Revised Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan: Introducing the Metro

Situating the Lesson: This lesson will occur a few lessons into the unit. Students will have already been introduced to Washington, DC, its sites, and its neighborhoods. After that background knowledge has been established, this lesson on navigating the city will be done.
Methods of Inquiry: Students will be given ample opportunity to ask questions throughout the lesson.

Instructional Goals: Students will be able to explain how to effectively use the Metro to navigate around Washington, DC and be able to explain how to use the internet to research how to use public transportation to get from point A to point B in the city.

Essential Questions: What is the Metro?
What is WMATA?
How do I use the metro to travel?
How do I get to school from my house via Metro?
Where are important sites located along the Metro?

Standards: 3.1.3: Identify and locate major historical sites in and around Washington, DC. 3.1.4: Describe various types of communities within the city. 3.1.5: Describe the ways in which people have used and modified resources in the local region.

Instructional Materials: Map of the metro
Internet computer connected to projector (or computer lab)
Location along metro of major monuments and sites (for teacher)
Smart Trip Card
Metro Fair Card
Pencils
Mystery Box
Worksheet: How to get from school to historical sites
Set Induction: I liked Jenna’s idea for using the mystery box, so I’m stealing it. Introduce mystery box, have students ask yes/no questions to try and figure out what is in the box. In the box will be a metro fair card. After they see the metro fair card, I will then show them a SmartTrip card and explain the difference. This part of the lesson will be conducted in the classroom. Following the completion of this portion, we will head to the computer lab.

Procedure:
Set induction
Discussion: What is the metro? Who uses the metro? Have you ever used the metro and where have you gone on it? Where can we get from the metro? Teacher guided discussion of the children’s background knowledge of the Metro.
Have students go to wmata.com and show them how to navigate to the interactive metro map.
Have students describe the map: what do you notice? What do you think the colors mean? Where is the school located?
Guided questioning on how the metro works (fair cards, lines, transfers, etc) to get the students to help each other and pull together their individual knowledge to help everyone understand
Review of instruction: ask students how they would get from point A to point B on the Metro.
Independent Student Practice: Students complete the A - B worksheet. The worksheet contains a list of several of the historical sites located we have previously discussed, the students need to use the website and internet to determine how to get from the school to each of those sites.
When worksheet is complete, hand out the homework, a blank sheet of paper, and a map of the metro. Students are to draw a loose map of how to get from their home to school via the metro

Assessment/Closure: Students will demonstrate their understanding of basic metro navigation in two ways: the in class worksheet and the at home map. Students complete a worksheet telling me how to get from the school to various historical and other sites around Washington, DC, illustrating they know how to use the internet to find the location of such sites, and how to use the WMATA website to learn how to travel. Their homework will also demonstrate to me that they understand how to use the metro as they draw me a map from their home to school and tell me how to get there via the metro. Additionally, to help keep students on task while in the computer lab, I will make sure to walk around checking in on their computers throughout the lesson.

*I kept most of the lesson the same. I changed around some of the direct instruction and tried to make it more student oriented. I also tried to account for third graders on a computer by insuring I am walking around the room while we are all working.

Learning Processes 3

Takaki still lends itself to being a little dense and there is a lot of information to be had. One strategy I have always liked for when it comes time to go back and review information from a textbook or informational book is to write one or two words that summarize the main idea of a paragraph in the margin next to the paragraph. Of course highlighting is always great for finding out the important information, we still need a way to remind ourselves where we can find particular information, this is why I like to write in the margin the main idea of paragraphs. The table of contents and indexes can only do so much for us when we are trying to find particular information fast, this method allows me to more quickly skim a page when I am looking for something in particular.

As we continue reading, Takaki continues to give us the different racial and ethnic groups and talk about their treatment by the majority white class. It is amazing how much they hated everyone, not just one group in particular. They exploited everyone, not just one or two groups. Because of this, I ask, why do American history courses not integrate these exploitations into the curriculum? Why are the treatment of others always an afterthought or separate unit? This makes these groups seem like they are not essential to the development and progress of American history. I can see the value in learning about particular groups individually, but not entirely separate. Being able to discuss the trials and tribulations of various social groups should be an assessment for units, and these groups should not need their own unit. It should be an overlying theme of the entire curriculum. As the semester progresses, build on the knowledge of what was happening to other people. Ignoring them until they get their own brief unit does not do them justice. They are a part of American history, not a side note, and we as teachers need to be treating and teaching their stories as such. Providing perspective needs to be done all year round.

Lesson Plan: Introducing the Metro

Situating the Lesson:

This lesson will occur a few lessons into the unit. Students will have already been introduced to Washington, DC, its sites, and its neighborhoods. After that background knowledge has been established, this lesson on navigating the city will be done.

Methods of Inquiry: Students will be given ample opportunity to ask questions throughout the lesson.

Instructional Goals:

Students will be able to explain how to effectively use the Metro to navigate around Washington, DC and be able to explain how to use the internet to research how to use public transportation to get from point A to point B in the city.

Essential Questions:

What is the Metro?

What is WMATA?

How do I use the metro to travel?

How do I get to school from my house via Metro?

Where are important sites located along the Metro?

Standards:

3.1.3: Identify and locate major historical sites in and around Washington, DC.

3.1.4: Describe various types of communities within the city.

3.1.5: Describe the ways in which people have used and modified resources in the local region.

Instructional Materials:

Map of the metro

Internet computer connected to projector (or computer lab)

Location along metro of major monuments and sites (for teacher)

Smart Trip Card

Metro Fair Card

Pencils

Mystery Box

Worksheet: Point A to Point B

Set Induction:

I liked Jenna’s idea for using the mystery box, so I’m stealing it. Introduce mystery box, have students ask yes/no questions to try and figure out what is in the box. In the box will be a metro fair card. After they see the metro fair card, I will then show them a SmartTrip card and explain the difference. This part of the lesson will be conducted in the classroom. Following the completion of this portion, we will head to the computer lab.

Procedure:

1. Set induction

2. Discussion: What is the metro? Who uses the metro? Have you ever used the metro and where have you gone on it? Where can we get from the metro? Teacher guided discussion of the children’s background knowledge of the Metro.

3. Have students go to wmata.com and show them how to navigate to the interactive metro map.

4. Have students describe the map: what do you notice? What do you think the colors mean? Where is the school located?

5. Direct instruction of how the metro works, paying for fair cards or smart trip and how basic navigation on the metro works.

6. Review of instruction: ask students how they would get from point A to point B on the Metro.

7. Independent Student Practice: Students complete the A - B worksheet. The worksheet contains a list of several of the historical sites located we have previously discussed, the students need to use the website and internet to determine how to get from the school to each of those sites.

8. When worksheet is complete, hand out the homework, a blank sheet of paper, and a map of the metro. Students are to draw a loose map of how to get from their home to school via the metro

Assessment/Closure:

Students will demonstrate their understanding of basic metro navigation in two ways: the in class worksheet and the at home map. Students complete a worksheet telling me how to get from the school to various historical and other sites around Washington, DC, illustrating they know how to use the internet to find the location of such sites, and how to use the WMATA website to learn how to travel. Their homework will also demonstrate to me that they understand how to use the metro as they draw me a map from their home to school and tell me how to get there via the metro.

Learning Process 2

I really like the concept of Takaki's book, providing history and details about minority groups of people that are often overlooked in our social studies curriculum, or looked at in passing. Too often in our classrooms, we do not integrate the history of these peoples into our daily instruction. We might include these groups in the curriculum, but as an afterthought, such as "Black History Month." Takaki's book puts many of these different races and ethnicities on the forefront. Each chapter focuses on the history of a different group or people. I think this is both a strength and weakness of the book. One of the issues I'm gathering that Takaki has with current social studies instruction is that these groups are not integrated into the curriculum and he brings that to our attention by providing us with a book that provides a synopsis/timeline of important historical facts regarding the history of these different groups of people. At the same time, I view this concept as its own weakness too. This is because Takaki takes each of these groups separately and provides the history separately, not integrated into true American history, which seems to be what he wants educators to do. So what does this mean for educators? It means that Takaki's book is supposed to be used as a supplement. It is great that it provides us with an organized background of these different groups. To effectively use this in the classroom, as our units progress, we need to incorporate the histories of these peoples into daily instruction. If we are teaching a sequential history, we use Takaki's book as a guide for recalling what happened to various groups during that particular period in history and integrate it during that lesson, rather than go back to it later. If we teach our students about these groups of people as afterthoughts to the curriculum, that's exactly how they are going to view them, as unimportant side stories to the development of American culture.

I wish I could include something about what I am learning in the classroom with regards to social studies, but we still have not begun social studies in my classroom. The farthest we have gotten is giving the students their textbooks.

Mini-Ethnography

• Description of the class

· What subject matter is being taught?

• I did an hour and a half observation spanning writer’s workshop and word studies (we haven’t started social studies in the classroom yet).

· What are the class demographics, including race, ethnicity, and gender?

• There were 21 students in the class, 11 boys and 10 girls. Ethnically, they are a diverse group consisting of 10 African Americans, 1 Middle Eastern student, 5 Caucasian students, and the rest of Latin American descent. 3 of the students are English Language Learners and 1 student is special education.

• School Culture

· How is the school structured?

• The school is Pre-K-5^th grade. Each grade consists of one class. Pre-K-2 is 1 teacher and 3^rd-5^th grade is departmentalized. Each classroom consists of 1 teacher and 1 permanent aid.

· Are students tracked?

· How do the social studies figure into the overall curriculum?

• Social Studies is a secondary thought to my classroom’s curriculum. It is something my teacher would like to include and they even have textbooks; however, it is something she has not yet had time to include in the daily schedule. Every day focuses on reading, writing, and mathematics.

· How long are class periods?

• There are no set class periods, but any given subject tends to be taught for about 45 minutes at a time.

· Are there bells?

• The only bells are the morning bell signaling the start of school and the end of the day bell signaling time to go home.

· What is the racial, ethnic, and socio-economic composition of the students, teachers, and administrators?

· What are the general academic and behavioral expectations for students at this school?

• The daily expectations of the students in my classroom are: be on time, complete all assignments to the best of your ability, be respectful of each other and of the teacher, keep your hands to yourself, respect and listen whoever is speaking.

· How does the school fit into the organization of the school district?

• Charter school

• Classroom arrangement

· How do students group before or after class (assuming they are not allowed to do this during class)?

• The only time they can group themselves is during recess, which usually consists of girls grouping together and boys grouping together.

· How does the teacher group the students?

• The teacher typically groups the students according to ability, this is especially true with reading and with word studies. Literature groups are based on student reading level, and word study groups are based on reading/writing level.

· How does the classroom arrangement affect student learning?

• The arrangement allows students free reign of motion during appropriate times. The tables are fairly close together so students can interact with students from other tables during appropriate times. The carpet provides a nice place for everyone to come together and receive directions.

· How does the classroom arrangement reflect the teacher’s beliefs about what it means to be a teacher and a learner?

• The arrangement seems to reflect a belief that a classroom should be open and welcoming. Students sit together and the adults wander the room assisting individual or groups of students as needed.

• Student behavior

· How do students interact with each other?

• Student interactions vary a great deal. One student, MA, who I have observed several times, is often very proud of his work and wants to share it with everyone. During writers workshop, he will often start talking with his two table mates about what he has written. He also will walk to other tables and talk about his story. He is not self-centered, however, as he seems to always ask everyone else what they are writing about as well.

· How do students interact with the teacher?

• The students have a great deal of respect for the teacher. They always appear to be a little upset with themselves when they seem to have let her down in some way. They often walk up to share their work with her or the other adults of the room.

• Teacher behavior

· How does the teacher interact with the students?

• The teacher is very welcoming. She is often firm, but fair. She asks a lot of her students but very clearly enjoys all of their work.

· How does the teacher engage the content material?

• The content in these areas of observation is very simple. The teacher typically does a read-aloud, asking questions throughout and after to check for student understanding and comprehension. She is very firm about having students raise their hands often saying, “Hold your volcano.” During word studies, students are put into groups based on ability and different adults of the room work with different groups individually guiding them through the activities.

• Pedagogy

· What are the observable goals or objectives of the lesson?

• The goals of the lesson are always made clear to the students at the beginning of the lesson. The teacher explains what the class will be doing and what she helps they will walk away knowing. During writer’s workshop, the goal was for students to continue developing personal stories about themselves.

· What specific teaching/learning methods does the teacher use?

• The teacher utilizes read-alouds and thematic units to help teach students about new things in the classroom and different styles and story elements so they can develop their own stories better.

· What specific teaching/learning methods do the students use?

· How does the teacher transition from one activity to the next?

• The teacher typically will transition from one activity to the next by bringing all of the students back to the carpet. This is signaled by a ringing of a bell and the directive to come to the carpet for new directions.

· How do students interact with the content material?

• When listening to read-alouds, the students are extremely engaged. At the start of the stories, most students are sitting upright focused on the story. Depending on the length of the story, by the end, some are often getting fidgety and restless, but still interested in the outcome of the story. When writing their own stories, they love to share with each other and the adults what they are writing about. During math, the students often play “everyday math” games. They enjoy these games, but quickly get bored with them and want to learn new ones often. They are usually pretty active in their work, but they need to have several small activities planned in advance to keep them focused. This is evidenced by the fact that during writer’s workshop, after about fifteen minutes, students start to get up and walk around to other tables and the teacher has to use the bell to get their attention and redirect their focus.

· What resources are used in the lesson? How are they used?

• There are three adults in the classroom for writer’s workshop who walk around and help the students as needed. Writer’s workshop is preceded by a read-aloud and discussion of literary elements. There are several styles of worksheets with varying numbers of lines and smaller room for pictures. Colored pencils, markers, and crayons are all utilized for the illustrations.

· What/who is the focus of the lesson?

• The focus of the lesson is always the students. Additionally, for writer’s workshop, the focus is on developing more detailed sentences and combining sentences to make coherent stories. When helping students, the adults always ask the students who read them their stories different questions to help get more details out of them such as “how they feel, what they saw, etc” and ask the students to expand on it and write it down.

· What kinds of questions do the teacher and students ask?

• Most of the student questions, in fact, almost all of the student questions during writer’s workshop are about spelling. At this point, we as the adults, help the students phonemically sound out the words and write it down.

• Assessment

· How does the teacher check for student understanding of the material?

• During read-alouds, the teacher checks for understanding through comprehension questions. Additionally, she likes to use thematic units. Currently, we are doing a read-aloud unit on Mo Willems. Everyday she reads a different Mo Willems story and asks the students to recall other Mo Willems stories, how they are similar, how they are different, and what literary elements he uses.

· What does the teacher acknowledge as assessment to the students?

• The teacher has not started true assessment of the students yet. She always collects work and goes over it. She has been building a foundation of knowledge on where the students are at educationally. She introduced yesterday the concept of rubric to the students and informed them that next week she will start grading their work on a four point scale to help push them to do the best they can.

· How does the teacher assess students informally?

• As just mentioned, the teacher assesses the students informally through the collection of all of their work. She uses this work as a basis for understanding student needs and uses it to differentiate instruction and create groups.

· What do the assessments look like?

• The assessments come in the form of worksheets and feedback. The students write their stories on worksheets as well as fill out math worksheets. Everyday the teacher brings the students back to the carpet after writer’s workshop and reads a couple of the students’ work out loud and discusses with the class the work and what was good about it and how the other students can incorporate this kind of practice into their own work. Again, formal assessment has not started in the curriculum yet.

Curricular Unit Outline

1. Identify the unit, course, grade level for the unit, and unit length (assuming a 50-55 minute class period, five days per week—this can be adjusted for a block schedule)

Unit: Washington, DC: The City We Love

Grade level: 3

Unit Length: 2-3 Weeks

2. Explain your personal stake in the unit—why is it meaningful to you?

This unit is meaningful to me because Washington is the city I now live in. It is important for us all to know where we come from. While we all come from varied ethnic backgrounds, this is where we are now, and it is important for students to have a good understanding of their community and the resources it can provide.

3. Identify the unit topic and associated content and skills standards that are to be taught in the course

The unit topic is Washington, DC and the unit will cover DCPS Standards 3.1 and 3.1.1-3.1.6.

a. What are the big ideas that students should develop an enduring understanding of in this unit?

The big ideas students should develop from this unit is how to utilize a map of Washington, DC and gain a thorough understanding of the city’s importance as well as the resources it has to offer the students.

b. What is important for students to know and be able to do? What are the facts, concepts, principles, and skills that will promote the learning of the core ideas?

It is important for students to be able to navigate the city. They should learn how to read the metro map, the road map, and they should definitely know how to find important sights around the city. Students should be able to tell the difference between the various neighborhoods such as Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, etc). To promote learning, gaining knowledge of their town and what it has to offer will help motivate students. Learning how to read a map is also a useful skill that will help guide the process of the unit.

c. What knowledge, skills, and attitudes do we want students to encounter or be familiar with in this unit?

Ultimately, we want students to learn how to use a map, but more importantly, we want to develop an understanding of the city and learn how to fully utilize its potential for education and for entertainment. We want students to know about the historical sights as well as a brief synopsis of the “why” they are there. We want students to know how to navigate the city and how the metro works. We want students to understand how Washington has changed over the years to become the invaluable resource that it is today, especially within the students’ own neighborhood.

4. Identify the essential questions for the unit

What is a community?

What are some of the major historical sights and why are they significant?

What are the resources in your own neighborhood that you can utilize for learning?

What are the resources in the school’s neighborhood that can be utilized?

In what ways does the community benefit the school?

5. Identify/explain how student learning will be assessed

a. What indicators or evidence will demonstrate student learning?

Student learning will be assessed in several ways. One way I would like to assess student learning is through a project in which each of the students researches a different historical sight and presents it to the class. Another way I might want to assess student learning is through a full class project in which the class tries to utilize the community for some school gain (money for textbooks, venue for a play, tickets to a play, etc). Another way I would perhaps assess student learning is through a progressive journal. Similar to the neighborhood study, I would ask students to keep a journal where they find and describe various resources in the neighborhood as well as the entire city. Students would write entries into the journal based on first hand visits and through simple interviews of friends, family, etc. in which they ask about the educational resources, what they can be used for and how to access them. The DCPS standards provided an example for student assessment that I really liked in which each students draw their own map of a separate part of DC and the maps are combined to make a class atlas of the city.

b. How do the assessments reflect the content, skills, and attitudes outlined above?

The assessments reflect the content, skills, and attitudes above because the assessments try to focus on answering the essential questions as well as delve deeper into the aspired knowledge we hope the children gain. The historical sights project gives them background knowledge on the history of the city. The atlas gives them practice with maps as well as a better understanding of where various resources of the city are located. The class project gives should give them a deeper understanding of what it means to be a member of a community and how to utilize that community for its resources. The journal will provide students with a detailed list of various resources and how those resources can best be used.

c. How will you know what students do and don’t know at the beginning, middle, and end of the unit

At the beginning of the unit, I will analyze what students know about communities through discussions with the class about communities to get a feel for their background knowledge. Then we will delve into the historical sights and maps of DC moving along with the class atlas. As the unit progresses, we will begin the community project which the sophistication of their work will help me understand what they have gained from the unit. The journal is something they will be keeping throughout the unit and I something I will be monitoring throughout. Hopefully, as they learn more about the city, their entries will be more substantial as the unit progresses. I might end the unit with a simple map quiz asking students to locate various historical sights and community resources as well as have them write a reflection on the community project and their journal.

6. Sequence the content, skills, and attitudes identified in point 3 to build toward the assessments identified in point 5 (these will be the daily lessons)

a. How do knowledge and performance skills need to be sequenced?

The knowledge skills need to come first. First students need to learn about the city and its history and how to use the map, as well as what a community is. After the knowledge has been acquired, that is when the hands on work will start and students will really begin getting to know their community.

b. How can the knowledge and performance skills be most engaging for students?

I’m trying to make the skills be most engaging to the students by providing them opportunities for hands on work as well as plenty of chances to share their newfound knowledge with each other.

c. In what ways will students be able to practice and refine what they learn?

Again, the class project provides a way for the students to refine what they are learning as well as the class atlas. These will hopefully develop their knowledge and skills so they can use it in the future.

d. What connections exist between this unit and other content and skills students might encounter in other courses?

Students will definitely experience connections between this unit and other units throughout the year as well as in future history classes. Being a part of such a historical city offers so much more to those students as things such as the White House isn’t just a place on a map, it’s a part of their community.

e. How can students work together to help each other learn?

The students will be working together throughout the unit. They will work together on the community project as well as collaborate and share entries from their journal with each other to help the other students learn about different resources.

7. Identify where and how instruction can be differentiated once the teacher has diagnostic information from pre-tests and other formative assessments in the unit

I believe the curriculum offers a good deal in terms of natural differentiation. The journals, projects, and maps allow students to express themselves creatively and get what they can out of the unit. As for direct instruction, that can be differentiated by varying my lesson plans, incorporating videos, discussions, music (gogo music, to learn about DC culture, for example). Walks around the neighborhood with discussions of important institutions can help.

8. Identify how community and cultural resources will be incorporated into this unit

As previously mentioned, the resources will be incorporated through the use of journals and the class project in which students work together to use community resources to help better the school or to help better the community. Students will be learning the true value of their communities.

9. Identify the materials needed to complete this unit

Paper, pencils, journals, maps (old and new), relevant handouts on various resources around the community, guided internet practice for historical sight practice and community research, coloring utensils, music cd’s (gogo in particular)

Learning Processes

Chapter 1 of James J. Zarillo's book, Teaching Elementary Social Studies, he talks about the different processes that should be incorporated into the social studies curriculum. These processes include: Inquiry Processes, Thinking Processes, Language Arts Processes, Visual and Performing Arts Processes, Technology Processes, and Participation Processes. You might notice some similarities between these processes and some of the intelligences included in Gardner's theory on multiple intelligences. I imagine this is not an accident.

Inquiry Processes are those in which the children become tiny scientists looking for answers. They ask questions, gather and analyze data, and then come back and share.

Thinking Processes are those by which children learn to apply, analyze, and most importantly, synthesize the information they receive.

Language Arts Processes is simply the reading, writing, and speaking the students do.

Visual and Performing Arts Processes deals with students gaining an appreciation for the arts as well as the ability to express ideas through the arts.

Technology Processes is the student's use of the computer.

Participation Processes are those by which the students are able to express their opinion or work in a group and share toward similar ends.

Each of these processes can be essential to teaching the whole child, but also to teaching the whole curriculum. By incorporating all of these processes into the curriculum, the students not only learn the material, but are given the opportunity to explore the material and analyze it to their own end. It can help students answer for themselves the all important question of "Why do we need to learn this?" Expanding our repertoire and using a variety of teaching strategies that appeal to the different learning processes of the students (who may be better at one or more of the processes than the others and therefore gain more from those particular processes) will help teachers expose the most potential from all of their students. It varies the lessons rather than keeping them mundane and these specific processes, especially related to social studies, really allow for students to do some self learning and self reflection and take away from the material the things they enjoyed the most. As teachers we need to differentiate our instruction to cater to the diversity of the classroom.