Parliament, Board or Company?
A 50-minute Grade 4 lesson on how power divides between national government, local boards and private companies.
Parliament, Board or Company? is a free 50-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Civ.5.3-5 — explain where different systems of government came from and how they are built. 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:
- 50 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Civ.5.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Civics
D2.Civ.5.3-5
Explain the origins, functions, and structure of different systems of government, including those created by the U.S. and state constitutions.
Objective
Students will be able to sort a power into national, local or private and justify the sort.
Students are successful when they can
- Sorts powers into three kinds.
- Gives a reason based on reach and accountability.
- Names a power that could sit in two places.
What you need
- Three headings and twelve power cards
- The board minute and the mill notice as worked examples
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — same region, different rules
5 min- Ask why school attendance was the same everywhere and the wage rate was not.
- Take first attempts.
Teach — reach, then accountability
17 min- Sort 'children must attend school' as national. It must hold everywhere.
- Sort 'half-time working here' as the local board's. It applies to these four districts.
- Sort 'the wage rate at Albion Mill' as private. Nobody voted; the owners decided.
- Name the first test: does it need to be the same across the country?
- Name the second: who can remove the decision-maker?
- Take the harbour dues: local board, published, and challengeable. Show both tests working.
- Take the hard case: should the wage rate have been private? Argue it both ways.
“Would it be a problem if the next region did this differently, and who could stop them?”
Guided practice — sort and defend
15 min- Pairs sort twelve power cards under the three headings.
- They write both tests' answers for four of them.
- Groups challenge one sort each.
Independent practice
10 min- Students complete the 'Parliament, Board or Company?' page.
- Watch for sorting by importance rather than by reach.
Close
3 min- Name one power that has moved between these three since 1893.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Sorts by how important it feels.
Why: Big things belong at the top.
Fix: Wages mattered enormously and were private. Use the two tests.
Thinks a company's decisions are outside civics.
Why: Civics means government.
Fix: A power that shapes thousands of lives is a civics question wherever it sits.
Thinks the levels never overlap.
Why: Sorting implies exclusivity.
Fix: Schooling is national law and local provision. Say what each supplies.
If they are not there yet
- Six cards, two clearly of each kind.
- Give the reason and ask which heading it points to.
If they finish early
- Argue that one private power should have been public.
- Find a power that moved from local to national.
- Say what would go wrong if wage law were left to each region.
Exit ticket
Sort 'children must attend school' and 'the wage rate at Albion Mill'. Give a reason for each.
What to look for: National and private, justified by reach and by who could remove the decision-maker. Reasons about size mean the tests need another run.
Printable practice for D2.Civ.5.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Parliament, Board or Company?Sort each power into who holds it.
Questions about Parliament, Board or Company?
How long does the Parliament, Board or Company? lesson take?
50 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 17 min, guided practice 15 min, independent practice 10 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 Parliament, Board or Company? teach?
D2.Civ.5.3-5 — D2.Civ.5.3-5, Civics for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Explain the origins, functions, and structure of different systems of government, including those created by the U.S. and state constitutions.” In plain terms, explain where different systems of government came from and how they are built.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
Three headings and twelve power cards, the board minute and the mill notice as worked examples 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: sorts by how important it feels; thinks a company's decisions are outside civics and thinks the levels never overlap. 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: “Sort 'children must attend school' and 'the wage rate at Albion Mill'. Give a reason for each.” National and private, justified by reach and by who could remove the decision-maker. Reasons about size mean the tests need another run. 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 Parliament, Board or Company??
Yes — 1 printable D2.Civ.5.3-5 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 Parliament, Board or Company? 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.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.