1 Student Teacher: Megan Benchley School: Alpine Elementary Grade: 1 Lesson 3: Relative Directions Subject Area: Social Studies I. Standard: 1 – G1.0.3 Use personal directions (left, right, front, back) to describe the relative location of significant places in the school environment. II. Objectives: The students will identify left and right by naming the friends who sit to the left and right of them and marking these friends on a classroom map. The students will apply front and back by naming objects that are in front of them and behind them. III. Anticipatory Set: The students will sit in a circle. They will sing the maps song. Then the teacher will ask them to hold up both hands and make L’s. The teacher will show the students which hand is their left hand with the correct L and which hand is their right hand with a backwards L. The teacher will quiz the students to hold up their right hand and left hand until the students are comfortable with right and left directions. Then the teacher will ask, “Who sits to Logan’s right?” “Who sits to Isabella’s left?” The teacher will do this until the students are comfortable and then ask “Who sits in front of Jordan?” “What object is behind Keegan?” “How do you know?” IV. Input: 1.) The teacher will call the students to go to their learning table while the paper passers distribute classroom desk maps. 2.) The teacher will review absolute location by asking students to tell her the number and road they are on the classroom map. 3.) The teacher will ask the students to put a triangle around the number of the person who sits to their right, and a circle around the number of the person who sits to their left. 4.) The teacher will ask the students to put a square around the person who sits in front of them and a star by the person who sits behind them. If there is no one who sits in those spots the students can put their symbol anywhere in that direction (left, right, front or back.) 5.) The teacher will have three of the students show their maps to the class on the projector. 2 6.) The teacher will ask the students to put their fists by their heart. They will put a thumb up if they think they understood the whole project. They will put a thumb sideways if they only understood part of the project, and they will put a thumb down if they did not understand the project. Task analysis: Before beginning this activity the students will know how to hold up both hands and make L's to find their left and right hands. The students do this for the pledge of allegiance every day. Thinking Levels: The students use Bloom’s application level to apply what they know about right, left, front, and back to their immediate surroundings. The students will use synthesis to create symbols (shapes) on the classroom map to show what is to the right, left, front, and back of them. Multiple Intelligences: The students will use their spatial intelligence to draw who is to the right, left, front, and back of them. They will use interpersonal intelligence to work with other students and their musical intelligence to sing the Map Song. Accommodations: Some of the students in my room may have trouble not blurting out the answer. I will make sure to caution against this at the beginning and give one warning to each student who struggles at circle time. Differentiated instruction strategies: Some students will have trouble remembering their right and left. I will instruct the students to leave their left hand in an L and put it on their leg so they can remember their left and right. I will also go over raising both hands, finding the L poster, noticing the L that matches and putting that L on their leg if necessary. Methods and Materials: The methods I am using are whole group instruction, guided instruction, and independent instruction. The materials I will need are crayons, pencils, classroom maps, a projector, and a symbols poster. V. Modeling: I will model who is to the left of me and the right of me at circle time. I will also model on the projector where one of the students sits. I will show how to put a triangle to the seat on his or her right, a circle on his or her left, a square to his/her front and a star to behind him/her. VI. Checking for Understanding: I will watch during circle time to make sure the students name the people to their right, left, front and back correctly. I will also 3 circulate the classroom and make sure students circle their correct seats and use the correct symbols for directions. In addition, I can check the class maps later. VII. Guided Practice: I will guide the students practice by showing what to do on the overhead projector. I will also circulate through the classroom to help students choose the right symbols and understand why they chose them. The students will circle the place that they sit. Then they will put a triangle on the person who sits to the left of them and a square around the person who sits to the right of them. VIII. Closure: I will have three of the students show their maps to the class on the projector. I will ask the students to put their fists by their heart. They will put a thumb up if they think they understood the whole project. They will put a thumb sideways if they only understood part of the project, and they will put a thumb down if they did not understand the project. IX. Assessment: I will use formative assessment by watching who understands right and left during circle time. I will also check the classroom maps I will collect at the end of the lesson. X. Reflection: 1.) Were lesson objective met? Were they met by all students? Yes, the lesson objectives were met by all students. I did learn that the objectives needed to be met by the students in person instead of on paper. The students could point to the person on their right and the person on their left, but some students had trouble marking people on their right and left on the classroom map. Once I realized this we spent more time in a circle pointing to people to the right, left, back and front of us. We spent less time with the classroom map. 2.) Were all of the lesson activities engaging for students? Did they enforce the lesson objectives? The circle activity was engaging for all students. The classroom map activity was only engaging for some students. I think it is too developmentally difficult for first graders. 3.) Did I plan activities that met the individual learning styles and needs of all students? The circle activity, song and flashcards met the learning needs of all students by appealing to their interpersonal, musical, and visual intelligences. 4.) Were the time allotments appropriate for maintaining the “time on task” classroom schedule? Time allotments helped me maintain an “on time” classroom schedule. 4 5.) Did I establish and maintain an acceptable learning behavioral environment? If I taught the lesson over again what changes would I make? I established and maintained an acceptable behavioral environment by stating my behavioral and educational expectations in the beginning of the lesson. I would take out the classroom map activity and spend more time on the circle activity if I taught this lesson over again to first graders. I’ve learned when an activity is too developmentally difficult it’s harder to engage students and maintain positive student behavior. 5 Student Teacher: Megan Benchley School: Alpine Elementary Grade: 1 Lesson 4: Globes and Maps Subject Area: XI. Standard: 1 – G1.0.4 Distinguish between landmasses and bodies of water using maps and globes. XII. Objectives: Students will display their knowledge of globes by describing what a globe is. Students will show their understanding of maps by defining a map. Students will be able to distinguish between land and water using maps and globes. Students will be able to apply their knowledge by coloring water blue and landmarks green. XIII. Anticipatory Set: The teacher will show the students a map and a globe. The students will compare and contrast the map and globe using a Venn Diagram. (We will do this as a whole group activity.) The students will review the map flashcards and map song. XIV. Input: The students will get in a circle. They will pass the globe around the circle. The person who receives the globe will spin it, close his/her eyes, and point to a point on the globe. Then the student will open his/her eyes and say whether their finger is on water or land. When asked, they will explain how they know whether their finger is on land or water. We will pass the globe around again and the students will point to North America and Michigan. I will put a map on the ELMO. The students will come up to the screen and point to a place with land and a place with water. The students will point to North America and Michigan on the map. The students will create a classroom map by pretending that the blue carpet is water and anything above the water (the rugs, the desks, the loft, the computer, and the closets) is land. They will draw the “landmarks” green and the “water” blue. Task analysis: The students will need to know what a map is and what the other map flashcards are. They will also have been previously taught the map song. 6 Thinking Levels: The students will need knowledge about maps and globes to describe them. The students will also need to apply what they know about maps to point to landmasses and bodies of water. They will use analysis to compare and contrast globes and maps. Finally, the students will need to use synthesis to create their own classroom map with the carpet as blue water and the tables, closets, loft, rugs, and computer as green landmasses. Multiple Intelligences: The students will use linguistic intelligence to identify the flashcards, define maps and globes, and describe how they identified land and water. The students will use musical intelligence to sing the maps song. The students will use interpersonal intelligence to use teamwork to pass the globe around the circle. The students will use existential intelligence to answer the question, “Where do I live in this big world?” They will also use naturalistic intelligence to know that water looks green and land looks green or brown. Accommodations: I will make sure that students with behavioral problems are sitting near me when we make a circle. I will make sure Jordan is sitting by me, also. He may have a hearing problem. Differentiated instruction strategies: I will give more hints to students who need them and less hints to students who exceled at previous map lessons. Methods and Materials: The methods I will use are flashcards, a song, a circle game, and whole class instruction to teach about maps and globes. The materials I will need are flashcards, a song poster, a globe, a map, white drawing paper, crayons, pencils, a microphone, a projector screen, and the ELMO. XV. Modeling: I will model the new globe flashcard and the song. I will also demonstrate how to find water and landmasses on the globe and map. XVI. Guided Practice: For guided practice students will identify maps flashcards, sing the map song, and find land and water on a globe and map. XVII. Independent Practice: For independent practice, students will create a classroom map with a twist. We will pretend that the blue carpet is water and anything above the water (the rugs, the desks, the loft, the computer, and the closets) is land. They will draw the landmarks green and the “water” blue. 7 XVIII. Closure: I will ask the students to put their landmark maps on my desk. I will ask three students to share their landmark maps. Then I will direct the students by learning tables to go to the next place Mrs. Bach and I will be teaching from. XIX. Assessment: For formative assessment, I will monitor verbal answers about the flashcards, globes, maps, landmasses, and bodies of water. I will also look at the maps the students draw. XX. Reflection: 6.) Were lesson objective met? Were they met by all students? All students were able to meet the objective easily. 7.) Were all of the lesson activities engaging for students? Did they enforce the lesson objectives? The lesson activities were very engaging for students. In fact we had extra time, so we look at different places on Google Earth. I found out a lot of my students have family in faraway countries. They were able to make a personal connection between the places we saw and their real life. 8.) Did I plan activities that met the individual learning styles and needs of all students? All of the students seemed to love the use of technology. They were all raising their hands, and wanting me to show them where in the world the places they heard of were. 9.) Were the time allotments appropriate for maintaining the “time on task” classroom schedule? We had extra time, so I was able to stretch the lesson to include more about oceans, continents, and places special to the students. We definitely were done on time to maintain the classroom schedule. 10.) Did I establish and maintain an acceptable learning behavioral environment? If I taught the lesson over again what changes would I make? The learning environment was positive. Students raised their hands to ask questions, and waited patiently for the answers. If I taught this lesson again, I would not make any changes except to allow for the extra time we had on Google Earth. 8 Student Teacher: Megan Benchley School: Alpine Elementary Grade: 1 Lesson 5: Landforms and Map Keys Subject Area: XXI. Standards: 1 – G1.0.4 Distinguish between landmasses and bodies of water using maps and globes. 1 – G2.0.1 Distinguish between physical (e.g., clouds, trees, weather) and human (e.g., buildings, playgrounds, sidewalks) characteristics of places. XXII. Objectives: Students will identify the water and land on the graph and explain how they know the difference. Students will pose like landform signs as they make a living map. Students will draw landforms on their map and write a key. XXIII. Anticipatory Set: The teacher will call all the students to the beige carpet. They will sing the maps song. She will read “Social Studies Alive! My Community” Big Book chapter 4 (“What is Geography?”). The teacher will review the geography and map flashcards. The students will identify the flashcards. The students will sing the maps song. XXIV. Input: The class will talk about the symbols for rivers, oceans, and mountains. They will also discuss how to make a map key and what color certain landforms (i.e. desert usually are.) The class will make hand motions for the typical drawings in a key. The teacher will call learning clubs to return to their desks. Next the teacher will choose six students to create a human map. The beige carpet will be the island and the blue carpet around the beige carpet will be the ocean. Two students will stand in the beige carpet together and make the mountain symbol. Two students will stand in the rug together and make the river motion. One student will stand in the beige carpet and hold up a yellow sign for desert. Another student will stand in the beige carpet and hold up a dark green sign for forest. The teacher will ask the students who are sitting down where the mountains, desert, river, and forest are. 9 Lastly the paper passers will hand out a key and an island worksheet to every student. The teacher will explain that the students can create their own paradise island. The map will need a name, four landforms, and a key. The teacher will name her island and instruct the students to name their own islands. The teacher will put a N,E,S and W for the cardinal directions on a compass rose. The teacher will draw a large rectangle on the right bottom side of the paper and tell the students that this is where the key will go. The teacher will draw her first landform. Then she will find the landform on the key and copy it into the rectangle. The teacher may stop there if the students show understanding, or continue to draw landforms if the students need extra help. Task analysis: The students will already know North, East, South and West, a compass rose, a map, and a key. After the students hear the teacher read chapter 4, they will also know the symbols for mountains, river, ocean, desert, forest, and plains. Thinking Levels: The students will use knowledge to identify the flashcards. The students will use application to draw the compass rose and the key. The students will use synthesis to create a human map with their bodies and draw their own paradise island map. The students will use evaluation to self-check their maps and make sure they have all the assigned parts. Multiple Intelligences: The students will use spatial intelligence to read the maps in the book and the map on the ELMO. The students will use linguistic intelligence to answer questions about maps. The human map volunteers will use interpersonal intelligence to practice teamwork while creating their map. The students will use musical intelligence to sing the map song. They will also utilize kinesthetic intelligence to practice the map motions and make a human map. Finally they will use intrapersonal intelligence to self-check their maps before they show them to Mrs. Bach and me. Accommodations: I will make sure that Jordan is sitting close to me, as he has difficultly hearing. I will also make sure when I circulate I check Patrick and Jaden’s papers, because they are developmentally behind. Differentiated instruction strategies: I will give more hints to the students that need them and less hints to students who have proven they are advanced. If certain students are really struggling to use four symbols on their maps, I will lower their number of symbols to two or three. 10 Methods and Materials: I will use a read-aloud, flashcards, a song, a kinesthetic map exercise, and a demonstration on the ELMO. I will need the “Social Studies Alive! My Community” Big Book, homemade map flashcards, my song poster, paradise island worksheets, key printouts, crayons, pencils, my microphone, a projector, a screen, and the ELMO. XXV. Modeling: I will model the hand motions for the landforms, the answers for the flashcards, how to draw landforms on a map, how to title the map and how to include a key. XXVI. Guided Practice: The majority of my lesson is guided practice. I will guide the students through identifying flashcards, making a human map, identifying landforms on the human map, putting a title on their paradise map, copying a key onto their map, and placing landforms on their map. XXVII. Independent Practice: Once the students understand how to title their map, draw landforms, and copy the key, they may finish their map independently. Some students may need guided practice the entire time, but I am confident that certain students will want to work independently for extra autonomy and creativity of expression. XXVIII. Closure: Once the students are done with their maps they may go to Mrs. Bach or me to have them checked. If the maps meet the requirements, the students are free to go to the all done basket until the next activity. I would like to show a couple student samples of the maps, but I doubt I’ll have time. Maybe I can show them at the beginning of the next unit plan lesson. XXIX. Assessment: I will use formative assessment to check whether the students answer the flashcards correctly, understand the landform symbols, and can identify North, East, South, and West. I will use summative assessment when I check the paradise island maps to make sure each map has a title, a key, and four different types of landforms. XXX. Reflection: We did not do this lesson, due to the fact that knowledge of landforms was moved to a second grade requirement, not a first grade requirement. I will ask myself the reflection questions the first time I am able to teach this lesson. 11 11.) Were lesson objective met? Were they met by all students? 12.) Were all of the lesson activities engaging for students? Did they enforce the lesson objectives? 13.) Did I plan activities that met the individual learning styles and needs of all students? 14.) Were the time allotments appropriate for maintaining the “time on task” classroom schedule? 15.) Did I establish and maintain an acceptable learning behavioral environment? If I taught the lesson over again what changes would I make? 12 Student Teacher: Megan Benchley School: Alpine Elementary Grade: 1 Lesson 6: Aerial Perspective and a Final Evaluation Subject Area: Social Studies XXXI. Standards: 1 – G1.0.1 Construct simple maps of the classroom to demonstrate aerial perspective. 1 – G1.0.2 Give examples of places that have absolute locations (e.g., home address, school address). 1 – G1.0.3 Use personal directions (left, right, front, back) to describe the relative location of significant places in the school environment. 1 – G1.0.4 Distinguish between landmasses and bodies of water using maps and globes. XXXII. Objectives: The students will evaluate whether maps are aerial view or side view. The students demonstrate their knowledge of aerial view by creating an aerial view map of the classroom. The students with display their understanding of cardinal directions by labeling their map North, East, South and West. The students will prove their remembrance of relative directions by drawing symbols to show which student sits to their left and which student sits to their right. The students will demonstrate their understanding of front and back by correctly putting an “F” for front and “B” for back on their map. Anticipatory Set: The teacher will draw a picture with grass and sun on the board. The teacher will ask, “Is this a map of Michigan?” (No.) Then how could I draw a map of Michigan?” (Draw a mitten.) “How come I don’t see a mitten right now? I’m standing in Michigan.” (It’s an aerial view.) The teacher will show the children an aerial view of Alpine Elementary on Google Maps. The students will identify items on the playground and locations in school on the map. The teacher will zoom out to Michigan to show the aerial view, and then zoom out to show the United States and the World. The students will be shown 2 pictures of Michigan locations (stores or stadiums) and they will evaluate which is the side view and which is the aerial view. If time permits we will read Flamboyan by Arnold Adoff. 13 XXXIII. Input: 1.) The teacher will ask the students to draw an aerial view of their classroom. They will need to include the five tables in the room, the teacher’s desk, and the two large rugs. The teacher will call on a student to describe what a desk would look like from an aerial view. 2.) The teacher will ask the students to label North, East, South and West on the edges of the map. She will remind them that they may look at the North, East, South and West signs in the classroom. 3.) The teacher will ask the students to draw a circle where they sit in the classroom. The students will also draw a triangle to their left and a square to their right. The teacher will inquire what the students should do if no one sits next to them at the table. (They can pick the person who sits at the end of the table to be on their right or left as needed.) 4.) The student will ask the students to put a F for “front” in front of where they sit and a “B” for back behind where they sit. 5.) The students will turn their papers into the teacher. The teacher will call learning groups to transition into a new activity. Task analysis: The students will need their knowledge of absolute directions, relative directions, and maps that they will gain from the previous lessons. Thinking Levels: The students will use evaluation to decide which picture is the aerial view and which is the side view. The students will also use synthesis to demonstrate their knowledge of absolute directions, relative directions, and maps. Multiple Intelligences: The students will use their spatial intelligence to draw an aerial view of a map. They will use their linguistic intelligence to answer my questions about how they should draw the map. The students will use their visual intelligence to determine which pictures show an aerial view and which pictures show a side view. Lastly, the students will use their intrapersonal intelligence to independently check over their work. Accommodations: I will check for understanding with my students about aerial maps, because it is a difficult concept. I will especially make sure to check for understanding with particular students who have trouble comprehending logicalspatial concepts. I will make sure that Jordan is near me when I talk, because he has trouble hearing. I will also be careful to watch my behaviorally challenged students, and use Love and Logic interventions if necessary. 14 Differentiated instruction strategies: When faster students finish early they are welcome to draw a map of their bedroom using whichever view they like. Slower students may be given time to finish their maps during the time I read aloud a chapter book. Methods and Materials: I will use the inquiry method to help the students investigate which maps have a side view and which maps have an aerial view. I will use modeling to draw my example of a classroom map, but I will leave the absolute and relative direction parts for the students to complete independently. I will need the computer, projector screen, microphone and ELMO. I will also need Flamboyan, aerial and side view pictures, large white construction paper, pencils, and crayons. XXXIV. Modeling: I will model the aerial and side view pictures of Alpine Elementary School. I will think aloud about how we can tell the difference between aerial and side views. I will also model how to draw an aerial view of the classroom, including the tables, rugs, and teacher’s desk. XXXV. Guided Practice: The students may draw the classroom landmarks while I draw them. XXXVI. Independent Practice: The students will draw the symbols for left, right, front and back by themselves. They will also label North, East, South, and West independently. XXXVII. Closure: I will collect all the classroom maps and call learning tables to transition to the next activity. XXXVIII. Assessment: I will grade all the classroom maps to evaluate what students learned. XXXIX. Reflection: 16.) Were lesson objective met? Were they met by all students? The lesson objectives were met by most of the students. Some students could draw a table in aerial view, but needed help knowing where in the room to draw them. I was pleasantly surprised by how many students knew their right and left and drew the corresponding symbols. 17.) Were all of the lesson activities engaging for students? Did they enforce the lesson objectives? The lesson activity was engaging for the students after I used the scaffolding of showing students where to draw the five classroom tables. 15 The lesson activities enforced all of the lesson and unit objectives. The assessment measured four geography GLCEs in fifteen minutes, so I would say it was highly effective. 18.) Did I plan activities that met the individual learning styles and needs of all students? All types of learners seemed to enjoy the hands on activity of creating a project. Many of my students are tactile learners and enjoy artistic tasks. 19.) Were the time allotments appropriate for maintaining the “time on task” classroom schedule? The time allotment was more than accommodating to maintain on-task behavior and allow for all other subjects to be taught. 20.) Did I establish and maintain an acceptable learning behavioral environment? If I taught the lesson over again what changes would I make? I maintained a positive learning environment by stating my behavioral and educational expectations ahead of time. I was also sure to follow through and be consistent. Pictures demonstrating side vs. aerial perspective Alpine Elementary Side View 16 Alpine Elementary Aerial View Tiger Stadium Side View Tiger Stadium Aerial View 17 Teacher: Megan Benchley School: Alpine Elementary Grade: 1st CT: Lauri Bach Final Project Assessment Rubric: Classroom Map Objective Exceeds Objective Meets Objective (as we are simply introducing these concepts) Does Not Meet Objective (students will be asked to fix their maps) Classroom map Draws the classroom map consistently from an aerial view Draws the classroom map, but not consistently from an aerial view. Does not draw the landmarks in the classroom map. Leaves out 2-3 key land marks. Cardinal Directions on the Map Labels North, East, South and West on the edges of the map or draws a compass with those four cardinal directions. Labels some directions but not all four cardinal directions or labels the directions but they are incorrect. Does not label cardinal directions. Left and Right Correctly draws a circle where they sit, a triangle to their left, and a square to their right. Draws a triangle, circle, and square, but not in the right positions. Does not draw a triangle, circle, and square. Front and Back Correctly puts an “F” to their front and a “B” to their back on the map. Draws an “F” and “B” Neither the “F” nor but one is not in the “B” is in the correct correct place. location. Main Landmarks are drawn in relation to each other. There are five tables in the middle of the room, one rug at the front of the room, and one rug at the back of Only five of these landmarks are drawn correctly. Less than five landmarks are drawn correctly, meaning that there are not five tables in the middle of 18 the room. Teacher Reflective Evaluation the room. Questions for each lesson: *** The answers to these questions can be found at the end of every lesson. 1.) Were lesson objective met? Were they met by all students? 2.) Were all of the lesson activities engaging for students? Did they enforce the lesson objectives? 3.) Did I plan activities that met the individual learning styles and needs of all students? 4.) Were the time allotments appropriate for maintaining the “time on task” classroom schedule? 5.) Did I establish and maintain an acceptable learning behavioral environment? If I taught the lesson over again what changes would I make? Questions for the entire unit: 1.) Were the unit objectives met? Were they met by all students? Yes, the unit objectives were met by each student. I know this because they all can identify absolute and relative directions, identify land and water on maps and globes, and differentiate between side view and aerial perspective. The only objective that was not met was the landform objective. This is because although the first grade GLCEs include landforms, students at Alpine Elementary do not learn about landforms until second grade. I offered to forgo my landform lesson so we could meet other Core Common Standards that Alpine Elementary teaches first graders. 19 Student Evaluation Directions: Please circle the picture that most closely answers your question. 1.) Which lesson did you like the most? 25 26 6 24 30 29 2.) Which lesson was the most confusing? 25 26 6 24 29 30 20 21 Bibliography Adoff, Arnold. Flamboyan. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. Bower, Bert and Jim Lobdell. Social Studies Alive!: My Community. Big Book. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, 2003. Print. Bower, Bert and Jim Lobdell. Social Studies Alive!: My Community. Compact Disc, 2003. Media. Bower, Bert and Jim Lobdell. Social Studies Alive!: My Community. Interactive Desk Map. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, 2003. Print. Bower, Bert and Jim Lobdell. Social Studies Alive!: My Community. “Interactive Student Notebook.” Roads and Places worksheets p. 10-11. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, 2003. Print. Map Flashcard Images Map 22 Globe 23 Compass Rose Map Key 24 Geography: The study of the Earth and its features. 25 26