Education Standards
2. The State We're In: Washington (3-5 Edition) Teacher Guide - Chapter 3
3. Teacher Guide - Chapter 3 - Launch
4. Teacher Guide - Chapter 3 - Focused Notes
5. Teacher Guide - Chapter 3 - Inquiry
The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition)
The State We're In: Washington - Teacher Guide Chapter 3 - The Design of Today's Democracy
Overview
While the arrival of explorers and the beginning of the fur trade were going on in the American Northwest, a new nation was being born in the east.
This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 3. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.
Introduction
The United States is a country of laws. The Constitution is the law of the land, and systems of governing stem from it. Voting is the way people participate in elections. Voting rights have changed throughout the history of the United States. People have been included and excluded from voting in elections, but gradually voting rights have increased to include more people and a larger percent of the total population. Because voting rights have been expanded over time, more people have had the opportunity to vote.
In the focused inquiry students will have the opportunity to discover why voting is more inclusive now than at the nation’s founding.
The Design of Today's Democracy
General Overview
Enduring Understanding
The United States is a country of laws. The Constitution is the law of the land, and systems of governing stem from it. Voting is the way people participate in elections. Voting rights have changed throughout the history of the United States. People have been included and excluded from voting in elections, but gradually voting rights have increased to include more people and a larger percent of the total population. Because voting rights have been expanded over time, more people have had the opportunity to vote.
Supporting Questions
Students consider these questions - finding and using evidence to support the Enduring Understanding.
- Who got to vote when the country was founded? Who was left out? How has this changed over time, and why is that important?
- How do all parts of government work separately and together to govern?
- Why are democratic institutions important?
Learning Targets
Students will be able to…
- C2.3.4 Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families.
- C2.4.3 Explain how groups of people make rules to create responsibilities and to protect freedoms
- C4.4.1 Recognize that civic participation involves being informed about public issues, taking action, and voting in elections
Key Vocabulary
A list of key Tier 2 vocabulary words is included here for your students. Teach these using whatever strategy you find works best for your students. Encourage students to incorporate these vocabulary words as they work through the components of the chapter guide and intentionally use them as appropriate in their final products.
- Democracy: people can govern themselves & elect their own leader(s) (p. 35)
- Equal: put the interest of the common good ahead of one’s own interests (p. 36)
- Coverture: when a woman married, she no longer had any legal existence separate from her husband (p. 37)
- Systems of checks & balances: spreading power around to different branches of government (p. 43)
- Rule of law: government is guided by the law, not by what one person, or group of people, wants to do (p. 44)
- Fact: something that is true (p. 49)
- Opinion: a judgment about something, but not necessarily based on facts (p. 49)
- Government: takes care of its citizens, makes national laws, protect basic freedoms of all Americans that are spelled out in the Bill of Rights page 39
- Constitution: a list of principles and laws that say how an organization/government is to be governed (p. 36)
- Equality: a person or thing considered to be the same as another (p. 36)
Task 1: Launch
Hooking students into the content of the chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Launch to students.
- Guide students in answering the prompts on the handout individually and in partners.
- There is no “correct” answer. Encourage the students to explain their thinking with each other
Task 2: Focused Notes
Activating student thinking about the content of the entire chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Focused Notes to students.
- As students read, they will record their understanding, thinking, and questions about the content using the handout. This can be done individually or collaboratively in pairs or small groups.
Task 3: Focused Inquiry
A focused inquiry is a one-to-two-day lesson that will have students engaging in the C3 Framework’s Inquiry Arc. The link below includes both teacher and student documents.
Compelling Question
What does it mean to be equal?
Attribution and License
Attribution
This Teacher’s Guide for The State We’re In: Washington - Chapter 3 was developed by Mary Schuldheisz, School Administrator, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church & School – Federal Way, WA
The downloadable digital version of The State We're In: Washington (Grades 3-5 Edition) by Jill Severn for the League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Print copies of The State We’re In: Washington, may be purchased from the League of Women Voters of Washington website.
License
Except where otherwise noted, Teacher’s Guide - Chapter 3: The State We’re In: Washington, copyright Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, is available under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Sections used under fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) are marked.