Social Studies/Music Lesson Plan
Objective: Using music, students will learn about the different parts of the government and their responsibilities.
Common Core State Standard:
6.1.4.A.4: Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States Constitution defines and limits the power of government.
Vocabulary:
· Executive
· Judicial
· Legislative
· Congress
· House of Representatives
· Senator
· President
· Vice President
· Supreme Justice
Materials:
· Worksheet
· Video
· Social Studies Notebooks
· Rap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt5K4ZK0ILY
Warm up (5 mins):
· http://www.brainpop.com/games/branchesofgovernment/
· Have students distribute the jobs of each branch of government in their social studies notebook. Ask them to write about what they know about the organization of the branches of government from prior learning.
Mini-Lesson (10-15 min):
· Motivate: Create a KWL chart to provide purpose for the lesson and create an opportunity for students to connect personal and/or prior experiences to the jobs of the branches of government.
o Have students share what they know about the branches of government in the K part of the chart. Ask students what they would like to know about branches of government in the W part of the chart. Say: “We will be learning about the branches of government over the next few days and answering all of our questions together.”
· Elaborate:
o Say: “In order to understand how our government is organized and how it operates, we are going to have to understand what each branch of government is responsible for. Today in our groups, we will be exploring the branches of government and working with music to help us remember. We will work with new vocabulary such as (vocab listed above). Have you ever heard any of these words? Some of them we have discussed and some were from the warm up activity. Did you notice what they are? Do you know what any mean? How do you think they relate to the branches of government? Turn and talk with a partner.”
· Demonstrate:
o Say: “I would like group 1 and 4 to focus on the executive branch. I would like groups 2 and 5 to focus on the legislative branch. I would like group 3 to focus on the judicial branch. Once I say start, you are going to listen to the rap on youtube. After you have listened to it once, I would like you to write down as many facts about your specific branch of government. Once you have written facts, I would like you to try and create your own rap or song about the branch of government you were assigned. We will share our raps or songs at the end of the period. I will set the timer on the board so you know how long you have. You can collaborate with your group or combine groups with the same branch of government. Have fun!”
Independent Work Time (30-40 min):
· Circulate and confer with students while taking notes or working with a small group in direct instruction.
· Students work in groups to complete the assignment and create a song/rap.
· Once the timer goes off, have students share their song/rap.
o If a group does not complete, have them share what they have so far or the facts that they collected.
Share Session (5 min):
· Have students share their song/rap. Guide discussion by asking the following:
o What have we learned today about the different branches of government?
o How do they help our government function?
o What makes up each branch of government?
o How are the branches similar?
o How are they different?
Reflection:
· Have students respond in their social studies notebooks what they learned about their governmental branch and how it compares to the others.
Extended Learning:
· http://congressforkids.net/Constitution_checksandbalances.htm
o Have students explore the website and think about checks and balances to prepare for the next lesson.
Objective: Using music, students will learn about the different parts of the government and their responsibilities.
Common Core State Standard:
6.1.4.A.4: Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States Constitution defines and limits the power of government.
Vocabulary:
· Executive
· Judicial
· Legislative
· Congress
· House of Representatives
· Senator
· President
· Vice President
· Supreme Justice
Materials:
· Worksheet
· Video
· Social Studies Notebooks
· Rap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt5K4ZK0ILY
Warm up (5 mins):
· http://www.brainpop.com/games/branchesofgovernment/
· Have students distribute the jobs of each branch of government in their social studies notebook. Ask them to write about what they know about the organization of the branches of government from prior learning.
Mini-Lesson (10-15 min):
· Motivate: Create a KWL chart to provide purpose for the lesson and create an opportunity for students to connect personal and/or prior experiences to the jobs of the branches of government.
o Have students share what they know about the branches of government in the K part of the chart. Ask students what they would like to know about branches of government in the W part of the chart. Say: “We will be learning about the branches of government over the next few days and answering all of our questions together.”
· Elaborate:
o Say: “In order to understand how our government is organized and how it operates, we are going to have to understand what each branch of government is responsible for. Today in our groups, we will be exploring the branches of government and working with music to help us remember. We will work with new vocabulary such as (vocab listed above). Have you ever heard any of these words? Some of them we have discussed and some were from the warm up activity. Did you notice what they are? Do you know what any mean? How do you think they relate to the branches of government? Turn and talk with a partner.”
· Demonstrate:
o Say: “I would like group 1 and 4 to focus on the executive branch. I would like groups 2 and 5 to focus on the legislative branch. I would like group 3 to focus on the judicial branch. Once I say start, you are going to listen to the rap on youtube. After you have listened to it once, I would like you to write down as many facts about your specific branch of government. Once you have written facts, I would like you to try and create your own rap or song about the branch of government you were assigned. We will share our raps or songs at the end of the period. I will set the timer on the board so you know how long you have. You can collaborate with your group or combine groups with the same branch of government. Have fun!”
Independent Work Time (30-40 min):
· Circulate and confer with students while taking notes or working with a small group in direct instruction.
· Students work in groups to complete the assignment and create a song/rap.
· Once the timer goes off, have students share their song/rap.
o If a group does not complete, have them share what they have so far or the facts that they collected.
Share Session (5 min):
· Have students share their song/rap. Guide discussion by asking the following:
o What have we learned today about the different branches of government?
o How do they help our government function?
o What makes up each branch of government?
o How are the branches similar?
o How are they different?
Reflection:
· Have students respond in their social studies notebooks what they learned about their governmental branch and how it compares to the others.
Extended Learning:
· http://congressforkids.net/Constitution_checksandbalances.htm
o Have students explore the website and think about checks and balances to prepare for the next lesson.