Project Lesson Plan

The Political Machine Lesson Plan

 

 

Grade Levels: 9, 10,
11, 12

Subject(s):

• Civics and Economics

Duration:  43-minute class period

Description: This class simulation spotlights the Electoral College
Process and the power of money and special-interest groups in Presidential
Campaigns. The activity is designed to add technology to the classroom, in
order to reinforce what has already been taught.  This is designed to serve as a review before
a test and/or quiz.

Students will learn

Goals:

1. To enhance students'
   knowledge of the Presidential Election Process.


2. To engage students in an
   interactive simulation analyzing the Electoral Process.


3. To inform students about
   Special-Interest Groups and Campaign Fundraising.

NCSCOS- Civics and Economics:

4.01 Examine the structure and organization of political
parties.
4.02 Describe the election process and the qualifications
and procedures for voting.
4.03 Analyze information on political issues and
candidates seeking political office.
4.04 Demonstrate active methods of promoting and
inhibiting change through political action.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Locate states within the United
   States.


2. Recall political demographics
   of the states, during the simulation.


3. Use Electoral College map to
   identify key ?battleground? states, during the simulation.


4. Formulate creative strategies
   for obtaining at least 270 Electoral votes.


5. Relate other students? political
   strategy, and compare how much money was spent in the campaign.

Materials:

• LCD Projector


• Laptop Computer


• Copies of the Electoral
  College Map (Each Student)

Procedure:

As the simulation begins, students will serve as the political strategists for
their presidential candidate.  Therefore,
they will decide which states to visit, where to build campaign headquarters,
how much money to spend and fundraise, and which talk show invitations to
accept.  In addition to these duties,
they will also decide where to purchase campaign advertisements.

Assessment: I plan to examine
students' contribution throughout the simulation. Students write a reflection about
the election results of the simulation. In addition to this paper, students
will be asked to complete a 10 question quiz on the U.S. Presidential Election
Process.

Posted by ltwhites ( Nov 05 2007, 11:44:16 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Project Plan

Project Plan: ECI 525

South America: A Farming Economy

Lesson Goal(s): To introduce students to the farming and agriculture economy of South America, providing students with a firm understanding of the hardships that many countries in South America must endure.

Instructional Objectives:

• Students will play the game 3^rd World Farmer to illustrate the life a farmer might have in South America


• Students will engage in a class discussion comparing and contrasting the game to what they already know about the farming economy in South America. Students will complete a Venn diagram comparing the game with prior knowledge.


• Students will be able to explain how the allocation of specific resources requires economic systems to make important decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services. 

NCSCoS Standards (6^th grade):

Competency Goal 5: The learner will evaluate the ways people of South America and Europe make decisions about the allocation and use of economic resources

• Objective 5.03 Explain how the allocation of scarce resources requires economic systems to make basic decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services, and evaluate the impact on the standard of living in selected societies and regions of South America and Europe.

Competency Goal 6: The learner will recognize the relationship between economic activity and the quality of life in South America and Europe.

• Objective 6.01 Describe different levels of economic development and assess their connections to standard of living indicators such as purchasing power, literacy rate, and life expectancy.

• Class set of laptops/access to computer lab with internet capabilities


• 30 copies of  Venn Diagram activity


• Overhead projector


• Transparency of Venn Diagram

Focus/Review (10-15 minutes): Review what students already know about the economy of South America. Ask questions about the different crops that South America yields and the importance of farming with regards to South America?s economy. Shortly debrief 3^rd World Farmer. Ensure all students know computer lab rules. Walk students to computer lab and go over more specific instructions for the game 3^rd World Farmer. Pass out Venn diagram activity.

Student Activity (25-30 minutes): Students will play the game 3^rd World Farmer. Explain to students that some may not be able to finish the game due to time constraints. The longer you play, the better your farming community is doing. As students are playing the game, they should be filling out the appropriate circles in the Venn diagram activity. How is 3^rd World Farmer different from the economy in South America? How is it similar? After 20-25 minutes of pure playing, students are to pack up and return to the room.

Summary/Closure (10-15 minutes): Discuss the experience of 3^rd World farmer. Was it what students expected? What were some of the hardships they had to overcome? How did they survive? Put the transparency of the Venn diagram up on the overhead. Have students state what they thought were comparisons between the game and the actually economy of South America and what they thought was different between the two.

Assessment: Have students complete Venn diagram for homework if not already done so in class. Use Venn diagram as a participation grade.

Posted by slcarte2 ( Nov 05 2007, 06:55:37 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Instructional Plan

I plan to present to my class the Stagville informational website. My class will be Amanda Long?s ninth grade social studies class. For the introduction, I would ask the class to discuss the word ?slavery? and the definition of the word ?slave?. The purpose of this discussion is for the students to understand that the enslaved peoples at Stagville were in fact highly skilled artisans and builders. I would highlight the differences between the slave quarters at Stagville with that of the typical slave quarters of the American South. My goal is to present Stagville as a unique plantation of the Southern states.

 

I would walk the class through each section of the website discussing its implications of southern enslaved life. I would have a sheet with questions that would be answered during the presentation. By navigating through each link I could tell the story and historical significance of Stagville. Although I would highlight each link, I would focus on the history of the enslaved peoples and their architectural skills. This is shown through the links to the buildings of Horton Grove and the Great Barn. There would be a short discussion of the implications of these buildings in reference to enslaved life at Stagville. We would discuss our ECI 525 theories and insights on Stagville but would allow for the students to formulate some of their own opinions on enslaved life at Stagville.

 

To conclude, I would go over the questions sheet as a follow up to the presentation. These would consist of questions linking to enslaved life on the plantation. I would then hand out a survey sheet asking the students to ?grade? our class website. The purpose of this is for the students to give us feedback on how well the information was presented. In addition this would highlight whether the information was clear and concise and easy enough for middle and high school students to understand the content. We would discuss what was missing on the website. Perhaps this would include topics they wanted to know more about. I would also ask if they would use this site in a research project or as a source for background knowledge before visiting Stagville.

 

Instructional Materials:

-Computer and demonstration screen to present our ECI 525 Stagville Digital History Project

-Survey Sheets

-Question Sheets to answer during the presentation

Posted by rsbumgar ( Nov 05 2007, 12:29:30 PM EST ) Permalink Comments [0]