INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING TEMPLATE for VIL ASSIGNMENT

OVERVIEW & CONTEXT

Your name:

Anna Benson

Grade level and school:

Pattengill, 4th grade

Title of lesson/activity:

Visual Inquiry Lesson: Exploring Historical Maps and Perspectives

of Michigan

Teaching date(s) and time(s):

Wednesday, November 5th @ 2:00

Estimated time for lesson:

20-40 min.

Overview of lesson: Provide a

short description of the lesson (3-4
sentences). Include the central
question you are addressing in the
lesson.

I will first give a brief introduction to the lesson, telling students

the importance of this lesson and letting them know the central
question: What was important to people in Michigan in the 1700s
and 1800s (and how does that compare to today)? Then I will
have students notice details about a map of Michigan from the
1700s, then ask them questions to have them make inferences
about it, and after that ask questions related to larger context and
big picture answers. Ill repeat the same inquiry process for the
two other maps of Michigan, one from 1800 and the other from
modern day. I will ask students to compare the three maps, then
we will wrap up the discussion with concluding thoughts, and I
will give students a brief assessment to see what they have learned.

Context of lesson: Describe the

unit of study, including the lesson
that comes before and after your
lesson, and explain how these lessons
help develop a big idea or
disciplinary practice.

My 4th grade students have been learning about different

social/ethnic groups of people (e.g., African American, European
American, Latino), what culture means, and what diversity is.
They also have just recently learned about different kinds of people
who study social sciences, like historians, geographers, social
scientists, etc. After my lesson, students are soon moving into a
Social Studies unit about interpreting data on maps. I think this
lesson will be not only a beneficial lesson to give some context for
their mapping unit, but I also think students will be able to draw on
what they have just learned about different social/ethnic groups
during their discussion. Additionally, I think this lesson will also
be a good way to reference back to what students may know about
Michigans history.

Background research: Include

all sources you referenced in creating
this lesson. In 1-2 paragraphs,
describe what background
knowledge you learned that will help
students to get a more complete
understanding of the image and
historical context.

Before any European exploration, the Native American tribal

groups of Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and several other tribes
inhabited what is today Michigan. Michigan was beginning to be
explored by the French from the early 1600s to the beginning of
the 1700s. Around 1715 (close to the date of the first map), there
was a significant French presence in Michigan - Detroit was
founded as was Fort Michilimackinac, and the French did much
trading, hunting, and trapping in these areas. This is signified on
the first map by the French terminology. Afterwards, there was
much turmoil in Michigan in the 1760s - after the French Indian
War, many French forts were captured, all except Detroit, and the
British took over Detroit. The 1780s was marked by turmoil from
the Revolutionary War between the Americans and the British.
Around the time of creation of the second map (1802), Michigan
finally was becoming a part of America, as they held their first
elections and were on the cusp of becoming a state, which is
signified by the use of the English language on the second map.
There were many battles between the British and Americans before
Michigan finally became a state in 1837.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Michigan experienced a huge
boom in urbanization and industrialization, as there was a large
migration of over 40 ethnic groups at the time. Immigrants were
attracted to Michigans lumber, mining and automobile industries,
which are still significant industries today.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources Website, page History
of Michigan:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-54463_54466_2082956001--,00.html
Michigan Encyclopedia:
http://books.google.com/books?
id=NbaF0SWvRJIC&pg=PA56#v=onepage&q&f=false

LEARNING GOALS

Central question:

What was important to people in Michigan in the

1700s and 1800s? (How does that compare to
today?)

Specific learning goals: 1-2

goals which relate to the central
question in the lesson.

Connection to C3, Michigan

GLCEs, and Common Core

Connection to activities

Students will be able to refer to

details of the maps when drawing
inferences about their content

CCSS.ELALiteracy.RI.4.1 Refer to
details and examples
in a text when
drawing inferences
from the text.

Students will be asked

Level 2 questions about
the maps, which require
them to use details from
the map to make
inferences about why the
map is significant

Students will be able to describe

differences in perspectives over
time based on observing and
inference about historical
documents

C3 Framework
D2.His.6.3-5. Describe
how peoples
perspectives shaped
the historical sources
they created.

Students will be asked

Level 3 questions which
require them to
synthesize their
observations and
inferences from the maps
with background
knowledge about
Michigan history (both
past knowledge and
context given by me in
introduction)

ASSESSMENTS
Type of assessment

Connection to learning goals: 2-3 sentences explaining how this

assessment addresses the learning goal(s) you identify above.

Half sheet of paper with the

This assessment directly asks the central question, so students
three maps, one question asking: responses will be indicative of whether or not they were able to glean
Based on our discussion about this information after our discussion. The question also indicates using
maps 1 and 2 of Michigan, what the map as a reference point (Based on our discussion), so it relates
was important to people in
to the first learning goal of students referring to details of the map when
Michigan during the 1700s
drawing inferences. The question directly addresses the second
and 1800s?
learning goal of students describing differences in perspective over
and
time, as the first question relates to the 1700s and 1800s, while the
second question compares a change in modern vs. historical
Thinking about map 3, what is
perspectives.
important to people in Michigan
today that is different from the
1700s and 1800s?

ATTENDING TO THE LEARNERS

Anticipating student
ideas: Explain what you think
will be students prior
knowledge about the content,
including the alternative ideas
or challenges you anticipate
students might face and how you
plan to work with each of these
challenges during the lesson.
Also explain your ideas about
how students are likely to
respond to the tasks in the lesson
and how you might use these
likely responses to focus
students on the intended content.

Students learned about Michigan state history in third grade, so for

students who attended a school in Michigan, they may be familiar with
some of the history (such as knowing about the lifestyle of the Native
Americans who originally lived here, or the establishment of Henry
Fords automotive industry). Students likely do not have a background
about Michigan in the larger context of early American history, and in
particular may be unfamiliar with some of the battles of the French
Indian War, the Revolutionary War, or Michigans struggle for
statehood. I plan to highlight these significant moments in Michigans
history.

Making the content

I will help all students engage productively in the lesson by making
sure that they are able to make meaningful connections between what
accessible to all students:
Describe how you will help ALL
they already have learned about Michigans history, and to initiate
students engage productively in
discussion surrounding some key events or ideas in Michigans history
the lesson. This includes
that students may not have a background on. I have also identified a
identifying assumptions made
few points during the discussion when I can point out the influx of
during the lesson about
immigration and their connection to coming to America from a different
students prior experiences,
place.
knowledge, and capabilities;
making the representations,
explanations, and/or vocabulary
accessible and meaningful to all
students; and making
connections to students
personal, cultural, and social
experiences during the lesson, if
appropriate.

INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
Materials: List the materials
you will need and the materials
the students will need. Include
quantities and indicate which
are attached. Also, include
image citation (title, artist, the
date or time period in which it
was created, and the source
where you found the image).

Image document with citations

Assessments (26) for students
(both attached)

Time
Steps describing what the teacher and students
frame: For will do/say
each step,
indicate how
many minutes
you think it
will take AND
which person
will be
leading that
aspect of the
lesson.

5 min.

Notes and
reminders: Include
management
considerations.

Scripted introduction
Have projector set up
and ready to show images

Today were going to be looking at and thinking about a few

maps of Michigan from different time periods. Todays lesson
is important because we are going to practice being historians, Have central question
written on the board the social scientists you learned about last week, by asking
point to reference it
important questions as we explore these historical maps of
Michigan. This lesson is also a sneak preview of what you
will be learning about in Social Studies in just a couple weeks
you will be learning all about maps, like how to interpret
them and why theyre important. During this lesson I want to
emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers, because
this is a thinking exercise - all that is important is that you are
listening and participating! It is important that we hear many
different voices during our discussion, because hearing
different perspectives will make our discussion more
interesting and meaningful. So, The big question were going
to be thinking about while thinking about these maps is What
was important to people in Michigan in the 1700s and 1800s,
and how does that compare to today?

20-25 min.

Leveled Questions. For each image, write 2- 3 questions

for each level.

In this column, write at

least 1 possible student
response for each
question (what you hope
Level 1: Ask questions that draw students attention to
and what might be more
literally noting descriptive details in the image.
realistic given students
prior knowledge). For
Level 2: Ask questions that enable students to generate ideas each of these, write what
your discussion move
or make inferences based on the evidence in the image.
might be and the question
or statement you might
use as a follow-up.
Level 3: Ask questions that enable students to consider
evidence outside the image, including making hypotheses
about what is happening or why it is happening, connections
to the central question(s), and judgments about the authors
perspective or bias. Note: For this assignment, these questions
typically involve asking students to compare and contrast one
image to another (corroboration).

Image 1 Leveled Questions

Expected Student
Responses
AND
Discussion Moves
for Each Student
Response

Level 1 Questions:
What do you notice about this image?
What is this image showing?
What kind of image is this?
When was this map created?

Level 2 Questions:
How could this map have been used?
Why might have this map been created?
Why might this map be written in French rather than
English? Why is this important?

I will start off with a

moment of silence for
students to simply
observe the map. Then I
will ask students to talk
about what they notice in
pairs, and then share out
about things they notice.
I expect students to
recognize that the image
is a map of Michigan and
to see the source
information at the top. If
students dont recognize
the language as French, I
will prompt them with
What language might
this map be in?

I expect students to
understand a map being
used for navigation - I
would want to prompt
them by asking about
how else a map like this
could be used. I am not
sure whether to expect
students to have some
kind background
knowledge about the
French presence in
Michigan, so this may be
a good time to discuss
this part of Michigan
history.

Level 3 Questions:
What was going on in Michigan during the time this map
was created?
Thinking back to that big question, what was important to
people living in Michigan during this time?

Again, if not addressed

already, discuss the
history of French
presence in Michigan.

Important Points to
Consider: this map may
not be a complete picture
of Michigan, and the
points on the map that are
significant are the forts
created by the French,
and perhaps some
indication of places to
hunt and trap.
Image 2 Leveled Questions

Expected Student
Responses
AND
Discussion Moves to
Each Student
Response

Level 1 Questions:
What do you notice about this map?
When was this map created?
What stands out to you about this map?

Ill again have students

share in pairs about what
they notice. If students
do not notice the English
or the Native American
words used, I will be sure
to point those out as well.

Level 2 Questions:

I do not expect students

Why might this map be written in English instead of French? to know about the British

What else is significant about the words on the map?

Why might have this map been created?
Who might have used this map? How would they have used
it?

presence or Native
American influence in
Michigan, so the
responses from students
may vary.

Level 3 Questions:
What was going on at the time that this map was created?
How is this map of Michigan in the 1800s different than the
map of Michigan in the 1700s? Why might that be? How is
it the same?
What was likely important to people living in Michigan
during the 1800s?

Because students may not

have a full understanding
of this part of Michigan
history, it will be
important for me to
supply history from
around this time period.

Important points to
consider: people likely
thought that knowing
about Indian territories
was important because of
trade and war. Trade with
the Indians helped the
Europeans there prosper,
yet war was an imminent
threat.

I expect students to have

a deeper understanding of
the different perspectives
after discussing this map

Image 3 Leveled Questions

Expected Student
Responses
AND
Discussion Moves to
Each Student
Response

Level 1 Questions:
What do you notice about this map?
When was this map created?
What kinds of features does this map have?

Again, I will have

students share out in
pairs. I will also make
sure that some of the
features of the map like
the key and the interstate
markings are mentioned

Level 2 Questions:
What might this map be used for?
Why do you think this map was created?
Why are the features on this map important? What do they
tell us about Michigan today?

I expect students to have

unique responses to these
questions

The features on the map

should indicate to
students the importance
of roads, the large size of
cities, and the importance
of industrialization
Level 3 Questions (Corroborating):
What do we know about Michigan today that helps us
understand this map?
What is different about the map from Michigan today from
the two maps from the 1700s and 1800s? What is the same?
What do these maps tell us about what was important to
people either in the 1700s and 1800s, or what was important
today?

5-10 min.

Assessment directions: Now you all will be receiving a

small sheet of paper that has a picture of the three maps and
two questions on it that relate back to our big question - this
isnt a test, its just a way for me to see what you have learned
during our discussion today. You will be writing answers
quietly by yourself. The first question reads, "Based on our
discussion of Maps 1 and 2, what was important to people in
Michigan in the 1700s and 1800s? The second question
reads: Thinking about Map 3, what is important to Michigan
today that is different from the 1700s and 1800s? Please
answer both questions as fully as you can using what youve
learned from the discussion, and raise your hand if you have
any questions.

Again, industrialization
should be mentioned in
some form.

Differences in perspective
include: a focus on trade,
war, and natural resources
versus a focus on
urbanization and
industrializing
Make sure students
answer all parts to both
questions

5 min.

Scripted conclusion: Today you were able to act as

historians, and see Michigan from many different perspectives
through history by looking at these maps. We discussed the
importance of trapping, hunting and exploration to the French
who came here, and the importance of trade and war to the
British and Americans living here in the 1800s, as well as the
importance today of the expansive highways and big cities that
were created. You also noticed several features about these
maps, which will be a useful skill for when we are beginning
our Social Studies unit on maps.

REFLECTION ON PLANNING
Learning goal for self: State at least one
learning goal that you have for yourself, with
regard to your teaching. In other words, what are
you working on to improve your teaching practice?
If someone will be observing your lesson, also think
about what aspect of your teaching you would like
the observer to focus on. This may or may not be
the same thing as the learning goals you have for
yourself.

One learning goal I have is to use discussion moves

that encourage several different voices during the
conversation. Often I use the strategy of calling on
raised hands, and I would like to support all students
in feeling like they can and should meaningfully
participate. I also need to practice these different
discussion moves during my teaching.

Preparing to teach this lesson: Describe the I answered the worksheet questions myself,
rehearsed the questions I would ask, and researched
things you did in preparation to teach this lesson.
For example: practiced the activity with the actual materials.
materials, answered the worksheet questions myself,
thought through timing, researched materials, etc.

** Attach all images and any handouts, worksheets, and assessments you plan to use with the
students TO THIS INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN.

Image 1: Michigan by Guillaume de LIsle, 1718.

Image 2: 1802 Map of Michigan. Bay-Journal Website. 21

November 2009. <http://bayjournal.com/maps/maps.html>.

Image 3: State map of Michigan by the One World-Nations

Online Project, 2013

Student Assessment

Based on our discussion about Maps 1 and 2 of Michigan, what was important to
people in Michigan during the 1700s and 1800s?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Thinking about Map 3, what is important to people in Michigan today that is

different from the 1700s and 1800s?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________