Introduce Unit 1: Government in Action

1. Government in Action
Grade 4, Unit 1, Week 1 (15-20 min.)

2. I will be able to:
Share my prior knowledge of government.
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry
out my assigned role.
Make comments that contribute to the discussions
and link to the remarks of others.

3. Let’s open up our Texts for Close Reading and turn
to page 2. Let’s take a look at the question that’s
being asked:
How does government influence the way we live?

4. For each unit of study this year, we will encounter a
question like the one we just read. We will call
these Essential Questions. Essential questions do
not have one simple answer. The essential
questions we encounter this year will encourage us
to think deeply about the topic.

5. As we read this unit, let’s keep the essential
question in mind. By doing so, we will be able to
add to and revise our ideas as we answer the
question.
How does government influence the way we live?

6. We live in a town called Anza. Anza is not a city, that
is, it has no local or city government. We are part of
Riverside County. Riverside County, a county
government, provides Anza with services like sheriffs.
Riverside County is part of California. California, a
state government, provides Anza with services such as
the California Highway Patrol. California is one of fifty
states that combined, make up the United States of
America. The United States of America, a federal
government, provides Anza with services such as the
post office.

7. You all know the name of the president, and some of
us know the names of other government officials,
such as a senator or the governor. In this unit, we
will view, read, and listen to both fiction and
nonfiction texts in order to explore the varioius
ways government can influence our lives.

8. We live in a town
called Anza.
Anza does not have a
local government.
Anza is not a city.
Temecula and Hemet
are two cities near
Anza.

9. Anza is part of
Riverside County.
Riverside County is
a county
government.

10. Riverside County is
part of California.
There are 58
counties in
California.
California is a state
government.

11. California is part of
the United States of
America.
There are 50 states in
the United States of
America.
The United States of
America is a federal
government.

12. V. Manuel Perez
Riverside County
Chairman
Board of Supervisors

13. Gavin Newsom
California
Governor

14. Donald J. Trump
President
United States of
America

15. I grew-up in a city called Thousand Oaks. On the
way to the local mall from my house, most people
drove through a small street called Paige Lane. The
people who lived on this street didn’t like all the
traffic in their neighborhood. They complained to
the city hall. They said that cars raced through
their neighborhood ignoring the speed limit. The
city hall listened to the residents and decided to put
in a series of speed bumps to discourage people from
using Paige Lane to get to the mall.

16. Let’s take this time to discuss how government
influences the way we live. Maybe you can share an
experience or insight related to government. Here are
some sentence frames to help get us started:
I know the (city/state/federal) government is
responsible for ___________.
If there were no government, our lives would be
___________.
I know someone who voted for ___________ because
they want the government to ___________.

17. Before we start to reading our Texts for Close
Reading, let’s take a look at a video that reviews
this unit’s essential question.
After watching the video, we’ll discuss new ideas we
have on how government influences our lives.

18. If we were in class, we would take this time to break
into groups and talk. Since we’re all online, let’s see
what new questions we have regarding how
government influences our life. Here are some
sentence frames to help get us started:
I wonder why ___________.
I think ___________ is important because
__________.
Do you think government ___________.

19. GUIDING QUESTIONS INITIAL IDEAS