The Supreme Court in American Political History

Strategies

The student will demonstrate understanding producing a reflective essay, participating in group meetings, analyzing and revising work to clarify the intended message or thought. They will also learn that the Judicial Branch serves as the watchdog of government and the protector of Constitutional rights. The following questions will be analyzed and discussed. 1.) Should the role of the federal courts be expanded? 2.) Should the Supreme Court have the power to override legislative and executive activity?

The student will exhibit a level of knowledge on the following topics: Role and structure of the courts, Appointment process, term of office, method of removal for judges and justices, how a case reaches the Supreme Court , cases, Brown vs. Board of Education and Gideon vs. Wainwright, protection of individual rights, oversight role of the courts, and public opinion. Their skills within this unit include reading and decoding and organizing information, persuasive writing, critical thinking, and analysis.

The student will describe the function and organization of the Judicial Branch and its role in protecting the balance of power in the American Constitutional system. They will identify the purpose and duties of the Judicial branch as prescribed by Article III of the Constitution. Examine the structure of the Federal Court System including the U.S. Supreme Court. Explain the appointment process for Federal judges and Supreme Court Justices and the length of their term of office. Explain the concept of jurisdiction in relation to the Federal Courts system.

Content Standards define a body of knowledge. They describe information and skills essential to the practice or application of a particular discipline or content domain - What students ought to know and be able to do. (Sunshine State Standards)

Performance Standards define a body of knowledge and define the level of work that demonstrates achievement of the standards. - What students ought to know and be able to do AND how good is good enough. (New Standards Performance Standards - NCEE Standards)

Standards are posted - not as classroom wallpaper but for the purpose of making connections to the learning going on, to focus attention to expectations, and to direct attention to elements being taught Rituals and Routines are posted and observed (CHAMPs). These explain how things are done and the roles and procedures for the classroom. Student work is posted with commentary linked to standards. The flow of the class follows the Instructional Workshop which includes the opening, teacher directed lesson, work period, and closing. Students are applying rituals and routines, using a variety of appropriate strategies to learn, articulating and applying the standards, showing evidence of knowledge through formative and formal assessments.

Classroom artifacts are visible to the students. Examples of artifacts include: the current standards, rituals and routines, word walls, classroom libraries, and rubrics and examples that meet the standards

The teachers role includes, but is not limited to, inquiry based questioning, setting the purpose of the learning as it aligns to the standards, arranging class into smaller groups, working individually through conferencing, explaining the standards that are addressed, documenting assessments, and differentiating instruction.

The classroom environment should be conducive to learning with visual aids that enhance learning. The student and teacher, as well as, student and peers should engage in conversations about learning. The workshop model of teaching uses curriculum, individually paced work, student constructed meaning, processes, risk taking, portfolio/performance assessment, self assessment, and individualized learning and evaluation.

The workshop environment has standards posted, classroom management charts, classroom libraries categorized by reading level/genre/author/special interests, word walls, group learning, centers for conferencing, independent work stations, are a few of the key attributes.

The workshop routine is carried out everyday. It may include:

Opening and Mini Lesson (5-15 minutes) Procedure Skills Strategies

Work Session (20-40minutes) Cooperative Learning Independent Reading/Writing Small Group Instruction Conferencing Authentic Literacy Activities Closing (5-20minutes) Refocusing Students Sharing Learning Student Work

Understanding by Design isthe curriculum framework for the four academic subject areas that follows the structure of Understanding by Design, developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. It includes stages for teaching and learning.

Think with the end in mind, start with assessment. It differs from traditional approaches to designing curriculum. Instead of planning activities or tasks first, you begin with how and what will be assessed.

Stage One: Identify Desired Results- Elements of the Design: Goals, Knowledge and Skills, Essential Questions, Enduring Understandings.

The Goals for each unit are typically the national, state, and/or local standards. They often represent specific content objectives that must be met for a particular grade level or subject.

The Knowledge and Skills for each unit are objectives that students should be able to know and do and state Specific content knowledge and skills.

The Essential Questions address Open-ended questions that are thought-provoking and interpretive. They are at the core of your content and often leads to, or requires further investigation. Essential Questions also deal with situations that have no obvious right answer, raise more questions, and address concepts that are key to the discipline.

Enduring Understandings are Big Ideas that be transferred and made into statements, uncover abstract or misunderstood ideas, and reveals ideas. When the facets are a part of the curriculum, students are able to obtain true understanding.

Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence of understanding- Performance tasks Academic prompts (short and extended response items), Quizzes and tests, including FCAT-like items, and Informal checks for understanding. (Questions, Observations Examination of student work.)

Stage 3: Plan engaging and effective instruction- Unit plans, and Lesson plans

Six Facets of Understanding gives a framework, so the instructor can have direction to see student comprehension. Explanation explains the theories presented. Interpretation is narratives and translations that provide meaning. Application is the ability to apply knowledge in a variety of contexts. Perspective deals with the critical insightful points of view. Empathy is the ability to see things from other points of view. Self-Knowledge makes one aware of there own boundaries and has the ability to recognize the limits of others.

The Duval County Public Schools Implementation Rubric is a tool designed to measure the level of implementation of schools throughout the district. The rubric results provide valuable data that indicates which areas within the school need additional support to improve instruction. Each school in the district is reviewed independently by school and district staff.

The Implementation Rubric has five targets:

1. Academic Performance
2. Safe Schools
3. High Performance Management
4. Professional Learning Communities
5. Accountability

The Model Classroom is a demonstration site for teachers to experience best instructional practices in a live classroom. Depending on the school's level of implementation, teachers can observe Readers/Writers Workshop, Math, Science, and History classes at their school site.

Each model classroom will have powerful examples of:

1. Artifacts
2. Planning
3. Instructional Delivery
4. Assessment
5. Student Work

These ESOL strategies will be implemented into the Unit in conjunction with the Florida Sunshine State Standards.

1. Use contextual clues - gestures, expressions, body language.
2. Use linguistic modifications: repetition, slow speech, restating, controlled vocabulary, controlled sentence length, paraphrasing, explanation, demonstration.
3. Use peer tutoring.
4. Use written and pictorial forms: maps, graphs, charts, pictures, semantic maps, webs, flow charts, outlines, and other graphic organizers.
5. Use a variety of media.
6. Adjust, modify, or shorten assignments.
7. Provide hands-on experiences and use reality.
8. Use individual and small group instruction and assessment.
9. Use cooperative learning activities.
10. Define content area language or terms.
11. Use alternative assessments: observation, demonstration of skill, product evaluation, portfolio assessment, dialogue journals, self evaluations, checklists, peer assessment, graphic presentations.
12. Reduce oral and written directions and information to easy-to-understand steps or parts.
13. Use role playing.
14. Adapt written text and materials to facilitate comprehension.
15. Use any pedagogically sound instructional strategy.