Lesson Plan

Unit: Essay Writing Skills

EQ: How do you maximize the points on a Civic Literacy Essay for the NYS US History & Government Regents exam?

Do Now Day 1:How many parts are there to the NYS US History & Government Regents?

Do Now Day 2: Check-in Introduction & 1/2 Body Paragraph (Doc1) completed

Do Now Day 3: Check-in 1/2 Body Paragraph (Doc2) & Conclusion completed

Do Now Day 4: Revision Completed (Essay Collected)

This Lesson Overview is provided as a quick and easy lesson plan format for teachers.
Lesson Procedures are located at bottom of lesson for individuals/groups/pairs. Print Lesson and complete as needed.


Lesson Overview
Utilized	Activity	Time Allocated	Mode of Activity
____	Do Now	_________ / 2-5 Min	(Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____)
____	Mini Lesson	_________/ 15-20 Min	(Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____)
____	Activity	_________ / 20-30 Min	(Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #_____)
____	Discussion/Exit Ticket	_________ / 5-10 Min	(Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____)
____	Assessment	_________ / 10-40 Min	(Individual / Think-Pair-Share / Pair / Group #____)
____	Conferencing	_________ Min	(Individual / Pair / Group #____ / Throughout Class Period)


Danielson Framework
Domain 1: Planning and Preparation	Domain 2: Classroom Environment
1a Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy 1b Demonstrating Knowledge of Students 1c Setting Instructional Outcomes 1d Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources 1e Designing Coherent Instruction 1f Designing Student Assessments Rubric: Domain 1	2a Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport 2b Establishing a Culture for Learning 2c Managing Classroom Procedures 2d Managing Student Behavior 2e Organizing Physical Space
Domain 3: Instruction	Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities
3a Communicating With Students 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques 3c Engaging Students in Learning 3d Using Assessment in Instruction 3e Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness	4a Reflecting on Teaching 4b Maintaining Accurate Records 4c Communicating with Families 4d Participating in the Professional Community 4e Growing and Developing Professionally 4f Showing Professionalism Rubric: Domain 4

Part III Civic Literacy Document-Based Essay Framework

The Civic Literacy Essay is designed to test a student’s ability to work with historical documents within the context of constitutional and civic issues. It is directly based on Claim 4 of the United States History and Government Claims, Evidence, and Performance Level Descriptions (PLDs): “Students can analyze important constitutional and civic issues in historic and present settings, various attempts to address those issues, including possible alternate courses of action, and discuss, or when applicable, demonstrate an informed course of action.”

The design of the question provides a statement of historical context and a three-bullet task that generally remains the same between test forms. The specific constitutional and civic issue being tested is listed after the “Historical Context” heading and repeated in the final sentence of the historical context statement. The first bullet of the task will ask students to “describe the historical circumstances surrounding this constitutional or civic issue.” The second bullet of the task will ask students to “explain efforts to address this constitutional or civic issue by individuals, groups, and/or governments.” The third bullet of the task shifts, depending on the specific topic, between “discuss the extent to which these efforts were successful” or “discuss the impact of these efforts on the United States and/or on American society.” The Civic Literacy Essay will provide at least six documents, with the option of additional documents in an a/b format.

In addition, there will always be six open-ended short response questions, each worth one point, based on each document, numbered 1-6. The essay will be scored based on a 5-point rubric, and the results will be weighted by a factor of 3.

The constitutional and civic issues selected for testing are all found within the Grade 11 section for United States History and Government of the K-12 Social Studies Framework. The topics will always have both constitutional and civic aspects. For example, the major topic of westward territorial expansion and slavery is both constitutional and civic as it involves the debate over the expansion of slavery and whether Congress had the power to place limits on slavery as a condition of the creation of territories and states, and the growing civic engagement of abolitionists leading to increased sectional tensions, the election of Abraham Lincoln, and the post–Civil War Radical Republican support for the reforms of the 13th , 14th, and 15th amendments. The Civic Literacy Essay will provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of the vital role of citizens acting as individuals, in groups, and through government in addressing constitutional and civic issues throughout our history.

Classwork & Homework

Lesson Activity:

Civic Literacy Essay Writing Guide (Scaffolded)
Literacy Essay Writing Guide (Not Scaffolded)

Special Education Modifications

Teaching Model: Co-Teaching (Alternative teaching) / 1 teach 1 assist / Parallel teaching /Station teaching/ One teach, one observe
Specific Type: / pull-out / push-in / small group / whole class /individuals within classroom setting
- SWD Students (as needed):
  - Teacher(s) will use Bloom's Taxonomy Levels (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation) to achieve critical thinking (all may not be completely visible, all the time)
  - Teacher(s) will read-aloud to students or have students read aloud.
  - Teacher(s) will break down assignments into smaller tasks.
  - Teacher(s) will work with students on vocabulary acquisition by breaking down words into prefixes/suffixes and etymology.
  - Teacher(s) will group students according to learning style inventory, skill-based, homogeneous, heterogeneous, small group, pairs, or triads.
  - Teacher(s) will keep students on-task by managing distractions and on-task behavior.
  - Teacher(s) will modify note-taking by modeling notes
  - Teacher(s) will differentiate lessons by using; verbal cues for auditory learners, graphic organizers for visual learners, and hands-on cues for tactile learners.
  - Teacher(s) will individually conference with students.
  - Teacher(s) will provide sentence starters for writing assignments.