
Gerrymandering:
How drawing jagged
lines can impact an
election (Appendix
B)
Essential Question:
What is gerrymandering?
How could gerrymandering result in political party shifts?
I.
Activating Strategy:
a. Display the political cartoon of gerrymandering to
students.
b. Ask students to write a caption that explains (what
they think) the cartoon is conveying.
II.
Teaching Strategy:
a. Allow students a few minutes to share their own
experiences in drawing their own district lines from
the previous night’s homework.
Enrichment:


Heterogeneous 
grouping
Peer Tutoring

Remediation:



Formative:
Fishbowl
discussion
Exit ticket
Summative:
Heterogeneous

grouping
Peer Tutoring
Extended time
on
Student
mastery of the
content
standards will
b. Explain that in that assignment, students were focused
solely on population. In reality, there are other factors
to take in to consideration when drawing lines such as
the political affiliation of constituents, race, religion,
socioeconomic status, etc.
c. Play the Gerrymandering video. Review key concepts
presented in the video.
d. Conduct a fishbowl discussion on the pros and cons of
redistricting. Students should record the main
arguments in a Pro/Con T-chart.
III.
5
I CAN describe
how
Congressional
districts are
shaped with
respect to
population
distribution,
density, and
other
demographic
factors.



MacBook Airs
Video: Congressional
Redistricting
Explained With Pizza
(Appendix A)
ArcGIS Explorer
Online with U.S. and
State Congressional
district
shapefiles/layers as
well as population
density layer (e.g.
Tennessee
Congressional
Districts and
Population)

Enrichment:


II.
be assessed in
the Lunar
Nation Essay.
Summarizing Strategy:
a. Using a reliable Internet resource, have students
research the redistricting process in another state and
write a brief comparison of redistricting processes
between their state and the state researched.
Essential Question: How can GIS demonstrate the relationship
between Congressional district lines and population?
I.
assignments
for selected
students
Check often for
understanding
of subject
matter
Activating:
a. Explain to students that sometimes, difficult concepts
are best understood when explained in terms of food!
b. Show the Congressional Redistricting Explained With
Pizza video to review
Teaching Strategy
a. Give students a general overview of the features of
ArcGIS Explorer Online. The format should be familiar
to students as it is similar to Google Earth, however,
contains an entirely separate database.
Heterogeneous 
grouping
Peer Tutoring

Remediation:



Formative
Import &
Export
Exploration
Informal
questioning
Summative
Heterogeneous
grouping
 Student
mastery of the
Peer Tutoring
content
Extended time
standards will
on
be assessed in
assignments
the Lunar
for selected
Nation Essay.
students

b. Explain to students that they will be using GIS to
explore the relationship between the districts,
population density/distribution, and other
demographic data.
c. Allow students to work through the Congressional
Redistricting GIS Exploration independently. For
students who are struggling with the technology or
content allow for individualized or small group
instruction.
Congressional
Redistricting GIS
Exploration
(Appendix B)
III.
Summarizing Strategy
a. Allow several students to display their findings from
the “Explore!” section of the activity. Have students
AirPlay their map to demonstrate their findings.
Essential Question:
Project Days 6-10 – Refer to Unit Plan
STEM Engineering Fair
STANDARDS
Identify what you want to teach. Reference State, Common Core, ACT
College Readiness Standards and/or State Competencies.


Check often for
understanding
of subject
Individualized
instruction
GLE 3.09 Understand the nature, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surfaces.
GLE 4.01 Understand different systems of governance.
7.3.spi.20. Predict the consequences of population changes on the Earth's physical and cultural environments.
7.4.spi.3. Recognize how the boundaries of Congressional districts change in the state of Tennessee. (i.e. statutory requirements, population shifts, political power
shifts).