Madeline+Wayham

Lesson 6 from SCoPE Colonial Government: Foundations of Self Government http://www.oakland.k12.mi.us/scope/fifth_lessons/index.html

SCoPE has many resources for 5th grade English and Language Arts. Lesson 6 is part of a sequence called Colonial Government. The point of this activity is to understand how current government evolved, and to learn about how colonial people governed themselves.

There are 21 steps in this activity, and some of them require additional materials listed in the lesson plan. First the class brainstorms what a government is, and then in small groups they describe how this relates to governments they have previously learned about, such as the House of Burgesses, Mayflower Compact, and New England town meetings. Then they compare these and look for things they have in common. Next, as a class discuss, "representative government", the "direct democracy". After have them simulate a town meeting where everyone is assigned a role, and they try to plan a new school. Then explain that each colony had their own government, and the amount of involvement the king had. Have them think about what each of the different governments of the colonies had in common. Discuss the responsibilities of the government, and its structure. also talk about the local governments, and how they used voting. Explain how the colonists rights were structured, and talk about the bill of rights. Then apply previously learned knowledge to the trial of John Peter Zenger. Also talk about the Navigation Acts.To assess how much the students absorbed have them make a Venn diagram of colonial government and today's government. [|signingdec.jpg]

Response by Katherine Gregory

I like the idea of using role playing and imagination to enrich the students' learning. When first reading this activity though, it seems like it might be confusing because of the lengthy number of steps included in the lesson. I think reiterating each step and making sure to do one thing at a time would be helpful for the students - but also reminding them of the broad, end product. I clicked on the link you listed to view your lesson plan and it just took me to the index of all the lesson plans. I think it might be helpful if you could post the exact lesson if possible. Overall though, I think this would be a good find and learning through experience - or in this case simulation - is great.

Response by Alyssa Stutzer

Although this lesson seems to be long containing 21 steps but it also seems to flow very well for the students to learn best. I really like the idea of having the students create their own government in a new school where the students must play their own role. I think this lesson would have to be adapted into each classroom and each teacher must look at the individual activities to pursue a well thought out lesson for their students dealing with precious timing.

Response by Justin Cummings

Role playing is very beneficial for younger students because it keeps them involved in the activity at hand, but the number of steps that are involved may make them frustrated with the activity. Keeping them on track would be difficult, therefore keeping them focused on the task at hand would be a must.