ED 345 Calvin College Lesson Planning Form

Teacher: Annelise VanDyken Date: 3/28/17 Subject/ Topic/ Theme: Social Studies

I. Objectives
What is the main focus of this lesson?
Students will be introduced to the Midwestern States through exploration of different items from the states.
How does this lesson tie in to a unit plan? (If applicable.)
This is the first lesson in a unit plan on the states.
What are your objectives for this lesson? (As many as needed.) I ndicate connections to applicable national or state standards. If
an objective applies to only certain students write the name(s) of the student(s) to whom it applies.

Students will be able to:

Infer which state is represented by a collection of relevant materials and give appropriate reasoning
Generate questions about the Midwestern states for future exploration
Compare and contrast the Midwestern states with each other as well as with states from other regions

Michigan Social Studies Standards:

4 G1.0.1 Identify questions geographers ask in examining the United States (e.g., Where it is?
What is it like there? How is it connected to other places?).

II. Before you start

Prerequisite knowledge and skills. Students have lived in a Midwestern state, Michigan, and they are familiar with the
Midwestern States, but may not know unifying characteristics.
Formative: Students make inferences about which states are represented by a certain
collection of items. They record these ideas on paper, and teacher reviews with the whole
Assessment
group at the end of the lesson.
(formative and summative)
Pre-Assessment: Students hand in their recording packets to the teacher so that the teacher
can note the students pre-existing knowledge and questions
Universal Design for Learning Networks/Domains (see UDL Guidelines)
RECOGNITION STRATEGIC AFFECTIVE
Multiple Means of Representation Multiple Means of Expression (Action) Multiple Means of Engagement
Options for Perception Options for action/interaction Options for recruiting interest
Students get to explore different Students can explore state items, students Teacher pretends she returned from a trip
Midwestern materials as they walk from work with a partner to make decisions, around the Midwest, students interact
state station to station, teacher gives verbal students travel around to different stations with different pictures and items.
explanation, shows duffle bag.
Options for Language/Symbols Options for Expression Options for Sustaining Effort & Persistence
Students hear verbal instructions, read Students write down their thoughts about Students explore different states and
instructions and questions on their packets, a particular grouping of state items on a need to write down responses for each
view pictures and items to better packet, voicing their reasoning behind state. Teacher guides students and lets
understand the states. their choice. Students discuss with their them know when they need to switch
partners which state a group of materials stations.
belongs to.
Options for Comprehension Options for Executive Function Options for Self Regulation
Students can explore state items and make Students explain why they chose a certain Students are held accountable by their
inferences as to which Midwest state they state, students can present their answers partners and by the questions they must
belong to, students work with a partner to verbally with a partner/teacher, they have answer on their worksheets.
make decisions. them written as well.
 Items that describe each of the Midwestern States (ex. flags, nicknames, pictures,
Materials-what materials (books, items from that state)
handouts, etc) do you need for this Midwestern state inferences sheets
lesson and do you have them? Clipboards

Teacher will have the science room available for setting up different Midwestern State
Do you need to set up your stations. Students will go to the science room for part of the lesson.
classroom in any special way for
this lesson? If so, describe it.

III. The Plan

Time The description of (script for) the lesson, wherein you describe teacher activities and student
Parts
activities
Motivation
5-7 (Opening/ 1) Teacher introduces the lesson by pretending that she has just gotten back from a trip around
min Introduction/ the Midwest. (teacher comes in with duffle bag)
Engagement) a) The teacher tells the students that she has collected a variety of different items, took
many pictures, and discovered many things about the states.
b) Teacher has the students help her generate a list of the Midwestern states on the
board. There are 12 of them!
c) Teacher tells the students that she has set up stations in the science room for each of
the Midwestern states. She organized the materials by the state she collected them in.
2) Teacher tells students that they will be working in partners to determine which state goes with
which materials. Teacher passes out packets that the students will be using. For each station
that they travel to, they will have to determine a few different things based on their
pre-existing knowledge:
a) State name?
b) Why do you think so?
c) Are there any pictures or items that you dont recognize? Which ones?
3) Teacher assigns the partners and leads the students to the science room.

45 Development
min 1) Students travel around the different stations with their partners. At each station, the students
have about 4-5 minutes to study the materials and make their decisions about which state it
could be.
2) On the back side of the packets, the students have a Word Bank for the different states so they
can check off the state when they use it.
3) Students spend about 45 minutes exploring the different states. Teachers walk around and
monitor the student work -- Why did you think it was this state? Have you seen any of these
items before?

This lesson serves as a follow-up to the pre-assessment. It gives students the opportunity to explore some
defining features of the individual Midwest states, and they can practice making inferences based on
some given materials. Therefore, it in and of itself is a pre-assessment.

Note: If there is not enough time in the given class period, this part of the lesson can fit into the
10 beginning of the next lesson time. OR the teacher can simply give the names of the states for each blank
min and ask general questions.
1) Teacher gathers students back together after they have looked through all of the states:
a) Teacher facilitates discussion about the different states. She follows up by asking the
students about which state they thought fit each station, and the teacher also asked
Closure general questions:
i) What were some things that you learned about some of the states? What
were some things you were surprised about?
ii) Were there some states that were more challenging than others? Why?
iii) What were some big similarities between the different states? Why do you
think this might be the case?
iv) Compared to other regions you have studied, how are these states different?
2) Teacher wraps up by having the students hand in their packets so she can review them, and she
 returns back to the science classroom later to clean up the materials.
Your reflection on the lesson including ideas for improvement for next time: