Jesus Basulto, Edu 220: Educational Psychology, Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan

STANDARD LESSON PLAN FORMAT

I Describe the Class

The 8th Grade World Geography class contains twenty-four (24) students;
There are three students who have a distinct learning disability (of the 24)
o A student has oral language disability, another has reading-dyslexia,
another student has writing-dysgraphia
Two English-Language Learning (ELL) students (of the 24)
o All speak Spanish
Two gifted students are also in the classroom (of the 24)

II Subject/Skills:

8th Grade World Geography: The Cultural Geography of El Salvador

III Objective(s)

Given a map of El Salvador, the 8th Grade World Geography students will be able
to label three major cities in the country, a body of water, mountain ranges, and
climates.
8th Grade World Geography students will be able to describe El Salvadors major
cultural geographic features (such as the official language, a major holiday, the
national pastime of the country, and system of government) after going over the
chapter material in jigsaw cooperative groups.
After watching a video on contemporary culture in El Salvador, 8th Grade World
Geography students will be able to construct a Venn diagram in order to compare
and contrast their culture to El Salvadors culture (will be done as a class in a
teams-games-tournament).

IV Procedures

Teacher will state the objectives (found above) to the students. Next, the instructor
will explain how knowing about anothers culture is beneficial. Getting to know
others values and customs bring awareness and sometimes students can find out
that even though cultures differ, there are many similarities between different
people. Students will also be labeled from 1-4 for every group of four students.

Students already know about El Salvadors physical geography. As a warm up,

students will be handed out an outline map of El Salvador (one per group):
o Student one will label the three major cities in El Salvador (San
Salvador (capitol), Soyapango, and Santa Ana);
o Student two will label any body of water (includes Lake Ilopango,
Pacific or Atlantic Ocean);
 o Student three will label the Sierra Madre Mountain Range;
o Student four will label where the tropical climates are located.

After finding the information, they will put their findings together on the team
answer sheet. Turn it in once completed. They have fifteen minutes to locate the
places and must communicate between each other to be able to do the assignment.

During the lecture component of the class involving El Salvadors cultural

geography, students will be broken up into their groups. Each group member will
have a number ranging from 1-4. The ones will study El Salvadors official
language; twos will study major holidays in El Salvador; three will study
national pastimes in El Salvador; fours will study the systems of government in
El Salvador. The new groups will each study in their respective topics, becoming
an expert in every step of the way. The teacher will go around an answer
questions, check for comprehension, and make sure students are on the right
track. Some possible checking for comprehension questions are:
o Group Ones: Why do you think El Salvador speaks indigenous
languages besides Spanish? Are indigenous languages declining?
o Group Twos: Do you notice any differences between our holidays and
their holidays? What holiday would you like to see in our culture and
why?
o Group Threes: Soccer is the El Salvadors favorite sport, so any of you
play soccer? What other sports are popular in El Salvador?
o Group Fours: What type of government does El Salvador have? How
did they choose to have this type of government?
After this, the students will go back to their original groups and share what they
learned to construct a final report expressing their findings. The report will be
turned in after meeting for fifteen minutes and sharing their expertise with fellow
peers.

Finally, class activity will follow after watching the video. A gigantic Venn
diagram will be hanged on the wall. Students will write on the Venn diagram in
order to compare their culture on one side, El Salvadors on the other, and in the
middle, similarities. After everyone writes, the instructor will go over the written
responses and answer any questions.

V Materials

Outline map of El Salvador (1 per group)

Textbook, computer, projector, and whiteboards
Multiple Stations: Station 1: official language; Station 2: Major Holidays; Station
3: National pastime of the country, and Station 4: System of Government
Video
Group Worksheet for final answers for El Salvadors Culture
Class Venn Diagram outline sheet
 Laptop with station guides and places to record answers, printer (only applicable
for students with writing-dysgraphia or reading-dyslexia)
VI Grouping Structures

The beginning, where students label El Salvadors major cities, bodies of water,
mountain ranges, and climates; they have the ability to perform the task in groups
their groups of four, where every student needs to cooperate (the jigsaw
cooperative methods will be in use). The students have twelve minutes to do the
assignment.
During the lecture, students will be broken up into their groups (the jigsaw
method will be used). Each group member will have a number ranging from 1-4.
The ones will study El Salvadors official language; twos will study major
holidays in El Salvador; three will study national pastimes in El Salvador;
fours will study the systems of government in El Salvador. After this, the
students will go back to their original groups and share what they learned to
construct a final report expressing their findings. A final discussion during the
presentation will be done as a class in order to hear student ideas, experiences,
questions or concerns.
Both the introduction and lecture will be done through jigsaw cooperative
methods.
After watching the video, students will work on the Venn diagram as a whole
class. A large Venn diagram will be placed on the board so students can mark
similarities and differences to our present culture and El Salvadors.

VII Modifications

In groups, the student can point out the information and write it down so other
peers can record the information. In case of checking for comprehension (when
the teacher goes around the room), students will oral language disability will be
given an A or B question so they do not have to answer complexly.
o To student with this learning disability: Hey, is El Salvadors national
sport soccer or hockey? (Change output for adaption)
To the students with reading-dyslexia or writing-dysgraphia, there will be laptops
open where those students can type their answers in order to help overcome their
disability. They can print the notes to have them for their records. This will be
used in the numbered groups where recording the information will be done on the
devises to gain expertise, and when going back into original groups where the
recorded information is transferred to other students. (Change level of support for
adaption). The Venn diagram will be huge so they can take as much space as they
wish.
The two ELL students will be helped by Spanish speakers in the classroom. The
instructor is also a Spanish speaker and can help the students comprehend the
work and build their English skills. (Change level of support for adaption)
The two gifted students will be encouraged, by the instructor, to look for more in
depth information. Instead of looking for only sports, they may also look for
 popular hobbies. At the Venn diagram, students can write more than a single point
on the graph. (Change size for adaption)

VIII Assessment

Besides checking for comprehension and the whole class Venn diagram
assignment, students will be assigned questions from the textbook that correlate
with El Salvadors culture. There are five questions, each response three
sentences, and will need to be turned in at the beginning of next class.