My educational philosophy is having students

use their multiple intelligence in almost every

lesson that I will teach them. Also I will break
down the lessons in to smaller pieces so that
they are not so overwhelmed with information.
Being able to do the fundamentals in every
grade level is a goal. I will use as much
technology as I can in the classroom so that all
children can succeed. Also you can not forget
an area in the social studies field because if
you do not cover all areas you are doing a
disservice to the students. Regardless if you
personally dislike an area you need to teach it
in a way so that no one really hates it.

GLCEs
2 H2.0.4 Describe changes in the local
community over time (e.g., types of businesses,
architecture and landscape, jobs, transportation,
population).
I am assuming that I teach in the Michigan area
Public transportation
Have students go to www.smartbus.org
Have them or yourself guide them to routes near
their house.
Have them calculate the amount of money and
time would be needed to get to say a mall.

GLCEs
2 H2.0.6 Construct a historical narrative about
the history of the local community from a variety of
sources (e.g., data gathered from local residents,
artifacts, photographs).
Having parental support for this activity, the
students will interview an older relative ex.
Grandparents about their early life.
Basically how did their grandparents live when
they were children? How is it different from today?
Then have students come up with a presentation of
what they found. The students might need teacher
direction in choosing the correct type of media.

GLCEs
2 H2.0.1 Demonstrate chronological
thinking by distinguishing among years and
decades using a timeline
I am assuming I am working in the Warren
Consolidated School District.
This would involve a field trip to the Warren
Community Center.
We would go to the Community Center and
explore our history of Warren though the
artifacts as well as the painting that are in
the Community Center.

GLCEs
2 H2.0.4 Describe changes in the local
community over time (e.g., types of businesses,
architecture and landscape, jobs, transportation,
population).
Have student look at pictures that are of buildings
that the teacher took of the area around the
school.
See if some buildings look similar and classify
pictures into piles.
Ask students what buildings are needed for a city
can survive?
List these on the board.
This will lead to the geography lessons.

GLCEs
2 H2.0.4 Describe changes in the local community
over time (e.g., types of businesses, architecture and
landscape, jobs, transportation, population).
Now this lesson can be done many of ways.
Guest Speakers in the school
Or a field trip to either a car factory, or Greenfield Village

Basically the question is how we lived and worked in

jobs of years past?
Easiest idea would be the field trip but if you can find
someone for an assembly that would be great.
The assessment would have the students write a few
sentences on their experience and maybe draw a
picture.

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages
/448.shtml

http://www.sfsocialstudies.com/g2/inde
x.html
this is a site from a text book that
covers history curriculum from our
state GLCEs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynam
o/history/whatwhen.shtml
This game illustrates what came when
from 1950 and 2000.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Ga
mes/InteractiveAdventures
Students can fin out about different
people though these adventure games
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/ can
learn about people and places by
reading Time magazine for kids and
then going to this link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo
/history/show.shtml
History of transportation since at least
the 1900s

Michigan GLCEs
2 C2.0.2 Describe how the Pledge of
Allegiance reflects the core democratic
value of patriotism.
Have students write about what the
pledge of allegiance means to them
and have them draw a picture of a flag
as a way show respect for the nation
and something to show parents at
conferences.

Michigan GLCEs
2 C3.0.3 Identify services commonly
provided by local governments (e.g.,
police, fire departments, schools,
libraries, parks).
Have students identify by pictures
buildings that are provided by local
governments. You can have the words
along with the pictures so that they can
learn new words

2 C5.0.1 Identify ways citizens

participate in community decisions.
Have the students come up with a few
new class rules and vote on them as if
you were a true governing body such
as the Michigan Legislature. Or have
them decide what centers they would
like to do say one day a month.

Michigan GLCEs
2 C1.0.1 Explain why people form
governments.
Explain to the students why we have rules
that we have to follow from there ask why
do people make governments?
Then do a simulation on what would the
class look like if there were no rules, you
might want an extra teacher or the
principal in the room to restore order to
the classroom.

Michigan GLCEs
2 C5.0.2 Distinguish between personal and
civic responsibilities and explain why they
are important in community life.
2 C5.0.3 Design and participate in
community improvement projects that help
or inform others.(See P4.2.2)
Have students work outside the school at the
playground and pick up trash as well as plant
flowers and with teachers help planting
trees to make school look nice and friendly.
Also work on recycling in the classroom.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/whit
e_house_101/
For children to understand the
presidents.
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ is a kid
friendly website for all grade levels. It
explains all parts of government.
http://www.kids.gov/ kid friendly
website that explains government.

http://funschool.kaboose.com/parent-t
eacher/k-2/games/

Has fun games for all students ranging

from preschool to 6th grade.
All subject Areas are covered.
http://kids.aol.com/homework-help/jun
ior/america/government
Helps students understand the
government more.

Michigan GLCEs
2 G1.0.1 Construct maps of the local community that
contain symbols, labels, and legends denoting human
and natural characteristics of place.
My lesson plan idea is to have students work in group to
construct their own city maps.
I would get city maps from surrounding city and have
students ask between themselves what makes up a
city?
What do we need to have a city work?
They would need computer resources as well as paper
resources. This project would be more than one class
period but at the very least a week to longer project.
I would not mark them down for bad drawing.

Michigan GLCEs
2 G1.0.2 Use maps to describe the spatial
organization of the local community by applying
concepts including relative location and using
distance, direction, and scale
Mapping the classroom!
Have students use the big paper that is typically in
the elementary stockroom, or art room.
Have them make maps of the classroom or even
the school if it is closer to the end of the year.
Teacher assistance is needed if doing the whole
school map.

Michigan GLCEs
2 G4.0.3 Use components of culture (e.g.,
foods, language, religion, traditions) to
describe diversity in the local community.
Have student take home a flyer about having
a culture day or week at school.
Have students bring in different foods for the
class to try.
Also have students make a poster of what
cultures make up you?
Then have those posters shown around the
classroom.

Michigan GLCEs
2 G2.0.2 Describe how the local community
is part of a larger region (e.g., county,
metropolitan area, state).
Get maps off all areas in your county.
Show the maps to the students. Point out the
different cities that make up the counties.
Ask students which are the bigger cities and
ones that are the smallest?
Have students point out if they can where
they live on the map and put a dot on the
relative location.

Michigan GLCEs
2 G5.0.1 Suggest ways people can responsibly interact
with the environment in the local community.
2 G5.0.2 Describe positive and negative consequences
of changing the physical environment of the local
community.
This lesson will require knowledge in science.
Explain the basics of recycling? Why is recycling good
for the environment? What is harming our environment.
Have students write about this for a few minutes.
Then go into how you can recycle at school whether it is
recycling plastic bags, paper, or pop bottles or cans.
Start up recycling at your school.

www.discoveryschool.com
The Lesson Plan Idea is actually listed
for older students but there are no
GLCEs that pertain to making a map of
your neighborhood for say 7th graders.
Look under Geography for your search.

http://kids.aol.com/homework-help/junior/s
ocial-studies
a good website that covers government
and geography.
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-games
/index.php
this covers basic maps of the united
states and to be able to find states.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geogra
phy.htm It is the same as the kids geo site
with help student with understand what
states are part of the United states as well
as what countries are on what continents.

http://www.iknowthat.com/com/L3?
Area=L2_SocialStudies Very colorful
and help site for lower elementary
students as well as older ones.
www.google.earth which is a way for
students to see actual cities without
leaving their seats.

I found a few lessons that I liked which

have social studies as well as English
and Language Arts reference.

Michigan GLCEs
2 E1.0.4 Describe the natural, human, and capital
resources needed for production of a good or
service in a community.
I would read the book called The Goat in the Rug.
Afterwards I would teach the students about:
Producers
Intermediate Goods
Resources

After that I would ask them about the store and go

into detail about what in the story is one of the
three things (Producer, Intermediate goofs and
resources.)

After I was done discussing with them I

would have them write down what
things are producers, goods and
resources on index cards.
Lastly I would have them cut out and
use the cards from the original lesson
plan to classify what are the three
economic vocabulary basically a
worksheet to finish my lesson

Michigan GLCEs
2 E1.0.1 Identify the opportunity cost
involved in a consumer decision.
Is having the teacher read the story of Give A
Mouse a Cookie afterwards explain if you
give me something you will get something in
return
Like for instance if you do you homework
tonight you will get 10 minutes of free time
or recess the next day.
Ask the students what the mouse wanted in
the story and draw it or have pictures to
place on a board or in pockets.

Have students write their own if I do

something what will happen. Like for
instance if the teacher gets a dog what
will she need?
Use prompts for the students.

Michigan GLCEs
2 E1.0.3 Describe how businesses in the local
community meet economic wants of consumers.
First ask the students Why Do We Save Money?
See what the students come up with and write in
on the board.
Have students read the story that is apart of this
lesson plan.
Or if the students are good the teacher can read it
to the students.
As the students have a copy of the story on their
desks.

Explain the keys of saving and always

spending
Tell them about savings accounts and the
different between savings and checking
accounts.
Cut out penny strips from copies. Then
have students put pennies on a tree or
you can even use a very small Christmas
type of tree that sits on a desk to
decorate with change. This represents
changed saved for a rainy day.

Michigan GLCEs
2 E1.0.4 Describe the natural, human, and capital
resources needed for production of a good or service in
a community.
First read to the Students Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Have
you any goods?
Then discuss with the student what are goods and
services.
The goals of the lesson are:
1. a good as something that people want that can be
touched or held.
2. a service as something that someone does for
someone else.
Then have students pretend to trade goods between
other students in the classroom. Using pretend money.

Michigan GLCEs
2 E1.0.5 Use examples to show that people
cannot produce everything they want
(specialization) and depend on trade with others to
meet their wants.
Have student make things like cars, cards, animals
out of construction paper and then ask the
students exactly what they made and write down
how much they made.
From that tell them that they specialized something
which is what ever art work that they made and
that not everyone can duplicate the artwork.
They will have to trade with one another to get
what they want.

http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/li
t-goat.htm
http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Soc
ial_Studies/Economics/ECO0015.html
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/s
aveK-2.pdf
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/
mouse.htm

http://www.prongo.com/stock/index.pl
This is the Wally Site which is perfect
when talking about trading or the stock
market.
http://library.thinkquest.org/3901/ This
is a think quest on what makes up a
city and what needs to be borrowed.
Has students take a test after visiting a
few of the stores.

http://www.cibc.com/ca/youth/index.ht
ml This site has a saving piggy bank
game to show students how to save
their money.
http://library.thinkquest.org/3096/begin
ner.htm Think quest that help students
fin out about saving their money for a
rainy day.

http://www.kidnexions.com/ this is a
virtual tracker of how students money
is saved. It is free and can be used at
home.

Event #1 Setting the scene

I would have students react the occupations of early Boston people. Keeping mind that we
recently read the books of the Dear America series examples are:
Love thy neighbor : the Tory diary of Prudence Emerson
Turner, Ann Warren.
The winter of red snow
Gregory, Kristiana.
Record
Five smooth stones : Hope's diary
Gregory, Kristiana.
Occupations are map maker, Tory guards red coats British. John Adams. market place people,
fishermen, rope makers.
Event #2 The Snow ball Fight at the money collection house, Fire sequence
Have students in two groups one will represent the British in Boston guarding the money
house. The other half will be Boston citizens have the Boston citizens make paper balls and
throw them at the British. Then you as the teacher are the mapmaker will yell fire from your
house a few feet away. Now the British will pretend to have guns and shoot at the Boston
people. Most of the Boston crowd dies. How does it feel to be a British soldier, and then as a
Boston person. Also how would a person just walking by feel when the British started firing
on the Boston people.
Event #3 Have the trial of the British soldiers. Have one student be John Adams who is for
the British soldiers, and then have someone to oppose him. Have John Adams question the
British really hard on where exactly was the men in comparison to the common people. Have
the British tell what they were feeling as the snow balls hit. But most of all did the general
give the command to fire.
Conclusion
Have students write a journal entry as if they were in the courtroom or on the street during
the Boston massacre. How would you write the history. Was it a mix-up on communication.
Because there was a fire at the map maker's shop he yelled fire because of a real fire and not
for the British to start firing their weapons.

Parental Permission needed for this lesson!! Warning! Most likely a high school lesson.

Macedonian Legend
1. We will start with taking our play doh and splitting it into two as equal pieces. One piece
flatten out as thin as possible without it falling apart. This will represent King Phillip range of
conquered lands. So write a P with you pen in the center of the circle. With the other piece break into
a lot of smaller pieces. But roll those pieces into individual little balls if you will. The little balls
represent the wives that King Phillip took from his conquered lands. Now King Phillip had a favorite
wife and her name was Olympia. So put a O on one of the balls. Have all the balls on the land that
King Phillip owned though conquering. Put play doh back together.
2. Keep the play doh whole but roll the doh in your hands to make as best as you can a sphere
shape. Now write on the ball cosmology. This ball represent all of the gods that the people in the time
period believed in. They all lived in this big ball. They lived in this classroom. There were a lot of gods
that took up the religion of the time, such as Apollo, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hades, Poseidon.
3. Break play doh into three pieces. One make a P out of for King Phillip another with O for
Olympia. Then make the last piece of play doh into a snake. The snake represent Zeus. See King
Phillip was wondering what Olympia did just before she would go to bed every night so he went to
her room and spied on her. King Phillip did not realize what he saw when be peeked in on her. She
was in her bed with a snake. So have the P on one side of your table and the Snake and the O close
to one another on the other side. Put the play doh together.
4. Now completely flatten the whole play doh and press down on the play doh to leave your
fingerprints in it. This represents the travel that King Phillip took to talk to the Oracle of Delphi. By
the way this oracle was in support of a god Apollo. King Phillip was going there to find answers about
the snake in bed with his wife. The Oracle said it was Zeus in the form of a snake, and that his wife
was going to have Zeus's baby and also not to get to fond of his eye that was peeking on his wife you
will lose it in a battle as a punishment. Put the play doh back together.
5. Lastly break the play doh again into two pieces one with the letter P for King Phillip and one
for the letter O for Olympia when you make the letter O this time flatten it. Write the name of
Alexander on it. This is Olympia's son. Keep in mind Phillip will never like his son because he thinks of
him as a god's son.
The End.