Part One: Justification and Purpose for Teacher Preparation of Student Materials

Justification and Purpose of Repetition of Key Content Vocabulary Words

Barbie dolls. You could dress one up in any number of outfits,  add shoes, handbags, and other accessories. Someone could play for hours with the same doll by dressing it up in a hundred different ways! The same could be said of one content vocabulary word-especially if it has multiple meanings.

All students (especially second language learners like those I instruct) benefit from the repeated use of key content vocabulary words in a variety of paradigms to access them both inside and outside the regular classroom. 

Key content vocabulary words (like Barbie dolls)  can and should be "dressed up" (presented and practiced) in different ways for students to successfully access, understand, and use the same words across all academic disciplines. 

Sentence Strips

Write each content vocabulary word on one side of a sentence strip and include images or other realia to be posted in the classroom in a visible location for students to refer to throughout the presentation of this unit.

On the reverse side of the sentence strip for each content word, write: 

• a definition
• a sentence-which provides students context clues so they can access its meeting when they see  it in isolation or in a reading passage. 
• the word's part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc,)
  
• forms of the word (past tense, plural, etc.)
  

(Words in bold print will help students focus on signal words to aid them in recalling the word's definition). 

Government-A government is a group of elected individuals who lead and make decisions for the people from a specific city,  state,  or country.  

Election-An election is an event for people to decide or choose someone to represent them at the local, state, or national level in the United States of America.

Legislative Branch-The legislative branch writes the laws of  a city, state, or country.

Executive Branch-The executive branch enforces the laws of a city, state, or country.

Judicial Branch-The judicial branch interprets the meaning of a law (or laws) and how they apply in situations called cases.

Key Content Vocabulary Words: 

Government-A government is a group of elected individuals who lead and make decisions for the people from a specific city,  state,  or country.  

Election-An election is an event for people to decide or choose someone to represent them at the local, state, or national level in the United States of America.

Branches of Government-Imagine a tree with three great branches. They are separated yet united because they have the same root system in the tree. The tree represents a local, state, or national government. Each of the three large branches represents a branch or section of government. 

Executive-the executive branch enforces the laws of the city, state, or country.

Judicial-the judicial branch interprets the meaning of a law or laws and how they apply in situations called cases

Legislative-the legislative branch writes the laws

Part Two: Background Building/Activating Schema/Teacher Introduction and Presentation of Topic 

• Essential Questions: 
• What is a government? 
• A government is a group of elected individuals who lead and make decisions for the people from a specific city,  state,  or country.  
• What are the three branches of government? 
• The three branches of government are the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial  branch.
• What does each branch of the government do? 
• The legislative branch writes the laws, the judicial branch interprets the meaning of a law or laws and how they apply in situations called cases, and the executive branch enforces the laws of the city, state, or country.
• What is an election?
• An election is an event for people to decide or choose someone to represent them at the local, state, or national level in the United States of America.
• Why is it important to choose our leaders? 
• Choosing our leaders helps our opinions, ideas, and decisions about different topics be discussed and carried out. 
• How does having a good government help people at the local, state, and national levels?
• Having a good government helps people at the local, state, and national levels because elected leaders represent the group which has elected them into office.

Key Content Vocabulary Words: 

Government-A government is a group of elected individuals who lead and make decisions for the people from a specific city,  state,  or country.  

Election-An election is an event for people to decide or choose someone to represent them at the local, state, or national level in the United States of America.

Branches of Government-Imagine a tree with three great branches. They are separated yet united because they have the same root system in the tree. The tree represents a local, state, or national government. Each of the three large branches represents a branch or section of government. 

Executive-the executive branch enforces the laws of the city, state, or country.

Judicial-the judicial branch interprets the meaning of a law or laws and how they apply in situations called cases

Legislative-the legislative branch writes the laws