Counting the Loss First
A 55-minute Grade 5 lesson on a policy followed all the way through: measured, funded, missed and admitted.
Counting the Loss First is a free 55-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Civ.13.3-5 — explain how a policy gets made to deal with a public problem. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 55 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Civ.13.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Civics
D2.Civ.13.3-5
Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.
Objective
Students will be able to sequence a policy from measurement through funding to review.
Students are successful when they can
- Orders the stages correctly.
- Says why measuring precedes proposing.
- Names what the review stage does with a missed target.
What you need
- The white paper, the broadcast and the council report
- Stage strips: problem, measurement, proposal, funding, review
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — how many homes are needed?
5 min- Ask the class to set a national housing target knowing nothing else.
- Ask what they would need before their number meant anything.
Teach — five stages, including the last one
18 min- Problem: homes destroyed or damaged across the country.
- Measurement: four million of them, counted before any target was set.
- Proposal: 300,000 a year, sized against that count.
- Funding: taxation and borrowing, stated in the paper itself.
- Review: quarterly figures, and a broadcast admitting 140,000.
- Ask what a policy without the last stage is. A promise nobody can test.
- Ask what the review is for when the target is missed: finding the cause, not assigning blame.
“How large is this problem, and how do you know?”
Guided practice — sequence three policies
17 min- Groups sequence a housing, a supply and a waiting-list policy.
- For one they write the measurement stage in full.
- Groups say what each policy's review would measure and when.
Independent practice
12 min- Students complete the 'Counting the Loss First' page.
- Check the measurement stage is not skipped.
Close
3 min- Name a school problem that has reached only stage one.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Jumps from problem to target.
Why: The target is the memorable part.
Fix: 300,000 came from four million counted. Without the count it is a guess.
Thinks a funded policy is a finished one.
Why: Money was the hard part.
Fix: It was funded and missed. The review is what turned that into knowledge.
Thinks a review is for assigning blame.
Why: Something went wrong.
Fix: The broadcast names bricks and timber. A review looks for causes it can act on.
If they are not there yet
- Five strips with the problem stage given.
- Sequence one policy rather than three.
If they finish early
- Say what the review should have changed after 1947.
- Find the stage the white paper does not control.
- Write five stages for a problem at school.
Exit ticket
Why did the government count four million damaged homes before setting a target of 300,000 a year?
What to look for: So the target was sized against a measured problem rather than guessed. Skipping to the target means the measurement stage has not landed.
Printable practice for D2.Civ.13.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Counting the Loss FirstNumber the steps from 1 to 4.
Questions about Counting the Loss First
How long does the Counting the Loss First lesson take?
55 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 18 min, guided practice 17 min, independent practice 12 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Counting the Loss First teach?
D2.Civ.13.3-5 — D2.Civ.13.3-5, Civics for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.” In plain terms, explain how a policy gets made to deal with a public problem.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The white paper, the broadcast and the council report, stage strips: problem, measurement, proposal, funding, review and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: jumps from problem to target; thinks a funded policy is a finished one and thinks a review is for assigning blame. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Why did the government count four million damaged homes before setting a target of 300,000 a year?.” So the target was sized against a measured problem rather than guessed. Skipping to the target means the measurement stage has not landed. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Counting the Loss First?
Yes — 1 printable D2.Civ.13.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Counting the Loss First free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Civ.13.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.