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Name Siri Fiske
Date
August 5, 2005
Standard: Speaking Applications 2.1 a. Relate ideas, observations, or recollections about an event or experience. B. provide
a context that enables the listener to imagine the circumstances of the event or experience. Visual Arts/ 2.4 Use fibers or
other materials to create a simple weaving. Social Studies/4.1, 3 describe the various regions of California, including
how their characteristics and physical environments affect human activity. 4.2.1 Discuss the major nations of
California Indians, including their geographic distribution, economic activities, legends, and religious beliefs; and describe
how they depended on, adapted to and modified the physical environment
Objective: The students will learn about the idea of adaptation and how people
need to be creative and shape their limited resource to fit their needs. The
students will also learn how to weave a vessel of some type.
Syntax of the
Model of Teaching
Present the Organizer
What is the guiding idea that
will help frame the new
knowledge?
Description of the Lesson
I will begin this lesson by telling the children that
today they are the lone woman on San Nicholas Island
(music is playing).
Technological/MultiMedia Enhancement
I will tell them that all people in all cultures adapt to
their environment. People (as opposed to animals)
create tools and those tools assist people in
adaptation.
As the lesson begins I
will play the ocean
sounds (listen to
attachment) and
continue to play it in a
continuous loop as
background music for
the entire lesson.
“Today’s lesson will be about adaptation and what you
need to survive.”
Practice the Organizer
Give student other similar
examples of how an organizer
would work
“What do you need to survive?” [students answer
(with scaffolding perhaps) “food and water”]
Rhetorical questions to get them thinking:
“Think about 3rd world countries with little food and
water.”
“What about the story of the Swiss Family Robinson?”
Or the T.V. show ‘Survivor’?
OCT. 2002
[All of the above sounds are
compiled from the Valentino
Sounds Effects Library,
1993]
Apply the Organizer (
Learning Activity)
Begin the learning experience
in the context of the guiding
organizer
Divide into small groups by tables (5 students with ELL
equally distributed) I will tell them they need to go to
their –imagined - whale bone structure (on one side of
the room). Near their structure we will talk about
resources of San Nicholas Island – as the students
name them I will make appear (from a box) the
materials (rocks, shells, feathers, lots of wide dry
grass).
“Today”, I will tell them, “you are (in your small
groups) the lone woman and you need a varied diet
(remember her diet?) So you need to gather berries
and shellfish from the other side of the island
(classroom). It is far so you need to collect enough
for 2 days. You need to gather at least 3 pounds of
food (as a group together) and bring it back to your
shelter”.
On the other side of the room there will be a pile of
shells and I will show them that legos, or other
manipulatives in the class room will be our “berries”. I
will tell them if they want to use the scale to weigh the
3 pounds they may. Before sending them off I will
remind them that they can only use the resources on
the island in this activity.
The children will go gather items and weigh them and
start to bring them back.
I will guide (scaffold) the activity for them and tell
them:
- That the lone woman was one person so they need
to let just one person carry it (impossible).
-they can’t carry the “berries” in their shirt because
the lone woman didn’t have cloth
-(if needed)I will ask them to remember what items
the lone woman had? What did she bring back with
her? – For further scaffolding, “How did George
Nidever know she was there?”
BASKETS!!!
-(if needed) I will ask them how do they make baskets
– they will connect it with the huge pile of wide grass
leaves then each group will need to weave a basket to
bring the berries back.
-hopefully at least one group will weave a complete
basket to carry the “berries” before the class is over, if
not they can finish weaving another time.
Integration and
Reconciliation
How did we make the
connections between the
guiding idea and the new
materials? Summarize what
that learning was.
OCT. 2002
The students connected the simple ability to transport
food with the idea of using and manipulating the local
resources.
This will fit into the larger yearlong framework of
people needing to live off and manipulate their
physical environment (Spaniards, Mission Fathers,
49ers, Native Americans). Although this lesson was
just one task it was hopefully memorable and engaged
the kinesthetic learners and the ELL (in that it didn’t
require an excessive amount of linguistic
sophistication).
OCT. 2002