Heather Phillips

EDEC4030
Integrated Unit Extension Project
Wrapping up this integrated unit, I am very pleased by how it turned
out. I believe this 4 lesson unit on presidents will kick start the students civic
understanding of their country, as well as keep them engaged in the content.
I believe the lessons flow together well and the whole unit is very studentdriven. The class has the power to lead discussions within the lessons and
dig deeper into the information that most interests them.
During the creation of this unit, the InTASC standards played a major
role and were used in many aspects of instruction. Nearly all the lessons
allow space for learner differences and give the students opportunities to
have meaningful educational experiences in a variety of ways. In lesson one
of the unit, the students are able to chose how they prefer to research the
president. The teacher will give the class many book, website, and video
options for them to choose from, and each student will research the
presidents in the way that benefits them most. Also, during the assessment
of this first lesson the students have the ability to write what they learned on
an online Padlet or on a physical sticky note. Throughout the unit a variety of
assessment methods are used to monitor the students progress. I
understand that each child learns and reflects their knowledge differently, so
the lessons include many different means of assessment. The students may
be monitored during a whole group discussion, have to post a new

understanding to a class website, or play a Kahoot game to illustrate their

progress. When planning instruction for this unit, I really tried to build each
lesson off of what the students learned in the previous days teaching. For
example, in lesson one the students identify some of the different jobs and
responsibilities of the president. Then in lesson two the students will explore
and study many people who assist the president in these jobs. Also this unit
requires cross-disciplinary skills and allows the students to connect their
social studies knowledge with mathematic concepts. In lesson three the class
has a mock election for two fictional characters they read a story about.
During the election the students must calculate and graph the number of
votes for each candidate.
For the units extension project, the students will explore more about
the different aspects of the election process, especially as it relates to the
2016 election. Although I did not teach this unit to my students, they have
expressed a great deal of interest in the current election. I believe
connecting what they learn about the election process during the unit with
the current election would help the students have a better understanding of
our countrys democracy. Once the students have finished the unit, we would
begin to follow the current candidates in their campaign for presidency. We
would look at the candidates in the running and discuss their ideas about
becoming president. The class would create an election timeline together to
hang in the classroom. As the election progresses the class will record the
results of the primaries and color United States maps based on the winners.

Additionally, the teacher will lead the class in a discussion on what the
primaries are and how they work. The students would be able to apply what
they previously learned about the electoral college and general election to
create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the primaries and general
election. The diagram and participation in discussion would serve as means
of assessment to cumulate the unit.