U.S. Government

We have been working on our U.S. Government unit for the last two weeks. Because our school doesn't have a set block of time for science and social studies (instruction is integrated through reading and writing) I have had to come up with some creative ways to fit it all in. Usually I use leveled readers on a specific topic during our small group guided reading time. We tie in whatever reading strategy we are currently working on. In addition, we use early release days and some Fridays to complete projects, experiments, etc.

Last week, my class focused on United States symbols and their meanings. We read several informational books about symbols, completed a U.S. "Passport" (requiring students to look up and record facts on specific symbols), and conducted an experiment (by far the class favorite!!) on why the Statue of Liberty is green. 

This week our focus was on how government is formed and the three branches of government.We started out by reading a book and discussing topics such as citizens, laws, and government leaders.  We then watched a video called, Our U.S. Government from Discovery Education.  The students used a note taking page that I downloaded from buzzingwithmsb.blogspot.com to record facts on. When the video was over we went over the most important facts and checked each other's notes.  This is what the note taking page looked like...

The next day I used something I saw on Pinterest and combined it with some ideas I already had to make these AWESOME government bags...

I pinned a link from polka dots & pencils that had a similar idea. I then remembered I had a tree and branch outline from an Amy Lemons Main Idea unit that I had purchased last year. I gave each student a copy of the trunk and leaves. They used their note taking page from the previous day to make their own "Three Branches of Government" bags. We opened up the bags and stapled them to the bottom of our social studies bulletin board. I had my intern cut out A TON of stars and United States outlines using our die cut machine. I am placing the cutouts in the independent reading center along with several leveled readers relating to our government topics. As the students read they can record facts that they learn and then place them into their bags. At the end of our unit they will each have a bag full of fun facts that they can take home and share with their parents! Here is what the final board looked like...

 



These are some of the books that the kids read this week. They were busy searching for facts, discussing with their partners, and adding to their bags!!!