Subjects: Civics/government, US history
Grade Level(s): 6-8
Time Frame: 3, 50-minute periods
Objectives:
1.0 Overall: Students will identify significant Senate
members and Senate accomplishments, decide which events or
milestones they believe are most significant, make judgments
about what to include in telling history, and visualize notable
milestones in Senate history by creating timeline.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: CongressLink lesson plans are
built around Bloom's taxonomy (click here for
detailed information about this taxonomy).
2.0 Knowledge: Students understand that history we
read is always a set of decisions made on what to include and
what not to include.
3.0 Understanding: Students understand reading by reading “Facts
and Milestones.”
4.0 Application: Students report different facts and
milestones of the Senate to each other.
5.0 Analysis: Students select the 3 milestones or facts
from each section they think are most important.
6.0 Synthesis: Students construct a timeline to visualize
their new history of the Senate.
7.0 Evaluation: Students evaluate which one fact or
milestone is most significant to know and justify why.
Procedures/Sequences
Class 1
Begin with journal question for students to write about individually:
How do we decide what events, people, or ideas to include
when we tell about history? How do we decide what to include
and what not to include? Discuss student responses. With
a partner, students read "Facts and Milestones." After reading
each section, students should report back to each other the
facts or milestones they have just read about. Then, each
student decides which 3 events or milestones are most significant
for someone to know about the Senate. The students should
deliberate with each other about which ones are most important,
but should make an individual decision. The students should
highlight or underline the 3 from each section they think
are most important. (Since there are 4 sections to the reading,
students should end up with a total of 12 events or milestones
selected.)
Class 2
Review with students the characteristics of a timeline (ie,
dates are in chronological order, gives brief overview with
descriptions, etc.). Using the 12 events they have selected,
students will now create a timeline. For each event, they
should write the date, a brief description of the event or
milestone in their own words, and draw a picture that illustrates
the event. Students should make a rough draft first to plan
out and space the events on the timeline.
Class 3
Students should take out their completed timelines. In journal,
each student should write an answer to this question: If
I were to tell someone else the one most important thing
for them to know on my timeline, which one event would it
be and why? After ample writing time for students, put students
in groups and have them discuss their choices and justification.
Each group should come up with one event they can all agree
on as most important, or explain why they are unable to come
to consensus. Each group reports its findings to the class.
At the end of class, give students a notecard: have them
write one final time-after all the discussions, which one
event do you think is most important and why?
Materials:
"Senate Briefings: Facts and Milestones" [http://www.senate.gov/learning/brief_1.html]
National Standards Addressed by Lesson [based on National
Standards for Civics and Government, Center for Civic Education,
1994. Citation based on section, subsection, standard of the
document]:
I. D. 1. Shared powers and parliamentary systems
II. B. 3. Diversity in American society
III. A. 1. Distributing, sharing, and limiting powers of the
national government
Evaluation/Assessment: See: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_rubric.pdf
Author(s):
Hilary G. Conklin
This project is supported by a Robert H. Michel Civic Education
Grant sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin, IL
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