Social Studies Lesson Plans
Grade 1 - Developing and Understand Community
Content Standards:
- CT Social Studies
Framework:
- Themes:
Explore personal history and relationships with family, school, and
community to better understand culture and its importance in shaping
students lives
- Hist.1.8
Generate possible reasons for an event and development in the pas
- CCSS.SL.1.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups
Prior Knowledge/Connections:
- Students have
demonstrated understanding of the definition of a community and gave
examples of different communities in their lives
- Students have
participated in collaborative conversations with peers and adults
Student Learning Objective(s):
- Students will identify
a variety of jobs and determine is each job provides a good or a service
- Students will be
able to explain the importance of services and goods to a community
Vocabulary:
- Community: a group
of people who live in the same area or have the same interests
- Responsibility: having the job or duty of dealing with or taking care of something
or someone
- Business: the activity of making, buying, or selling goods
or providing services in exchange for money
- Service: a helpful
act
- Goods: products
- Benefit: a good or helpful result or effect
Assessment-Essential Key Question: State essential
key question(s) and identify Informal, Formal Formative and Summative
Assessment that will be used during the lesson.
- Essential Question:
Why is it important to have people ling in a community that provide
services as well as goods?
- Formative
Assessment
- Students will
be assessed based on their responses to “What is a community?” and
whether or not they can define/ demonstrate understanding of what a good
and service is.
- Informal Assessment
- Students will
be assessed based on how successfully they can match workers to their job
using the drag and drop activity
- Students will
be assessed based on how accurately they identify whether specific jobs
provide a good or a service
- Summative
Assessment
- Students will
be assessed using a checklist that evaluates how well the plans meet the
criteria for the assignment.
Does the city include 3 businesses that provide
goods?
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Does the city include 3 businesses that provide
services?
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Does the city include 3 different living spaces?
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Does the story provide explanation/ reason why
someone would want to move to the city?
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Do the reasons provide support the importance of
goods and services to communities?
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Materials/Resources: List the materials you will use in each learning
activity.
- City plan template
- Markers/ crayons
Technological
resources: List the technology
resources that you will use in this lesson.
- Ipad or computers
- Drag and drop
interactive activity from Econedlink http://www.econedlink.org/interactives/EconEdLink-interactive-tool-player.php?filename=em310_dragndrop_v2_save.swf&lid=310
Learning Activities:
- Instructional Strategies:
- Whole class
discussion: to build schema and prior knowledge, to present ideas about
what jobs provide a good or service, to present city plans and stories
- Modeling:
teacher will model how to use clues about the workers’ appearances to
match them to their jobs
- Independent
Practice: students will complete the drag and drop activity
independently, students will write stories about their city independently
- Collaborative
Learning: students will work in pairs to construct city plans
- Grouping Strategies:
- Independent:
students will work at desks to complete drag and drop activity and to
write stories about their cities
- Small Group:
students will discuss in small groups what jobs provide services and what
jobs provide goods in their “pods”
- Pairs:
students can choose a spot in the room to work in pairs to draw city
plans
- Whole Class:
students will be seated on carpet to present cities and city stories,
students will be seated at desks to build prior knowledge and present
ideas about specific jobs providing a good or a service
Initiation:
In
a whole-class discussion setting, project clearly on the board the content
objectives for the lesson including the theme. Ask students “What is a
community?” write student responses on the board and tell the students “Today
we’re going to be learning about some of the jobs people in a community have to
make it a good place to live.” Begin to build schema by asking students “What
is a job? What are some jobs people in your community have?” Document the
examples students give and briefly explain how all jobs in a community provide
either a good or a service to the community. “Does anyone know what a good or
service is?” Display the terms clearly and have students read aloud as a class.
Lesson Procedures:
- Pass out ipads or
computers, have the link to the drag and drop activity saved into
bookmarks. Instruct students to open a web browser and use the link in the
bookmarks to get to the activity.
- Model by thinking
aloud to use clues such as what the people are wearing, what tools their
using etc. to match the people to the appropriate job.
- Students will
complete the drag and drop activity independently.
- Have students
discuss in small groups whether they think the jobs in the interactive
provide a good or a service to the community. Have one person from each
group share thoughts from discussion with class
- Pass out markers,
crayons, and city planning template. Group students into pairs. Tell the
students that they will be creating their own cities with working
communities. Project the guidelines for the project on the board and read
them aloud to the class.
- Students’ city
plans must include three businesses that provide a service, three
businesses that produce a good that is used in the community and three
types of shelters for people to live in. After students fulfill these requirements
they can add any other details they want to add to their community.
- Once students
complete their city plans, the students will work individually to write a
story about their community including reasons why someone would want to
move there.
- Meet as a class to
share and present the students’ city plans,
Closure:
Meet
as a whole class to conclude and reflect on the lesson. Ask the class “Why do
communities need people who provide services as well as goods?” Use the class
discussion and prompting questions to work towards the answer that Communities
need a balance and that people need a place to purchase goods and businesses
need to carry the items that people need in order to sell them so the community
can support itself. Ask the class “What do you think would happen to a
community if no one had to work or there were no businesses?” Again, use the
discussion to come up with the answer that the community would not be safe and
the people wouldn’t have the things they need.
Intervention:
Students
who are having trouble differentiating between jobs providing goods and
services will receive guided practice in identifying the differences and
organize the jobs into the two categories on a graphic organizer that they can
use as reference. Students having trouble explaining the importance of goods
and services to a community will receive questions that will help to prompt and
guide their written response.
Enrichment:
Students who complete the requirements for their city
plans quickly will be encouraged to add additional features and buildings to
their city that people need to live happily. Students who can benefit from more
of a challenge will be asked to provide more businesses that provide goods or
services.
Grade 3 - Museum of Connecticut History Fieldtrip
Content
Standards:
- CCSS.W.3.8. Recall
information from experiences or gather information from print and digital
sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided
categories.
- Hist.3.2 compare life
in specific historical time periods to life today
Prior
Knowledge/Connections:
Students
are currently completing a unit on Connecticut and local history. Students have
experience in analyzing and creating their own interpretations of the
significance of primary sources and objects. Students are able to decipher some
content vocabulary in primary sources but have trouble with difficult
vocabulary. Students are able to name and explain the significance of some
historical figures, events, and terms in relation to CT history.
Student
Learning Objective(s):
- Students will identify and explain the significance
of historical artifacts in a museum
- Students will recall events and gather information on
an exhibit and write a response that compares and contrasts historical
time periods to present day life.
Vocabulary:
- Governor: the elected
executive head-of-state
- Constitution: The
document that states the fundamental principles that our country is
governed by
- Declaration of
Independence: The document written by Thomas Jefferson that declared the
U.S. an independent country from Great Britain
- Military: the armed
forces of a country
- Charter Oak: an
unusually large oak tree that according to tradition, held the Royal
Connecticut Charter of 1662 in a hollow section of itself
- Canteen: a container
used to carry water
- Gatling Gun: a rapid-fire, crank-driven gun with a cylindrical
cluster of several barrels. The first practical machine gun
Assessment-Essential
Key Question: State essential key question(s) and identify Informal, Formal
Formative and Summative Assessment that will be used during the lesson.
Formative:
- Students will be assessed based on relevancy of oral
responses to preliminary questioning and ability to make well-thought
predictions about objects they will see at the museum
Informal:
- Students will be assessed based on how accurately
they can identify historical objects using riddles on the scavenger hunt
Summative:
- Students will
be assessed using a rubric that evaluates their written responses to
exhibits at the museum
Materials/Resources:
- 4 parent chaperones
- signed permission slips
- scavenger hunt work sheet and answer key
- paper/ easel
Technological resources:
Computers/ipads
Learning
Activities:
Instructional Strategies:
Modeling:
- Teacher will model inquiry skills to interpret museum
exhibits by thinking out loud
- Teacher will model comparing and contrasting
Guided
practice:
- Students will identify museum objects and their
significance with guidance from teacher and collaborative work
Independent
practice:
- Students will write a summary a description of some
museum exhibits and compare and contrast life during specific time periods
and life in the present day
Grouping
Strategies:
Whole
Class:
- The whole class will participate at their desks to
create an anticipation guide for the museum trip
- The whole class will experience the museum exhibits
in a tour guided by the teacher
Small
group:
- The students will complete the scavenger hunt in
small groups
Independent:
- Students will complete written responses and research
in the classroom by themselves
Initiation:
Pass
out index cards. “Since we’ve been learning about some of our local history
from Connecticut, today we are going to visit the Museum of Connecticut
History. Based on the lessons we’ve had about the state capital, the
ratification of the constitution in Hartford, and people like Nathan Hale or
Eli Whitney, I want you to take a second and write down 3 things you might
expect to see today.” Have students share what they expect to see and document
responses on a large piece of paper. Remind students of appropriate museum
behavior before leaving for the museum.
Lesson
Procedures:
- Arrive at museum. Tell students that the class will
first go on a tour of the museum and ask them pay close attention to the
exhibits and make connections between what they see and hear to what has
been learned in the classroom. Encourage students to ask questions and
share ideas.
- Enter Memorial Hall, show class the portraits of past
governors portraits. Point out and discuss notables and encourage students
to notice the many differences in the paintings including clothing,
background, and posture of the governors.
- Bring students to the Royal Charter of 1662 in the
Liberties and Legends exhibit. Ask students to recall the story of the
Charter Oak and have a student tell it to the class. Explain that the
Royal Charter is the document from the story and discuss it’s significance
to the state with the class.
- Move the class to the Mitchelson Coin Collection.
Point out that the collection is one of the best collections of American
coins in the world. Ask students to compare and contrast the coins and
discuss with their neighbor.
- After leaving Memorial Hall, stop by the Connecticut
Collections exhibit. Show students the state’s official copy of the
Constitution and remind students of the ratification of the Constitution
in Hartford. Give students a few minutes to explore the exhibit. Encourage
students to notice the objects and think of how they are similar or
different to objects and technology today.
- Bring students to the Colt Collection Exhibit. Point
out the historical firearms and discuss when and how they were used. Show
students the patents and marketing materials and explain their role in
making Hartford based Colt, the leading firearms company in the world.
- Split students into groups of 4-5 students and assign
a chaperone to each group. Pass out scavenger hunt worksheet and tell the
students to use the riddles as clues to inference what objects to find.
Once students find the object they may move on to the next task for the
scavenger hunt.
- Once complete return to the classroom. Refer back to
the chart used in the initiation that documented students predictions. Ask
students to think about their predictions and evaluate whether they were
right or wrong.
- Ask students to share objects or exhibits they
thought were important or interesting at the museum. Document student
responses.
- Ask students to think about the differences in
technology, art, military and government, and everyday life between early
American life in Connecticut vs. life in the present day. Provide a few examples
and model how to point out the similarities and differences between the
time periods.
- Have students think of their favorite exhibit from
the museum and have them write a two-paragraph response that a. Describes
the exhibit and its significance and b. explains how the exhibit portrays
a time period that is different from today and provide examples. Students
can use computers or ipads to conduct additional research on objects or
exhibits if necessary.
Closure:
Ask
students to share their work with the rest of the class. “How did our trip to
the museum help you better understand Connecticut History?” Prompt students to think about how the trip
helped students create connections between lessons and the exhibits. Ask
students if there was any objects that they wish they saw or wanted more time
to see, take notes on responses and use as suggestions to incorporate into
future lessons.
Intervention:
Students
with audio, visual, or language impairments will receive preferential placement
close to the teacher during the tour. Students who have trouble identifying the
significance of objects in scavenger will receive prompting questions to
decipher the clues to the objects. Students who have trouble recalling the
exhibits will receive a list of all the exhibits that were visited with
pictures.
Enrichment:
Students who complete the scavenger hunt
quickly can spend a few minutes to explore the museum and spend more time with
the exhibits. Students who require more of a challenge will begin a brief
writing assignment that compares what the students saw in the museum to
previous lessons.
Grade 5 - American Revolutionary War
Content
Standards:
CCSS.W.5.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with
reasons and information
Hist.5.9
Explain Probable causes and effects of events and developments
Prior
Knowledge/Connections:
Students
have recently begun a unit on the Revolutionary War. Students have identified
the differences between the colonial military, leaders, and daily life and that
of the British. Students have used writing strategies to state an opinion and
support it with reason and information.
Student
Learning Objective(s):
- Students will explain the significance of the slogan
“No taxation without representation” and identify it as a cause for the
revolutionary war
- Students will write and Op-ed piece that describes
how they would feel if they were taxed by the British
Vocabulary:
- Taxation
- The Stamp Act
- Parliament
- Tax Collector
Assessment-Essential
Key Question: State essential key question(s) and identify Informal, Formal
Formative and Summative Assessment that will be used during the lesson.
- Formative Assessment
- Students will be assessed based on oral
responses to “What does it mean to be taxed on something?” and by how
well students can infer items that the colonists were taxed on
- Informal Assessment
- Students will be assessed based on responses in
think pair share setting to discussions based on the reading
- Students
will be assessed on contrasting the differences in M&M that the King
has vs. the Colonists
- Summative
- Students
will be assessed using a rubric to evaluate how students present their
opinion and support it with information from the lesson in an Op-Ed
writing piece
Materials/Resources:
- Dixie cups
- Large Paper
- Printouts of “The Stamp Act” for all students: http://www.ducksters.com/history/american_revolution/the_stamp_act.php
- M&M’s
- Rubric for Op-Ed piece
Technological resources: List the technology resources that you will use in
this lesson.
Projector
Learning
Activities:
Instructional Strategies:
- Think Pair Share:
- Students will share responses to reading
discussion questions with one another before sharing to the class
- Guided Practice:
- Students will have guided practice with teacher
to define taxation and infer how the colonists felt about being taxed
- Students will complete a taxation simulation
with help from the teacher
- Independent Practice:
- Students will complete an op-ed writing piece
on their own
Grouping
Strategies:
- Whole Class:
- Students will be seated at desks during
initiation to find the definition of taxes
- Students will work around the classroom to
complete the taxation simulation
- Pairs: students will share responses with their
neighbor at their desks
- Independent: Students can work at their desks or a
comfortable spot around the classroom to complete their op-ed writing
piece
Initiation:
“Today
we’re going to do a fun activity about purchasing items with tax.” “What do you
think it means to tax something?” Document student input on the board to work
towards an accurate definition. Explain to students that King George, the King of
Great Britain was the person to tax the colonists. “What goods might have been
taxed?” Make a list of student responses on the board.
Lesson
Procedures:
- “In 1765, the British Parliament started the Stamp
Act to raise colonial taxes to fund the cost of the French- Indian War in
North America.” Project on the overhead images of colonists’ reaction to
the enactment of the Stamp Act (ie documents, songs, mob/crowd action, and
tar and feathers). “The colonists reacted right away to this because they
were tired of continuing to be taxed by parliament without having a party
to represent them.”
- Pass out print outs of “The Stamp Act” use popcorn-
reading strategy to read the article as a class.
- Project the phrase “taxation without representation”
on the board and explain that the slogan (which was in the reading) was
used as a rallying cry by colonists seeking independence from great
Britain.
- Ask students the following questions in a think pair
share
- What do you think taxation without
representation means?
- Why do you think the colonists were angry about
being taxed?
- Was it right for Britain to have a tax on
goods?
- After the students have discussed the questions and
shared with the class, tell the class that the activity for today will let
them experience being taxed on goods.
- Ask the class to brainstorm a list of things that
could be taxed in the classroom. Come up with 10-12 items that could be
taxed. Examples of taxable items are pencils, pens, folders, books, etc.
- Ask the class for two volunteers to be tax collectors,
and one to be a parliament member. The teacher will be the king in the
simulation. Remind students that it does not matter what role they play
that everyone in the class will have an equal amount of M&Ms as a
treat at the end of the simulation.
- Review the list and hand out 40 M&Ms to each
student. Tell the students that after the king has read the taxable items,
the tax collectors will collect the taxes from the students, and keep 10
percent for themselves, give 40 percent to the parliament member, and 50
percent to the king.
- Explain to students that if they are in possession of
any of the taxable items they will have to pay the tax. If the students
refuse to pay the tax they will have to go to “jail” and their entire cup
of candy will be taken.
- After the taxes have been collected and divided, have
the students share how much candy they have left. How much candy do the
tax collectors have? The parliament member? The king?
- Ask the students how this activity made them feel.
Use this to introduce the op-ed writing assignment. Display the following
questions on the board for students to use as guidelines
- How did you feel being taxed?
- In what ways were the taxes fair or unfair? Is
there a way to make taxes fair for all? How?
- Is your anger justified for being taxed without
representation from the British?
- Describe to
students that an opinion editorial is a section of the newspaper where
people share their feelings about a topic. Display an example or two on
the projector and read aloud to students pointing out features of the
pieces that make them characteristic of an opinion editorial.
- Display the questions and guidelines of for the op-ed writing assignment. Remind students that their piece should answer the three questions above so their pieces should each be three paragraphs of 5-6 sentences for each paragraph. Tell students that they will be graded based on paragraph development, spelling and grammar, and whether or not they answered the questions with support from the article and lesson.
Closure:
Students
can begin to write their op-ed pieces and if they do not finish they will be
assigned to complete them for homework. Once students complete the op-ed
pieces, have students share their pieces and their reasons for their opinions
on being taxed without representation. Explain to students that this was just
one of the reasons that the colonists were angered and wanted independence from
the British and that future lessons will cover more main causes for the
revolutionary war.
Intervention:
Different
candies can be substituted for students with food allergies. For students who
struggle with writing, the teacher will be available for guided practice,
prompting questions, and editing and revising student pieces. Students who
struggle to comprehend the reading will be able to complete the discussion
questions in a small group or with the teacher
Enrichment:
Students who excel at math can be used as
volunteer to find what fraction/ percentage the king, parliament members, and
tax collectors have of the total taxes at the end of the activity. Students who
finish the writing activity quickly will be asked to brainstorm other reasons
why the colonists wanted independence or write a mini op-ed piece from the
point of view of a tax collector or British loyalist.