5th grade World War II Cubing Differentiated Lesson Plan

EPSY 7230
Katie Kirk

Section 1, Student Data Report:

Setting:
I am designing this lesson for an individual student I tutor for about an hour twice a week. I will call him
Cooper for this assignment. Cooper is a White male in the 5th grade, and attends Chase Street
Elementary School in Athens, GA. Coopers parents reached out to me a little over a month ago because
they were concerned he was getting behind in social studies and science, and thought he could benefit
from extra support in these areas. Over the past few weeks I have been designing lessons and activities
that review social studies and science concepts the class has previously encountered, as well as those
they are currently learning. Although Cooper is not enrolled in the schools gifted program, he is an
excellent reader and a very smart student. For our tutoring sessions, I take Cooper out of ASP after their
snack time, and together we walk across the hall and into the library. The library is generally a good
place for us to work because it is usually quiet so Cooper can concentrate, and it also has a lot of
resources we can use. Occasionally, there are distractions such as small meetings happening around us,
or the sound of children playing outside. Although I tutor Cooper in both social studies and science, he
has told me several times he prefers social studies to science. Cooper is especially interested in the their
current unit on World War II. The differentiated lesson will take place after school on Tuesday March 14,
2017 from 3:00-4:00pm in the Chase Street Elementary School library.

Data Pieces:
I have been tutoring Cooper for a little over three weeks. He is very outgoing and talkative. During the
one-on-one time we have spent together, I have gotten to know a lot about him and his interests both
within and outside of academics. Cooper is a sports fanatic. He especially loves football, basketball,
baseball, and soccer. When presented with the question on an Interest-A-Lyzer If you could
communicate with anyone in the world, who would it be he responded with full names of famous
athletes. When presented with the question, If you had a time machine and could invite people from
the past to visit your class, who would you invite? Cooper once again jotted the names of three famous
athletes who are no longer living, Bo Jackson, Babe Ruth, and Barry Sanders. I was very impressed.

Cooper is very interested in fish and traveling. He is scuba certified and has been scuba diving in several
tropical locations. When asked places he would like to visit if he were to travel to a new city, he stated
he would go to a sports training camp, the zoo, and the stock market. When graphing his intelligence,
we figured out Cooper related best to the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence category, but also scored high
in spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligence. I was pleased he checked, I have opinions that
set me apart from the crowd and that he considers himself a strong-willed, independent thinker.
Cooper also loves rubix cubes and drawing During our tutoring sessions he sometimes doodles on
notebook paper.

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I pre-assessed Coopers knowledge on World War II using online quizzes, orally questioning, discussion,
and playing a 5th grade World War II jeopardy game. Cooper got a 9/10 on a World War II brainpop quiz.
Cooper correctly answered 20 out of 25 jeopardy questions about World War II. The questions Cooper
missed related to the mix up of the World War II leaders, and confusion around the concept of Rosie the
Riveter. Cooper expressed great interest in the Holocaust, and is currently reading a book titled Ashes by
Kathryn Lasky, which presents the viewpoint of a teenage girl, not Jewish and anti-Nazi, who witnesses
Hitler's rise to power. I have observed that Cooper is excellent at remembering historical dates and
characteristics of US presidents.

Analysis:
Because Cooper and I work one-on-one, I have developed a lesson that differentiates in content,
process, and product in response to his readiness, interests, and learning style. I have chosen the cubing
differentiation strategy for the lesson. Cubing is a technique that enables students to use a variety of
thinking skills at different levels of Blooms (revised) taxonomy. Cubing matches Coopers kinesthetic
and spatial learning styles, and the different commands on each side of the cube are purposeful,
relevant to Coopers interests, and focused on getting him to expand and broaden his understandings of
World War II. According to The University of Virginia Curry School of Education, Cubing gives students
who like to use their hands and move around a chance to feel like they are playing while learning
(2002). Because of this, I think cubing is a great differentiation strategy for the setting, student, and
social studies content. In section 2, Environment, I provide a more in-depth analysis of how the content,
process, and product of every task that appears on each side of the cube relates to Coopers readiness,
interests, and learning style.

Section 2, Lesson Plan:

Content area(s), standards, performance standards/skills or other critical learning targets:

SS5H6 The student will explain the reasons for Americas involvement in World War II.
Describe Germanys aggression in Europe and Japans aggression in Asia.
Describe major events in the war in both Europe and the Pacific; include Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima,
D-Day, VE and VJ Days, and the Holocaust.
Discuss President Trumans decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Identify Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hirohito, Truman, Mussolini, and Hitler.
Describe the effects of rationing and the changing role of women and African- Americans;
include Rosie the Riveter and the Tuskegee Airmen.
Explain the U.S. role in the formation of the United Nations.

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ELAGSE5RI3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

ELAGSE5RI9: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about
the subject knowledgeably.

ELAGSE5W1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

ELAGSE5W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.

ELAGSE5SL5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations
when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Environment:

This lesson using the cubing strategy will be unlike typical tutoring sessions. I have differentiated the
cube according to Coopers readiness, interests, and learning style. Because Coopers pre-assessments
and discussions around World War II demonstrated his readiness, the content in each of the activities
offers more in-depth exploration of the topic and standards around World War II. Because I was able to
design the cube specifically for Cooper, the process and products of each activity relate directly to his
expressed interests and kinesthetic and spatial learning style. Cubing was originally created so students
could use a variety of thinking skills (curry.virginia.edu), therefore different sides of my cube serve to
help Cooper think at different levels of Blooms Revised Taxonomy.

Side one instructs Cooper to recall information about World War II leaders in a hands on way by using a
large map on the wall to place colorful information. Although Cooper likes discussing the World War II
leaders nicknames, he often gets them confused. This activity will give Cooper the opportunity to move
around, work with his hands, and recall information in a visual, laid out way. Side two involves
describing the Holocaust because Cooper has learned a lot, and is very interested and affected by this
part of history. I think describing the Holocaust using Wordle will motivate Cooper in his writing because
it creates a visually appealing, fun product out of his words, and allows him to tweak the font, layout,
and color scheme in a way he feels is fitting. The fact that Wordle gives greater prominence to words
that appear more frequently in the source text will further his understanding of his learning and thinking
around the Holocaust.

Side three entails relating the concept of Rosie the Riveter and the changing role of women to Womens
Professional Baseball League formed during World War II. Cooper absolutely loves sports; this activity
will definitely interest him and expand his thinking. Because he likes to move and draw, he will make an
illustration for this activity. Cooper will have access to various materials in the library, as well as the
book Rosie the Riveter by Penny Colman containing many facts and photographs. Side four relates

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directly to his passion for sports. Reading about and researching famous baseball players who served in
World War II will be exciting for Cooper. Making a baseball card using the trade card generator offers a
creative, visual way to demonstrate his learning.

Side five involves comparing and contrasting the two presidents during World War II. Cooper will use
large chart paper and colorful markers, allowing him to move around and use different colors. Side six
entails evaluating Franklin D. Roosevelts opinion that professional baseball be played in the United
States, despite the war. Cooper is very passionate about sports, especially baseball. This activity will
allow him to connect to Roosevelts thinking and consider why sports such as baseball keep people
upbeat, despite sad times. I think Cooper will come up with many strong statements to justify the
decision to not cancel major league baseball season.

Incorporating cubing into this lesson will bring more choice, movement, engagement, creativity and
motivation into the library space, thus creating a productive and individualized learning environment for
Cooper to explore World War II!

Resources/Materials:
Laptop
Large world map on wall
Sticky notes
Green and blue dot stickers
Pencils
Crayons
Markers
Notebook paper
Chart paper
Printed article, Sports During World War II by Nicholas Varangis
Can be found: http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/sports-during-world-war-
ii/
Book: Rosie the Riveter by Penny Coleman
Websites: Wordle.net and Bighugelabs.com
Cube research and format design found:
http://curry.virginia.edu/uploads/resourceLibrary/nagc_cubing__think_dots.pdf

Lesson plan Sequence:

This lesson will go from 3:00-4:00pm in the Chase Street Elementary School library.
I will begin the lesson by explaining to the student that we will be exploring World War II in an
exciting way today.
I will present the cube to the individual student and explain that he will roll the cube and do the
activity that comes up, each activity will ask him to think in a different way. I will tell him that he

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 has the option to roll the cube again once if he does not want to do the activity that comes up
on his first roll.
Because this is a one-on-one lesson, I will monitor and support Cooper through the activities. I
will also clarify any confusions or questions regarding the tasks.
A mini-lesson will be conducted with the student once he makes a choice of the activity. The
mini-lesson will include providing the student with introduction/instruction/modeling/review of
the task, and will vary depending on which task is chosen. For example, if the student chooses
evaluating by justifying President Roosevelts decision, the mini-lesson would be a conversation
and review of opinion writing, addressing the characteristics of persuasive writing and prewrite.
The closing of the lesson will include the student self-assessing his work for the day and sharing
any new insights related to World War II and the completed task(s).
The amount of activities the student will engage in during the lesson will depend on the
magnitude of the tasks and how long he needs. There will be no time limit as long as the student
is actively engaged in the learning.
Each time student roles and an activity is decided, I will provide the necessary resources and
materials. All resources and materials will be ready and able to be quickly accessed.
If topics within the tasks need to be reviewed or re-taught before the activity can be successfully
completed, we will use the students World War II foldable as well as reliable websites and texts
to further explore concepts.
If time runs out before completion of a task or if student wishes to engage in a task he did not
get to encounter during this lesson, we will continue the lesson at the next tutoring session.
Necessary resources and materials will be kept in the library.

Tasks and Assessment:

1) Knowledge Remembering

Write each of the following leaders names on separate sticky notes: Stalin, Churchill, Hirohito, Truman,
Mussolini. Use the large world map on the wall to match and place (stick) the leaders to their
appropriate country. Specify the powers of each country by placing green stickers on Allied powers and
blue stickers on Axis powers. Write 2-4 words or phrases under each leaders name that describe their
role or actions in World War II. Include ism words associated with leaders and nicknames when
applicable.

Evaluation Criteria (18 points)

Student matched leaders to the appropriate country on the map (5 points)
Student successfully identified the Allied powers (3 points)
Student successfully identified the Axis Powers (3 points)
Student wrote accurate words or phrases for each leader (5 points)
Student included at least 1 ism word and one nickname (2 points)

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2) Comprehension Understanding

Describe The Holocaust in your own words. Make sure to include learned vocabulary terms and
powerful adjectives in your description. Type your description into a Wordle!
www.Wordle.net

Evaluation Criteria
Student included associated, learned vocabulary- ex. Concentration camps
Student demonstrated a detailed understanding of the Holocaust
These criteria will not be associated with points. This assessment will show his understanding of
the Holocaust through learning about it through videos, books, and discussions and determine
and inform future instruction on the topic.

3) Application Applying

Read the paragraph titled, A Womens professional League from the article, Sports During World War
II. Relate the article to Rosie the Riveter. Make an illustration, diagram, or drawing containing words,
symbols, phrases, and pictures that informs people about the changing role of women during World War
II.

Evaluation Criteria (4 points)

Student was able to make connections between previous learning of Rosie the Riveter and the
reading about the formation of a womens professional baseball league (1 point)
Student product demonstrating clear understanding of the changing role of women during
World War II (1 point)
Student included words and pictures related to the changing role of women during World War II
(1 point)
Students product demonstrates effort and originality (1 point)
Because we are in a one-on-one, out of school setting I will support the student throughout the
task by providing resources such as the book Rosie the Riveter by Penny Coleman, answering
questions, and probing student to think about why and how women were changing.

4) Synthesis Evaluating

More than 500 major league baseball players served in the military during World War II. Read the
section titled Baseballs War from the article Sports During World War II by Nicholas Varangis. Pick one
baseball player to research further using the internet and/or library resources. Use the trading card
generator on BigHugeLabs.com to design a baseball card that summarizes what you have learned about
the person and their life during World War II. Make sure to include interesting facts and a photo!
https://bighugelabs.com/deck.php
Evaluation Criteria (5 points)

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 Student demonstrated research skills (1 point)
Students trade card included the baseball players first and last name (1 point)
Students trade card included a photo or picture of the baseball player (1 point)
Students trade card included interesting facts about the baseball player (1 point)
Students trade card included at least one fact relating the baseball player to WWII (1 point)

5) Analysis Analyzing
Compare and contrast the political policy and other differences between Herbert Hoover and Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Consider Trumans decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Draw an
appropriate graphic organizer structure (ex. Venn Diagram) on large chart paper before recording your
analysis of the two presidents using a different colored markers.

Evaluation Criteria (11 points)

Student drew an appropriate graphic organizer for compare and contrast (1 point)
Student included at least three similarities between the presidents (3 points)
Student included at least three differences for Herbert Hoover (3 points)
Student included at least three differences for Franklin D. Roosevelt (3 points)
Analysis demonstrates an understanding of political policy differences (1 point)

6) Evaluation Creating
World War II disrupted the lives of millions of people around the world. The article Sports During World
II states, Five weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw
Mountain Landis asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt for guidance on whether or not the upcoming
major league baseball season should be canceled. For the good of public morale, Roosevelt advised that
baseball should go on- if the talent were there. Write one opinion paragraph that justifies President
Roosevelts decision.

Evaluation Criteria
Student provides a strong opening sentence (1 point)
Student provides 3 strong, detailed reasons (3 points)
Student includes at least one counter argument (1 point)
Student provides strong closing sentence (1 point)