Jeffrey+Mertens

Daily Lesson GAME Plan: Examining Local Voting Trends Jeffrey Mertens WaldenUniversity Suzanne LeBeau EDUC-6713I-4 Integrating Technology across the Content Areas

December 4, 2011 . || Instructional Objectives: To analyze local voter participation by age in the past three referendums regarding the construction or remodeling of the High School. || The groups will analyze the voting patterns and design ways to increase both voter participation and increase the chances for the referendum to pass. The main goal to have students utilize technology in this process especially social media sites that can link potential voters together and encourage participation in the vote. The groups will present their analysis and proposed solution(s) to the class in a PowerPoint (or similar) presentation. || Materials and Resources: Access to personal computers either in the classroom or in a computer lab is essential for all classes during the PBL exercise. || Accommodations and Extensions: Back-Up Plan: To find another local or perhaps State ‘problem’ to attempt to solve. || The unit test will include an essay question comparing actions to pass the 26th Amendment and the actions taken to ensure passage of a town referendum. LESSON REFLECTIONS AND NOTES: ||
 * = Daily Lesson GAME Plan = ||
 * Lesson Title: Local Voter Apathy |||| Related Lessons: ||
 * Grade Level: Grade Eleven |||| Unit: Unit Ten – Changes to American Society in the 1960’s and 1970’s ||
 * ==GOALS== ||
 * Content Standards: 1. Connecticut State Standard 1.1 “Significant themes in American History” 2. CSS 1.7 The purpose, structures, and functions of government at the … local level” 3. CSS 1.8 “The interactions between citizens and their government in the making and implementation of laws” 4. CSS 1.9 “The rights and responsibilities of citizens” 4. CSS 2.2 “interpret information from a variety … of sources” 5. CSS 2.3 “Create various forms of written work…to demonstrate an understanding…of social issues” 6. CSS 3.3 “Apply appropriate…concepts and methods in proposing and evaluating solutions to contemporary problems”
 * ISTE NETS-S - Performance indicators numbers 2, 4, and 6.
 * ==ACTION== ||
 * Before-Class Preparation: Knowledge of where to electronically find the information on the past three town referendums. An overview of the adoption of the Twenty-sixth Amendment. Students will be assigned to a group of no more than five people. Groups will be determined by the teacher who will determine groupings based on skills, aptitude, and various other special needs as necessary. Care should be taken during this process to insure even distribution of skills etc. among the groups. ||
 * During Class ||
 * Time: Four to Six school days. |||| Instructional Activities: The first class will consist of an overview of two events: 1. The social action of young people leading to the adoption of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution that lowered the voting age to eighteen (this should be a follow-up to the study of the 1960’s and 70’s in U.S. history). 2. The results of three separate referendums conducted by our town that sought to fund either the expansion of the current high school or the construction of a new school. All three failed and our ‘problem’ to be solved is to find a way to pass a subsequent referendum by mobilizing voters particularly those who are recent graduates of the school and living in town.
 * Note student groupings, environmental modifications needed, etc: ||
 * ==MONITOR== ||
 * Ongoing Assessment(s): Each group will set up a Blog to record the daily actions of the group as well as to plan out future actions both as a group and individuals within the group. These blogs will be graded separately at the conclusion of the exercise.
 * Ongoing Assessment(s): Each group will set up a Blog to record the daily actions of the group as well as to plan out future actions both as a group and individuals within the group. These blogs will be graded separately at the conclusion of the exercise.
 * ==EVALUATE AND EXTEND== ||
 * Be specific and include the evaluation that you will use for this lesson: The main evaluation for this exercise will be determined by the quality of the electronic presentation. This will be determined using the department rubric for oral presentations.