LESSON PLAN12

Subject: Social Studies

Grade: 9
Lesson: Position Paper
SLOs: Possible ones for students to address:

Date: April 16th, 2014

Time: 50 mins (x4)

9.2.3 appreciate the impact of government decision making on quality of

life
9.2.4 compare and contrast the principles and practices of market and
mixed economies by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions
and issues:

What are the principles of a market economy?

Why do governments intervene in a market economy?

Why is Canada viewed as having a mixed economy?

What is the role of the consumer in market and mixed economies?

How has the emergence of labour unions impacted market and mixed economies?

How do the economic systems of Canada and the United States differ in answering the basic
economic question of scarcity?

9.2.5 assess, critically, the relationship between consumerism and quality

of life in Canada and the United States by exploring and reflecting upon
the following questions and issues:

What are the indicators of quality of life?

How does marketing impact consumerism?

How does consumerism provide opportunities for and limitations on impacting quality of
life?

Instructional Objectives:
Knowledge:
Students will demonstrate their position on an overarching topic through a position paper,
drawing on concepts explored throughout the chapter
Skill:

9.S.1 develop skills of critical thinking and creative thinking:

evaluate, critically, ideas, information and positions from multiple perspectives

re-evaluate personal opinions to broaden understanding of a topic or an issue

9.S.7 apply the research process:

integrate and synthesize concepts to provide an informed point of view on a research question or
an issue

develop a position supported by information gathered during research

organize and synthesize researched information

9.S.8 demonstrate skills of oral, written and visual literacy:

communicate in a persuasive and engaging manner through speeches, multimedia presentations

and written and oral reports, taking particular audiences and purposes into consideration

use skills of informal debate to persuasively express differing viewpoints regarding an issue

Key Questions:
Which economic system (mixed or market) do you feel would benefit your quality of life
more as a citizen and consumer?
Explain your answer, and be sure to pull in information and concepts from that we have gone
over in the chapter.
Materials:
Position Paper Organizer
Smart board
PowerPoint (parts of a position paper)
Final Assignment Overview sheets
Preparation:
Make PowerPoint
Print organizer sheets
Print Assignment sheets
Adaptations:
Coded students and those who need modified work will still be doing the same assignment,
however, they will not be expected to go into the same detail as everyone else. The length of
their paper will be shorter as well, and all of this will be taken into consideration when marking.

For my ESL students they will be working on a different assignment as a whole that will be
explained elsewhere.
Lesson Procedure:
Intro
I am going to write You Decide on the board to get the students attention
I will explain that now we are going to get into our final assignment, which will be a
position paper.
I will then gather general information about their experiences with writing papers:
o Who has written a paper before? What type of paper was it?
o Has anyone heard of a position paper? If so, what do you know about them?
Let students know that they will have three classes devoted to working on this.
Body
I will hand out their final assignment and a planning guide, and we will go over it as a
class to ensure everyone knows what is expected of them
I will then begin to go over the parts of a position paper and what needs to be included
Once everyone is comfortable with what they need to do, they will begin choosing their
position on the question and filling in their paper organizer to help them establish what
they want to say
Students will then begin writing their papers when I have checked over their organizer
(this will take place over the next 3 classes)
Closure
Ask students how their papers are coming along, and where they are in the process
I am going to do a blind poll (closed eyes) as to who chose which side of the position to
gauge their overall feelings towards mixed and market economies
I will then find out if students would like to have computers to type up their papers on
Inform students that next class we will be working on these papers again
Assessment:
During the writing process I will be formatively assessing students through observation and
questions. I will also be using their planning sheets to see what their position is, and thoughts are
on the question, as well as the information that they are pulling in to support their position. The
final product will be used as their summative assessment for this unit.
Lesson Reflection: