COREs ELA Lesson Planning and Preparation Form

Lesson Title: The Capable County

Standards:
Social Studies Standard 4. Civics
Describe how the decisions of the state government affect local government and interact with federal law
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from
the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic
or subject area.
Standard 3 Writing and Composition
a. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
(CCSS: W.4.2)
i. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections;
include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to
aiding comprehension. (CCSS: W.4.2a)
ii. Choose planning strategies to support text structure and intended outcome
iii. Identify a text structure appropriate to purpose (sequence, chronology, description,
explanation, comparison-and-contrast
iv. Organize relevant ideas and details to convey a central idea or prove a point
v. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples related to the topic. (CCSS: W.4.2b)
vi. Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another,
for example, also, because). (CCSS: W.4.2c)
vii. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the
topic. (CCSS: W.4.2d)
viii. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation
presented. (CCSS: W.4.2e)
WIDA
Explain by Presenting information on processes or phenomena from a variety of sources
Elaborating topics with facts, definitions, concrete details, or quotations and examples

Learning Objective(s): Materials:

Students will be able to:
Identify counties as an extension of state
government.
Define Dillons Rule and Home Rule.
Identify the organizational structures and
duties of county government, including the
names and functions of county officials.
Describe the types of services counties
provide.
Compare counties revenue sources.
Student Worksheets-Readings, Review Worksheet, Information
Sheet, Brochure Activity, Map Activity
County Website: http://montezumacounty.org/web/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montezuma_County,_Colorado
Projector
ELL Support:
PowerPoint Visuals

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 COREs ELA Lesson Planning and Preparation Form

Explain the effect of unfunded mandates on Visuals Printable

counties.
Vocabulary Cards

Language Objective for ELs:

Students will be able to orally present their county
brochure.
Students will be able to describe how the county Key Vocabulary:
government works.
county
Students will be able list the departments and county seat
agencies in the county. property taxes
sales tax
fees
unfunded mandates
Dillons Rule
Home Rule
commission

Lesson Source (program, page, etc.):

Adapted from iCivics

Key Background Knowledge: CCSS Instructional Shifts Addressed:

Students have previous understanding of the three Balance of Informational & Literary Text Text-Based Answers
X
branches of the government from previous lessons. Knowledge in the Disciplines Writing from Sources

Students participated in a lunch menu activity to Staircase of Complexity

X Academic Vocabulary
X
create personal background knowledge of the
different levels of government.

Students understand the purpose of counties.

Depth of Knowledge Levels Addressed:

Level 1: Recall & Reproduction
X Level 3: Strategic Thinking & Reasoning

X Level 2: Skills &Concepts Level 4: Extended Thinking

Formative Assessment How will you and your students know if they have met the objectives of the lesson?
The student will be able to create and orally present a county brochure.
Students will be able to complete the My County brochure, using the internet, previous worksheets, and our counties
website page. They will find a variety of facts and information on our county to create a detailed brochure with important
information about our county.

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Summative Assessment
The student will be able to create a brochure describing the different aspects of our county.
The students will have final draft of brochure giving information such as how large, population, description of population,
government structure, county departments, county services, and fun facts.

Teacher actions Student actions

Intro (__5_ minutes) Brief preview/explanation of objective and expectations. Students have three branches of
government infographic on their
Today, we are going to create a brochure about our county.
tables.
Does anyone know what a brochure is?
Students are remembering the
Why do we create brochures?
purpose of a past activity focusing on
I will have a final draft version of the brochure to show the
the branches of the government and
students what the end result expectation is.
previous knowledge of counties.
I will talk about neatness and facts. Noting that we have
Students will brainstorm the reason
already found many of the answers that are expected on the
we create brochures.
brochure.

Model/Demonstration (_20__ minutes) Explicit explanations, think-alouds, visual Students will use their help sheet to
or worked models, small steps working toward mastery, etc. find important information on their
We will complete the first page as a class. brochures.
Focusing on neatness and finding the correct information. Students will focus on being neat
Why should we make sure this is neat and correct? Students will focus on finding correct
o If its false or messy, people wont be interested in your information.
materials.

Guided Practice (_10__ minutes) Checks for understanding/misconceptions, Students compete the second page of
strategies for engagement, and feedback for extending, confirming, and/or correcting the brochure with a partner.
student responses. Students will be using resources to
I will then have the students complete the second page of the help complete information on
brochure as a group. brochure
They will be using information off of their help sheet to find the Students discuss new topics of our
information needed. county through personal observations
There is one new piece of information needed. Students need and background knowledge.
to describe the population.
o Education, lifestyle of citizens, and types of careers
held by citizens
Students can discuss as a group
Monitor Checks for understanding/formative assessment.
I will walk around the room observing what each partnership is accomplishing. Making sure that the students are using
the resources (help sheet and visuals) to assist them in accomplishing this task.

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Adjust Instruction/Re-teaching Support for students who are not mastering the Students will be grouped up differently, if need
concept or skill and/or English language learners or students needing intensification. be, and the process of the activity will be
I will pull the class together as they are finishing up the second page of talked back through. Making sure that they
the brochure. I will use this time to make sure that students understand understand the activity completely and
the task at hand and they understand all of the vocabulary being used. understanding what their findings are.

I will redirect back to all of the resources before them, searching for
clues.
.

Repeat Guided Practice/Monitor/Adjust as Needed Repeat above step as necessary

Depending on where the class is after partner work and having a better
understanding from repeat exposure of information, I would repeat the
process with the more questions from the text and resources given.
I will continue to progress monitor the classroom, making sure
discussion is moving forward.

Independent Practice/Extension/Connections/Tutoring Practice, extensions, or applications of the skills/concepts learned. Tutoring for
students requiring additional support.

I will then have the students complete the remaining pages of the brochure with a partner.
Students that are having a difficult time with vocabulary will be paired up with a partner whom is well versed with the
task.
Upon completion-Students orally present their brochure to their group. (Class presentations would take to too long.

Closure (_5__ minutes) Explicitly connect ideas, concepts, and skills together, and clearly connect to the lesson objective(s).
What is the importance of creating a brochure?
Why is it important to share what you know?
What did this unit of study help us understand?
What should our next step be for our local government?

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