Inquiry+Project+Overview

Government in Action Inquiry Project New Augusta South: Pam Breedlove, Lauren Kniola, Lisa Wells, Jody Winter Social Studies State Standard 3.2.1 Foundations of government: Discuss the reasons governments are needed and identify goods and services that governments provide. Students are given the following task. The government almost shut down this summer because the people we elected couldn't agree on how to spend the tax money. Many public services our community depends on every day would not be provided. That meant a lot of people would not be working and receiving a pay check. Your task is to learn about the service that you have chosen. We will brainstorm even more questions as a class. Then, your team will gather data, research in the library and on the internet, and interview members of our community. As a team, you will analyze all the information gathered and produce a final project that will persuade viewers that your public service is the MOST essential service to our community and should not be eliminated. Language Arts: Students will read fiction literature about community services in literature circles. The read aloud selections will focus on community service and how children can make a difference. Math: Student teams will create surveys. They will use their tallying skills from second grade to collect data. Data will be entered into Scholastic Keys Max Count software to create circle graphs. Teams will interpret the results and formulate questions for each circle graph. These questions and graphs will be posted in the hallway for all students to see and interact. Teams will supply answers for self checking. Social Studies: Students will use the inquiry model to learn more about the services the government provides for our community. Students will use the materials in the media center, on the internet, and conduct interviews with community members. Science: Students will keep and report records of investigations and observations using tools, such as journals, charts, graphs, and computers. Students will d emonstrate the ability to work cooperatively while respecting the ideas of others and communicating one's own conclusions about findings. Essential Questions: · What services does the government provide for our community? · Who pays for these services? · Where does the money come from to pay for the services? · Which service is the most important?   Final Product: Students will create Max Show presentations on various government services. The students will be in groups of 3-5. Each group will choose a public service. Their task is to persuade their audience that their service is the most important and should not be cut from the budget.
 * Who provides that service?
 * Why do we need that service?
 * What will happen if they no longer provide that service?