The King and Queen of England

Objectives:
  1. Students will compare the parliamentary and democratic government in an attentive discussion.
  2. Students will make realistic predictions for the story read aloud.
  3. Students will be able to use realistic examples in their stories about their life as a king or queen.
  4. Students will understand how the life of a king or queen differs from their own life as a second grader.
  5. Students will be able to self-correct their own stories.
Materials:
  1. Can't You Make Them Behave King George?
  2. Prepared worksheet
Procedure:
  1. Have all of the students gather in the story area.
  2. Once all of the children are sitting quietly, begin to discuss the main differences in government between the United States and England. Ask if any of the students know the terms parliamentary and democratic. Probe for answers by asking questions that would lead children to remember what they learned previously in their social studies class.
  3. After the discussion, all of the children should have a basic understanding of the parliamentary system of government. Begin reading Can't You Make Them Behave King George?. While reading, ask the children to make predictions as to what will happen next. Also, ask the students how the life of a king or queen is different from the life of a second grader.
  4. As the story comes to a close, ask the students questions about whether they would like to be chosen as a king or queen and what they would do if they were given this honor.
  5. Introduce the worksheet with the heading "What If I Were King or Queen", and explain to all of the children that they are to write a story about what they would do if they were a king or queen of their own land.
  6. Send all of the students back to their desks to begin their stories. Walk around the room to help students who are stuck and to keep all students on task.
  7. Once their stories are complete, have the students self-correct their papers to check for grammar and spelling errors using their word books.
  8. After they have self-corrected their papers, go around to double check for additional errors, and help them individually to make their stories grammatically correct without any spelling errors.
  9. After their stories are corrected, they may draw and color pictures to go along with their story about being the king or queen.
Evaluation of Student Learning:
  1. Did all of the students contribute to the discussion about parliamentary and democratic government? Were they all attentive?
  2. Did the students make realistic predictions for the story?
  3. Did the students use accurate examples in their stories about their life as a king or queen? Did the students complete their stories and drawings?
  4. Do they understand how the life of a king or queen differs from their own life as a second grader?
  5. Were the students able to self-correct their stories?
Evaluation of Lesson:
  1. Did the students seem excited as they were involved in a discussion about the government of England and the United States?
  2. Were the students interested in Can't You Make Them Behave King George? Did they listen attentively?
  3. Did the lesson flow smoothly from reading the story to having the students write their own stories?
  4. Did the students seem excited to write their stories and draw their pictures?
  5. How could this lesson be improved in the future?
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