|
Lesson Plan
Title
Lost at the Legislature
– Classroom Presentation
– Peer Presentation
Audience
The Classroom Presentation is adaptable for most Intermediate grades.
The Peer Presentation is designed to be used as Pro-D type presentation.
Overview
- A day-by-day description of a teacher's experience at the BC Teachers' Institute on Parliamentary Democracy (BCTI).
- Classroom Presentation - includes links, tasks and discussion activities.
- Peer Presentation - outlines the events of the Institute briefly
Objectives
- To provide an opportunity to share the experiences of the Institute with students and/or peers
- Mini-tasks within the presentation serve as introductory activities for a unit on study of the BC parliamentary system
- Students produce written responses to questions asked in the presentation
- Presentations can be given to a whole-class or individuals
- Presentations can be altered and edited to suit the teacher
Activities and Method
A teacher attending the BCTI can use this presentation to give their class an overview of their experiences at the Institute. The presentation is a simple PowerPoint file, which includes links to appropriate pages within the BC Legislative Assembly website.
The PowerPoint presentation can be used as a whole class event and discussion, activities done in groups or individually. Activities are marked within the PowerPoint as "Tasks" and include:
- Design a postcard
- Locate the MLA for your school's riding/describe the seating arrangements of the Legislative Chamber
- List three things the Chief Electoral Officer is not allowed to do
- Find the Flash presentation on the Legislative Assembly's website about the Clerk of the House and chose an interesting fact to share
- Describe different functions of Hansard, and how it became called that
- Formulate a current events question for Question Period
- Give reasons why Clerks of the House are not elected Members of the House
- List the current Minister of Education and the Opposition Education Critic
- Create an MLA-appropriate menu
- Create a list of School-Parliamentary Activities
- Write a press article from two different points of view
- Compare and contrast the Sergeant-At-Arms duties (ceremonial vs. functional)
- Name the Lieutenant Governor and three interesting facts
- Highlight the separation of the legislative and judicial branches of government
- List reasons why Legislative Council is not an elected or appointed position
- Discuss advantages or disadvantages of electronic record keeping.
Preparation (by teacher and by students)
For whole class or group activities, the teacher can present the PowerPoint from one station with a projector, in a computer lab using a desktop sharing application.
Alternately, each student could work independently at an individual station and work at their own pace.
Duration of Activity
Depending on the teacher's choice - this is a really open-ended activity. For students working alone, to complete all 18 tasks, 4-5 hours of class time should be allotted.
The teacher may chose to share the information as a class discussion and informally address the tasks, in which case, 2 hours of class time would probably suffice.
The Peer Presentation can be shown, depending on the discussion added by the presenter, in under 20 minutes.
Learning Outcomes
Classroom Presentation:
- Students will show understanding of the BC Teachers' Institute on Parliamentary Democracy program through discussion or completed tasks
- Students will be able to name certain Members of the House, including their school's MLA, the Speaker of the House, Education Minister and Opposition Education Critic.
- Students will provide comparisons of the Sergeant-at-Arms' duties
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of opposing points of view.
- Students will be introduced to the basic layout of the Legislative Chamber
Materials and Resources
A computer and LCD projector for whole class activity, or individual computers for each student, either in a lab, or a laptop classroom. Some activities require Internet access.
If tasks are not completed electronically (with use of a word processing application), students will need paper and pencil.
Evaluation of Activity
Students can be evaluated on their contribution to classroom discussion or completion of all or some of the 18 tasks.
A 5-point scale can be applied to each task: |
1 |
Not yet within the minimum acceptable expectations |
2 |
Minimally acceptable-many errors, largely incomplete, messy, disorganized |
2.5 |
Acceptable, some errors, lacking completion or neatness/organization |
3 |
Fully meets expectations, neatly presented and mostly error free. |
4 |
Exceeds expectations - no errors, complete, and extended beyond assignment. Thoroughly well organized. |
Submitted By
Lisa Read, Mt. Prevost Middle School, School District #79 (Cowichan Valley)
NOTE: The ideas and opinions expressed in this classroom activity belong to their authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Public Education and Outreach office only edits for clarity.
Appendix – Handouts
Appendix A
Classroom Presentation
(online version)
Click image to download PowerPoint 2007 file (398 KB).
Appendix B
Peer Presentation
(online version)
Click image to download PowerPoint 2007 file (122 KB).
|
