Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions
Classroom ClimateClassroom TasksWhat I will do to help students:
Feel accepted by the teacher and their peers:
Students aregreeted at the door. The only rule that I have in the classroomis “respect”. Students are to be respectful in conversation anddemeanor, with the ground rules established on day one.
Perceive the classroom as a comfortable and orderly place:
Allstudents are referred to by “Mr.” or “Miss”, as I think it createsmore civilized discourse.
What I will do to help students:
Perceive classroom tasks as valuable:
Students will be toldthat the United States spends nearly 22% of its budget ondefense. Therefore, knowledge about how that money isspent, and the decision-making process behind thatknowledge, is vital. Further, male students are reminded thatat the age of 18, they can be drafted into the armed services.Thus, it is in their best interest to learn about how the decisionto go to war is made, so that they may participate in theprocess.
Believe they can perform the tasks:
By working together ingroups, which are of mixed abilities (based on reading level),the weaker students may not feel so overwhelmed by theamount of work that must be done. And by making thestudents create a finished presentation, students have a senseof control and efficacy over what is produced, making it astronger finished product.
Understand and be clear about tasks:
Instruction will bechunked so that students have a very small amount of work todo at a time; they will put all of their work at the end to formthe finished policy recommendation.
Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 2: Acquiring and Integrating Declarative Knowledge
TopicsWhat are thespecifics?How will informationbe experienceddirectly or indirectly?How will students beaided in constructingmeaning?How will students beaided in organizinginformation?How will studentsbe aided in storinginformation?
The studentwill analyzeeconomic, political,social issuesand their effect onforeign policies of the UnitedStates (2.1.1)Students read theappropriate sectionsof their textbook todetermine what the job of each of governmentdepartments iswhen it comes tothe topic of foreign policy (ex. ThePresident is theCommander-in-Chief, Congress pays for the war,etc.)Students will readdirectly from thetextbook. Anappropriateintroduction to thematerial will be made,giving a brief history of Iran and what is goingon currently in thecountry. Students will be informed that theywill be simulating thedecision-making thatgoes on in the OvalOffice.Students will beworking together ingroups (organizedheterogeneouslyaccording to readingability) so that weak readers and strongreaders are teamedup. The group will be able to work together and talk through anydisagreements and toclarify complicatedmaterial.A graphic organizer will be providedwhich will have thestudents list both theexpressed and implied powers of each of thefour departments.Students will becreating a presentation for thePresident in whichthey give their department’srecommendation onwhat should be donewith Iran. Becausestudents learn themost by doing, this presentation, theaccompanying poster, and thegraphic organizer should createenoughopportunities for students to soak inthe information.
Unit Planning Guide for Dimension 2: Acquiring and Integrating Procedural Knowledge
Skills/processes to be taughtHow will students be aided inconstructing models?How will students be aided inshaping skills/processes?How will students be aided ininternalizing skills/processes?
Evaluate the goals of UnitedStates foreign policy, such asnational security, economicstability, promoting the spreadof democracyStudents will review their graphic organizers about thefunctions of the various foreign policy makers in government.The teacher will pose thefollowing question to thestudents: “What is your particular group’s role in theforeign policy process? Nametwo powers that you have. Name two powers that you donot have.”The teacher will remindstudents of the three goals of foreign policy (nationalsecurity, economic stability, promoting spread of democracy).Students will be asked toidentify which goal their groupis most likely to focus on, andwhy.Students will determine whattheir section of governmentwould most likely recommendin terms of action against Iran.Analyze contemporaryconcerns that affectinternational relationships andgovernment policies, such asworld health,
human rights
,nation-building, nationalsecurity and weapons of massdestruction, outsourcing andtechnology transfer.
Students will read a series of articles concerning the recentelectoral fiasco in Iran. As agroup, and acting as one of theforeign policy units of thegovernment (Congress, thePresident, Defense Department, or State Department), students willdevelop their plan for how to dealwith the situation that best meetstheir agency’s/branch’s goals.Students will be aided by thenewspaper articles (to give themraw data with which to work),their peers (with whom they canswap and debate ideas), and their textbook (which will influence thetype of decision they make).The teacher will provide a graphicorganizer to help the studentsunderstand the key ideas of whatis going on in Iran. This way,students will know that humanrights is the key contemporaryissue that is at stake.The teacher will be sure to link this knowledge with their understanding from the firstskill/process, so that the studentsknow that the underlying goal theywant to achieve is human rights;this will heavily influence thedecision they choose to make.
Students will determine whattheir section of governmentwould most likely recommendin terms of action against Iran.Students will internalize theconcern about human rights byweighing the costs of a war against Iran (lives lost, moneyspent during a recession, loss of respect abroad) vs. the benefits(a potential democratic ally inthe region, helping the War onTerror) through a presentationadvising the President whats/he should do about the Iranianelection.
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Gov Academy Unit Plan
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| Upload Date: | 07/16/2009 |
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