Objectives
There will be four parts to this unit and each part will contain a lesson plan that will comply with the New Mexico Standards for Social Studies: Government and Civics for fifth grade. This unit will provide opportunities for fifth grade students to understand the ideals, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship. Students will understand the content and history of the founding documents of the United States with particular emphasis on the United States Constitution. Although New Mexico Standards also include the function of governments at the local, state, and tribal levels, this unit will focus primarily on the national government. Other units could follow this once the teacher has established the groundwork for the students understanding the basic framework of our federal government.
In this unit students will identify the fundamental ideals and principles of our republican form of government. Next, the students will identify and describe the significance of American symbols and documents such as the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. The first part of the unit will begin with a student's concept or definition of justice. Students will be asked to define the concept through symbols and conduct a discussion with their peers. The activity is designed to illustrate the differing perspectives that we all bring to the table. Students will then be asked to think about the following questions and share with a partner their responses: What is the Constitution? What is its purpose? What is the Bill of Rights? Do they protect everyone? As a whole group we will conduct a KWL chart, which allows us to see what students already know about the topic, want to learn about the topic, and have learned by the end of the lesson. Students will be able to explain how the three branches of the national government function and understand how they are defined in the United States Constitution. Students will also be able to identify and summarize contributions of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to national identity.
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