Lesson Plan

Unit Topic: U.S. History/Government

Grade: High School (11^th & 12^th)

Lesson Topic: The Amendments

Objectives:

• The students will be able to understand the fundamentals of each amendment.
• The students will be able to be aware of the rights they have as citizens granted by the amendments.
• The students will be able to name an event or Supreme Court case correlated with each amendment.

Instructional Technique:

• Class discussion
• Amendment Adventures – an interactive web-based game

Instructional materials:

• A computer for each student

Theoretical Perspective:

As the students make their way into the real world it is crucial that they have an understanding of the laws and rights we have as a citizen of the United States.

Previous Topics Covered:

•   Day 1: Introduction to the amendments and how amendments get passed into law.
•   Day 2: Discuss the amendments and fundamentals of each one.
•   Day 3: Discuss the events and some Supreme Court cases involving the amendments.
•   Today: Amendment Adventures to reinforce what has been taught in the previous days.
•   Day 5: Have students create an amendment they would like to see in the Constitution.

Procedure:

• Introduction:
• When class period begins the teacher will start off by asking students if they have any questions about anything that we covered in the previous classes.
• Students will then be instructed to go to the computer lab.
• Development:
• When in the lab, students will open up Amendment Adventures.
• The teacher will be walking around the classroom and answering any student questions they may have when they are playing the game. This should take about 15-25 minutes.
• Closing:
• After the class has completed the game, a class discussion will be held about what the students found interesting, suggestions they may have to make the game better, and if the links were helpful or not.
• Adaptations:
• If a student needs one to one help with the game another adult will be in the room to guide them through the game.
• Homework:
• Students will be asked to make up a question with a correct answer and three incorrect answers to be added to the game. They will also be asked to supply two or three websites that will help someone learn more about the topic of their question.

• Evaluation: 
• Students will perform self-evaluations of their learning and what they need help with through the game. There will be no formal evaluation for this lesson itself.