Purpose/Overview of Unit
 
The purpose of this unit is to empower upper elementary students to understand their role as a citizen of a democracy.  By studying the three branches of our government system, the balance of powers, a comparison of democracy and other forms of government, and by examining their own beliefs and opinions, students will develop skills in critical thinking, leadership, and debate.
 
This unit was created by using the “backwards design” principles in Understanding by Design (Williams, Grant, & McTighe, 2004).  The fourth and fifth grade learning objectives and standards in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCDPI, 2017-2018) was used as a guideline.  Although this is primarily a Social Studies topic, Language Arts and Judaic Studies are integrated throughout this unit.
 
Organization: 
 
The unit is organized into 4 main learning experience strands:

1. Government and Democracy

2. Student Government

3. Opinion/Argumentative Writing

4. The Great Debate

 
Essential Questions:
1. How do the three branches of government affect our lives?
2. How does the United States government compare with other countries' governments?
3. How can I participate in our democracy? 

Unit Length:
Five weeks, plus two days for culmination presentations.
This unit uses 40-minute class periods for Social Studies, 4 days a week.  Students will also work 3 days a week in their separate 75-minute Language Arts classes for Writer’s Workshop, project work, research, and debate preparations. 2-3 class periods will be devoted to learning how to hold a debate. 1-2 Judaic Studies 40-minute classes will be devoted to discussing the ethical dilemmas surrounding the chosen debate topic.

Grade level:
4th and 5th grade
(See options/standards for 3rd and 8th grade students near the end of the unit.)

Learning Context:
This unit is designed for a combined Social Studies class of high-ability 4th graders and 5th graders at a small Jewish community day school in Durham, North Carolina. The social-economic status of our school population is primarily middle class. Most of our students have two working professional parents. Parents are very involved in their children's education and our school community. In this 4th/5th class there are 12 boys and 8 girls. 

Numbers of Students with Personalized Education Plans/differentiated learning needs: 
1- ELL with reading and writing intervention
5- Reading intervention
6- High achievement and/or AIG

Facets of Understanding:
1. Explain
-Students will make connections between the three branches of government and teach others the specific duties of each branch.
2. Interpret
-Students will think about the need for balance of powers and use images, stories, or analogies in nature, sports, school, or other subjects to make sense of our three-branched government. 
3. Apply and Adjust
-Students will apply the idea of a democracy into their own lives and their power to affect change. 
4. Perspective
-Students will engage in a debate about changing a school policy. Students will develop arguments for multiple points of view.
5. Empathy
-Students will examine how other cultures and populations are affected by their different forms of government. 
6. Self-knowledge
​-Students will assess their own understanding and thinking about our United States government and how they can be active in student government and/or our community. 

Overview of differentiation in this unit: 

Content- Students will access information in just-right reading levels. Students will research different topics in greater depth. 

Product- Students will have a menu of options for creating a product to show what they learned, based on student interest. These products will be presented in a culmination event.  Flexible grouping arrangements will be provided. 
Students with learning accommodations will receive a different GRASPS rubric that focuses on learning goals in their Personalized Education Plans. 

Process- Students will have different ways to learn.  Some will watch videos, others will use a web-quest, other students will match descriptions to topic.  Students will be provided with graphic organizers to help them process information.  The graphic organizers will differ in detail and critical thinking task. 

Environment- Students will have the opportunity to work in a space that best suits their learning needs.  For example, students who are rehearsing a play or creating a song will have a space to be loud.  Students who have reading intervention will be pulled out of the classroom to help acquire the information with reading support. Students will have access to technology, graphic organizers, and art supplies, as needed.  The classroom will become a creation space with many learning activities going on at once.