Injustices in Milwaukee: Technology Use Lesson

Lesson Title
Milwaukee History
Unit Title

10/29/15
Date
4th Grade
Subject/Grade Level/Lesson Duration

Section A. Lesson Preparation

Rationale Why is it important for students to learn the content of the lesson?
It is important for students to learn about the city that they live, because it will give them
a stronger connection with their home city. Milwaukee has a strong and important history
that will help students understand how and why Milwaukee came to be. Through learning
Milwaukees history, students will create an appreciation for the city and develop ideas
about how to improve the city. It is important for students to know that Milwaukee has
not always been how it is today.
Description of Learners What factors must be considered in order to accommodate the
diversity of learners in your class?
1. What are your students developmental assets? (Cognitive? Physical? Social?
Emotional? Motivational?)
There are 23 students in my classroom at Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning.
All of the students are African American and from a low socio-economic status. All of the
students are proficient in English, but are at low reading levels.
2. How can the personal/cultural/community assets of your students can be utilized
in this lesson?
This unit is about Milwaukee history; students are able to use their personal knowledge
about their experience living in Milwaukee. This lesson is focused on the current social
issues in Milwaukee. Many of the students in my classroom may have experiences
injustice within their lives that can support their understanding of this lesson. They may
have also seen injustices within their community.
3. What prior knowledge, skills, and understanding must students have in order to
successfully engage in this lesson?
The students have prior knowledge about the injustices the Native Americans faced
several years ago. They should be able to connect this to the injustices they see within
their own community. In order to engage successfully in this lesson students must active
learners and be able to make connections between historical events and the present day.
4. What preconceptions/misconceptions/misunderstandings/errors might students
have about the concepts in this lesson?

Students may not understand what justice means, which would impact their
understanding of justice. I will address this in the beginning of the lesson when I
introduce the concept of justice.
5. What are individual learning needs in this class? What supports/ modifications/
accommodations to instruction or assessment may need to be made? (Content?
Process? Product?)
There are three students with exceptional needs. Two students are diagnosed with ADHD.
One student has anger management issues. There are several resources for these students
with exceptional needs in order to give them equal opportunities such their individualized
education programs and teacher aids. These particular students remain in the classroom as
much as possible, however they occasionally leave the classroom to work with their aids
if they need extra help on a specific topic or are behind. There is also a school social
worker as well a school counselor to support the all of the students in the classroom.
Objectives/Learner Outcomes and Assessments (formal and informal)
1.

2.

List the measurable learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, dispositions) that

students are expected to demonstrate as a result of the lesson?

Students will understand the concept of justice and apply this knowledge to their
current lives.

Students will work cooperatively and use technology to create a presentation on

an injustice that is present in Milwaukee.
For each of the above outcomes, what ASSESSMENTS will you use to evaluate
each of your learning outcomes? (Give a brief description).

Standards Addressed What Core State Standards (English/Language Arts, Math,

Disciplinary Literacy) or Wisconsin model academic standards (Science, Social Studies,
Foreign Language) are specifically addressed in the lesson? Please list the number and
text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the
relevant part(s).
Wisconsin Social Studies State Standards:
B.4.10 Explain the history, culture, tribal sovereignty, and current status of the American
Indian tribes and bands in Wisconsin
B.4.5 Identify the historical background and meaning of important political values such as
freedom, democracy, and justice

B.4.4 Compare and contrast changes in contemporary life with life in the past by looking
at social, economic, political, and cultural roles played by individuals and groups

Materials/Resources/Technology List all materials/resources/technology needed to

support instructional procedures in this lesson.
5 iPads (checked out from library)
5 photos of injustices in Milwaukee
Cooperative learning group role sheets
Project instruction worksheet
Section B: Introduction to Lesson
Purpose How will you state the purpose of the lesson?
The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about justice and discover the several
injustices within Milwaukee.
Prior learning What do students know? What can they do? What are they
learning to do? How will you make connections to prior learning?
Students have already learned about the Native American tribes that lived in the
Milwaukee area. They learned in the previous lesson about an injustice that occurred to
the Native Americans years ago. I will connect that lesson to this lesson about injustices
in Milwaukee today.
Connections to personal/cultural/community assets How will you make
connections to your students strengths as a way to motivate students to
engage in the learning activities you have planned? (HOOKS)
To begin the lesson, I will write the word justice on the board. I will ask students if
they have ever heard this word before. I dont think that many students have heard it or
know what it means.
Section C: Content/Procedures/Sequence (Include estimated time for each activity)

Content outline

Instructional strategies/learning tasks/sequence of

activities (include what you and the students will be
doing that supports diverse student needs)

Introduction to lesson
(Hook)

Injustice simulation

Tobeginthelesson,Iwillteachstudentswhatthe
wordjusticemeans.Wewillthendiscusstheidea
ofjusticeandconnectittowhatwelearned
previouslyaboutNativeAmericansandtheU.S.
soldierswhopushedthemoutofMilwaukeeto
unfamiliarlands.Wewillthendiscusshowthatis
anexampleofinjustice.Wewillthendoathink
pairshareandIwillaskstudentsiftheyhaveevery
experiencedorseenanytypesofinjusticesin
Milwaukee.
SocialJustice:ispromotingajustsociety,where
everyonehasanequalopportunityintermsof
education,economics,politicalandsocialrights.
Students will work in their cooperative learning
groups, where they are all assigned a role. I will
give each group a picture of a type of inequality in
Milwaukee. Students will have a worksheet with
instructions of what they need to do with the photo.
They will begin by having a group discussion about
the photo. They will need to describe what is
occurring in their photograph and if they have ever
seen this in their lives. They will apply the concept
of justice to their photograph. Each group will
decide if their picture portrays an example of
justice or not. If not, they must say why it does not.
Finally, they will have to come up with a way to
solve the injustice in their photograph. I will model
an example before the students begin. They will
then create a type of presentation to present to the
class. They will use technology to so, they can
choose from using padlet, doodle buddy or any
other approved technology resource.
Photographs:
Segregation
Homelessness
Food Desert
Poverty
Racism

Group Presentations

Each cooperative learning group will present their

photograph and project to the classroom. (How I
will formally assess students)
Closure
Restate purpose of lesson and assign journal
writing independent homework.

Section D: Closure
Summary of lesson How will you bring the lesson to a close? (One-two
statements that you will say at the end of the lesson)
At the end of the lesson, I will ask students what they think the purpose of todays lesson
is. The purpose of todays lesson was to learn about justice and the injustices that occur
within Milwaukee. We learned about the several injustices that occur within our
community and we came up with many ideas on how to help fix them.
Assignment What independent work will be assigned?
Students will be assigned to reflect on todays lesson by writing a journal entry about
which injustice was most impactful or powerful to them. Which injustice they learned
about was is most important to them. Have you ever experienced any of these injustices
in Milwaukee?
Section E: Self-Assessment and Reflection (To be completed only if and after you teach
the lesson)
1. Based on your conclusion above about what your students know and are able to
do (individually and collectively), what next steps in instruction are you planning?
The next thing we will focus on is our class will create a service learning experience
based upon one or multiple injustices in Milwaukee that they feel are most important.