• Context
• Lesson-Specific Standards
• Teaching the Lesson
• Assessment
• Lesson Materials
• Resources

Scheduling and Adaptations

The ideal timing for this lesson is a block schedule with a double period of 90 or 100 minutes. In a traditional 45-minute period, you would probably need an entire week, with very specific goals for each day, e.g., two days of research, one day to put together the visual organizers and prepare for the presentation, one day for the presentations themselves, and another day to develop consensus on the Student Issues Agenda.

Because this is a senior class, most of the students are at or near voting age, which provides a built-in motivation. To use the lesson with younger students, you might begin with a project in which students get to know their community and then connect what they learn to local government.

The lesson naturally adapts to students with different ability levels and different learning styles, although teachers need to be aware of what the individual strengths of students actually are. Depending on their skills and learning styles, different students can concentrate on creating visuals, conducting Web research, writing, constructing a survey, and so forth.

Overview, Goals, and Planning    |     Activity 1
Activity 2     |     Activity 3     |     Activity 4     |     Student Voices Forum
Scheduling and Adaptations