POWERFUL SOCIAL STUDIES LESSON PLAN OUTLINE
JMU Elementary Education Program: ELED 434 ALL SECTIONS
The following information should be included in the header of the lesson plan:
 Taylor Ballard
 Ms. Carroll/Wilson Elementary school
 N
ove
mbe
B. RATIONALE:
r 19,
For this lesson, I will be talking about the struggles Virginia settlers experience while they were establishing
201
Jamestown. Not only is this important because it is present in the curriculum framework, but it is also important for student
to
3–
gain a deep understanding so that they can understand where their foundations of America originated. This Jamestown lesson will be beneficial
to
9:00
students because they will learn the value of appreciating their history. If the students learn about what the settlers had to go through back
amin
A. Life as a Jamestown Colonist
1607, they will be able to compare and contrast how society in today’s time handles difficult times.
C. CONTEXT OF LESSON
The cooperating teacher taught a lesson on Jamestown the class period before I am going to teach my Jamestown lesson.
Therefore, students have already been introduced to the context. However as an assessment, I will review with a PowerPoint and
ask questions to the class for feedback. This is an important activity because I want to make sure students have a grasp on the
concepts I will be teaching. This lesson fits in with child development because it builds on their prior knowledge, which is
important for an efficient lesson and engagement.
Vygotsky’s theories connect with my 4th grade cooperating class. Vygotsky stressed that the fundamental role of social
interaction plays a role in cognitive development. Therefore, students need to interact socially to better understand topics. This
lesson utilizes Vygotsky’s theories because the students get an opportunity to interact with their peers while discussing the many
different struggles colonists had to go through.
D. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
SOL VS.3/ f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival.
Understand – what are the broad
generalizations the students should
begin to develop? (These can be
difficult to assess in one lesson.)
Know – what are the facts, rules,
specific data the students will gain
through this lesson? (These
“knows” must be assessed in your
Do – what are the specific
thinking behaviors students will be
able to do or practice as a result of
this lesson? (These will also be
Virginia colonists suffered from
marshy lands, unsafe drinking
water, lack of skills, an starvation
and diseases
Virginia colonists struggled
because they were trying to live in
an unfamiliar area
The Virginia settlers had to work
hard to maintain survival
lesson.)
The Virginia colonists weren’t use
to this new area and the natives so
they had to adapt to stay alive.
assessed in your lesson.)
The students will act out scenarios
that represent the struggles the
Virginia colonists had to endure
Jamestown was the first
permanent English Settlement in
North America
Students will connect the settlers
to their own perspective and think
about how they would survive if
living in Jamestown during 1607
Jamestown was founded in 1607
as an economic venture
Jamestown was founded on a
narrow peninsula bordered on
three sides by the James River
E. ASSESSING LEARNING:
What will your students do or say, specifically, that indicate every student has achieved your objectives? Remember—every
objective must be assessed for every student!
Task:
Diagnostic features: Support:
 Students will act out their play in
 When the
 For special needs children, I
front of the class using their
students are
can use the special
scenario
acting, I will be
education teacher as a
listening for the
resource. Before I teach my
 Students will complete the “exit
“key
word”
that
lesson, I will talk to the
ticket” worksheet
is underline in
special education teacher to
their scenario.
ask if she has any advice for
The key word will
working with students with
essential be
special needs. After
whatever struggle
speaking with the special
they are acting
education teacher, she
out
suggested that I always
keep special needs students
 The worksheet is
engaged. If the group they
complied of
are working with is done
different
practicing the play, she
questions relating
suggested giving the student
to Jamestown and
another activity to keep his
the struggles. I
will hand each
child a worksheet
at the end of class
and assess based
off of their
answers
mind going.
A. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (and NATIONAL STANDARDS if required)
SOL VS.3/ f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival.


B. MATERIALS NEEDED
Scenario cards
Powerpoint
C. PROCEDURE
Activity Element
& Time (in minutes)
Procedures and management
Introduction


Students
“Okay class, if you can hear me

clap once. If you can hear me clap
twice. Okay we are going to do a
little review of the Jamestown
colonist. You might remember
some of this information from
your last class.”
See attached page for
powerpoint – I will use the
powerpoint as a guideline for the
introduction. All of the
information I cover in the
introduction is present in the
powerpoint
Students will be sitting on the
front rug in a semi circle (2 rows) I believe it would be great
proximity between me and my
students if they are sitting close
to me while reviewing
Academic, physical, social
& linguistic
differentiation, resources,
and support

Because I have some
students that have a
hard time focusing, I
sat them in the front
of the class for
proximity reasons.
Transition
Transition to
Scenario/Skit acting
After the review session, I will
verbally say “Great, you guys know a
lot about Jamestown! Now were
going to do a fun activity. Raise your
hand if you’ve ever been in a play.
Okay, well now, you all are going to
get an opportunity to be in a play! Put
your right arm in the air if you’re
ready to hear the directions.”
Students will raise their right hand
when asked, and wait to hear
directions. By asking them to raise
their hand, I hope they feel physically
engaged.




I will advise the students that they
have 1 minute to find groups of 3.
Once they get in their groups of
three, I will ask them to sit with
their groups in a circle. After the
one minute, I will do the clapping
cadence to gain the students’
attention. After I get full attention,
I will explain the Scenario
procedures.
o 1. You all will get a
scenario sheet with a
short little story on it.
It is your group’s job to
take your scenario, and
make a quick skit to
show the class how you
would handle your
specific scenario
The students will still be on the
carpet listening to directions. I
will allow 2 minutes for students
to ask questions after the
directions. This is a great
opportunity for students to ask any
directional questions they may be
wondering about. I believe this
would be a great time to accept
questions because everyone will
be together and one student may
benefit from another students’
question
.This activity of
hand raising is
assessable for all
students so it should
be an easy “call, and
answer” activity for
my class. There is a
little boy in one of
the classes that
doesn’t have any
hands. By asking
the students to raise
their arm versus their
hand, I am including
this particular little
boy.
Transition back to seats


Closing

o 2. Every member of the
group must speak at
least once! Everyone
should be involved in
your play
o 3. Each group will have
10 minutes to come up
with a skit. Feel free to
use items around the
room for props
o Remember to be
creative and have fun!
 I would then give each group a
scenario. There are only 4
scenario’s in all so some
groups may have the same
scenario as another
 The scenario’s involve
struggles that the Virginia
Settlers had to endure (Water
contamination, Marshy lands,
lack of skills, and diseases
Teacher will flicker the lights and 
call the students’ attention.
“Okay class, you have 1 minute to
clean up and return to your seats.
Ready, set, go!”
Teacher will verbally say “Okay
class, did you like that activity? I
hope you did. Now, raise your
hand if you know one of the
struggles the settlers went
through!” (The students will raise
their hand and say the struggle
topic they worked on with their

The students will clean up their
areas and return to their seats. By
giving the students one minute to
complete the clean up task, they
know time is important and that I
expect them to be completely
cleaned up within a minute.
Students will actively participate
with this activity. If I notice that
some students aren’t raising their
hand or they seem as though they
are in a daze, I will call on them to
help answer some questions. If the
students recognize early that
anyone could get called at any



group members.)
“The Virginia settlers had a lot to
deal with when they went to
Jamestown! It was a new area so
they definitely had to learn some
new things to survive.”
moment and it will keep them
engaged.
Students will then transition to Emily A’s lesson.
D. DIFFERENTIATION:
My class is very diverse when it comes to personalities and learning styles. There is one little boy in the classroom that has autism and my
cooperating teacher often has to work with him to and differentiate her lesson plan to accommodate her needs. Lucky for her, she also has
teacher assistance from the special education teacher when the student is in class. For my lesson, I decided to help this particular child by giving
him his scenario in picture form. This way, he will easily be able to gain the concept that all of the other students are getting without the same
exact piece of literature.

E. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?
The students could work through the scenarios fairly quickly and finish their acting well before I’m ready for them to be done or one group
could finish before another – I will have coloring sheets that the students can color while they wait for the whole class to finish. Students
will have difficulty applying what they know to
Reflection
Taylor Ballard
I. How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes and explain why you made them. My actual teaching differed from the plans because I had to cut some verbal instructions out due to time. After teaching the first class out of 4, I
realized it is easier to briefly review what they knew about Jamestown, and then jump right into the skits. I had a powerpoint for the class and I
wanted to spend 3-5 minutes going over it but instead, I made a list of what I wanted to talk about in the power point and kept it to a 1 minute chat
with the class. I also asked for volunteers to give review facts for the class versus me just giving them information.
II. Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your impact on student learning? Did they learn? Who learned? What did
they learn? What evidence can you offer that your conclusions are valid? The students definitely had more prior knowledge about Jamestown than
I originally thought. They were easily able to give me information about what they already knew without hesitation. I was surprised to see how
much information they retained from their last class period. By looking at my assessment, I see that the students grasps the main points. Upon
leaving the class, around 98% of the class knew the struggles the settlers had to endure and they were able to give examples of such. This lesson
showed me that when the students apply their knowledge to a fun, interactive activity, they tend to retain more information.
III. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better or more thorough way if you were to teach
this lesson again. If I were to teach this lesson again, I use vocabulary that is a little more simpler. Although majority of the class understood the
scenario with no problems, I got many questions asking to clarify some of the words. For example, I plan to use the word “skit topic” or “story”
instead of “scenario” next time.
IV. Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you do/teach next if you were the classroom teacher? If I were the classroom teacher,
I would teach about the interaction the settlers had with the Native Americans and how the settlers utilized their resources efficiently. If I wanted
to stick to the same acting theme, I would have the class be Native Americans and half the class be settlers. I would then move the desks in the
room to create a “forest like” atmosphere. I would present the students with a list of problems and tell them to interact with each other in hope of
surviving.
V. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about young children as learners? I learned that
young learners absolutely need to be engaged when learning a topic. Lessons need to be powerful and meaningful to them so that they have
motivation to complete the task. Although I already had a general idea of this notion, it was cool to see it in play today as I taught my lesson.
VI. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about teaching? I learned that everyday of teaching
is a new day. It is important that teachers keep the energy high and encourage students to want to learn. I heard a lot of students say under their
breath, “I wish our teacher did more stuff like this because its not so boring.” I believe sometimes teachers who teach for a while become burnt out
and start to result to worksheets and lectures. By teaching this lesson, it has been reinforced that children appreciate well planned, and high
energy lessons. And as a result, they retain more information and understanding.
VII. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about yourself?
I’ve learned that too, enjoy interactive and creative activities. It’s easier for me as an educator to create lessons that interest my students because their
enjoyment is rewarding. It’s also fun to watch my students act out the plays because its fun to see how they incorporate other lesson contexts in this one lesson.
Scenario Cards Used:
Directions:
1.) Read the scenario with your group.
2.) Make a very short skit to show us how the colonists reacted to the problems they had in your
scenario.
3.) Everyone in the group should speak at least once!
Scenario 1: You and your colonists friends are walking throughout the new area and
you notice the land is a little wet and marshy like. Tell the class about how difficult it is
to build new shelter on this land and how hard it is to plant crops.
Directions:
1.) Read the scenario with your group.
2.) Make a very short skit to show us how the colonists reacted to the problems they had in your
scenario.
3.) Everyone in the group should speak at least once!
Scenario 2: You and your colonist friends are so thirsty but the only water near by are
streams and marshy water. The water is brown and doesn’t look safe to drink. Tell the
class about how hard it is to live without fresh water and why you need the water.
Directions:
1.) Read the scenario with your group.
2.) Make a very short skit to show us how the colonists reacted to the problems they had in your
scenario.
3.) Everyone in the group should speak at least once!
Scenario 3: You and your colonist friends want to build and make a lot of money in
Jamestown but you don’t know how! Tell the class about how hard it is to be
successful if you don’t have the skills you need to survive.
Directions:
1.) Read the scenario with your group.
2.) Make a very short skit to show us how the colonists reacted to the problems they had in your
scenario.
3.) Everyone in the group should speak at least once!
Scenario 4: You and your colonist friends are starving and you notice you have a weird
rash on your arm. There is barely any food to eat and your rash keeps getting worst but
you have no medicine. Tell the class about how the colonists were starving and had a
lot of diseases while establishing Jamestown.