For this new unit, our 3rd and 4th graders study the different types of government that exist around the world.
We started by brainstorming all the types of governments known to the students. It soon became apparent that they already had great knowledge on the subject and knew many names of leaders and they had a lot of questions. We therefore designed our unit board together by including their questions and their prior knowledge.
We decided to work on this unit through a historical approach and that is how we began to study the kings that have ruled France. We had already worked around the construction of the kingdom of France, so the students already had notions on the subject.
Our history work took the form of an escape-game. Armed with a malfunctioning time machine, we visited several time periods and the students had to solve different missions. With each mission solved, we earn a clue to repair the machine and continue our journey.
In order to help students to better represent the functioning of different types of governments and to better understand the historical contexts, we have started in French a work around theatre. By being actors in these historical scenes, it is easier for the students to understand the stakes and the workings of certain historical moments. It also allows us to discover a new literary genre and work around body expression. Students work on their self-confidence and learn to speak and adapt their body language in order to better convey their message to their classmates.
The idea is to continue our journey through time until the fall of Napoleon. This will give us the opportunity to discover several different types of political regimes as well as the impact of each on the French people and the power held by the population on the management of their country.
By Lisa-Marie B.