...Quite possibly the most difficult question for fifth grade students to understand. The number one goal for many kids is to break consciously or subconsciously every rule that they can at home and at school. Therefore, explaining to them why RULES are important can often be a daunting task. However, there is a trick ...I introduce government by sharing with them that tomorrow no teachers are coming to school, there will be no recess monitors, and Mr. Principal is not coming. They will have the opportunity to do WHATEVER they want be prepared for the whoops, hollers, and cheers. I then ask them what they are planning on doing ... the list is always entertaining. Inevitably, there is always someone who says it would be the best day at school ever! Now it is time for the real life senarios that are going to play out during the day. The kids pull out of a hat: "Someone is going to get hurt accidentally at recess", "A strange person will not be stopped and comes into the school since there wasn't anyone in the office and takes a kid", "A bully doesn't get stopped at recess because there are no people to watch them or stop them." I ask kids what other things could happen without any of our rules in place - this list gets darker, and while sometimes humorous, I can always tell that the kids aren't sure this new found freedom is really a good thing. I always have a couple kids say they just wouldn't come, they would like to avoid the chaos. This leads into a great discussion about how having the freedom to do WHATEVER you want also means that mean, unkind, and hurtful people can as well. This leads to a discussion about chaos and fear which is exactly what no government is - ANARCHY. A great read aloud is What if Everybody Did That, it allows students to see why rules are important. I use this great sheet from Ashleigh's Educational Journey to have the kids map out what broken rules look like. It is a free download - go check it out! I had the kids draw a picture of the rule being followed and then not being followed. This leads well into why the Founding Fathers felt the need for a national government that would help make rules and the most important document for running our country - The Constitution. Much like a video game instruction book for Mine-craft which my kiddos are OBSESSED over The Constitution lays out what our Founding Fathers believed would build a good government. Anchor chart is an adapted Pinterest idea from One Teacher's Take We summarized the major sections of the Constitution and then created video game covers that summed up the Constitution's purpose. Some students even included the Federalists and Anti-Federalist arguments ;0) Federalists argued FOR strong national government and Anti-Federalists wanted citizen's rights protected. Yes, my husband made fun of me for printing a Playstation 2 cover ... they've come out with two more of them???...We don't play video games, give me a break, I'm trying to relate ;0) We even made it into the newspaper for Constitution Day!! The Federalists and Anti-Federalists finally came up with a compromise - THE BILL OF RIGHTS. In this way, one could have a strong national government and not worry about it taking away the rights of it's people. Much like a Super Hero needs a trusty side kick - see my lesson HERE on the Bill of Rights. To see more posts on Government Visit HERE, HERE, and HERE. Here are more Government Activities:
These kindergarten anchor charts will give you the tools you need to teach math, reading, friendship skills, and much more!
Constitution Digital Escape Room, Constitution Test Prep, Distance LearningThis is an excellent activity to have students BREAKOUT of their comfort zone and work together or individually, while concentrating on solving puzzles and drop-ins to review the CONSTITUTION. This activity is used through G...
Chart paper. Markers. Stick figures. Bubble letters. Lamination. Anchor charts. Anyone else love to make these? I could write a bunch of stuff about how they're not just pretty pictures but that's no fun. Here are some of mine! You better believe they remember the difference now! Not nearly as cute as I like to make them, but it was helpful. This goes with this: It can get annoying when our darling chickadees keep asking WHY they have to learn something, but truthfully, they do deserve an explanation once in a while. Maybe all the time :) Plus, the first text we used for the unit that introduced character reactions provided the cherubs MANY opportunities to react. Explaining theme to 9 year olds was challenging. Do you like how while I was making this chart I realized they didn't know what inferencing was so I threw in the definition at the bottom? I explained it later. Also I thought it was "inferencing" not "inferring" so I get to re-teach that one! Thanks, anonymous co-worker :) Goodness gracious do they love my stick figures. Summary, not summer-y. No, really. I had to clarify. This should be far larger, but at least you get the idea. It's kind of tough to describe culture. This barely begins to cover it. The best part of this lesson? When we talked about the "tradition" part, I meekly started singing the opening song of Fiddler on the Roof and HALF OF THEM KNEW WHAT I WAS SINGING. "Traditionnnnnnnn! Tradition!" Anyone?
Explaining the Feudal System can be difficult and, well, futile, if you don’t add some life to it, when teaching kids. I’ll be teaching the second half of Story of the World, Volume 2 …
Now, this was a fun anchor chart to make! Since we’ll be covering the 2nd half of Story of the World, volume 2, I’ll be reviewing all the good stuff we learned last year. The Magna Ca…
I believe in doing alot of shared writing. Writer's Workshop is great and I use that too but for some third graders, WW time is HARD! The...
Social Studies teachers will love this "3 Branches of Government" ANCHOR CHART! It will make the perfect poster for your history classroom when learning about the three branches of government in the United States government: Legislative, Executive, Judicial. This poster will instantly be a staple in your classroom for years to come! DESIGN & SIZING: -Printed on top-tier 210gsm satin paper! -Low-glare finish (Great for classrooms!) -"Preview" is not printed on the poster. -Our anchor charts are made in the USA -FIVE vertical size options offered: 12” x 18” 16” x 20” 18” x 24” 20” x 30” 24” x 36” -This anchor chart uses museum grade paper, which means it can be stored for a long time without turning yellow. CARE INSTRUCTIONS: -Poster can be hung with double-sided tape, tacks or frames. -If the poster does gather any dust, you may wipe it off gently with a clean, dry cloth. Do not use liquids to clean your poster. -Do not laminate over this poster. RETURNS OR EXCHANGES: -All of our anchor charts are custom printed just for you so we do not accept returns or exchanges. If there are any issues with the poster, please message us and we will be happy to make it right! Thank you for supporting our teacher-owned small business!
Bill of Rights Reference Poster Custom Print
Anchor chart inspiration for elementary teachers. Use my Not-So-Pinteresty Anchor Charts for Reading, Math, Grammar, and Writing.
