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TRANSCRIPT
Lauren Mazzotta
Unit: Change Over Time
Strategy Lesson
Butterfly & Moth
By: Eyewitness Books
The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
Retold by: Joseph Bruchac
Objectives:
1. Students will learn that animals can transform over time; they will then be able to give a
detailed description of the lifecycle of a butterfly and provide examples of other things
that change.
2. Students will learn “coding” as a strategy for reading non-fiction text. They will be able
to code the important parts of the text, the material that surprised them and the facts that
they have questions about.
New York State Common Core Standards: Grade 3
Key Ideas and Details:
- Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers.
- Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or
concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time,
sequence, and cause/effect.
Craft and Structure:
- Determine the meaning of general academic and domain specific words and phrases in a
text relevant to a grade 3 topics or subject areas.
Integration of Knowledge and Skills:
- Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on
the same topic.
Phonics and Word Recognition
- Know and apply grade level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Before Learning
To activate prior knowledge, I will ask my students to “brainstorm” examples of things that
change over time. Students can base their answers on things that they have recognized either
inside or outside of the classroom. Students will take turns writing their answers on the
chalkboard. Then, as a class, we will “categorize” these items into people, places, animals
and objects. After categorization is complete, I will use the Smart Board and ask my students
to help me fill in a spider web based on their responses (with the title being “Change over
Time” to display that people, places, animals and objects can all transform over time).
During Learning
Modeling
First, I will read aloud a passage in Butterfly & Moth, different than the sections that I
assigned to the class, and model how to code the text. This demonstration will show my
students how to critically think throughout their reading and teach them how to
independently code the text. I will teach students to put a star next to lines that they thought
were important, an exclamation point next to lines that surprised them, and a question mark
next to statements that they have questions about.
Guided Practice
Next, I will assign each student to a partner and ask them to read and practice coding the
“Caterpillar to Pupa” section of Butterfly & Moth. I will be walking around the classroom
checking on my students while they are completing this task.
Independent Practice
After students have practiced coding the text in pairs, they will be asked to independently
read the “The Life of a Butterfly” section in Butterfly & Moth while using the coding
strategy. This will help students build their own schema and see how the coding strategy
keeps them actively engaged in the material of the text. This strategy helps them pose their
own questions, determine what parts of the material are important, and deepen their
comprehension of the dense non-fiction text.
After Learning
After students have completed the independent practice, we will have a class discussion on
coding the text. Students will be asked to raise their hands and explain what they have coded
in the text. They can pose any questions they might have or state any new and exciting things
that they have learned. I will address their questions throughout the discussion and continue
to encourage class participation. Next, I will hand each student a worksheet that contains a
sequencing activity on the life cycle of a butterfly (a sample of this worksheet is uploaded as
an attachment with this lesson plan). Students will be asked to complete this worksheet and
hand it in when they are finished.
Differentiation
I will use varied texts during my lesson. I know that grade-level texts are often too
simple for some students but too complex for others. Therefore, my gifted learners
will be given more advanced versions of the “Caterpillar to Pupa” and “Life of a
Butterfly” sections in Butterfly & Moth. Similarly, students who struggle with reading
and comprehension will be given a slightly simpler version of these same sections.
This will ensure that all of my students are reading the same content material but also
reading text that is meaningful to them as individuals. (Differentiating Readiness and
Content)
For the coding portion of this lesson, I will give a mini-lesson to students who are
struggling with this strategy. (Differentiating Process)
During the after learning activity, I will give my students the option to draw the
lifecycle of a butterfly, if they wish to do so, as a substitute for the worksheet. Gifted
students can draw more elaborate pictures to demonstrate their understanding and
ability to recall information. Students with special needs may also prefer this method
because if they are confused by the scrambled pictures, they will still have a chance to
demonstrate what they know. This differentiation will allow my students to own their
learning in the way that works best for them as an individual. (Differentiating
Products and Learning Style)
In the extension activity, students will be presented with 2 article options. They will
get to choose whether they want to read about frogs or about blue crabs for their
homework assignment. (Differentiating by Interest)
Multiculturalism
The next day, my class will read the book, The First Strawberries. This story describes a
Native American woman’s agitation with her husband because he was mad at her when he
came home and found her picking flowers instead of preparing supper. The woman left her
husband and walked towards the sun. This made the husband very sad so the sun agreed to
help him. The sun decided to shine its light on the earth to create strawberries. When the
woman saw these strawberries, she was overjoyed because she never tasted something so
sweet. Her husband caught up with her and asked for forgiveness so she shared the sweetness
with him. In the end, they both happily returned home. This story will teach my students a
famous Cherokee legend while also demonstrating that people can change. Therefore, this
book will be used to help broaden the objective of this lesson. It will demonstrate that, like
animals, people can change too. I will explain that people can change both physically and
emotionally and have students relate this to their own experiences.
Critical Thinking
This lesson requires critical and higher order thinking. My students will use analysis when
they are “brainstorming and categorizing” in the before learning part of this lesson. They also
will use analysis, during learning, when they are critically thinking and actively reading in
order to code the text. Synthesizing occurs during the after learning portion of this lesson
when my students put together the facts that they have learned about butterflies in order to
sequence the order of their development on the worksheet activity.
Assessment
Assessment will be done to check for students’ overall understanding of both objectives.
Informal assessment will occur throughout our class discussions. I will use a checklist to note
students’ answers after they completed coding the text. This checklist will be used to mark
down if my students understood the procedures used for coding the text and if they were able
to determine what was important based on the main ideas of Butterfly & Moth. I will also use
the completed worksheets as another form of informal assessment. I will look through each
student’s answers to see who understood the material or who needs extra practice/instruction
on the topic.
Vocabulary
Below I have listed tier 2 words and tier 3 words from Butterfly & Moth. My vocabulary
activity will be used to help deepen student’s understanding of the text. First, I will review
these vocabulary words on a PowerPoint that displays slides containing both the picture and
the vocabulary word so students can visualize what the word means. Next, I will have
students make index cards for these words. Students will write a vocabulary word on one
index card and then draw the picture for that vocabulary word on an accompanying index
card. After students have completed their cards, they will be able to mix them up and play a
matching game. All of these vocabulary words will also be added to my classroom’s “word
wall” for extra practice and review.
Tier 2 words: illustrate, enormously, mining, immobile
Tier 3 words: pupa, chrysalis, larvae, predators
Extension Activity
For homework, students will be given their chosen article. The frog article will explain how
tadpoles undergo changes to become frogs. The blue crab article explains the blue crab’s
molting process. After reading their article, students must write down three physical changes
that they learned about from the text. Students will be asked to bring this assignment to class,
the following day, so it can be used for discussion.
Reflection
The coding strategy is an extremely effective tool for students when dealing with non-fiction
text. It helps students pick apart the large amounts of information that non-fiction works offer
and helps them decipher important material. It also keeps students actively engaged in the
text, helping them to think critically about what they are reading. This lesson is a great
introduction to future lessons in my “change over time” unit. This lesson helps students grasp
the concept of change and that it occurs in countless ways in the outside world. This lesson
helps students relate a caterpillar’s transformation to things in their own life or things that
they have witnessed around them. Now that students have this understanding, they will be
excited to learn how change can apply to math, science and social studies. In upcoming
lessons, I will use the concept of change as a basis for mathematical, scientific and historical
demonstrations and procedures.
Materials
Before teaching this strategy lesson, I collected the books, Butterfly & Moth and The First
Strawberries: A Cherokee Story. I also needed a computer to create the after learning
worksheet. During the lesson, the Smart Board, pens/pencils, sticky notes and index cards
were used to complete our different activities.
Name: ______________________________________
Date: ____________________
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly
These pictures are scrambled. Sequence each picture in the correct order
by labeling them from 1 to 4:
_________ __________ _________ ________
Unit: Change Over Time
Math Lesson
Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream
By: Cindy Neuschwander
Objectives:
1. Students will learn that changes come along with growing up; they will understand that,
since they are advancing in academics, it is important to learn how to multiply and,
during discussion, they will be able to explain why multiplication is useful by referencing
Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream.
2. Students will be able to come up with three different ways to solve multiplication
problems in order to gain a deeper understanding of the material; they will be able to
compare multiplication groupings to determine which factors will create the largest
products on their “Which Has More?” worksheets.
3. Students will be able to make sense of problems by reasoning both abstractly and
quantitatively; this will be apparent during our after learning discussion.
4. During groupwork, students will be able to fulfill their assigned role, understand that
multiple abilities are required to complete the assignment, stay on task, work well with
others, and make sure that each person in their group is fulfilling their assigned role; this
will be apparent during students’ self-assessment of their groupwork process.
New York State Common Core Standards: Grade 3
Operations and Algebraic Thinking:
- Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5
groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can
be expressed as 5 × 7.
- Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal
groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol
for the unknown number to represent the problem.
- Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between
multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 = 40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8) or properties of
operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.
Key Ideas and Details:
- Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text
as the basis for the answers.
- Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the
central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
- Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their
actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Craft and Structure:
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal
from non-literal language.
Comprehension and Collaboration:
- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher
led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing
their own clearly.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:
- Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and
relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Before Learning
To begin this lesson, the objectives will be displayed on an overhead projector and read to the
class. Students will be asked if they have any questions about the objectives. I will explain that
the purpose of today’s lesson is not just to relay multiplication facts, but to gain a deeper
understanding about the process of multiplication. After this overview, I will begin activating
prior knowledge. I will ask my students to complete a “Fast-Write”. For their “Fast-Write” they
must explain why they think that it is important to learn multiplication. When students have
finished, I will ask volunteers to read their “Fast-Writes” to the class, helping students expand
their knowledge. I will then collect the papers to determine the level of each student’s
background knowledge.
During Learning
Modeling:
I will read Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream to the class. In this story, Amanda Bean learns that,
since she is growing up, she must go through changes and learn how to multiply. This story also
highlights what multiplication is, how multiplication can be found in the outside world, and why
it is useful. This book will then be used to introduce the types of multiplication problems that we
will be focusing on during this lesson. First, I will write two equations on the board: “5 x 4” and
“3 x 6”. I will explain that, although the numbers in these equations are near each other on a
number line, one equation produces a larger product. Next, I will draw the correct amount of
circles on the board for each of the equations, modeling one method of solving this problem.
Lastly, after drawing my pictures, I will count each circle to determine which factors produced
the larger product.
Guided Practice:
During guided practice, I will put my students into pairs for a “Think Pair Share” activity. I will
give each pair one practice multiplication problem (e.g. 2 x 8). I will tell my students that they
can use any method to solve their equation. Manipulatives will be provided in case students
choose to use them. Before moving on to the guided practice, I will walk around the classroom to
assess each pair’s understanding.
Independent Practice:
Students will be put into groups of four to complete the independent practice activity. Activity
cards will be placed on each of the tables. Before beginning, I will ask my students to explain
what abilities they think are needed to complete this task. I will take a mental note on what
abilities they addressed and then explain any abilities that they have forgotten. I will assign each
student to a specific role (facilitator, reporter, materials manager, or group harmonizer). I will
make sure that each assignment is public knowledge, I will specify exactly what each student
should do, and I will make sure that each student knows what the role player is supposed to do.
After roles are clearly established, I will hand each group a different version of the “Which Has
More?” worksheet. Before beginning the worksheet, the facilitator will read the directions off the
Activity Card. Students will then work with their groups to complete the “Which Has More?”
problems. During this time, I will walk around the classroom to answer questions, to make sure
each group is staying on task, and to make sure that each student is fulfilling his or her role.
(Examples of the activity card and the “Which Has More?” worksheet are displayed at the end of
this lesson plan)
After Learning
After the independent practice, we will have a classroom discussion. First, each group will be
given the chance to come up to the front of the classroom to present their answers to the class.
They will be asked to explain their thought processes for each of the “Which Has More?”
questions. Referencing Amanda Bean’s discovery, students will also be asked to explain why
multiplication is useful to them, as they are advancing in academics. After their presentations,
each group must self-assess the process of their groupwork by completing a student
questionnaire (A copy of this questionnaire is displayed at the end of this lesson plan). The
presentations, discussion and student questionnaire will allow both me and my students to assess
whether the class met each of our objectives.
Differentiation:
I will pre-teach multiplication factors in groups based on my students’ readiness levels.
(Differentiating readiness and content)
The book Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream is offered on audiotape for students who are
auditory learners. (Differentiating learning profile and process)
My extension activity provides more challenging types of multiplication problems for
students who have quickly grasped and completed the “Which Has More?” worksheet.
(Differentiating content)
Groupwork allows students to work together to solve problems. It requires multiple
abilities for the tasks to be completed. Each student is assigned a role based on their
individual abilities. Groupwork also provides opportunities for peer-mentoring and peer
mediation. (Differentiating process, product, and readiness)
The “Which Has More?” worksheet has groups come up with 3 different ways of solving
the multiplication problems. This gives students the opportunity to use the methods that
work best for them as individuals. (Differentiating learning profile)
Multiculturalism
The groups that I separated my students into are ethnically and racially mixed. Groupwork is
particularly beneficial in developing harmonious interracial relations in desegregated classrooms.
Slavin (1983) studied fourteen cooperative classroom experiments whose groups were ethnically
and/or racially mixed. Eleven of these studies represented significantly more friendship choices
across racial and ethnic lines among students who had worked in cooperative, interracial groups
as compared to students who did not get this opportunity. Sharan (1976) and his colleagues’
study also revealed that cooperative learning produces more cross-ethnic cooperation and less
negative and competitive behavior between members of different ethnic groups.
Critical Thinking:
This lesson requires critical and higher order thinking. In before learning, my students will use
analysis to complete their “Fast-Write.” Analysis and synthesis will occur during learning when
students work together to create 3 different techniques for solving each “Which Has More?”
problem. Students will also use critical thinking when they are asked to discuss why
multiplication is helpful because this question will prompt them to draw connections between
multiplication and situations in the outside world.
Assessment:
Assessment will be done to check for students’ overall understanding of all 4 objectives.
Informal assessment will occur throughout our class discussions. I will use a checklist to note
groups’ responses to each of the questions on the “Which Has More?” worksheet after they have
completed their presentations. This checklist will be used to mark if each group was able to come
up with 3 accurate methods of solving the “Which Has More?” problems and if they were able to
determine the multiplication lesson that Amanda Bean learned. Additionally, I will have each
group hand in their completed independent practice worksheets as another form of informal
assessment. I will look through each group’s answers to see who understood the concepts and
who needs extra practice/instruction on the topic (Objectives 1, 2 and 3). The student
questionnaire will be used as a formative assessment for both me and my students. Students will
use the questionnaire as a form of self-assessment. I will also review each student’s answers on
the questionnaire to evaluate their understanding and the effectiveness of their groupwork
process (Objective 4).
Vocabulary:
Below I have listed tier 2 words and tier 3 words from Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream. My
vocabulary activity will be used to help deepen student’s understanding of the text. First, I will
review the definitions of each of the words. Next, students will be sorted into two teams.
Members from each team will take turns going up to the chalkboard to compete against a
member of the opposing team. I will read the definition of one of our vocabulary words and
students will be asked to write the correct term on the board. Whichever representative writes
down the correct answer first receives a point for his or her team. At the end, the team with the
most points wins.
Tier 2 words: important, understand, inventive, columns
Tier 3 words: multiplication, mathematics, factors, product
Extension Activity:
For students who grasped the “Which Has More?” problems quickly, I will provide an extension
activity that will ask students to complete more challenging multiplication problems. The
extension activity will ask students to organize different numbers of sheep (e.g. 12, 24 or 36
sheep) into as many different equal rows as possible. It also has students explain how they know
that they have found all possible solutions. This activity will be used to keep my students
challenged and will encourage higher order thinking. (An example of this activity is displayed at
the end of this lesson plan)
Reflection:
The narrative, Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream, helped us further expand upon our unit theme of
“Change over Time” while also displaying the relevance and importance of multiplication. This
lesson allowed students to relate multiplication to things that they witness daily in their lives.
The “Which Has More?” worksheets, used in this lesson plan, allowed students to compare
multiplication groupings in an easy-to-see manner. The worksheets helped students see that there
is more than one way to determine which factors will create the largest products. These
techniques will now provide a foundation for more advanced problems. Next week, I will have
students solve multiplication word problems. The procedures established in this lesson will help
my students solve the word problems using the methods that work best for them as individuals.
The group work process really encouraged each of my students to participate. I believe that this
process helped demonstrate, to my students, that each of their classmates has something to offer.
One area of concern for this group work process was that each of my students was not
completing his or her assigned role. In group work, one student often tries to take over. Before
using group work in other lessons, I will further explain the importance of each role (why it is
necessary that each role player only completes his or her assigned role) and further emphasize
that everyone must be given an equal opportunity to contribute to their group. Another area of
concern for this lesson was Amanda Bean’s name. Bean can sometimes be used as a derogatory
term for Mexicans. Therefore, I would have to make sure that each group was carefully being
monitored in order to ensure that no inappropriate language was being used.
Materials
Before teaching this math lesson, I collected the book, Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream. I also
needed a computer to create the “Which Has More?” worksheet, the Extension Activity
worksheet, the Student Questionnaire and the Activity Card. During the lesson, the chalkboard,
chalk, manipulatives, pens/pencils, role cards and notebooks were used to complete our different
activities.
Activity Card
Directions: Each student in your group will be working together to complete this
“Which Has More?” activity. Problems 1A and 1B display two different types of
groupings. For each problem, your group must come up with 3 different ways of
showing which group contains more items. After showing your 3 different ways of
thinking, you must write an equation for each of the groupings. Problem 2 asks you
to demonstrate your understanding of the “Which Has More?” questions. You must
create your own problem and then demonstrate 3 ways to solve it. Problem 3 asks
you to determine the important lesson that Amanda Bean learned about
multiplication in Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream. Have fun and think critically!
**Be sure to fulfill each of your own individual roles and to make sure that
everyone in your group is working together to complete the task; this task requires
each of your unique abilities!
Facilitator: Sees to it that everyone gets the help he or she needs to do the task; is
responsible for seeking answers to questions within the group; only asks the
teacher if no one in the group can help.
Materials Manager: In charge of setting up and collecting materials. (e.g. role
cards, “Which Has More?” worksheets, manipulatives, pencils etc.)
Reporter: Discusses with group about what is necessary to be said during the
presentation; may ask group to accompany him or her to the front of the room.
Group Harmonizer: Does not allow “put downs”, encourages positive responses,
encourages compromises, is attentive to the feelings of individual members and
helps maintain the group.
Which Has More?
1. After listening to Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream, solve the following
problems:
A) Which has more students- 8 rows of 7 chairs or 9 rows of 6 chairs?
B) Which has more apples- 10 trees with 6 apples or 7 trees with 9 apples?
2. Write and solve your own ‘Which has more?’ problem.
3. What important lesson did Amanda Bean learn about multiplication?
Extension Activity
1. Choose one of the following numbers: 12, 24 or 36
2. Suppose that there were this number of sheep walking towards the pasture.
How many different ways could the sheep arrange themselves into equal rows?
3. Draw a picture and write an equation for each solution that you find.
4. How do you know that you have found all the possible solutions for the number
you chose?
Unit Theme: Change Over Time November 17, 2012
Science Lesson
Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion
By: Jacqui Bailey
Objectives:
1. Students will learn that Earth is an ever-changing planet; they will understand the process
of erosion and will be able to explain the three types of erosion (wind, water and glacial)
by referencing Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion during discussion.
2. Students will be able to work together in order to identify and analyze the effects of
erosion; this will be evident during the guided practice and independent practice
activities.
3. During groupwork, students will be able to fulfill their assigned role, understand that
multiple abilities are required to complete the assignment, stay on task, work well with
others, and make sure that each person in their group is fulfilling their assigned role; this
will be apparent during students’ self-assessment of their groupwork process.
New York State Science Standards and Core Curriculum
Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design
Key Idea 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural
phenomenon in a continuing, creative process.
S1.1 Ask "why" questions in attempts to seek greater understanding concerning objects and
events they have observed and heard about.
Standard 4: The Physical Setting
Key Idea 2: Describe the relationship among air, water, and land on Earth.
2.1d Erosion and deposition result from the interaction among air, water, and land.
• Interaction between air and water breaks down earth materials
• Pieces of earth material may be moved by air, water, wind, and gravity
Standard 6: Patterns of Change
Key Idea 5: Identifying patterns of change is necessary for making predictions about future
behavior and conditions.
New York State Common Core Standards: Grade 3
Key Ideas and Details:
- Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text
as the basis for the answers.
Craft and Structure:
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal
from non-literal language.
Comprehension and Collaboration:
- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher
led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing
their own clearly.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:
- Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and
relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Before Learning
To begin this lesson, the objectives will be displayed on the SmartBoard and read to the class.
Students will be asked if they have any questions about the objectives. I will explain that the
purpose of today’s lesson is not just to understand the concept of erosion, but to gain a deeper
understanding of the material in order to be able to recognize the effects of erosion in the world
around us. After this discussion, students will be organized into pairs to “Preview, Analyze and
Connect” a part of Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion. I will ask students to preview the first 3
pages of the book by reading the bold headings, diagrams, pictures/captions and the first and last
paragraphs of each section. Students will first think quietly about their connections and then
share them with their partner. After sharing, I will ask my students to fold a journal page
vertically and to label one column “New” and the other one “Known”. Students will use these
columns to jot down facts and terms that are new and facts and terms that they already know.
This information will help students become excited about what they are about to learn and will
help me determine what I have to emphasize during learning.
During Learning
Modeling:
I will read Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion to the class. This story highlights the 3 different
types of erosion (wind, water, glacial) and their effects. This story will then be used as a basis for
the activities that my students will complete throughout this lesson. Before beginning these
activities, I will model how one type of erosion occurs. I will use a piggy bank to create a visual
demonstration of this process. I will show that if I put more money into my piggy bank than what
I take out, my piggy bank account will grow. I will then explain that glaciers work the same way
because glaciers form when more snow falls into a region during the winter than what melts
during the summer. Then, when enough snow builds up in one area, the snow on the bottom
becomes compressed by the weight above, changing it into ice (glaciers). I will then use two
graham crackers to show that when glaciers expand on the Earth, they rub against the pre-
existing land, causing pieces to break off, creating erosion (I will scrape two pieces of graham
crackers together so students can visualize this process).
Guided Practice:
I will tell my students that they will be applying facts that they have learned from Cracking Up:
A Story About Erosion for our guided practice activity. I will put my students into pairs to
complete each guided practice worksheet. On this worksheet, they will have to identify the type
of erosion that is responsible for each physical change that is listed. After pairs have completed
the worksheet, I will collect them to assess their understanding. (An example of this worksheet is
displayed at the end of this lesson plan)
Independent Practice:
Students will be put into groups of four to complete the independent practice activity. Activity
cards will be handed out to each group. The facilitator will read the directions to their group
members. Before beginning, I will ask my students to explain what abilities they think are
needed to complete this task. I will write down the abilities that they have thought of and then I
will explain any other abilities that they have forgotten. I will then assign each student to a
specific role (facilitator, reporter, recorder or group harmonizer). I will make sure that each
assignment is public knowledge, I will specify exactly what each student should do, and I will
make sure that each student knows what the role player is supposed to do. After roles are clearly
established, I will have the whole class go out to the playground so that students can examine the
effects of erosion on our school property. Each group must go around the playground and
document evidence of erosion in their journals. Before starting this task, the facilitator must
review the directions on the Activity Card with their group and I will set clear boundaries for the
entire class. When students are walking around the playground, I will carefully monitor each
group to make sure that they are staying within the boundaries, I will make sure that each group
is staying on task, and I will make sure that each group is working together to complete the
activity. (An example of the Activity Card is displayed at the end of this lesson plan)
After Learning
After the independent practice, we will have a classroom discussion on the 3 types of erosion and
how each group found evidence of the effects of these types of erosion on our playground. First,
each group will be given the chance to come up to the front of the classroom to present their
findings to the class. They will be asked to explain their thought processes and drawings for each
piece of evidence. Students will be encouraged to reference Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion
when explaining their discoveries. After their presentations, each group must self-assess the
process of their groupwork by completing a student questionnaire (A copy of this questionnaire
is displayed at the end of this lesson plan). The presentations, discussion and student
questionnaire will allow both me and my students to assess whether the class met each of our
objectives.
Differentiation:
Groupwork allows students to work together to solve problems. It requires multiple
abilities for the tasks to be completed. Each student is assigned a role based on their
individual abilities. Groupwork also provides opportunities for peer-mentoring and peer
mediation. (Differentiating process, product, and readiness)
Having students complete a “Preview, Analyze and Connect” in their journals with a
partner invited more flexible and responsive sense-making. (Differentiating process)
I could provide a digest of key ideas for students who struggle with printed materials,
lectures or with organizing information. This digest would contain a combination of
sentences and flow charts. It would also highlight key vocabulary terms. (Differentiating
content)
I will give a mini-lesson to students who are struggling with the main concepts of
erosion. (Differentiating readiness)
The “Preview, Analyze and Connect” not only allowed students to determine what they
already know and don’t know about erosion but helped them see what they want to learn
more about. This information will help me incorporate those elements into my lesson.
(Differentiating readiness)
Multiculturalism:
The groups that I separated my students into were ethnically and racially mixed. Research has
suggested that groupwork is particularly beneficial in developing harmonious interracial relations
in desegregated classrooms. Slavin (1983) studied fourteen cooperative classroom experiments
whose groups were ethnically and/or racially mixed. Eleven of these studies represented
significantly more friendship choices across racial and ethnic lines among students who had
worked in cooperative, interracial groups as compared to students who did not get this
opportunity. Sharan (1976) and his colleagues’ study also revealed that cooperative learning
produces more cross-ethnic cooperation and less negative and competitive behavior between
members of different ethnic groups.
Critical Thinking:
This lesson requires critical and higher order thinking. In before learning, students will use
analysis when completing their “Preview, Analyze and Connect” activity. They will use analysis
when drawing connections between what they already know and the new information that they
are learning. Analysis and synthesis occurs during the guided practice and independent practice
activities when students are asked to apply the information they have learned about erosion in
order to identify and analyze the evidence of its effects.
Assessment:
Assessment will be done to check for students’ overall understanding of all 3 objectives.
Informal assessment will occur throughout our class discussions. Informal assessment will also
occur during each group’s presentation. During this time, I will use a checklist to note if each
group was able to identify evidence of the different types of erosion on the playground (e.g.
crumbling blacktop) and if they were able to accurately explain how the erosion might have
occurred. This checklist will also be used to mark down if the group understands the main
components behind the 3 types of erosion (wind, water, glacial) and if the group exemplified an
understanding of Earth being an ever-changing planet. After the presentations, I will collect each
group’s notes from their observation journals to take a closer look at their understanding of the
material. I will look through each group’s findings to see who understood the concepts and who
needs extra practice/instruction on the topic (Objectives 1 and 2). Additionally, the student
questionnaire will be used as a formative assessment for both me and my students. Students will
use the questionnaire as a form of self-assessment. I will also review each student’s answers on
the questionnaire to evaluate their understanding and the effectiveness of their groupwork
process (Objective 3).
Vocabulary:
Below I have listed tier 2 words and tier 3 words from Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion. My
vocabulary activity will be used to help deepen student’s understanding of the text. Before
students complete the activity, I will review the definitions for each of the words. Then, I will
give each of my students a crossword puzzle. The crossword puzzle will list the definitions for
each of our vocabulary words and students must write the correct term in the appropriate boxes.
When completed, students can put together the letters from the special bolded boxes in order to
create a secret phrase (e.g. Ever-changing Earth).
Tier 2 words: crack, uproot, transform, stream
Tier 3 words: erosion, continental glacier, moraine, deposition
Extension Activity:
During tomorrow’s science class, students will get to build an interactive model that displays
water erosion. Pairs of students will be given trays, soil, small rocks and water. I will instruct my
each pair to fill their tray with soil; it must be patted down firmly so that it will stay in place.
Next, they will be asked to position their small rocks in the soil. Each rock must be pushed down
into the soil, to prevent it from moving about freely. Students must carefully lift half of their tray
onto a book so that it is on a slant. Then, one of the students must pour little drops of water onto
the tray (starting at the highest part of the tray) so that the water can run down the soil. Students
will be asked if they noticed any changes taking place in their trays. Then, the other student will
get a turn to pour larger amounts of water on the tray. I will, again, ask the pairs to describe what
changes they are noticing. Are they seeing signs of erosion?
Reflection:
The book, Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion helped my class further expand upon the theme
of “Change Over Time” by explaining the 3 different types of erosion and by demonstrating that
Earth is continuously changing. Our strategy lesson taught students that animals can change and
our math lesson demonstrated how people can change. This lesson built upon these concepts by
explaining that land (the Earth) can also change. This lesson not only taught students about
erosion, but helped them gain a deeper understanding of the material. Students were able to use
higher order thinking in order to discover the different effects of erosion on their playground.
During their guided practice activity, they also were able to draw connections in order to
determine what types of erosion cause different physical changes in the environment. Since this
lesson helped explain that the Earth goes through many physical changes, I will use it as a basis
for explaining Earth’s natural cycles and patterns. The group work process really encouraged
each of my students to participate. I believe that this process helped demonstrate, to my students,
that each of their classmates has something to offer. One area of concern for this group work
process was that each of my students was not equally participating. In group work, one student
often overpowers the other members in their group. This often prevents everyone from sharing
all of their ideas. Before using group work in other lessons, I will further explain why it is
necessary that each role player only completes his or her assigned role and further emphasize
that everyone must be given an equal opportunity to contribute to their group.
Materials:
Before teaching this science lesson, I collected the book Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion. I
needed a SmartBoard to display this lesson’s objectives and a computer to make the Activity
Card, Guided Practice Worksheet and the vocabulary cross word puzzle. During this lesson,
journals, a piggy bank, coins, graham crackers, pens/pencils, the school playground, our
Document Camera and observation notebooks were also used to complete our various activities.
Guided Practice Activity
Directions: With your partner, identify the type of erosion that is responsible for
each physical change. Write at least 2 sentences to explain your answer.
1. The Formation of Sand Dunes
2. Rock Transportation
3. The uprooting of plants and trees
Activity Card
Directions: Each student in your group will be working together to complete this
activity. You will be going outside to examine the effects of erosion on our
playground. As a group, you must write down as many effects of erosion that you
can find in your observation notebooks. For each piece of evidence, write one
sentence explaining what you see and one sentence explaining how you think it
occurred. Also, for each piece of evidence, you must draw a picture that illustrates
why you think that each effect occurred. After this activity, each group will present
their findings/explanations and drawings to the class on our Document Camera.
Have fun and explore all options!!
**Be sure to fulfill each of your own individual roles and to make sure that
everyone in your group is working together to complete the task; this task requires
each of your unique abilities!
Facilitator: Sees to it that everyone gets the help he or she needs to do the task; is
responsible for seeking answers to questions within the group; only asks the
teacher if no one in the group can help.
Reporter: Discusses with group about what is necessary to be said during the
presentation; may ask group to accompany him or her to the front of the room to
present their findings and drawings.
Recorder: Records the groups discussion on the playground in their observation
notebook, has group work with him or her to develop pictures/diagrams that
explain the reasons for their findings.
Group Harmonizer: Does not allow “put downs”, encourages positive responses,
encourages compromises, is attentive to the feelings of individual members and
helps maintain the group.
Unit Theme: Change Over Time
Social Studies Lesson
Life at Ellis Island
By: Sally Senzell Isaacs
Storied City: A Children's Book Walking-Tour Guide to New York City
By: Leonard M. Marcus
Objectives:
1. Students will understand the history of New York City; during discussion, they will be
able to describe how New York City has changed over time by giving examples of what
life was like during the early 1900s (immigrant’s hardships, economy, and building
development), using Life at Ellis Island as a reference.
2. Referencing Life at Ellis Island and Storied City, students will be able to compare and
contrast present-day New York City to New York City during the early 1900s; they will
be able to list at least 3 similarities and 3 differences between these two time periods, this
will be evident during guided practice.
3. Students will be able to compose a writing piece that accurately depicts Ellis Island
during the early 1900s, this will be apparent during independent practice.
New York State Social Studies Standards and Core Curriculum
Standard 1: Key Idea 3
- Prepare essays and oral reports about the important social, political, economic, scientific,
technological, and cultural developments, issues, and events from New York State and
United States history
- Research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United
States history (e.g., colonization and settlement; Revolution and New National Period;
immigration; expansion and reform era; Civil War and Reconstruction; The American
labor movement; Great Depression; World Wars; contemporary United States)
- Understand the interrelationships between world events and developments in New York
State and the United States (e.g., causes for immigration, economic opportunities, human
rights abuses, and tyranny versus freedom)
Standard 1: Key idea 4
- Analyze historical narratives about key events in New York State and United States
history to identify the facts and evaluate the authors’ perspectives
New York State Common Core Standards: Grade 3
Key Ideas and Details:
- Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers.
- Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine
the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details
in the text.
Craft and Structure:
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing
literal from non-literal language.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:
- Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and
relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
- Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by
the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
Before Learning
Last social studies class, my students read the book Storied City. To activate prior knowledge,
students will “brainstorm” facts that they remembered learning about present-day New York City
by referencing Storied City. Students will take turns writing their answers on the chalkboard. I
will then ask my students to come up with categories that we could separate these pieces of
information into (e.g. culture, population, buildings, transportation etc.). After students have
determined the names of our categories, we will use the SmartBoard to create a concept map
(with present-day NYC being the center). As a class, we will “categorize” each piece of
information. Students will raise their hands to state what category each fact should be placed
into.
During Learning
Modeling
I will read Life at Ellis Island to my class. This book describes how and why immigrants came to
the United States, how immigrants were checked-in when they arrived there, and what it was like
to live in New York City during the early 1900s. This book is going to be used to highlight our
theme of “Change over Time.” When reading, I will “think aloud” to accentuate major points in
the text. This book will help students draw connections between New York City during the early
1900s and modern-day New York City. After I have finished reading, I will model one similarity
and one difference between New York City during these two different time periods.
Guided Practice
Students will be put into pairs for the guided practice activity. With their partners, students must
use Life at Ellis Island and Storied City to come up with at least 3 similarities and 3 differences
(must be different than the ones stated during modeling) between New York City during the
early 1900s and present-day New York City. Each pair must display their work on a Venn
Diagram. I will walk around the classroom to make sure that each pair is staying on task. After
each pair has finished this activity, I will ask pairs to raise their hands to share their answers.
When students are stating their answers, I will create two columns on the board that are titled
“Similarities” and “Differences” and will compile students’ answers to create one large list. This
will provide a nice visual representation for students, helping them understand how New York
City has changed over time.
Independent Practice
For the independent practice, students will be given a chance to go onto the internet to search for
descriptive pictures of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. They must select one picture and then
create a detailed caption. The caption must include what each student thought the person in his or
her picture was thinking/feeling, facts about immigrants in Ellis Island, and facts about what life
was like for immigrants when they arrived to New York City during the early 1900s. Students
will be given a rubric for this assignment so that they will understand exactly what should be
included in their caption. I will encourage students to include vocabulary words and information
from Life at Ellis Island into their writing. I will show students a model of a captioned picture so
that they can see what the end product is going to look like. (A sample of this captioned picture
and a rubric for scoring is displayed at the end of this lesson).
After Learning
After our guided practice and independent practice activities, we will have a class discussion. As
a class, we will summarize the key differences and similarities between New York City during
the early 1900s and present-day New York City. This will allow me to assess whether my
students were able to draw connections between the past and the present. These connections will
illustrate change over time. Then, each student will be given a chance to come up to the front of
the classroom to display their captioned picture to the class on our Document Camera. Students
will show their classmates their pictures, explain their interpretations, and then list the facts that
they have included, in their work, about Ellis Island and New York City. After all of my students
have completed their presentations, their captioned pictures will be hung around our classroom.
Differentiation
For students who are interested in learning more about immigration, I will help
them find additional books, websites, articles and artwork that will help them
expand their knowledge. Students can also use these tools to look up specific
information about immigrants who shared their common background.
(Differentiating interest and content)
I will highlight critical passages in both books for students who are struggling
with the material. The highlighted information will help them complete their
research in a more effective manner. (Differentiating readiness and content)
My extension activity allows my students to actually “act out” the immigration
process. This interactive learning technique will help students gain a deeper
understanding of the material in a more engaging, hands-on manner.
(Differentiating learning profile and process)
Multiculturalism:
Multiculturalism is incorporated into the content of this lesson. Life at Ellis Island explicitly
states the different types of ethnic groups that went through Ellis Island during the early 1900s.
This book also describes why certain groups were looked down upon, illustrating each group’s
culture and background. For example, the books explains that newer immigrants, such as the
Jews, Italians and Russians, were ostracized because they had never experienced democracy in
their native countries and Americans feared that they would be detrimental to assimilation. This
book illustrates the evils of discrimination while also providing students with an understanding
about the histories of the different ethnic groups that reside in the United States today. Storied
City gives students a tour of present-day New York City. This book highlights the different
ethnic areas in the city (e.g. Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Spanish Harlem) providing students
with examples of these different cultures.
Critical Thinking
Higher order thinking occurs throughout this lesson. Before learning, students used analysis to
“brainstorm and categorize” the different parts of present-day New York City. During the guided
practice activity, students use both analysis and synthesis to determine the similarities and
differences between New York City during the early 1900s and present-day New York City.
Creating a Venn Diagram allowed my students to draw connections between the past and the
present. During the independent practice activity, students also had to use higher order thinking
in order to apply their knowledge to write interpretations of real-life photographs.
Assessment
Assessment will be done to check for students’ overall understanding of our three objectives.
Informal assessment will occur throughout our class discussions. When partners share their
answers from their Venn Diagrams, I will create a list that compiled each pairs’ answers. During
this time, I will take a mental note of who understood the material (was able to list 3 similarities
and 3 differences). Each pair’s answers also will illustrate if they understood that New York City
changed over time. During each student’s presentation of their captioned picture, I will use a
rubric to mark if students were able to accurately list facts about Ellis Island and the immigration
process during the early 1900s. These formative types of assessments will help me determine
what students need additional practice with the material.
Vocabulary
Below I have listed tier 2 and tier 3 words from Life at Ellis Island. My vocabulary activity will
be used to help deepen student’s understanding of the text. Before beginning, I will briefly
review the definitions of each of our vocabulary words. For this activity, I will hand students a
worksheet that contains each word. The worksheet will ask students to come up with at least two
synonyms for each our tier 2 and tier 3 words.
Tier 2 words: processing, passage, illness, steerage
Tier 3 words: immigration, deportation, assimilation, ghettos, tenements
Extension Activity
Students will “act-out” the immigration process at Ellis Island. (The directions to this activity are
displayed at the end of this lesson plan)
Reflection
This lesson further builds upon our unit theme of “Change over Time” by explaining that places
are constantly evolving. Our strategy lesson taught students that animals can change, our math
lesson demonstrated how people can change and our science lesson taught students that the Earth
is continuously changing. This lesson then expanded on these concepts by illustrating how places
can change. This lesson highlighted the differences between present-day New York City and
New York City during the early 1900s. Students were able to use higher order thinking to come
up with the similarities and differences between these two time periods. Students were also given
a chance to apply their knowledge and creativity in order to compose a writing piece about
immigration at Ellis Island. Students then were able to act-out the immigration progress during
the extension activity, keeping them actively engaged in the material. Since this lesson explained
the changes that occurred in New York City, I will use it as a basis for explaining the large
amount of industrialization, development and settlement that has occurred throughout the United
States. I will then have students describe how our country presently differs from our country
when it was first created.
Materials
Before teaching this social studies lesson, I collected the books Life at Ellis Island and Storied
City: A Children's Book Walking-Tour Guide to New York City. Computers were needed to
create the Venn Diagram worksheet, the Vocabulary Activity worksheet and for students to
obtain their pictures. During the lesson, materials such as pens/pencils, the SmartBoard, chalk,
chalkboard, Document Camera and a printer were also used.
An Example of the Captioned Picture Activity
This is a photograph of a woman and her children at Ellis Island. The woman is without
her husband and seems to be displaying a worried expression. She came to the United States to
create a better life for her family but the uncertainty of the future frightens her. Her family must
carry their bags to the processing line. This line often seemed endless and families generally had
to wait there for hours. During this time, steerage passengers had to endure a 3-5 hour inspection
process. This inspection included checking immigrants for illnesses. This was a frightening time
for many families because if a member was suspected of having some type of serious disease
they were often deported back overseas. Americans feared the newer immigrants, Russian, Jews
and the Italians, because they had never experienced democracy. Immigrants were treated
unfairly and their communities were viewed as “ghettoized” colonies that were threatening to
assimilation.
Captioned Picture Rubric
Topic Yes No
I clearly stated my
thoughts about the
immigrant’s feelings
and stated why
I listed at least 3 facts
about immigrants in
Ellis Island
I listed at least 2 facts
about immigrants’
lives in New York City
during the early 1900s
I included 2 of our
new vocabulary words
and reread my work
Directions to the Extension Activity
Students will reenact a group of immigrants’ arrival to Ellis Island. All of my students will
pretend to be immigrants, except for nine students who volunteer to play the roles mentioned
below. One student will hand out tags with numbers on them; a tag must be taped to each
immigrant’s clothing. One student will act as the medical examiner. He or she will look in the
immigrants’ eyes, ears, and mouths. The medical examiner should tell one out of every five
immigrants to see the specialist. The person acting as the medical specialist will determine
whether the person should be sent back to his or her native country or should be allowed to
remain in the United States. The immigrants who pass the medical examination will then be sent
to the government inspector. This person will choose to ask each immigrant some of the
following questions:
What is your name?
How old are you? Are you married?
What is your occupation? Can you read or write?
Where are you from?
Where are you going in the United States? How will you get there?
Did you pay for your passage? If not, who did?
How much money do you have with you?
Do you have any relatives in the United States? What are the names and addresses of your
relatives?
Have you ever been to the United States before? When and where?
Have you ever been in prison?
How is your health?
Any immigrant who seems to be unsure of an answer will be sent to a special inquiry board made
up of five students. This board will continue to ask similar questions. At the end of the
questioning, they will vote to determine whether the person will be allowed to remain in the
United States.
References
Bailey, J. (2006). Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion. Science Works. Capstone Press Inc.
Bruchac, J. & Vojtech, A. (1998). The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story. New York, New
York. Puffin Books.
Cohen, E. (1994). Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. New
York, New York. Teachers College Press
Eyewitness Books, (1995). Butterfly & Moth. Toronto, Canada. A Dorling Kindersley Book.
Isaacs, S.S. (2001). Life at Ellis Island. Heinemann-Raintree.
Marcus, L. (2003) Storied City: A Children's Book Walking-Tour Guide to New York City.
Dutton Juvenile.
Neuschwander, C. (1998). Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream. Mexico. Scholastic Press
NYSED.gov. Elementary Science Core Curriculum Grade K-4. Curriculum and Instruction
NYSED.gov. Elementary Social Studies Core Curriculum Grade K-4. Curriculum and
Instruction
NYSED.gov (2011). New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English
Language Arts and Literacy
NYSED.gov (2011). New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for Mathematics
Robb, L. (2003). Teaching Reading in Social Studies, Science and Math. USA. Scholastic
Professional Books
TeacherVision. Lesson Plans, Printables and More. Ellis Island Printables. Grades 3-5.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/immigration/printable/39648.html
Tomlinson, C.A., (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. USA.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development