Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher
Date

Matt DeKryger
11/9/14

Subject/ Topic/ Theme

Civics/Legislative Branch

Grade ______11______

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This lesson explores how public policy is shaped by public opinion and the role of lobbyists, interest groups and specifically, the media. We have explored how the
legislative process works, but this lesson explores how external forces, like the media are used by both sides to initiate or pass legislation. This is seen through political
commercials endorsing candidates or attempting to sway voters one way or the other on proposals.

Learners will be able to:

cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Determine the role of the media in how public policy is shaped, both positively and negatively
Determine the role of lobbyists in how public policy is shaped, regarding positive and negative assumptions/stereotype
Discern the political messages they see on TV, picking out how they are meant to shape pubic opinion
build their own political advertisement or message

physical
development

socioemotional

An, E
An, E
Ap, An, E
C

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed: C3.5.1: Explain how political parties, interest groups, the
media, and individuals can influence and determine the public agenda. C3.5.2: Describe the origin and the evolution of political parties and their influence. C3.5.4:
Explain the concept of public opinion, factors that shape it, and contrasting views on the role it should play in public policy. C3.5.5: Evaluate the actual influence of
public opinion on public policy. C3.5.7: Explain the role of television, radio, the press, and the internet in political communication. C3.5.9: In making a decision on a
public issue, analyze various forms of political communication (e.g., political cartoons, campaign advertisements, political speeches, and blogs) using criteria like
logical validity, factual accuracy and/or omission, emotional appeal, distorted evidence, and appeals to bias or prejudice. C6.1.2: Locate, analyze, and use various
forms of evidence, information, and sources about a significant public policy issue, including primary and secondary sources, legal documents (e.g., constitutions, court
decisions, state law), non-text based information (e.g., maps, charts, tables, graphs, and cartoons), and other forms of political communication (e.g., political cartoons,
campaign advertisements, political speeches, and blogs). C6.2.1: Describe the relationship between politics and the attainment of individual and public goals (e.g., how
individual interests are fulfilled by working to achieve collective goals). C6.2.2: Distinguish between and evaluate the importance of political participation and social
participation.
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create (p. 516 Woolfork)

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

-knowledge from previous lessons on political issues (for project)

-creative juices to develop project
Pre-assessment (for learning):

-informal hand raising exercise to show not everyone cares about issues the same way or is informed
Formative (for learning):

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

-Political messages will be shown in front of class, student will see firsthand how effective/ineffective
their message is.

What barriers might this

lesson present?

Provide Multiple Means of

Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible
-students read a pair of articles then
see examples on youtube

Provide Multiple Means of Action

and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction
-students may use phone to record
video or audio of their political
message

Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression
-students will create a poster or
advertisement on their phone as a
group to convey a political message
advocating or stopping an issue

What will it take

neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

Formative (as learning):

-student responses to other presentations will indicate how much students are understanding
Summative (of learning):
-Student political message media project will be graded using the provided rubric.

-students will work at breaking

down political messages and
identifying their underlying
message
9-15-14

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats
-distractions are minimized by
having students watch on the screen
up front, instead of individually.
-Everyone has seen annoying
political ads, relevant in keeping
students informed
Provide options for sustaining effort
and persistence- optimize challenge,
collaboration, mastery-oriented
feedback
-students need to collaborate
together on poster/video/audio

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

-use issues from the Simulation or
current events
-patterns will arise upon viewing
other groups work.

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

How will your classroom

be set up for this lesson?

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and

strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

-short term goal: make a fun,

lighthearted project to represent
the media's role in public
opinion
long term goal: students can
discern political messages to
identify their target or biases.

-seeing their message in front of

the class & the class's reaction
will let them assess the
effectiveness of their message.

Note Packet pages 54-57

-The Development of Public Opinion (p. 54)
-New Poll Finds Growing Unease on Health Plan (p. 55)
-Competing Ads on Healthcare Plan Swamp the Airways (p. 56)
-Source 3 (p. 57)
-Poster board, Markers, crayons, etc.
-phone (optional) or flip video camera
-Message Rubric handout
6 tables; 5/6 students per table. Students will be able to move around the room for their project, but
tables should not move much.

III. The Plan

Time

Components
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

10

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Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
-Ask students to raise their hand if they are
-raise hand when they hear an issue that they are
passionate about a certain issue: gay rights,
passionate about
abortion, immigration, foreign policy, education,
healthcare, etc.
-Ask students if they know as much about the
issues they are not passionate about compared to
the ones they are.
-Read The Development of Public Policy (p. 54)
-Point out that not everyone is at the same point in
in their note packet
forming their opinions on an issue.
-A big determining factor in how much a citizen
knows about an issue is its relevance to them and
how much they care about it.
-This lesson explores how the media works to
convince them they should care or see its relevance
-Begin with lobbyists people who care and work
to convey opinions of constituents or corporations
-Watch clips & be ready to contribute opinion if
to people working on Legislation.
called up in discussion
-Show youtube clips to elaborate:
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=R2DUM6jVasw
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=aTbtKRdYbYo
-Our class example will be on health care policy
-In what ways do these ads seek to persuade public
opinion?
Show youtube clips:
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Dt31nhleeCg

-watch clips, looking for ways public opinion is

being persuaded. How does the media try to connect
or make it relevant to the viewers? What tactics?

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=RGvkZszS21Y&feature=related
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=e3Y3JVitUcs&feature=channel
(Harry & Louise commercials)
-What position does this commercial represent?
-How might this influence public opinion?

10

Note Packet p. 55-57 has 4 different

advertisements, each group is assigned one.

-students break into four groups, each group

examines a different source on p. 55-57. Be able to
answer these questions:
-What position does this commercial represent?
-How might this influence public opinion?
-How do you know?
-Go around the group and share results

10
-Number members of each group into groups of 4
(two from each advertisement group)

-Engage class discussion on media's role in the

political process. Use these questions to guide
discussion:
-How do the media influence public policy?
-What role SHOULD the media play?
-How influential should public opinion be in
shaping public policy?
-Should public policy always be dictated by
public opinion? Then what is role of elected
officials? Constitution?

20
-Introduce Political message project
-Students get to play the role of the media!
-Pass out rubric
-Assist any project-making as best as possible
10-15

Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

-Actively listen & engage in discussions

-Go around re-shuffled groups addressing the
questions above
-Fill in notes around each source with answers to
questions above

-Group political message/advertisement/poster

project can be completed in groups no bigger than 3
people per group.
-Be creative choosing issue, message sent, etc.
-Students will have 20 minutes, give or take.
(Extra Credit for any student who wishes to take
their project home and compete it more
thoroughly/intricately)

-Collect and facilitate presentations

-Present project to the class

-Pay attention to other student's project

-Bring closure to discussion.

-One last reflective writing in note packet:

-The publics explicit task is to decide not what
government shall do, but rather who shall decide
what government shall do. Do you agree or
disagree with this quote? Explain.

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
This lesson should be pretty straight forward. There are lots of videos to keep students' attention and the project should be
enjoyable. It should also hit close to home because every student has watched, heard, or seen political advertisements before.
Students get to be creative which is always fun to see. I foresee this lesson could be unpredictable and I should be flexible to
allow students adequate time to complete their project. I need to prepare by gathering materials that may be scattered all
over. I believe this is a good project because it allows students to be creative but is also relevant. I also think that the concepts
of this project will stick with them better than listening to a lecture.

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