Teacher: Alex Prittie Room #:
Lesson # in unit:
Period (s):
Topic: Cold War Timeline
Social Studies Lesson Objective and Assessment:
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
By the end of class the student will be able to: Identify world leaders and their contributions, major events, and
terms from the Cold War era
Outline the historical sequence of events from the Cold War
NCSS Thematic Standards
Culture and Cultural Diversity
Power, Authority, and Governance
Time, Continuity, and Change
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
People, Places, and Environments
Science, Technology, and Society
Individual Development and Identity
Global Connections
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Civic Ideals and Practices
This supports diverse learners because the group/class activity I choose to use takes a
series of seemingly confusing events and places them into a very concrete timeline. Diverse learners will be supported
through small group discussion, class wide discussion, and through a brief writing assignment.
Supporting Diverse Learners
Strategies/Activities Selected:


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Short writing assignment – Students will be asked a question when they enter into the classroom
Small group discussion – Students will be asked to read a description of an event in small groups and those groups
will become an experts on that particular event
Direct lecture – I will help groups present the information that they have learned as well as add additional, relevant
information
Exit Slip – Students will answer a brief question on a piece of paper and hand it in before class ends
Methods for Instruction
Class/Group Discussion
Cooperative Learning
Small Group
Guided Practice
Lecture or Direct
Instruction
Bookwork (Reading)
Question/Answer
Learning Stations
Teacher Modeling/Demo.
Journal writing
Role Play
Hands-on
Inquiry Learning
Game
Simulation/Role Playing
Independent Learning
Other
Use of Materials
Teacher Manual pg #
Student Text pg #
Picture Books
More Activities That Teach
Handouts: each group will
receive a handout with the
description of a particular
event
Manipulative
Maps
Artifacts
Related Equipment:
Other:
Adapted materials
Use of Technology
Cell Phone
PollEverywhere.com
CPS Clickers
Elmo Document Camera
Software
Student Computers
Teacher Computer w/LCD
Video Clips/DVD
Website
Other
Lesson Agenda
Warm up: How will you support students in accessing prior knowledge, personal, real world and/or cultural connections?
To get students to start thinking about the Cold War, I will have a question on the board as they walk in asking them to tell
me three things that they already know about the Cold War. We will then briefly discuss some of the student’s responses.
What I hope happens is that students are able to give me a lot of different events and people related to the topic, however
they are unsure of precisely where and how these people and events fit into the Cold War.
Transitioning and Stating Objectives: As you can see, there are quite a few things that come to mind when we
think about the Cold War. My hope is that after today, you guys can start to get a better feel for the order in which
these events took place as well as learn about some new people and events!
Transition to Instruction: What support strategies will you use to scaffold students learning so they meet or exceed
targeted?
To get students to understand various events, terms, and leaders of Cold War and the sequence of the events, I will have the
students participate in a timeline activity. In this activity, students will be separated into groups of 2-3 and scattered
throughout the room. Each group will be given a sheet with a description of a specific, key event of the Cold War. Students
will be asked to read and briefly discuss this article with their partners. They will then be asked to place a sticky note with
the title of their event on a timeline on the board where they feel it fits in with other groups. This encourages collaboration
between students both in small groups and as a whole class. Once students feel confident in their placement of their event, I
will then check to see if the timeline is accurate and make any adjustments that need to be made. This will lead me into
guided practice with the students.
This timeline activity will get students to not only learn and become and expert on one particular topic, but it helps them to
understand how that topic or event fits into the bigger context of the Cold War. More generally, students will be able to see
an overview of the entire course of the war.
Transition Guided Practice:
This activity transitions nicely into guided practice. Once all of the sticky notes are placed on the timeline, I will have each
group come to the front of the class and describe their event. I will add any information that they might miss and more
importantly, I will help smooth the transition from one event to the next. I really like the idea of the students presenting the
information rather than me. This allows them to feel more connected to what they are presenting!
Transition to Independent Practice and Conferencing: none
Transition to Wrap up/Closing: How will you engage students in self-assessment and/or reflection on key concept?
To wrap up class, I will ask students to reflect on what they learned by answering the following question. In 1 – 2 tell me
which event on our timeline of the Cold War do you view as being most important? Why do you consider it to be so
important? This will be an exit ticket that the students will turn in before they leave class. I like this question because it gets
students to reflect on what we learned as well as giving them a thought to think about as they leave the class.
Daily Assessment How do you know your
students met your lesson objective(s) and to
what degree?
Bloom’s Taxonomy
knowledge
comprehension
application
analysis
synthesis
evaluation
Formative:
Class discussion
CPS clickers
Email teacher
Entrance/Exit slip
Teacher Observe
Listened to conversations
Quiz
Thumbs up, neutral, or down
Homework check
Video quiz
Voting
Whiteboard Check
Other
Summative:
Test
Project
Report
Presentation
Final Exam
Other
Additional Teacher Preparation:
Copy:
Locate:
Daily Reflection This would be a section at the end for the teacher to note any strengths or weaknesses of the plan. What are next the
steps for students and how will you get them there? What worked well?