Title of Unit: Holidays and Symbols from Around the World Title of Lesson: The Taj Mahal Submitted

By: Gina Bogden

A. Summary of the Lesson Plan: This social studies lesson is designed for 2nd grade students to learn about a landmark in India, the Taj Mahal. The lesson uses the books Taj Mahal by Elizabeth Mann and Learn to Draw Structural Wonders edited by Heather Kissock. B. Target Population: Grade Level: 2nd grade Skill Level: students at all learning levels Grouping: whole group reading, independent for art activity and assessment, small group for review C. Materials: Pull-down map Learn to Draw Structural Wonders edited by Heather Kissock Taj Mahal by Elizabeth Mann Computer/smart board Website for virtual tour: taj-mahal.net/augEng/main_screen.htm Paper Pencils Crayons D. Objectives: o NV State Social Studies Standards o C13.2.5 Describe traditional patriotic activities, holidays, or symbols from around the world.

Student-Friendly Standards I can write about traditional patriotic activities, holidays, or symbols from around the world.

E. Procedure: 1. Introduce the topic. Review what students learned about symbols and landmarks on Day 5 and Day 6 of social studies lesson. Tell students that we are going to learn about a landmark that is a symbol for the country of India, the same country that we talked about when we learned about Diwali. Call students attention to pull-down map and show them the location of Agra, India. Show picture of the Taj Mahal on front cover of Learn to Draw Structural Wonders edited by Heather Kissock. Tell students that some people consider it the most beautiful and perfect building on earth.
EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 1

Nevada State College

Title of Unit: Holidays and Symbols from Around the World Title of Lesson: The Taj Mahal Submitted By: Gina Bogden

Introduce vocabulary (emperor, Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal, tomb, mausoleum)

2. Teacher reads aloud p. 4-5 in Taj Mahal by Elizabeth Mann 3. Students view the virtual tour of the Taj Mahal on taj-mahal.net/augEng/mainscreen.htm 4. Ask questions such as the following: Where is the Taj Mahal located? Why did Shah Jahan have it built? How did Mumtaz Mahal die?

5. Do art activity: Students will be asked to draw and color a picture of a monument they would build in memory of someone they love. Under the picture they will write a description of the monument and the person it is for. Students will show their monument picture and read their description to their shoulder partner. 6. CLOSURE: Have students discuss with their table group (4 students) what they learned about the Taj Mahal. Ask one person from each group to tell the whole class what they discussed with their group. F. Assessment: What will you use to measure student understanding? Students will be asked to answer the following questions on a piece of paper: 1. Why did Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal? 2. Did his wife like the building? Give a reason for your answer. 3. Where is the Taj Mahal located? Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson. G. Students must describe traditional patriotic activities, holidays, or symbols from around the world. Answering the questions about the Taj Mahal will show if students understand basic facts about this symbol of India. H. Reflection: 1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? The easiest part will be the virtual tour. 2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? The most challenging part might be the art activity because the students might have a hard time coming up with ideas for this activity.
Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2

Title of Unit: Holidays and Symbols from Around the World Title of Lesson: The Taj Mahal Submitted By: Gina Bogden

3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? I could follow up this lesson by teaching about Shah Jahan and how his son imprisoned him to take over the empire. 4. What will you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? For students who dont grasp the concept, I will review the definitions of landmark and symbol from previous lessons and point out that the Taj Majal is a landmark and symbol of India. I will then summarize in my own words the pages that I read in Step 2 of the procedures. 5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? I d like to find a better book about the Taj Mahal than the one I used. I only read a couple of pages from the book I used because it was too detailed. Id like to find a simpler book on this topic. 6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? The most difficult part was finding a sample lesson plan on the Taj Mahal. I found a few, but they were for higher grade levels. Others I found I would have had to pay for in order to access. When I finally found a good one, I was not able to download it and it ended up freezing my computer.

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

page 3

Title of Unit: Holidays and Symbols from Around the World Title of Lesson: The Taj Mahal Submitted By: Gina Bogden

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

page 4