FLEX Social Studies: U.S. Government for Students With Disabilities
Learn about the U.S. government and how it works. This interactive and engaging curriculum is designed to provide an inclusive learning environment for all students (esp. neurodiverse/autistic, ADHD, & other disabilities).
Susan Asplund MSW/MAT/TESOL - ACE Educator
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(297)
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What's included
13 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentClass Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Beginner Level
Welcome to Self-Paced Social Studies! This is one course in a series of social studies curricula designed for students with disabilities. The class is structured to provide a highly organized and scaffolded learning experience, using visual prompts and opportunities for repetition. Through the self-paced model, your learner can explore the lesson at their own speed and repeat portions as needed to reinforce the concepts. The main goal is to explore the topics and foster an understanding of the real world and its various aspects. This course is also available as a live small group course or 1:1 tutoring. OVERALL SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM Social studies encompasses the study of places, cultures, and events around the world, allowing students to explain relationships between people, institutions, and their environment. By studying history, students can learn from the past and make informed decisions for the future. The curriculum will follow a decolonized perspective when discussing countries, cultures, and holidays. The curriculum will cover various topics throughout the year, including Inventions, Geography, Around the World, Economics, Government, and Historical Figures. In this particular class, we will focus on United States Government. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION You may choose to get all the material at once or to receive weekly lessons through a series of units. Each unit will include mini-lectures, written activities, coloring pages, games, and additional research opportunities through texts, videos, or website recommendations. At the end of each topic, learners can complete a summary of what they have learned, which may involve drawing a picture, writing a story, or conducting additional research and presenting it through the class page. UNIT CONTENT Unit 1: Introduction to Government What is government? Why do we need rules in our community? What are community services? Who are the community helpers? Unit 2: Three Branches of Government Why are they called branches? What are checks and balances? What does the Executive Branch do? What is a law and who makes it? How are laws upheld? Who is the Supreme Court? Unit 3: Rights and Responsibilities What is a citizen? What rights do citizens have? What responsibilities do citizens have? Unit 4: Constitution and the Bill of Rights What is the Constitution? The Preamble and what it means for me What is the Bill of Rights? Unit 5: Voting Making Choices What does a leader do? What are elections? Who are the candidates? How does one vote? Throughout the course, the focus will be on developing a deep understanding of these concepts. The content will be presented in a structured and engaging manner, allowing students to interact with the material and apply their learning to real-life scenarios.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum5 Units
13 Lessons
over 5 WeeksUnit 1: Introduction to Government
Lesson 1:
Government
Why do we need rules in our community? Lesson 2:
Community
What are community services? Who are the community helpers? Unit 2: Three Branches of Government
Lesson 3:
Introduction
What are the three branches? What are checks and balances? Lesson 4:
Executive Branch
What does the Executive Branch do? 7 mins of video lessons
Other Details
Parental Guidance
I will be using carefully curated videos and resources within Nearpod. Students will need to create a free account. Nearpod is an approved third-party educational tool. It is rated as excellent through Common Sense Education. You may see their review here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/nearpod.
The materials will come from an anti-racist, decolonized perspective when speaking about geography and cultural issues. I may use a pre-test with each unit to identify the level needed for scaffolding the materials. The level of information ranges from first to fourth-grade equivalent and I will provide additional resources if the student is interested in going deeper.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
I refer to anti-racist and decolonization resources from Education with An Apron, National Education Association, American Historical Association Remote Teaching Resources, Center for Anti-Racist Education, and EmbraceRace.
Joined March, 2020
5.0
297reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Minnesota Teaching Certificate in Special Education
Master's Degree in Education from Walden University
I am a former special education teacher and created and implemented social studies curriculum for middle school students with disabilities.
As a white woman, I actively seek resources from respected anti-racist educators to augment my lessons as well as further my own education. These resources include the Center for Anti-Racist Education (https://antiracistfuture.org/), Education with an Apron (https://laneshatabb.com/), National Education Association (https://www.nea.org/), American Historical Association Remote Teaching Resources (https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/remote-teaching-resources/teaching-decolonization-resource-collection#:~:text=The%20Teaching%20Decolonization%20Resource%20Collection,be%20found%20in%20educational%20materials.), and EmbraceRace (https://www.embracerace.org/).
For resources related to LGBTQIA, I refer to the Trevor Project, Strong Family Alliance, and my own experiences as a parent. For resources related to disabilities, I refer to my own experiences as a disabled person (ADHD), as a parent (neurodivergent), as a daughter (chronic disease, physical disability, hearing loss), and my extensive training and professional work in disability advocacy.Reviews
Self-Paced Class
$29
weekly or $144 for all content13 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content
Completed by 1 learner
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Ages: 10-15
