Marquette University

Lesson Plan Template (REVISED 8/15/13)

Lesson Title-Bill of Rights (local history of Milwaukee as well as presentation component)
Date 12/6/15
Information in this lesson from (The Bill of Rights by Christine Taylor-Butler).
http://city.milwaukee.gov/erc/About-Us.htm#.Vm4ysSvMAxK

Unit Title-U.S. Constitution

Subject/Grade Level/Lesson Duration

S.S. 4th grade, 50 min. lesson

Section A. Lesson Preparation

Essential Question: Why is it important for the U.S. to have laws and rights for its people?
Rationale Why is it important for students to learn the content of the lesson?
It is important for students to learn the content of this lesson, because it will give
students an opportunity to learn why our country needs a Bill of Rights.
Description of Learners What factors must be considered in order to accommodate the
diversity of learners in your class?
1. What are your students developmental assets? (Cognitive? Physical? Social? Emotional?
Motivational?) There are 24 students in my class at Milwaukee Environmental

Science. More specifically, there are 18 males and 6 females. All of the students
in the class qualify for free breakfast and lunch at school. Many of my students
are average size for their age; however, some of them are on the smaller side.
Cognitively, many of my students are behind. A few of my students are
performing above grade level in math. There are four students in the class who are
identified as having special education needs. Of these students, one of them is
identified as having an emotional behavior disorder, one is identified as being
cognitively delayed and two are identified as having a learning disability. Many of
the students in my class are outgoing and love to engage in conversation with one
another. There are no English Language Learners in the classroom and the
ethnic/racial makeup of my class is 98% African American and 2% White.
Furthermore, some of my students are very motivated to excel in school, while
others have a lack of interest in learning.
2. How can the personal/cultural/community assets of your students can be utilized in this
lesson? In this lesson, my students will have the opportunity to express their beliefs
about why it is important for citizens to have rights, as well as how they feel about the
rights they have today through the U.S. Bill of Rights document.
3. What prior knowledge, skills, and understanding must students have in order to
successfully engage in this lesson? This lesson will be a continuation from lesson three
on the Bill of Rights. With this in mind, students will already have a basic understanding
of the Bill of Rights, including where the Bill of Rights are located and the role that the
government has in the lives of those living in the United States. Therefore, for this lesson

students will need to be able to recall the basic facts and knowledge learned in lesson
three including how the government is involved in the lives of U.S. citizens as well as
knowing how the Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments of the Constitution.
4. What preconceptions/misconceptions/misunderstandings/errors might students have
about the concepts in this lesson? Students may misunderstand why there was a need for
the United States to create a Bill of Rights for citizens. With this in mind, students may
struggle with understanding how Great Britain and the Magna Carta influenced the
United States need for laws and regulations regarding governmental control over its
people.
5. What are individual learning needs in this class? What
supports/modifications/accommodations to instruction or assessment may need to be
made? (Content? Process? Product?) There are four students in the class who are

identified as having special education needs. Of these students, one of them is

identified as having an emotional behavior disorder, one is identified as being
cognitively delayed and two are identified as having a learning disability. In order
to better reach the needs of these students, I will use visual examples throughout
my instruction. These visual examples will include a copy of the Magna Carta as
well as a copy of the Bill of Rights. A storybook will also be incorporated.
Furthermore, through this lesson, each of my students identified as having special
education needs will be given the opportunity to work with and alongside their
fellow classmates. I will assign groups for our class discussion so that students
will be able to learn with and alongside their peers.
6. What might be common preconceptions/misconceptions/errors/misunderstandings
relating to the content of this lesson? How will you identify and address them in this
lesson? Students may misunderstand how the United States was influenced by what had
happened in Great Britain regarding the way citizens were being treated by kings and
queens and the role Parliament eventually took because of how citizens were being
treated. In order to address the misconception I will share with the students a book titled
The Bill of Rights by Christine Taylor-Butler. By sharing this book with students,
students will be able to see on a deeper level why it is imperative for there to be rules and
rights set in place for citizens due to the unfair treatment that can arise otherwise. During
this time, I will also explain to students that the creation of the Magna Carta and
Parliament happened years before the colonists decided to separate themselves from
Great Britain due to the unjust treatment the colonists experienced once they were in the
United States. (
Objectives/Learner Outcomes and Assessments (formal and informal)
1.

List the measurable learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, dispositions) that students are
expected to demonstrate as a result of the lesson?
1. -Students will produce a 3-4 minute presentation on how the U.S. government
resembles that of the Parliament system set up in Great Britain to protect the rights of
the people.
2. Students will explain the different ways the Bill of Rights affect our school
community.

2.

For each of the above outcomes, what ASSESSMENTS will you use to evaluate each of
your learning outcomes? (Give a brief description).
1. (Presentation)- each group of students must answer a list of questions in their
presentation including: what does the U.S. government look like today? How is it set
up? What are the three branches? How do these branches affect the rights of citizens?
How did the U.S. government come to be? How does the U.S. government reflect
Parliament? Why is it important for the U.S. to have a government? What would the
U.S. be like if there was no government?
2. (Explanation)- each group must give a brief explanation that answers the following
questions: What rights do citizens in our community have? How do we know? Why
are these rights important?

Standards Addressed What Core State Standards (English/Language Arts, Math, Disciplinary
Literacy) or Wisconsin model academic standards (Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language)
are specifically addressed in the lesson? Please list the number and text of the standard. If only a
portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the relevant part(s).

B.4.5 Identify the historical background and meaning of important political values such
as freedom, democracy, and justice.
B.4.9 Describe examples of cooperation and interdependence among individuals and
groups
Materials/Resources/Technology List all materials/resources/technology needed to support
instructional procedures in this lesson.
-The Bill of Rights by Christine Taylor-Butler
-Computers for students to use
-Poster boards for students to use
-Copy of the Magna Carta and Bill of Rights
Section B: Introduction to Lesson
Purpose How will you state the purpose of the lesson?
The purpose of todays lesson is to explain how and why the Bill of Rights came into
being.
Prior learning What do students know? What can they do? What are they learning to
do? How will you make connections to prior learning?
-Prior to this lesson, students will have an introductory understanding of the Bill of
Rights and their overall role in relation to the government. They will be able to identify
the location of the Bill of Rights and name the first ten amendments. Furthermore, they
will have a basic understanding of why the United States needed to create a list of rights
for citizens. In this lesson, students will take this knowledge a step further and begin to
understand how Parliament influenced the behavior of the United States regarding the
creation of rights for citizens. In addition, students will explore what the U.S. would
look like if citizens did not have rights.
Connections to personal/cultural/community assets How will you make connections to
your students strengths as a way to motivate students to engage in the learning activities
you have planned? (HOOKS)
-I will begin the lesson by having students write down the rights they have as citizens of
Milwaukee. I will ask students to name the rights they have, upon researching them

online, and have them explain whether or not they feel those rights are important to have
and why. http://city.milwaukee.gov/erc/About-Us.htm#.Vm4ysSvMAxK
Section C: Content/Procedures/Sequence (Include estimated time for each activity)

Content outline
Introduction Activity
(10 min)

How and why did the Bill of

Rights come about?
(15 min)

Group Presentation and Activity

(25)

Instructional strategies/learning tasks/sequence of

activities (include what you and the students will be
doing that supports diverse student needs)
To introduce the lesson, I will have students write in
their notebooks about the rights they feel they have as
students. This will include answering questions such as
how do these rights affect the way schools are run
within Milwaukee and whether or not these rights are
important to have, and why.
Upon completing the introductory activity, I will begin
to explain to students how the U.S. was influenced by
the Great Britains Parliament to bring about a Bill of
Rights. With this in mind, I will introduce the Magna
Carta as well as the reason for Parliament later creating
a bill of rights for its people. As part of this instruction
time, I will read to students The Bill of Rights by
Christine Taylor-Butler to help clarify any confusion
about why Great Britain needed a list of rights for its
people.
Students will create a 3-4 minute presentation pertaining
to the resemblance of Great Britains Parliament and the
structure of the U.S. government, including its role of
protecting the rights of citizens. Within the presentation,
students must answer a series of questions. These
questions include: What does the U.S. government look
like today? How is it set up? What are the three
branches? How do these branches affect the rights of
citizens? How did the U.S. government come to be?
How does the U.S. government reflect Parliament? Why
is it important for the U.S. to have a government? What
would the U.S. be like if there was no government? (I
will assign students to groups for this activity, in
addition to providing visual aids for all group members.
The visual aids will include a copy of the Magna Carta
as well as the Bill of Rights.)

Closing (5min)
I will close the lesson by stressing the value of rights
both within our country and within our own community.

During this time, I will also assign the students

individual assignment, which will be to explain the
different ways the Bill of Rights affect our school
community.

Section D: Closure
Summary of lesson How will you bring the lesson to a close? (One-two statements that
you will say at the end of the lesson) Boys and girls, today the purpose of our lesson was
to explain why and how the Bill of Rights came into being. With this in mind, one is able
to see how Great Britain influenced the United States to create rights for its people so that
citizens would not be ruled unjustly.
Assignment What independent work will be assigned?
I will have students write a paragraph about the different ways the Bill of Rights affect
our school community. Students will use the knowledge they know about the Bill of
Rights, or the first ten amendments, to complete this assignment. I will later collect
student journals to read their entries and check to make sure students answered the
following questions. What rights do citizens in our community have? How do we know?
Why are these rights important?
Section E: Self-Assessment and Reflection (To be completed only if and after you teach the
lesson)

1. Was the lesson successful? What DATA or EVIDENCE support your conclusions?
2. Based on your conclusion above about what your students know and are able to do
(individually and collectively), what next steps in instruction are you planning?
a. For the class as a whole:
b. For individuals with specific learning needs within the class