Project Based Unit: The Principles and Origins of American Government
Course: American Government
Essential Question:
What are the most significant principles in American Government and what are their historical origins?
What are the most significant principles in American Government and what are their historical origins?
Project Description:
Student groups must create a project that answers the essential question without group members being present. That being said, the project will be presented to an evaluation panel consisting of community leaders, politicians, business leaders, and experts to be determined. The type of project is up to the group--Students may use any medium available to present their research.
Student groups must create a project that answers the essential question without group members being present. That being said, the project will be presented to an evaluation panel consisting of community leaders, politicians, business leaders, and experts to be determined. The type of project is up to the group--Students may use any medium available to present their research.
Process and Procedures:
- Day 1: Evaluate Essential Question (Guided Inquiry)
- Individually, students participate in an activity where they evaluate the essential question in two, ten minute, free write activities pertaining to the following questions:
- "What do we know about the essential question already?"
- "What do we need to know in order to answer the essential question effectively?"
- Upon completion of those tasks, students move to group work, where they discuss and combine their questions onto a group work space (In this case, a group notepad).
- Class Discussion: Student groups share their research questions with the class. Note that all questions are written on the board or typed onto a Google Doc exactly as stated by the students with very little discussion.
- This electronic document or photo of class research questions is shared with students online via the learning management system and posted on the board throughout the unit.
- Individually, students participate in an activity where they evaluate the essential question in two, ten minute, free write activities pertaining to the following questions:
Student Examples:
What do we know about the essential question? |
Student Examples:
What do we need to know in order to answer the essential question? |
Class Discussion: Research Questions--Shared and displayed throughout project online and posted in classroom
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Day 2: Collaborative Work Space Organization/Team Building
- Delegate Roles
- Group Record Keeper--Organizes and Records Group Work
- Group Advisor--Communicates Group Needs with Teacher
- Group Presenter--Communicates with Class when Required
- Associates--Other Assigned Tasks as Needed and Substitute for Absences
- Create nameplate(s) with role and hang them in public workspace (10 Minutes)
- Create Logo and hang in work space
- Create Shared Folder in Google Drive--Group Record Keeper
- Title Folder: Class Period Number: Unit 1 Project (Group Member Names)-- ex. 3rd Hour: Unit 1 Project (Mr. Anton)
- Share with all group members
- Share with Mr. Anton
- Create Group Google Doc for Group Assignments--Group Record Keeper
- Title Google Doc: Groupwork: Unit 1 Project (Group Member Names)--ex. Groupwork: Unit 1 Project (Mr. Anton and Mrs. Miller)
- Create Individual Google Doc for Individual Work--Each Individual
- Title Google Doc: Last Name, First Initial: Unit 1 Project
- Share with Mr. Anton
Examples after Work Space Creation/Team Building Day
Day 3: What are the principles of American Government?
- Individually research the question: "What are the most significant principles of American Government?" (25 Minutes)
- Log the following in your individual Google Doc
- Provide a brief list of CREDIBLE websites where you got your information
- You must address AT LEAST three different websites for your information
- Include the title and direct URL of the website as the title, and briefly explain each website says about the question as well as the difference in information that each site has compared to the others
- Based on the information that you got from your resources, provide a list of 8-10 Principles of American Government and a brief definition (in your own words of each)
- Group Collaborative Assignment: On group notepad or Group Google Doc, combine your work and compile a list of all group member findings and identify which are the six most significant principles of American Government in your opinion
Day 4: What are the principles of American Government?
- Class Collaboration: "What are the most significant principles of American government?"
- Answer Garden--What were the six most significant principles that your group came up with?
- Group Presentation: Group Presenters will place and reveal their most significant principles one at a time and attach them to their public workspace IN ORDER OF SIGNIFICANCE. Groups will rotate until all principles that the class has come up with are revealed.
- All class principles will be placed on a class Google Doc and printed for display after class by Mr. Anton
- As a group, decide if you are happy with the order of significance and reorder on public workspace if necessary.
- Delegate Principle Research--Place names of researchers next to principle on list in notepad
- Distribute each of the top principles from your group to your group members. Each group member should have two principles to research
- Individual Principle Research--Individual Google Doc
- Become an "expert" on your two principles. Each group member should locate three definitions for each principle from a credible source, list each definition and source, then create a definition that all group members will understand.
Examples of Work Spaces after Day 4: What are the principles of American Government?
Day 5: What are the principles of American Government?
- Evaluate and by walking around the room, and look at what the other groups in both classes listed as the most significant principles. (10 Minutes)
- As a group and on your group notepad, answer the question: "Which principles did other groups identify as most significant that you did not?"
- These should be delegated to a group member in the next step
- Delegate two principles that your group came up with to each group member (5 Minutes)
- Individual Research of Two New Principles
- In Individual Google Doc, use three different resources (list them) to come up with a definition for each of you two delegated principles
- Group Discussion: Does your principle list on your public workspace need to be changed? Change it if so on your group workspace. You should have a total of principles equal to the number of group members multiplied by two. (10 Minutes)
Days 6-7: Individual Principle Research: Visual Definitions
- Goal: Create a visual representation of each of the signficant principles that your group has identified. (20 Minutes each/40 Minutes)
- The goal is to sell each principle as the most important of all of them
- Think about advertising and how businesses advertise to make their products attractive and apply this concept
- Use color and make them attractive--Be sure the principle is clearly indicated and visible
- You should create a visual picture/diagram definition of your two principles that helps to explain them to your group and classmates
- This will help you down the road as you begin trying to explain each principle in the project that you create later in this process
- Take a picture of each visual and paste it to your group Google Doc--Two Principles
- Replace your "Principle Notecards" on your collaborative wall workspace.
- The goal is to sell each principle as the most important of all of them
- Individual Assignment:
- In Individual Google Doc: Write your own definition of each principle based on your group members' visual definitions.
- Evaluate the clarity of the visual representation of each principle--How easy is it to determine what the vocabulary word means based on the visual that they created?
Student Examples: Visual Definitions of Principles of American Government
Student Resources:
Student Expectations and Requirements:
- Your group must create a clear thesis and argument that answers the essential question.
- Your group research, and presentation of that research in the project, should include a significant amount of primary sources and an analysis of those sources.
- Your group research and presentation should clearly connect your resources to your thesis and argument and be organized in a thoughtful manner.
- Your group must cite and give credit to ALL outside sources located in your project.
- All citations must be listed with the source and included in bibliography. You may use MLA or Chicago formatting for citations and bibliography.
- Your group is expected to use formal writing in the final project (Spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.).
- Your group, and yourself as an individual, are required to complete daily tasks and assignments in order to stay on pace and complete the project successfully. Be sure to stay on top of deadlines and daily tasks. Getting behind will have a negative effect on the quality of the project and grade.
- Individually, you are a part of a group. You are expected to cooperate and collaborate with them in order to create the best project possible.
- You are REQUIRED to be a part of your group and take a role in the presentation of your project. If you have an unexcused absence on that day, you will lose the 50% of the total project grade. The presentation date will be released very early. MAKE SURE NOT TO MAKE ANY APPOINTMENTS ON THAT DAY.
- Dress appropriately for the presentation day—Business Casual (Google it). You will be making an impression on community members, college professors, experts in the field, and government officials.
Grading:
- Evaluation of your final project presentation by members of the community, experts in the field, and by Mr. Anton (50%)
- Individual contribution and use of class time as observed by teacher (15%)
- Individual contribution and use of class time from feedback of group members (15%)
- Evaluations of the group project by classmates—Practice Presentation (10%)
- Average of all group members’ scores on the unit test that accompanies the project (10%)