Teaching American History
lesson plan template
One of the requirements for TAH Fellows is that each teacher will submit one or more lessons this year to be shared
with your colleagues. Lesson plans will be submitted electronically (Word, PowerPoint, FlipChart, PDF documents)
so that they can be posted to the project website. If you have a hard copy and need help converting it to electronic
form, we will provide assistance. Lessons can be on any topic in U.S. History that is of interest to the teacher and
meets one or more of the California State Standards (and preferably one that matches the grade-level essential
standards we agreed upon).
No matter what format your lesson utilizes, please use this template so that all of our lessons will have common
elements, some of which are grant requirements, and others that will make your lesson more user-friendly to other
teachers. The point of this activity is to develop and share some high quality U.S. History lessons that can be used
beyond your classroom.
1. Teacher name: Kelly Salisbury
2. Grade level of this lesson: 5th
3. California State Standard met:
5.1 Students describe the major pre-Columbian settlements, including the cliff dwellers and pueblo
people of the desert Southwest, the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations
of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River.
4. Title or description of your lesson:
Title: “Feel Your Way Through America” book
Description: Students will complete a tactile book with detailed paragraphs describing each of the
major pre-Columbian settlements and a three-dimensional representation of each region. They will
also complete a cover page, a summary of the theory of how people came to the Americas
originally, and a glossary of terms. This project is to be completed after teaching Unit 1: The First
Americans from the Scott Foresman series. This project will take approximately 3-5 lessons/days to
complete.
5. What your learning objective is:
Students will describe and display each of the major Native American settlements that existed
before European exploration.
6. Actual lesson content (lecture notes, charts, PowerPoint, student product, etc. can be
attached):
- After teaching Unit 1: The First Americans, the teacher will guide the students in
completing the rough draft for the “People Come to the Americas” page. This summary
should include the theory of how the first Americans immigrated across the Bering Strait
land bridge.
- The students will then use the paragraph format page and their textbooks to complete a
rough draft paragraph on each of the major pre-Columbian settlements. (See Paragraph
Format attachment)
- Students will also use their textbooks to complete the “Glossary of Terms” page. (See
FYWTA Glossary attachment)
- After their rough drafts are checked off, students will copy their paragraphs onto their
final drafts. (See Feel Your Way Through America Pages attachment)
-
On a separate day, students will complete the art work for each page. It is best to have
these organized into centers. The materials needed to complete each page are listed
below. (See FYWTA Sample Pages attachment for the finished product)
1. Cover page: colored pencils
2. People Come to the Americas: blue watercolor paint (ocean), black markers
(for labeling the continents), template of continents on green construction
paper, glue bottles (Bering Strait land bridge)
3. The People of the Pacific Northwest: colored pencils/crayons, green tissue
paper cut into small squares (trees), blue and orange foam fish, black markers
(fish eyes)
4. The People of the Desert Southwest: colored pencils/crayons, feathers, dried
corn, blue glitter glue (rain), sandpaper with template traced on the back (cliff
dwellings)
5. The People of the Great Plains: colored pencils/crayons, pipe cleaners (bow),
brown fur or felt with shape traced on back (buffalo), white foam with shape
traced for each (right and left tusk), eyeballs
6. The People of the Eastern Woodlands: brown lunch bags and brown felt with
shape traced on back (two types of dwellings), cotton and yarn (roof for each
dwelling), brown foam and black markers (woven baskets), dried beans
7. Methods/strategies you will use to make sure students are engaged and involved:
While completing the initial “People Come to the Americas” page, the teacher will use the PairShare technique to ensure student involvement. The center rotations will allow students to move
around instead of staying in one spot for a long period of time. This will ensure that students
maintain focus while completing the art work.
8. How you will check for understanding during the lesson (use of Explicit Direct Instruction,
TAPPLE, or other methods):
Explicit Direct Instruction will be used to teach the content from Unit 1: The First Americans. The
students will also complete a study guide for this unit throughout the lessons. The use of Pair-Share
will be used diligently for the “People Come to the Americas” page. The teacher will also step the
students through the first of the four regions using the paragraph format. The teacher can then pair
struggling students with those who have a clear understanding and/or work with a small group.
When available, parent support will be used during the art rotations to help maintain focus and
ensure understanding.
9. How you will determine student comprehension of the content and/or mastery of skills after
the lesson:
Mastery of content is determined using the rubric. (See Feel Your Way Through America Book
Rubric attachment) Students will also complete the Unit 1 test from the Scott Foresman series.
10. If applicable, how you will differentiate or adapt the lesson for English Learners, or for other
special needs students in your class (special education, GATE, 504 Plan, etc.):
Students with special needs will be given copies of the language frame for each region. They will
fill in the blanks rather than rewrite the entire paragraph for each. Small group instruction and peer
tutoring will be utilized for struggling learners.