Jaime Farnsworth

Social Studies Lesson SIOP + Reflection

The Utah Social Studies Core Standard says; Students will understand how geography
influences location and development. I chose to give my lesson on objective 2 a, which asks to
identify important natural resources of world ecosystems (1, 3). This is because we have been
working with ecosystems in science and it went along with the unit. It was refreshing to find out
that science and social studies overlap in some areas. This lesson became more meaningful to me
as I prepared.
In my preparation I focused intently on my content objective (1) because I knew that this
would guide student through their learning and that it needed to be aligned to the core
curriculum. I also wanted to combine reading, writing, speaking and listening into my objectives
to integrate language skills (2, 22). My content objective says; I will research important natural
resources of world ecosystems and my language objective states that I will write two important
facts about natural resources of world ecosystems (1). I also incorporate opportunities to discuss
issues in groups and listen to one another (2). I did not post my content and language objectives
at the beginning of my lesson and next time I need to reevaluate when to present them. I wanted
students to learn the vocabulary words (9) first before I went into the objectives. I now realize I
could have done both at the same time and asked questions about what they dont understand
about the posted objectives. I also combined my content and language objective (1, 2) and the
student supervisor suggested I do them separately because the language objective states how we
are going to do the content objective.
My lesson provided many opportunities for supplementary material (4) and meaningful
activities (6). I began my lesson by building on background knowledge from the previous lesson
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Jaime Farnsworth

in the unit by discussing their terrariums (7, 8). Then, I had students imagine living in the desert
with no electricity; I told them that a desert was one of the world ecosystems. I believe they can
all relate to the desert because we live in St. George (7). This also helps to build background and
introduce the topic. Vocabulary words (9) were displayed with pictures (5) and representations of
natural resources were explored through question and answers. I provided multiple forms of
feedback (29) such as building on their question by having them explore other possibilities. I also
gave sufficient wait time (18) after asking questions so multiple hands were raised and even then
I would wait so others could think and have a chance to raise their hand. Then I would ask them
to tell their partner (16, 17) what they were thinking. This helps to engage (25) all students
instead of just the one I call on. There are no ELL students in my class so I did not provide L1
(19).
I used observation and questioning (30) during the whole lesson and presented a PowerPoint
presentation (4, 6) with large pictures of natural resources such as wind turbines, water towers,
logging, etc... Students used graphic organizers (4, 6, 20, 21) as I asked questions relating to each
slide picture. This helped students to stay engaged 95% of the time (25) throughout the
presentation. I provided library books on natural resources (4) for students to do research (6) and
collect information to write on our World Ecosystems Giant Hallway Poster (4, 22).
This research was created through explicit instruction (13, 14, 12) and grouping (16, 17). I
spoke clear explanations (10) of their research project by describing and modeling (11, 12) how I
would work with a group. I had students draw a job in the group and we discussed their
responsibilities (17). One student was the scribe; another was the editor, timer and reader. This
allowed me to differentiate (5) for students who struggled with writing or reading. Then they
were able to work together to gather and discuss (21, 22, 23) information about two facts from an
ecosystem and write it on paper (20, 22, 24). This was probably the highlight of the lesson as

Jaime Farnsworth

students were able to post their facts on the hallway poster creatively depicting the Eight World
Ecosystems from the Core Curriculum (5). If I had my own class I would probably have them
create the world ecosystem poster for an art project. Unfortunately there was not enough time to
devote to its creation, but was a very effective visual aid (13, 20). In fact, other teachers used it
for their classes to look at in their lessons regarding ecosystems.
I implemented many teaching strategies during my lesson (13). By having students do their
own research, they were able to cognitively think about the information they desired to include in
their section of the poster (13). By showing them how to work as group members I properly
scaffold (14) the procedure and used think-alouds. As I walked around the room during this
research time I asked questions that would promote higher level thinking (15). There were a few
students who were dissatisfied with their job and asked negative questions like, Can I be the
scribe, they write to slow. I explain that it was just for one lesson and they needed to support
their team member and encourage them, not be unkind (29). They sighed and I could tell they
really didnt want to be a part of their team. I think being the classroom teacher would give me
more authority to instill procedures of working as a group and building character so these types
of things would not be common. I believe working together and being kind are essential in
building a community of learners.
I used many formative assessments like thumbs up and questioning (30) during my lesson as
well as the graphic organizer, and observations. This questioning clearly supported my content
and language objectives throughout the lesson (23, 24). The summative assessments
administered included the hallway poster with information, as well as a seven question multiple
choice test (30). We took this assessment the week before as a pre-test and then right after the
lesson as a post-test. The data collected indicated that none of the students were proficient on the
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pre-test and 90% of students were proficient on the post-test. The few students who were not
proficient still increased their score but need tier two instructions to grasp all of the material. I
will need to take this group aside during silent reading and provide further instruction (5).
The pacing of the lesson was pretty good (26). I was able to get to all facets of my lesson
although the research seemed a little rushed, everything was completed and students were
engaged (25). Even though they seemed to be fully engaged in the research I think the one job I
may change for the next lesson is the timer. They were busy watching the clock and not
collecting information from books. I would also have more books or iPads for students to collect
more information. There were only two or three books at their table and I think more would have
been better. Through this project and lesson students were constantly bombarded with the content
and language objective (27, 28). Everything we did related back.
I had ample opportunity at the completion of my lesson to do a review that really supported
the lesson. I went over vocabulary words (27) and concepts (28) from the lesson, but I did not
make sure they understood what a natural resource extraction was. This seemed like it was too
late to touch on so I did not go into more detail. This is one area I would discuss earlier and use
the word more throughout my lesson. I could tell by their blank faces that they were all unsure of
what an extraction was. I asked many questions and received multiple hands as we reviewed. I
provided plenty of feedback (29) throughout our discussion. I even went into protecting our
natural resources by recycling and taking care of our neighborhood (21). This was an
enlightening discussion on what students could do to make a different in our world.