Unit 4: Democracy

Span of Lesson: 6 days

Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Purpose:
Establish how our nation became a democracy and who played a key factor in forming
this democracy (historical figures)
Apply what democracy means to our society today and in our classroom
Explore creative methods in presenting knowledge to a group of students
This project fulfills the standard 3.2.2 that states: identify and know the significance of
fundamental democratic principles and ideals.
Review the meaning of democracy and the key historical figures that played a role in
establishing our democracy
1. Driving question:
What is your driving question?
Which historical figure contributed the most to our nation becoming a democracy?
Background information of this driving question:
The grade level that this lesson is for is third grade. It covers the standard 3.2.2 that
states: identify and know the significance of fundamental democratic principles and ideals. This
lesson should take approximates three class periods. In this lesson we will have the children
create presentations about historical figures that played a key role in the development of our
democracy.The teacher will briefly explain democracy, give an example of one historical figure
who enhanced democracy, and then outline the historical figures each child may choose for their
presentation. The children will then use some form of creative and artistic method to create a
presentation for this figure. These may be posters, songs, videos, or even short skits. The
presentation must be 2-3 minutes long. After this we will have a short socratic seminar in which
the children will discuss the historical figures and which had the greatest impact on democracy.
This will be followed up with a jeopardy game reviewing each figure and the key concepts and
definition of democracy. To conclude this lesson, the children will take a quiz on the democratic
principles and historical figures to test their knowledge.

Why do you think this is a good driving question?

This a good driving question for the students to explore because it effectively allows
them to meets the standard while exploring an in depth question that does not have a clear one
answer solution. They will be required to research the topic in great detail to form their own
opinions about each historical figure. This allows them to think critically while being engaged in
a project that has multiple ways to achieve a solution. It is an authentic connection to historical
figures while also relating to present day democracy and democracy in the classroom, making
this a relevant problem for the students to study. There is one or more plausible solutions because
deciding which historical figure contributed most to democracy is an objective opinion and can
be supported by textual evidence for many figures. They will need to evaluate and analyze their
research to support their claim of which historical figure contributed the most to our nations
democracy. Then they will have to present and defend their opinion to the class on which

historical figure contributed the most to democracy since some students may not share their
opinion.
2. Grabber
What is your grabber?
3 Videos:
School House Rock Preamble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxVUpBukACk
Nickelodeon Democracy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN2Rq6JGVsk
Liberty Kids #38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E78GyzyVTC4
Why do you think this grabber is a good grabber and how do they match with your
driving question?
This grabber is effective because it sufficiently provides background information of the
topic and how it connects to the students perspective of democracy. It provides information for
the standard 3.2.2 by giving information on the definition of democracy, historical figures, and
how democracy has been seen in our society. This grabber capitalizes on high emotion situations
by presenting graphic and emotional first-hand experiences of the people affected by democracy
and fighting for the right to democracy. It allows the students to see the importance of democracy
in our society and appreciate those who fought for it. The Liberty Kids video even goes into the
perspective of people who fought in the Revolutionary War which is an emotional experience for
all people involved. This activity establishes relevance in our society because it relates
democracy in the past to democracy today, and how that democracy can be used in the future or
even now in the classroom through voting. The Nickelodeon Video explains to the students about
their right to vote in future elections and how it can relate to the principles of democracy. These
three videos will be shown to the class and discussed in class with the teachers so that the
students can form their own views about democracy and how it affects their own lives. It also
introduces key topics that they will use in their presentation and research.
3. Culminated activities: List all your activities here.
1). Activities Number 1
What is your activities number 1?
The teacher will explain how George Washington contributed to democracy developing
in our nation using examples from the video. He/she will use a powerpoint as a visual aid with
information on George Washington. The teacher will then explain the question to the class and
the procedures for completing this project. The teacher will preview the different historical
figures that the children will research by using a powerpoint with information on each character.
Presentation Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nhahKMS_YC3uQ2SagUMe6eWdPaOZzj_XuNroto-YJI/edit?usp=sharing
Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
Students can relate to George Washington because many were taught when they were
younger that he was the first President of the United States. This activity will help introduce to
the students how to present their own views to the class. It will provide to them an example of
historical figures working to better the country through democracy. By presenting the different
historical figures that the students will research, they will be given the opportunity to pick which
figure contributed most to democracy, therefore giving them the ability to present and defend

their opinion. This requires student collaboration because the students are paired in groups to
solve this problem. Since this is just an introduction before the students begin collaborating
together, they will not be graded on this activity.
2). Activities Number 2
What is your activities number 2?
Presentations Procedure:
The children will have three class periods to work in groups of four to five that will be
assigned by the teacher to create their presentation. The presentations will then be shared with
the class one by one. Each student will have 2-3 minutes to share how their historical figure
contributed to the democracy of our nation using visual aids or music of their choice. The
historical figures that they will have to choose from are: Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, Thomas
Jefferson, Susan B. Anthony, John Locke, and Abraham Lincoln.
After the children have been assigned to groups and a historical figure, each group will
work together to research their historical figure and its significance in helping create Americas
democracy. The students will be given two days to research their historical figure and create their
presentation for the class.
After two days, the children will assemble in their groups and each take turns presenting
to the class. After each presentation, students will be given the chance to ask each group
questions about their historical figure.
After all of the presentations have concluded, the seminar will begin. Details on how the
seminar will be run are listed below.
For their presentations, the students will receive a participation grade that is determined
by their meeting the following criteria: the presentation lasts at least two minutes, the students
have shown evidence of research, the presentation is creative, and all group members participate.
Rubric Link:
https://iu.box.com/s/k08e2vzeqqc2nbk0hegso6fyy6l8sdfh
Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
This is an authentic activity for the students to promote in-depth study because they can
defend their reasoning that their historical figure is the most influential to democracy through
their research and presentation. The students will collaborate with one another to put together a
poster, play, song, powerpoint, or drawing to support their reasoning and convince the class of
their opinion. The students will be judged on their creativity, the historical accuracy of their
presentation, their understanding of democracy, and that their presentation is at least two to three
minutes long.
3). Activities Number 3
What is your activities number 3?
Debriefing: Seminar
We will have a socratic seminar after the presentations in which we will answer the
essential question: which historical figure contributed the most to the formation of our
democracy? They will use knowledge from their own research as well as the presentations to
explain their opinion in this discussion that the teacher will facilitate. The class may not come to
a consensus, but that does not pose a huge problem to their learning experience. The most

important thing is that the children understand how each historical figure contributed to the
democracy in some way.
Other questions that the class can discuss include: How is democracy incorporated in our
present day society? How is democracy used in the classroom? What does democracy mean to
you as an individual? What are the most important democratic principles to you?
Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
This activity is authentic because it allows the students to relate what they saw in the
presentations to the democracy in their classroom and everyday life. They have the opportunity
in the seminar to discuss the contributions each figure made to democracy and decide as a class
which figure contributed the most to the nations democracy. This requires collaboration because
the students will be replying to one another and bouncing ideas off of one another in this
seminar. Students will be graded on participation, and will receive full credit if they speak twice
during the seminar.
4). Activities Number 4
What is your activities number 4?
The culminating activity will start with a Jeopardy game that will be created by the
teacher prior to the lesson. The game will contain questions about the historical figures and the
key principles of democracy. It will also review the definition of democracy and how each
historical figure contributed to this principle. The link to the Jeopardy game is:
jeopardy.rocks/democracyandhistoricalfigures.
Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
This is authentic because it allows the students to apply the knowledge they gained from
the presentations and the seminar to a game that will help them review for the quiz. This activity
allows the students to collaborate together in a team to answer the most questions correctly in
order to win the game. I will judge what they have learned from this activity through their team
scores from the game. However, since this is merely review for the quiz, they will not be graded
on this part of the lesson.
5). Activities Number 5
What is your activities number 5?
Finally, the end of the unit will be comprised of a short quiz testing the students
knowledge of the principles of democracy and the key figures who influenced democracy in our
society. The link to the quiz is:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SG_Jmozt14wQY03DS_SgHHwNWcI8EJaCBBdef4OJy
CY/edit?usp=sharing
Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
This activity is used to assess the students on the knowledge that they have acquired through
their research, presentations, discussions, and their review game. It is meant as a closure for the
unit and can be used to provide feedback for their teacher in how much knowledge his or her
students acquired. Then, the teacher can review the results and decide if the project as a whole
was successful in teaching his or her students about democracy and its application to life today.
This is not a collaboration activity since students will take the quiz on their own.