LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date Lesson Title Grade Level

April 1, 2022 Local Government-Decision making 6

Time in Lesson 20-30 minutes Subject Humanities Lesson #

Developed by
Melanie Lee Kim Gnok

IDENTIFY DESIRED RESULTS

Learner Outcomes from the Program of Studies
What are the SPECIFIC outcomes to be addressed in this lesson?

Values and Attitudes:

- 6.1.1 recognize how individuals and governments interact and bring about change within their
local and national communities
Knowledge and Understanding:
- 6.1.4 analyze the structure and functions of local governments in Alberta by exploring and
reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
- 6.1.5 analyze the structure and functions of Alberta’s provincial government by exploring and
- reflecting upon the following questions and issues

Objective in student-friendly language Assessment Strategies

What will students understand/experience/appreciate as a result of this What will I accept as evidence of learning/development? Have I employed
lesson? formative assessment? Do I make use of prior assessments in this lesson?

By the end of this lesson, students will… - at the end of the lesson, students are asked the following:
- Answer the following questions (in full sentences):
- understand the different aspects of local government - Why is allowing members of the public to attend most local
- recognized their rights and abilities as citizens government committee and council meetings important in a
- understand and acknowledge the purpose of local democracy?
governments. - Is passing a bylaw an example of decision-making by
consensus or compromise? Explain

Personalization/Differentiation
Resources How will you attend to the needs of ALL learners in this lesson?
What materials/resources/technology will be required?
Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)
 - different modes of teaching: slideshow and oral instructions
- slideshow - no time constraints
- providing extra time for activities and notetaking.

LESSON PLAN SEQUENCE

Introduction
How will you ACTIVATE prior knowledge and ENGAGE them in the lesson and how does this lesson connect to prior lessons?

Begin each lesson with the following question:

- what did miss lee talk about last class?
This allows time to reflect on previous concepts and helps students to understand the connection between the last concept and the new
concept.

Learning/Activity Sequence
How will students ENGAGE, EXPLORE, EXPLAIN, ELABORATE, and/or EVALUATE their understandings of the outcomes.

What is the TEACHER doing? What is your plan for the body of What are the STUDENTS doing? How are they engaged while
Approx. time
the lesson? What steps are taken during the lesson? you are teaching the lesson?
Each Friday, students are asked to bring a current event that 10 minutes
Begin the time with current events they heard on the news.
Students are asked to conceptualize what they have learned 5 minutes
Begin each lesson with the following question: previously
- what did miss lee talk about last class?
10 minutes
Teacher-facing instruction about bylaws
Students are asked to write notes to use later 10 minutes
teacher-facing instruction about the local government giving
people a voice.
As an end-question/critical thinking question, the teacher With a partner, students are asked to answer the questions. 10 minutes
will instruct students to answer the following questions:
- Why is allowing members of the public to attend most
local government committee and council meetings
important in a democracy?
Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)
 - Is passing a bylaw an example of decision-making by
consensus or compromise? Explain

Conclusion
How will you ensure students walk away with a sense of understanding the PURPOSE of the lesson and its IMPORTANCE to their learning?

As an end-question/critical thinking question, the teacher will instruct students to answer the following questions:
Why is allowing members of the public to attend most local government committee and council meetings important in a
democracy?
Is passing a bylaw an example of decision-making by consensus or compromise? Explain

PRE-SERVICE TEACHER REFLECTION

OVERALL:
● How do you feel your students experienced this lesson? (Think about things like - clarity, frustration, organization of
materials, classroom set up, your proximity to and interaction with students, flow vs tension)
● Were you successful in reaching all students? How do you know?
● How did you accommodate for diverse learners and those requiring accommodations?
● Were there opportunities to address Indigenous, multicultural and interdisciplinary activities and knowledge?
● What went well and what needs refinement?
● What might you do differently next time?

ASSESSMENT:
● What was your assessment of the learning in this lesson?
● What is your evidence of student understanding?
● How were they able to make explicit and self-evaluate their growing understanding, skills and/or knowledge?
● How did you employ formative assessment for/of/as learning?
● How will this inform your future planning and teaching?

CONSIDER:
Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)
 ● How can you solicit feedback from students to inform your teaching?
● How can you invite your colleagues to give you feedback?
● What is the theory, research and/or resource that contribute to your growth?
● Personal strengths that contributed or hindered this lesson?

Overall, I found that students were engaged with the activities and questions asked during class time. Students had time to participate in
peer-to-peer conversations and activities throughout the lesson. However, one suggestion would be to ensure more opportunities for peer-to-
peer conversations during class discussions instead of having the teacher provide the answer. This allows for more critical and independent
thinking.

Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)