5E Lesson Plan Template

Your name Name: Kristen Floore

Cooperating Cooperating Teacher: Kristen Floore

teacher name
(if needed) Email of cooperating teacher: [email protected]

Phone number of cooperating teacher: (205) 612-1683

Date(s) you will teach your lesson: September 27-October 1, 2021

Name and city of school where you will teach your lesson: Rocky Ridge
Elementary School; Hoover, AL

Date(s) taught September 27-October 1, 2021

Subject Social Studies

Grade level 2nd Grade

Materials  virtual KWL jamboard

 Chromebooks (1 per student)
 Google classroom
 Online resources for Research (Pebble Go, MyOn, Brain Pop, videos, etc.)
 Prezi
 Note taking sheet
 Kahoot quiz
 Google slides
 Mrs. Floore’s example
 Assessment rubric

Standards (State Social Studies COS.2.1

and ISTE Relate principles of American democracy to the founding of the nation.
Standards for • Identifying reasons for the settlement of the thirteen colonies
Students) • Recognizing basic principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution
of the United States, the establishment of the three branches of government, and
the Emancipation Proclamation
• Demonstrating the voting process, including roles of major political parties
• Utilizing school and classroom rules to reinforce democratic values

ISTE Standards

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 2. Digital Citizen: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities
of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and
model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
3. Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using
digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make
meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
6. Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express
themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles,
formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Objectives Students will be able to identify and describe the three branches of government.

Students will use technology to learn about the three branches of government and
will produce a technological presentation describing one of the branches.

Differentiation This lesson will address the various learning styles of the students. Some of the
Strategies activities involve listening, which addresses the needs of auditory learners. These
activities include listening to videos, online articles, and online books (from Pebble
Go, MyOn, etc.) and listening to the teacher’s Prezi Presentation.

Visual learners will also benefit from the videos, online articles, and online books
because they provide visual elements, such as pictures and video clips. The
teacher’s Prezi Presentation provides pictures to help students understand the
concepts of power and balance and pictures to help students visualize the roles of
each branch of government.

Tactile/Kinesthetic learners will benefit from the hands-on, active, digital activities
that they will complete throughout the lesson, including completing the KWL chart,
Kahoot quiz, and Google slides technology project.

The teacher will follow all IEP accommodations throughout the lesson for students
with special needs.

The 5 Es
E Description

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Engagement The students will complete a virtual KWL chart as the engagement activity. They will
write something that they know about the government and something they want to
know about the government. This will be done using the website Jamboard.
Students will create a sticky note on the first two pages of the Jamboard to answer
the questions “what do you know about the government?” and “what do you want to
learn about the government?” Later in the lesson, the students will add a sticky note
for “what have you learned about the government?” This activity will activate prior
knowledge and will engage the students through the use of technology to prepare
them for their learning. The students will access the Jamboard through the Google
classroom.

Directions for Students:

1. Go to the Google classroom
2. Click on “KWL Government”
3. Click on the Jamboard
4. On the first screen, click on the sticky note
5. Type something that you know about the government
6. Click the right arrow to move to screen 2
7. Click on the sticky note
8. Type something you want to know about the government
9. Make sure to leave other students’ sticky notes alone
10. Read what other students have typed on the first 2 screens

Screenshots of the KWL Chart Jamboard:

Engagement I will formatively assess students by reading their sticky notes on what they know
Assessment about the government and what they want to know. I will assess to see if they
engaged by checking for on-task behaviors (such as following directions and using
their chromebooks correctly) and by seeing how interested they are in the lesson
activity.

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Exploration Each student will be assigned a branch of government to research. They will access
at least 2 online resources to learn about their branch of government. The resources
they can choose from include PebbleGo, MyOn, online videos, and BrainPop. The
online videos will be accessed through our Google classroom. They will spend time
researching about their branch. Then, they will meet with the other students who
researched the same branch of government to discuss what they have learned.

Directions for Students:

1. There are 3 branches (or sections) of our government. I am giving you an index
card with the name of one of the branches of government. You will research this
branch today.
2. Decide which online resources you want to use to learn about your branch. You
can choose MyOn, PebbleGo, Brain Pop, or online videos (in the Google
classroom). You must choose at least 2 of these resources.
3. Research about your branch of government.
4. When you have finished researching using at least 2 of the resources, write about
what you have learned in your social studies journal.
5. In about 30 minutes, you will meet with the other students who researched your
branch of government to talk about what you all have learned.

Screenshots of Resources

Myon:

PebbleGo:

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BrainPop:

Online Videos in the Google Classroom:

Exploration The students will be formatively assessed by completing the L of virtual KWL
Assessment jamboard. They will write one fact that they have learned so far about the
government on the KWL chart that they started during the engagement section of
the lesson. The teacher will read their sticky notes to see what they have learned so
far. She will use this information to help guide her lesson in the elaboration phase of
the lesson.

Screenshot of the KWL Chart Jamboard:

Explanation The teacher will explain more about the 3 branches of government using a Prezi.
The Prezi includes pictures to help the students grasp important concepts, pictures

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of government buildings, pictures of members of the government, and a video to

help explain the 3 branches of government. She will explain important vocabulary
words and concepts (power, balance, legislative branch, executive branch, and
judicial branch). The students will receive a simple note taking sheet to complete
throughout the lesson.

Throughout the lesson, the teacher will incorporate high order thinking questions,
such as:
1. What do you think of when you hear the word “power?”
2. What do you think of when you hear the word “balance?”
3. Why do you think the founding fathers chose not to have a king as their leader?
4. How is a president different from a king?

Explanation of Balanced Power

What do you think of when you hear the word power? I think of a light switch. Light
switches have the power to turn the lights on and off. Power means “being in charge
or in control of something.” Light switches control the lights. The switch’s position
determines if the lights are on or off.
What do you think of when you hear the word balance? I think of a scale. A scale is
like a Seesaw. If one side of a scale has a heavier item than the other side, it will
lower. If both sides of the scale have the same weight, they are even. Balance
means “being equally divided.” Sort of like the even numbers we have learned about
in math!
Our government has balanced power. This means that control is divided equally
among different people in the government. Some countries have 1 very powerful
person who makes all of the decisions for their country, but our country isn’t like
that. The power to make decisions is spread out. Who remembers the names of
some of our country’s founding fathers? When they created our government, the
founding fathers decided they didn’t want a king to rule our country like they had in
England. Why do you think the founding fathers chose not to have a king? The
founding fathers did not like the power that the king had over their lives in England.
That was one reason why many people moved to America – they wanted the
freedom to make their own decisions about their lives. To prevent our country from
becoming like England, where one king had all of the power, the founding fathers
created a government with balanced power.
When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution, they created a national
government where the power is separated into 3 branches – the executive branch,
the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. Each branch is part of the
government, but they all have different powers. They are in control of different
things, so the power is spread out and balanced.

Explanation of the Legislative Branch

The members of the legislative branch are the Congress. Congress is made up of 2
groups – the House of Representatives and the Senate. They work in the Capitol
building in Washington D.C. The people in these groups are voted on by American
citizens who are 18 or older. The members of Congress represent their states.
The main power of the legislative branch is to create laws. The members of
Congress work together to write laws. They vote on the laws to make them official.

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All of the laws that we have, such as the speed limit, were created by members of
Congress. The legislative branch also creates the government’s budget (to make
sure they don’t spend too much money), they tax the American people, and they are
the ones who decide if we should go to war with another country. Did anyone who
researched the legislative branch learn any facts about this branch that they would
like to share?

Explanation of Executive Branch

The president, vice president, and cabinet members are in the executive branch of
our government. The president and the vice president are the people you probably
recognize the most from our government. They are voted on by American citizens
every 4 years. There are 15 cabinet members. They lead different departments of
our government, and they give advice to the president and help him or her make
decisions. The main role of the executive branch is to enforce laws. Enforce means
to make sure the laws (created by the legislative branch) are being followed. Who
enforces the speed limit laws? The police do! They are part of the executive branch.
They make sure that laws are being followed. The president also has other powers.
He or she is the main leader of our country, they are the leader of our military, and
they sign treaties (agreements) with other countries. How is a president different
from a king? Did anyone who researched the executive branch learn any facts about
this branch that they would like to share?

Explanation of Judicial Branch

The judicial branch is made up of judges and courts. Has anyone ever seen a TV
show or a movie with a judge? They normally wear dark robes and use a gavel to
get everyone’s attention. Sometimes they say “order in the court!” Judges make
decisions about laws and decide if they have been broken or not. When someone is
arrested, they are considered innocent until they have been proven guilty. A judge
decides if they are guilty of breaking a law. There are different levels of judges and
courts. They highest court is called the supreme court. There are 9 judges on the
supreme court. They are chosen by the president. Leaders of the legislative branch
and executive branch have term limits. That means they only serve for a few years,
then someone else takes over. The members of the supreme court do not have term
limits. That means that once they have become a judge on the supreme court, they
serve until they die or until they decide to stop.
The judicial branch’s main power is to interpret laws. They decide what the laws
mean and if someone has broken a law or if they are innocent. The judges use the
Constitution to help them interpret laws. When the supreme court makes a decision,
they vote. The choice that gets the majority of votes (the most votes) wins. The
supreme court also decides if members of Congress or if the president has broken a
law or has not followed the Constitution. The judges make many decisions. Did
anyone who researched the judicial branch learn any facts about this branch that
they would like to share?

Wrap Up
The teacher will play the video imbedded in the Prezi. Then she will review the
names of the 3 branches and their main power. She will also review the concepts of
power and balance.

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Screenshot of the Prezi:

Notetaking Sheet:

Explanation After the explanation, the teacher will formatively assess the students with a Kahoot
Assessment quiz. This short Kahoot quiz will allow the teacher to know which students have a
basic understanding of the 3 branches of government and which students need
more instruction.

Screenshot of the Kahoot:

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Elaboration The students will apply what they have learned by creating a Google Slide about the
branch of government that they researched during the exploration phase of the
lesson. Their slide must have the name of their branch of government and at least 3
facts about their branch. The teacher will show the students an example of a
completed slide to help them know what is expected.

Detailed and Specific Instructions

You will take all that you have learned about your branch of government and create
a Google Slide. On your slide, you will include 3 facts about your branch of
government. Think about what you have researched and what we talked about in
our lesson yesterday when you type your 3 facts. Here is an example of one that I
have created (teacher will show the students her example).

Steps:
1. Log in to your chromebook
2. Go to the Google classroom
3. Click on “Branches of Government Slides”
4. Click on the slides
5. Type the name of your branch in the textbox at the top
6. Type one fact next to #1
7. Type a second fact next to #2
8. Type a third fact next to #3
9. Explore the tools at the top of your Google slide and change the font, the color of
the text, and the background to make your slides unique
10. Re-read your facts and make sure that they make sense (check for correct
sentence structure)
11. When you finish, click “submit”

Are there any questions before we begin?

Mrs. Floore’s Example:

Evaluation Throughout the lesson, the teacher will formatively assess the students through
observations. She will also check the “L” of the KWL chart and the results of the
Kahoot quiz to assess students’ learning through the lesson. For the student created
technology product that students will complete during the elaboration part of the
lesson, the teacher will use a rubric to assess the students’ work. This rubric
assesses the students on the ISTE standards addressed in this lesson. The rubric
can be seen here. The teacher will use the first page of this rubric (beginning of the

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year checkpoint) since students will be completing this in September. The ISTE
standards that the students will be assessed on at this point in the year are:

ISTE 2: Digital Citizen: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and

opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and
they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
ISTE 3: Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources
using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make
meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
ISTE 6: Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express
themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles,
formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Screenshot of the rubric:

References
Bybee, R.W. et al. (1989). Science and technology education for the elementary years:
Frameworks for curriculum and instruction. Washington, D.C.: The National Center for
Improving Instruction.
Bybee, R. W. (1997). Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices. Oxford:
Heinemann.
National Research Council. (1999). Inquiry and the national science education standards: A
guide for teaching and learning. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Polman, J.L. (2000). Designing project-based silence: Connecting learners through guided
inquiry. New York: Teachers College Press.

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