Focus Plan
Texarkana Independent School District
GRADING
PERIOD:
writer:
1st 6 Weeks
PLAN CODE:
Bates
Course/subject:
World History
Grade(s):
10
Time allotted
for instruction:
2 days
Title:
The Agrarian Way
Introduction of Unit 1 – Analyzing cause and effect that led to the
Agricultural Revolution and Beginnings of Civilization.
Lesson TOPIC:
TAKS Objective:
FoCUS TEKS and
Student Expectation:
Supporting TEKS and
Student Expectations:
Concepts
Compare/contrast
Cause and effect
Objective 3:
Demonstrate an understanding of economic and social influences on
historical issues and events.
WG10: The student understands the distribution and
characteristics of economic systems throughout the
world. The student is expected to:
(C)
compare the ways people satisfy their basic needs
through the production of goods and services such
as subsistence agriculture…
c.13 The student understands the impact of the Neolithic agricultural
revolution on humanity and the development of the first
civilizations. The student is expected to:
(A)
identify important changes in human life caused by the
Neolithic agricultural revolution
(B)
explain economic, social, and geographic factors that led
to the development of the first civilizations.
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations/Principles
The student will understand that
The basic needs of the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age were met in
various ways that led to the Agricultural Revolution.
Environment, technology and war were causes which greatly affected the
Agricultural Revolution and beginning of early civilizations.
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District
I.
Sequence of Activities (Instructional Strategies)
A.
Focus/connections/anticipatory set
The History Facts of the Day # 8 will be displayed on an overhead projector using a
transparency OR using a computer generated inFocus projector. Students have
recorded the History Facts of the Day in previous classes and are familiar with the
procedure.
B.
C.
Instructional activities
(demonstrations, lectures, examples, hands-on experiences, role play, active
learning experience, art, music, modeling, discussion, reading, listening, viewing,
etc.)
1.
Objectives: Students will apply their definition of civilization to two different eras
and report their findings to the class.
2.
Procedures: The teacher will ask the students for their definition of civilization.
Their responses should include:
 A civilization is a group of people living and working together for the
purpose of creating an organized society.
 People living in civilizations have the ability to use tools, work together
cooperatively, and communicate with each other.
 People living in civilizations have the ability to advance culturally and
technologically.
3.
Modeling: The teacher will facilitate a Power Point Presentation describing
Prehistory to Early Civilization. The teacher will print out a black and white copy
of each slide with speaker notes prior to the presentation.
Guided activity or strategy
The teacher will divide the class into small groups of two or three students. Each group
will research civilizations of the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age.
II.
D.
Accommodations/modifications
E.
Enrichment
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
A.
Description
1.
2.
The students will research early civilizations and prepare a Venn diagram to
compare and contrast the two periods.
Each group will select one person to report its finding to the class.
B.
Accommodations/modifications
C.
Enrichment
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District
iii.
Assessment of Activities
A.
Description
The teacher will use a three-criteria rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
B.
Rubrics/grading criteria
The teacher will explain the three criteria to the students.



Criteria 1 – Students had difficulty completing their research and made
an incomplete presentation to the class - 50 points.
Criteria 2 – Students completed their research and made an accurate
and complete presentation to the class – 75 points.
Criteria 3 – Students completed their research carefully and thoroughly
and made a thoughtful, accurate, and complete presentation to the class
– 100 points.
C.
Accommodations/modifications
D.
Enrichment
E.
Sample discussion questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Were tools used by members of the civilization?
Did members of the civilization work together?
What form of communication – oral, written or both - did each civilization have?
Did either civilization advance culturally and technologically? Explain.
How would you describe the civilization?
IV.
TAKS Preparation
A.
Transition to TAKS context
Demonstrate an understanding of economic and social influences on historical issues
and events. The teacher will explain the economic influences of farming that led to the
Agricultural Revolution.
B.
Sample TAKS questions
History Facts of the Day question (TAKS 2003)
The basic characteristic of the economics of most traditional agrarian societies is:
A
B
C
D
surplus crops
subsistence farming
large reserves of investment capital
a variety of crops for export
Answer: B
V.
Key Vocabulary
Vocabulary terms were assigned the previous day and will be reviewed. (See FoCUS PLAN – 2:
Talk Like a Historian)
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District
VI.
Resources
A.
Textbook
B.
Supplementary materials
 Transparency: History Fact of the Day
 Rubric: Early Civilization Rubric
 Power Point: Early Civilization
C.
Technology
Overhead projector
InFocus projector
Computer
VII.
follow up activities
(reteaching, cross-curricular support, technology activities, next lesson in sequence, etc.)
VIII.
Teacher Notes
Only the TEKS listed on the Curriculum Map relating to Pre-History toward Civilization will be the focus
of these lessons. TEKS WG10 (C) correlates with WH14 (C).
The student understands the historic origins of contemporary economic systems.
The student is expected to:
WG10(C) compare the ways people satisfy their basic needs through the production of
goods and services such as subsistence agriculture
WH14(C) compare the relationships between and among contemporary countries with
differing economic systems
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District