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Ana Hodges

Professor Rippard

TLED 430

22 July 2018

TPACK Template

Subject Virginia and United States Government

Grade Level 12

Type of Online Class This lesson will be for an asynchronous class.


Learning Objective GOVT.5 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the
federal system described in the Constitution of the United
States by
a) explaining the relationship of the state governments to
the national government;
b) describing the extent to which power is shared;
c) identifying the powers denied state and national
governments;
Content

d) examining the ongoing debate that focuses on the


balance of power between state and national
governments.
Online Activity The teacher will provide a short video lecture online about
the powers that both the state and national government have
that the students will watch. The online lecture will also
contain information that explains the relationships between
the state and national governments as well as a description
of the extent to which the powers are shared and denied.
Before the students begin the simulation, they must
complete the online discussion board that consists of two
questions. The required questions would be:
1. Name some of the powers that the federal and state
government has.
2. Name some differences between the state and
federal governments.
The students must answer the questions as well as reply to
two other classmates posts online. Once the students have
listened to the short lecture and complete the online
Pedagogy

discussion board for the pre-simulation questions, the


students will then be asked to participate in a simulation
that focuses on the balance of power between the state and
national governments using Power Play.
To access the simulation, students will go to iCivics.com.
The teacher will assign the simulation to the students so
they can access it without making an account. The
simulation does have to be completed in one sitting
otherwise it will start over. Then each student must choose
a side whether it be state or federal. The students should
attempt the simulation twice, choosing either state or
federal, to learn the arguments for either side so they can
increase their overall understanding.

In Power Play, the students will find that the government


powers are represented by different statues. The students
will argue for three powers in each round. During each
round, the students can see a statue’s description by
clicking the “I” button on the statue. To complete the
simulation, the students coach a team of ‘players’ who will
make different arguments about each power. The students
must read the arguments that the players have made and
then decide on which player will act on his or her argument.
To apply a player’s argument to a power, the students will
click on the statue. Depending on the argument, the player
will try to pull the statue toward your end zone. If the
student chooses a player that made an irrelevant argument,
the statue will not move. If the student chooses a player that
made an argument that could be used for a different power,
the player will fall and leave the field. If the student
chooses a player that made an argument that supports the
other side, the statue will slide towards the opposing end
zone.

For example, if the student chooses state for the first


simulation, in the first round they would argue for three
issues. The issues would be Money and Measures, Local
Governments and Elections, and Courts and Laws. The
students would preview the arguments for each player. One
player’s argument could be “Federal courts would swallow
up the power of state courts until only federal courts
remain.” The student would click on that player and then
pull the Courts and Laws statue. Each time a player is
chosen, the player is cycled out so that a new player comes
in as well as a new argument. In the second round, the three
issues could be Citizenship, Safety and Schools, and
Taxation. The player’s argument could be “Immigrants can
add to the cost of services, so states should decide their own
immigration rules.” The student would choose the
immigration rule and pull the statue. The third round’s
issues could be International Relations and Defense,
Unlisted Powers, and Highways. The student could choose
a player whose argument was “States should be free to
decide what kind of international policies they think work
best” for the International Relations and Defense issue. The
player would then pull that statue towards the states side.

The student can preview the arguments by hovering over


the players. They can hit the “Select” button in order to use
the player or click on “Swap Player” to bring a different
player in that has a different argument. As the students go
through the simulation, they will go through a variety of
arguments for all three issues on the field. Each time a
player is introduced, a new argument is introduced. Once
the students complete the simulation, they will be given a
certificate that they will need to upload on the post-
simulation discussion board.

When students are finished with the simulation, they should


be able to provide arguments on the balance of power
between the state and federal government. The students
should also distinguish what the state and federal
governments power have in common or are different.

The students will be required to complete a post-simulation


discussion board that answers the following two questions.
1. What was the objective of this simulation?
2. In this simulation, you had to choose either the state
or federal government power. Do you think that the
state and national government will always have an
imbalance when it comes to power?
The students are required to answer the questions as well as
respond to two other classmate’s posts. The students will
also be required to upload the certificate that they received
so the teacher will be able to give credit for completing the
simulation.
Technology  “Power Play” simulation on the iCivics website.
https://www.icivics.org/games/power-play
Technology

 Computer
 Headphones and/or speaker

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