Korrie BerbereiaNovember 24, 2009

EDUC 431 PACT

Context Commentary

1. Briefly describe the following: a. Type of school/program in which you teach, (e.g., elementary/middle school, themed magnet, or charter school)

XYZ School is part of the XYZ Unified School District that encompasses approximately 600 square miles and is located in the town of XYZ a small, rural, agricultural community. The town of XYZ is an unincorporated area of the County with a population of approximately 2,000. At XYZ School we strive to provide our students with an environment conducive to learning and a quality curriculum, which keeps them actively involved throughout the instructional day.  We want our students to be able to apply academic principles and critical thinking skills to solve real world problems relevant to their lives.  This includes the ability to work together, to communicate well, and to share knowledge with others.  Parents and community members are an integral part of the school. The PTO, SSC, ELAC/DELAC and Migrant PAC are an active part of the school community. They sponsor many events throughout the year that help connect parents, students, and teachers. The school is fortunate to be embraced by a dedicated staff and a caring community. b. Kind of class you are teaching (e.g., third grade self-contained, sixth grade core English/social science) and organization of subject in school (e.g., departmentalized, interdisciplinary teams)

Self contained 5th grade

c. Degree of ability grouping or tracking, if any; none

2. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might impact your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

All school sites benefit from district-wide resources such as instructional materials, lottery, routine restricted maintenance, safety, and other funding. Some of the special funding sources supporting student programs include:§ Title I (NCLB)§ Title II—Teacher Quality§ Title III Consortium§ Title IV§ Title V§ School Safety and Violence Prevention§ Library Materials§ Special Education

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§ Economic Impact Aid§ Migrant§ English Learners funding

BTSA

3. How much time is devoted each day to specific instruction in history-social science in the class which is the focus of this task? 2-3 hours weekly

About the students in your class:

1. How many students are in the class 28

2. How many students in the class are: English Learners 12 Redesignated English Learners 6 Proficient English Speakers 10

3. Please complete the following table about your English Learners’ latest CELDT scores (if available):

# of Students at Each

CELDT Level in Different Modalities

Score Level Listening Speaking Reading Writing Overall

Beginning 4 4 3 5 4

Early Intermediate

8 3 5 3 4.75

Intermediate 3 5 7 6 5.25

Early Advanced

10 12 10 10 10.5

Advanced 3 4 3 4 3.5

4. How many students have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 plans? 5

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5. How many students participate in a Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program? 2

About the school curriculum and resources6. Describe any specialized features of your classroom setting, e.g., bilingual, Structured English Immersion, team taught with a special education teacher.

2 hours per day of bilingual instructional assistant, 1 hour per day of collaboration with special education teacher.

7. If there is a particular textbook or instructional program used for history-social science instruction, what is it? (If a textbook, please provide the name, publisher, and date of publication.) Houghton Mifflin California Edition 2007 Edition

8. What other major resources are typically used for history-social science instruction in this class? Houghton Mifflin Textbook Support Package California 2007 Edition

Lesson Plan

Content Standards: : 5.5 Students explain the causes of the American Revolution. 1. Understand how political, religious, and economic ideas and interests brought about the Revolution (e.g., resistance to imperial policy, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, taxes on tea, Coercive Acts). 2. Know the significance of the first and second Continental Congresses and of the Committees of Correspondence. 3. Understand the people and events associated with the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the document’s significance, including the key political concepts it embodies, the origins of those concepts, and its role in severing ties with Great Britain. 4. Describe the views, lives, and impact of key individuals during this period (e.g., King George III, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams

Resources and Materials: See attached pages (Resources 2-3)Copies of “Revolutionary Tea” and lyrics1 clean plastic cup per studentHot water and Caffeine-Free Tea BagsSpoonsSugar Journals Pencils

Objective(s): Students will describe the first continental congress meeting from the point of

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view of a colonist by participating in the activities and writing about it in their journals.

Students will be able to explain at least one cause of the American Revolution by participating in a simulation of two events and writing about their experiences in their journals.

Academic Language: (key vocabulary words):The Boston Tea PartyThe First Continental CongressIntolerable ActsTaxBoycottColonistsColonyKing George IIIDemocracy

Unit Overview: Each day for a week, students will step into a time machine that takes them to a different topic or event leading up to the American Revolution (called stations, see Resource 1). The students will act as colonists and other characters-Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, during the simulations. The teacher will act as King George III. Students will keep a detailed journal of their experiences throughout the week which will be collected later for assessment. The stations will be used as anticipatory sets. Each station will lead to bigger topics and events which lead up to the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The lesson plan below reflects the station for Tuesday, Colonial Music.

Time Learning Activity Purpose

Estimated10 minutes

Anticipatory Set:The time machine arrives in 1773, the year of the Boston Tea Party! Speaking of tea, let’s have a spot, shall we? Pour everyone a small cup of tea they can enjoy while listening to a

Students are excited to eat/drink things in class (gets their attention)

Song/lyrics-

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5 minutes

10 minutes

5-10 minutes

10 minutes

5 minutes

5-10 minutes

colonial song: Revolutionary Tea, and reading the lyrics (Resource 2). (Get this approved by parents ahead of time)

Step-by-Step Instructions of teaching:After the students have tea, tell them they all owe a 3 penny tax for the tea bags, plus 3 pennies for each tea bag left unused.

Have students decide in their table groups (colonies) if they want to pay the tax or not. Let them refer to the song for ideas of what to do.

Decide on plotting a Boston Tea Party. Talk about what will be accomplished, what the risks are, etc. Watch Schoolhouse Rock- No More Kings (YouTube, 3 minutes). Do a short reenactment of the Boston Tea Party (all students march and protest by dumping remaining tea in the sink or trash bins.)

Students write about their experience at the Boston Tea Party in their journals. Teacher puts prompting questions on the board to get them started.

Teacher (King George III) puts up intolerable acts on the board. The acts state the colonies can no longer have town meetings. Read the acts together, sighting key vocabulary words. Students write proposals in invisible ink of what they should do next and send them to the other colonies, which decode the letters. (Resource 3)

All students (except Georgia) should get together in “Philadelphia,” to discuss their letters and decide what they are going to do about trade with England. This meeting is called the First Continental Congress (now 1774).

Students write about their experience at the First Continental Congress. Teacher puts prompting questions on the board to get them

auditory/visual learners

Lyrics help with academic language. Highlight important words in the lyrics.

Automatic responses will be “No,” and “Why?”

Concrete Operational Thinking-PiagetProblem Solving Skills

Scaffolding, Bruner- Students experience the event for themselves rather than memorizing it.

Helps build academic lang.

Visual Learners/ Auditory Learners/ Kinesthetic Learners

Zone of Proximal Development-Vygotsky

Problem Solving SkillsStudents are forced to come up with alternative plans and branch out from their original thinking. Students are in the same shoes as the colonists and can see things from their point of view.Scaffolding, Bruner- Students experience the event for themselves rather than memorizing it.

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2 minutes…(closing)

started.

With the port closed no food could be shipped to Boston. Boston asked the colonies for help. Many colonies sent food overland which sets up your anticipatory set for tomorrow’s station: Colonial Food.

Collaboration skills. Concrete Operational Development. -Piaget

Zone of Proximal Development-Vygotsky

Closure: Students complete the lesson by finishing up their journal entries. Choose one student per colony (or whoever wants to volunteer if time permits) to read something from their journal to the rest of the class. Recap the chain of events that have taken place and write a large timeline on butcher paper where everyone can see it in the class. Include specific quotes from the journals on the timeline.

Assessment (formal and informal):Informal assessment: Students will be assessed based on anecdotal notes teacher has taken on participation and interaction with other students. Secret letters will be collected and checked for realistic and in-context ideas. Journals will be checked to make sure students are on the right track,Formal assessment: Students will take a formal examination at the end of the week with 1-3 questions on main points taken from each day.

Planning Commentary

1. What is the central focus of the learning segment? Apart from being present in

the school curriculum, student academic content standards, why is the content of the

learning segment important for these particular students to learn? (TPE 1)

Students need to know about America’s struggle for independence against Great

Britain, which is the central focus of the learning segment. This unit is going to take 45

minutes to an hour per day for a week, which is longer than usually allotted for social

studies instruction. The unit is ultimately leading up to the writing of the Declaration of

Independence, which is arguably one of the most influential documents in American

History. Other countries and organizations have adopted its tone and manner in their own

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documents and declarations. For example, France wrote its 'Declaration of the Rights of

Man' and the Women's Rights movement wrote its 'Declaration of Sentiments'. This unit

sets the stage for many other lessons and gives the students a good foundation for future

learning. This lesson is particularly important because it will stick in the students minds,

unlike some dates which are quickly memorized and then forgotten after the assessment.

They are eating, drinking, singing, wearing different hats, playing games and actively

participating in fun events throughout the entire week-long unit. The students get to

experience what the colonists experienced through simulations of (in the lesson above)

the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress. By writing in their journals,

they can reflect back on their experiences and have a memory to connect the event with.

2. Briefly describe the theoretical framework and/or research that inform your

instructional design for developing your students’ knowledge and abilities in both

mathematics and academic language during the learning segment.

Because we have a large number of students are English learners, I depended a lot

on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development theory. Vygotsky maintained the child

follows the adult's example and gradually develops the ability to do certain tasks without

help or assistance. By writing short, uncomplicated leading questions on the board for

journal entries, I’m leading the students through their zone of proximal development.

Students may or may not wish to use these prompts according to their needs.

I kept Piaget’s cognitive stages in mind while noting that most of the students

would be in the concrete operational stage (During this stage, accommodation increases.

The child develops an ability to think abstractly and to make rational judgments about

concrete or observable phenomena. In teaching this child, giving him the opportunity to

ask questions and to explain things back to you allows him to mentally manipulate

information.) and allowing many opportunities for them to think abstractly and come up

with plans regarding what to do about the tax on tea, how they should react to the

Intolerable Acts, and what their next moves would be. I also allowed room for growth

into the formal operational stage, where students would be capable of hypothetical and

deductive reasoning. In this case, the student will be able to consider many possibilities

from several perspectives. By the end of the unit, most of the students should be able to

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consider most of the perspectives of the colonists involved in the major events of the

American Revolution.

You’ll notice that most of my lesson plan, being a combination of active

participation and discovery activities and simulations, is focused on Bruner’s Education

Theory. Bruner maintains that effective teachers must provide assistance and guidance

by the process of scaffolding. This is how students build understanding. Ultimately,

scaffolding allows students to become independent learners. Bruner states the overall

goal of education is that a teacher should guide their students so that they build their own

base of knowledge instead of being taught through rote memorization. This is where my

simulations come in. New information provided to the students would then be

understood and classified based on the knowledge they already have. Bruner says, “The

interconnection of the new experience with the prior knowledge results in the

reorganization of the cognitive structure, which creates meaning and allows the

individual to "go beyond the information given".” This is also re-stressed in the journal

entries. According to Bruner’s theory, the learner must instigate experiences, seek out the

information necessary to solve problems, and reorganize what they already know to

achieve new knowledge. I feel the students are accomplishing this through their

collaborative work in the First Continental Congress and in their secret letters. In order

to comprehend the material the learner must actively manipulate the information either

concretely or abstractly, and use inductive reasoning to draw inferences and make

generalizations. The students must then confirm or disprove these generalizations by

themselves through “discovery learning” or with the assistance of a teacher through

“guided discovery.” The students will see that the Boston Tea Party was somewhat

unsuccessful because of the Intolerable Acts, and with both discovery learning and

guided discovery, they will have to regroup and come up with another plan. According to

Bruner, this will allow students to identify an organizational structure and create a

“coding system” to mentally connect the concepts of the American Revolution together.

3. How do key learning tasks in your plans build on each other to develop students’

developmentally appropriate analytic reasoning skills in history or social science? How

do the learning tasks develop students’ mastery of related academic language? Describe

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specific strategies that you will use to build student learning across the learning segment.

Reference the instructional materials you have included, as needed. (TPEs 1, 4, 9)

All of the tasks within the lessons build upon each other. Furthermore, all of the

lessons within the unit build upon each other (Resource 1). The timeline constructed in

the classroom shows how the lessons are in order by date, with each event leading up to

the Revolutionary War. The students will be familiarized with the key terms because they

will also be the spelling words for the week. There are many opportunities to learn the

same material and to review the material, as it is learned first by song (Resource 2) ,

activity (Resource 3), video clip (Youtube.com, Schoolhouse Rock, No More Kings) then

again by simulation, and then revisited again in journals writings. The prompts for the

journals are at different developmental levels so students may chose whichever they feel

most comfortable with.

4. Given the description of students that was provided in Task 1.Context for

Learning, how do your choices of instructional strategies, materials, technology, and the

sequence of learning tasks reflect students’ backgrounds, developmental levels,

interests, and needs? Be specific about how your knowledge of these students informed

the lesson plans, such as the choice of text or materials used in lessons, how groups were

formed or structured, using student learning or experiences (in or out of school) as a

resource, or structuring new or deeper learning to take advantage of specific student

strengths. (TPEs 4,6,7,8,9)

Students will be placed in table groups, or “colonies.” There will be four groups

of 6 and one group of 4 (five groups in all). The group of four will have the child with

Autism. Being in a smaller group, there are less distractions and commotion to irritate

the child. Also, the Special Education Professional will sit at this table during the hour of

Social Studies instruction to help. The rest of the groups will be broken up into some

high, some low, and some middle performing students. Questions will be allowed

throughout the lessons to clarify. Redesignated English Learners will sit next to English

Learners to help translate. Also, a bilingual instructional assistant is periodically there to

help translate and better communicate the material.

I chose a catchy song with rhyming words to help auditory learners and also to

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help students with ADD stay focused, but did not depend on just the song to teach the

material. The students have many opportunities to learn the same thing. There is also a

video clip for visual learners, and a lyrics and vocabulary sheet to refer back to. Students

will be collaborating with their peers throughout the entire lesson. I planned hands on

activities and reenactments so children with ADHD will have many opportunities to

move around. If students wish to move around more than I’ve provided opportunities for,

they may do so by visiting other colonies or past stations.

I think each student will respond to having to pay 3 pennies for something they

didn’t necessarily ask for in the first place. The taxation without representation is sure to

strike a nerve with any background.

The reason for journal prompts and leading questions on the board is so students

of differing developmental interests and levels will have something to write about. There

will be many choices all leading to the same concept. Students may use these prompts or

choose to write something of their own, depending on their developmental level.

Students also may participate in the simulations as enthusiastically or minimally as they

wish, as long as they are understanding what is taking place. More outgoing students

may want to take the lead, and shyer students may wish to do less and watch the other

students. Everyone is expected to participate in the class collaborations, but the extent is

up to them.

Since I am lucky enough to have two bilingual instructional assistants, Students

may write their journal entries in their most comfortable language which can be

translated later. The point of this lesson is to learn about the Revolutionary War, not to

learn English, so I don’t mind at all if the students write in their primary language.

All of the accommodations I have made will help keep all students on task and keep the

ball rolling throughout the lesson. Students will feel more comfortable and prepared to

learn with these small alterations.

5. Consider the language demands of the oral and written tasks in which you plan to

have students engage as well as the various levels of English language proficiency related

to classroom tasks as described in the Context Commentary. (TPE 7)

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a. Identify words and phrases (if appropriate) that you will emphasize in this

learning segment. Why are these important for students to understand and use in

completing classroom tasks in the learning segment? Which students?

The key academic language that I have identified for this particular lesson

includes the following words and phrases:

The Boston Tea Party

The First Continental Congress

Intolerable Acts

Tax

Boycott

Colonists

Colony

King George III

Democracy

These words are important in understanding what is taking place in the song,

video clip, and simulations. All students should be familiar with this academic language

by the end of the lesson. Bilingual students and assistants can help English learners

understand some of the words by explaining to them in their native language. While

we’re acting words out (such as the boycott) in simulations, or pretending to be colonists,

all students will better be able to grasp the definitions.

b. What oral and/or written academic language (organizational, stylistic, and/or

grammatical features) will you teach and/or reinforce?

I plan to use the above vocabulary words as academic language. Students should

feel comfortable enough with these key words and names of events to use them in

conversation, during simulations, and in their journals. I will remind them while writing

their journals to correctly use their academic language.

c. Explain how specific features of the learning and assessment tasks in your plan,

including your own use of language, support students in learning to understand and use

these words, phrases (if appropriate), and academic language. How does this build on

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what your students are currently able to do and increase their abilities to follow and/or

use different types of text and oral formats?

Students will be familiar with the vocabulary since it will appear in their English

weekly vocabulary lists as well. There will be signs around the room to help with

understanding. During the simulations, the teacher, who puts up the Intolerable Acts and

instates the tax on tea, will wear a sign around her neck that says, “King George, III, of

England.” Maybe she’ll even be wearing a crown and speak with an English accent to be

perfectly clear. While the simulation of the Boston Tea Party is taking place (students all

going over to the sink and dumping their tea out, throwing the remaining tea bags in the

trash, and parading around saying “No way, we won’t pay!”), there will be a sign on the

board that says The Boston Tea Party, and other words describing the actions, like boycott

and protest. There will be a similar sign saying The First Continental Congress when that

simulation takes place. In the student’s materials, (station handouts, activities, and

Revolutionary Tea lyrics) important words and phrases will be highlighted and talked

about in depth. The teacher will use the same academic language she expects her

students to use.

6. Explain how planned assessments would allow you to evaluate the students’

learning of specific student standards/objectives and provide feedback to students on their

learning. (TPEs 2, 3)

Informal assessment:

Students will be assessed based on anecdotal notes the teacher has taken on

participation and interaction with other students. The teacher will be able to tell through

this assessment if the students are comfortable using academic language and if they’re

grasping the key concepts or just following the other students around.

The students’ secret letters will be collected and checked for realistic and in-context

ideas. The teacher will notice if students are aware of the event that is about to take place

(The First Continental Congress) by collecting the letters from the students and checking

to see if their proposals are valid. Journals will be checked to make sure students are on

the right track and have a deep understanding of the two major events that were simulated

and discussed in the lesson.

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Formal assessment:

Students will take a formal examination at the end of the week with 1-3 questions

on main points taken from each day. The teacher will be able to tell if the students have

mastered these key points by their simple write or wrong answers. In this format, the

teacher can ask questions specific to the standards to see what the students really

understand. This assessment will show if adjustments need to be made when the unit is

taught in the future.

7. Describe any teaching strategies you have planned for students who have

identified educational needs (e.g., English learners, GATE students, students with IEPs).

Explain how these features of your learning and assessment tasks will provide students

access to the curriculum and allow them to demonstrate their learning. (TPEs 9. 12)

As I explained in question 4, students will be placed in table groups, or

“colonies,” made up of four groups of 6 and one group of 4. The child with Autism will

be seated at the group of four as well as one or both of the GATE students who might

need special attention. Being a smaller group, there are less distractions and commotion.

Also, the Special Education Professional will sit at this table during the hour of Social

Studies instruction to help. The rest of the groups will be broken up into mixed

beginning, intermediate, and advanced students. Questions will be welcomed throughout

the lessons to clarify. Redesignated English Learners will be dispersed throughout the

groups and will sit next to English Learners to help translate. Also, a bilingual

instructional assistant is periodically there to help translate and better communicate the

material, especially key vocabulary words.

Revolutionary Tea is a catchy song with rhyming lyrics to help auditory learners and also

to help students with ADD stay focused, but did not depend on just the song to teach the

material. A vocabulary list also comes with the song to help clarify confusing old phrases.

The students have many opportunities to learn the same thing. There is also a video clip

for visual learners, and of course the simulation. Students will be collaborating with their

peers throughout the entire lesson and their discussion may help clear up any

misconceptions. I planned hands on activities and reenactments so all children,

especially those with ADHD, will have many opportunities to move around. If these

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students need to move around more than I’ve provided opportunities for, they may do so

by visiting other colonies or past stations, or working out another conclusion with the

teacher.

Also stated before, journal prompts and leading questions will be written on the board so

students of differing developmental interests and levels will have something to write

about. Students may write their journal entries in their most comfortable language which

can be translated later. The point of this lesson is to learn about the Revolutionary War,

not to learn English, so I don’t mind at all if the students write in their primary language.

However, I do expect them to use the correct names of important events as well as the

key vocabulary words in their writings.

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Resource 1

Time Machine Station Descriptions and Follow Up Questions(anticipatory sets for each day)

Station One: Colonial Games Find various examples of games that people played during colonial days, such as playing cards and puzzles made of iron. Allow students to play. Follow-up Questions Which game did you enjoy the most? Why? Would you have enjoyed playing these games during colonial times? Station Two: Colonial Music Perfect for audio learners. Using a tape or CD player, have students listen to a selection of music from the American Revolution period (can be found in your local music store). Provide lyrics so that visual learners can read along. Also, if you have any colonial instruments, such as a fife or tin whistle, allow students to examine these as they listen to the songs. Follow-up QuestionsWhat did the music during Colonial times sound like? What kinds of instruments do you think were used? What was the song about? Did you enjoy it? Station Three: Colonial Food Provide a few samples of foods eaten during colonial times. Ideas might include cheddar cheese, fresh grapes, dried prunes, chicken liver pate (a challenging thought), currants, chilled mussels, mashed sweet potatoes, Indian pudding, corn chowder, pie and cider. Follow-up QuestionDid you like the food you tasted? Station Four: Colonial Hats Purchase several different examples of head coverings worn during the American Revolution, such as straw bonnets, cocked hats and mob caps. You may want to add some decorations to the hats, provided that they are historically accurate. Display them and have students try them on. You may even want to take a few instant photos of various students and display them at the end of the period. Often times, the companies that make the hats provide literature about the different styles and their purpose. This fits easily into the activity. Follow-up Questions Which hat do you like best? Who looked best in a hat today, and which one did he or she try on? (examine photos) Station Five: Colonial Pictures Provide pictures of colonial villages, homes and examples of colonial life. You can take them yourself or use photos from books. Have students interpret the pictures as to what they teach us about colonial life. Follow-up QuestionHow is colonial life different that modern day life? What do you learn about their lifestyle from these pictures?

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Resource 2Lyrics and Vocabulary for Revolutionary Tea

Revolutionary TeaThere was an old lady lived over the seaAnd she was an island queen.Her daughter lived off in a new countryWith an ocean of water between.The old lady’s pockets were full of goldBut never contented was she,So she called on her daughter to pay her a taxOf three pence a pound on her tea,Of three pence a pound on her tea. “Now, mother, dear mother,” the daughter replied,“I shan’t do the thing you ax.I’m willing to pay a fair price for the tea,But never the three-penny tax.”“You shall,” quoth the mother, and reddened with rage,“For you’re my own daughter, you see,And sure ’tis quite proper the daughter should payHer mother a tax on her tea,Her mother a tax on her tea.” And so the old lady her servant called upAnd packed off a budget of tea;And eager for three pence a pound, she put inEnough for a large family.She ordered her servant to bring home the tax,Declaring her child should obey,Or old as she was, and almost full grown,She’d half whip her life away,She’d half whip her life away. The tea was conveyed to the daughter’s door,All down by the ocean’s side,And the bouncing girl poured out every poundIn the dark and boiling tide;And then she called out to the island queen,“Oh, mother, dear mother,” quoth she,“Your tea you may have when ’tis steeped quite enoughBut never a tax from me,But never a tax from me.”

Vocabulary (for words in the lyrics, not for the lesson)Line 8,pence:British money, roughly considered a penny in the United States but not a

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totally negligible amount in the 18th centuryLine 11,shan’t:old contraction for shall not, which in 21st-century English usually takes the formwill notLine 14,quoth:old form for quoted or saidLine 20,budget of tea: a quantity for a particular useLine 28,conveyed:transportedLine 30,bouncing:livelyLine 31,boiling:angryLine 34,’tis:it is, it’sLine 34,when ’tis steeped quite enough: when the tea leaves have released sufficient flavor into the water

(http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/revwar1/)

Materials Needed:CD or Tape with “Revolutionary Tea”1 printout of lyrics per student1 printout of vocabulary per student

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Resource 3WRITE A SECRET LETTER

During the Revolutionary War, British and colonial soldiers frequently intercepted enemy mail, so the combatants used various ways of disguising messages that traveled across enemy lines. Here’s how to write a secret message in invisible ink:

Mix 4 teaspoons of water with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Stir until smooth. Heat and stir over a hotplate for several minutes. Dip a toothpick into the mixture and write a message on a piece of paper. Let the paper dry. Dip a sponge into a solution of 1 teaspoon of iodine and 10 teaspoons of water. Carefully wipe the paper with the sponge. The message should turn purple.

(http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson175.shtml)

Materials Needed:WaterCornstarchHotplateSpoonToothpicks or Q-tipsThick Computer PaperSmall SpongesIodinePaper Towels for clean up