DIRECT INSTRUCTION LESSON PLAN

Name: Savannah Parrish

Lesson Title: Communication advances post Civil War
Grade Level/Subject: 4th Grade
NCES/CCSS
Standard and
Objective (1)

Revised Blooms
level of
thinking/type of
knowledge (1)
Behavioral
Objective (2)
Objective
Rationale (1)
Prerequisite
Knowledge and
Skills (1)
Key Terms and
Vocabulary (1)
Focus/Review
(prepares
students for the
lesson) (2)

Objective as
stated for
students (helps
students set their

Topic: Reconstruction Transportation &

Communication

Social Studies NCES: 4.G.1 Understand how human, environmental and technological
factors affect the growth and development of North Carolina.
4.G.1.1: Summarize changes that have occurred in North Carolina since statehood
(population growth, transportation, communication and land use).
Writing CCSS: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
Students are to comprehend the development of technology post civil war and
reconstruction in North Carolina, and be able to demonstrate the use of some of the
newfound technology of that time period.
After reading and discussing about Reconstruction and the changes in technology,
students will decode and write their own message (1 sentence) in Morse Code and have
it decoded and checked for accuracy by the teacher.
Children need to learn about how the Reconstruction time period changed the
transportation and technology in North Carolina in the 1860s. Children are able to
explore the technology used in this time period, analyze how North Carolina rebounded
from the Civil War, and compare it to the technology we use in our every day lives.
Students should be able to analyze North Carolinas role in major conflicts and wars
from the Pre-Colonial period through Reconstruction. Students should be able to briefly
summarize the main ideas/events of the civil war and how it impacted North Carolina.
Students should have background knowledge in some types of communication and
transportations prior to lesson.
Secede, Confederate, Union, Reconstruction, transportation, communication, railroads,
telegraph, telephone, automobiles, airplanes, Morse code
Content and Strategies
Instructional Strategies
The teacher will review content about the Civil War that
The teacher will ask
was taught in a previous lesson. The teacher and the
leading questions about
students will refer to their assigned textbooks and discuss content that was
the final events of the Civil War and how it impacted
previously taught to
North Carolina during and after. The teacher will ask
activate students prior
frequent questions to monitor and facilitate the discussion knowledge.
leading up to Reconstruction. After discussing
Reconstruction, the teacher will introduce the changes in
transportation and communication during and after the
Civil War.
Today we are going to learn about transportation and communication developed
during and after the Civil War and analyze how the changes affected the lives of people
in North Carolina. After discussion, the teacher will introduce how new technology
improved transportation and communication in the United States, specifically in North
Revised for spring, 2012

own goals for the

lesson) (1)

Teacher Input
(provides the
content to
students in a
teacher-directed
manner) (3)

Guided Practice
(scaffolded
practice with the
content; helps
students make
sense of the
content provided
in Teacher Input)
(3)

Independent
Practice
(application
activities to help
students use and
demonstrate
what they have
learned) (2)

Carolina. Students, using their assigned textbooks, will choose a partner and buddy
read a pre-determined selection of the text. The teacher will then conduct a discussion
following the reading and pinpoint the telegraph and Morse code. The teacher will read
letters that were written to Morse about creating the telegraph from the textbook. After
a given practice opportunity of decoding, students will create their own message using
Morse code. The class will gather back with a discussion of the benefits and difficulties
of this newfound technology of the time. Students will continuously be informally
assessed when answering questions/discussing and when creating and decoding Morse
code.
After concluding the discussion of the Civil War, the
The teacher will ask the
teacher will discuss connections to new technology that
students to recognize
improved transportation and communication. The teacher important pieces of the
will briefly discuss railroads, telegraphs, telephones,
text while reading,
automobiles, and airplanes. Using the Sharcourt Social
allowing self-monitoring
Studies textbook, students will get with a partner and
of comprehension. After
buddy read the pre-determined selection of text. Before the reading the teacher
reading, the teacher will advise students to keep an eye
will ask the students what
out for anything that stands out to them or seems really
the main concepts were in
important. After students have completed the reading,
the text to check for key
they will raise their hand and share what they took from
term understanding.
the selected text. The teacher will facilitate and monitor
the responses of students. After all sections have been
covered in the text, the teacher will pinpoint the use of
Morse code and how it was used.
After discussing Morse Code, the teacher will read a
The teacher allows
passage from the textbook that includes letters written
students to have a practice
back and forth between Samuel F.B. Morse and a scientist opportunity working with
Morse once met on a boat aloud to the class. The letters
Morse code before being
go in detail about the creation of the telegraph and explain asked to create a message
the difficulties Morse had to perfect his invention. When themselves. The teacher
the reading is complete, the teacher has a secret message
asks the students to
for the students to decode. The code reveals what Morse
silently raise their hands
needs to add to the telegraph to complete his invention.
with a thumb up to give all
The teacher will display the message and a key to
students an equal
decoding Morse code on the document camera for all
opportunity for solving the
students to see. When students have the answer to the
message and prevents
message, they will silently raise their hand with their
students from blurting out
thumbs up and whisper the answer to the teacher. The
the answer.
teacher will check their answers written in their social
studies notebooks before they can move on to the next
activity.
Students will get a piece of computer paper to complete the next assignment. The
teacher will pass out individual worksheets that contain keys to Morse code for
students to refer to. Each student is responsible for creating his or her own message in
Morse code. The code needs to be a minimum of one sentence, but can be longer if
time allows. When the students are done, they may switch papers with their partner,
and will be asked to decode the message. The students individually need to get their
work checked by the teacher for accuracy. The class will regroup for large group
discussion about the assignment they just completed. The teacher will facilitate
discussion by asking the students their opinions on the assignments and discuss the
Revised for spring, 2012

benefits and disadvantages of the telegraph and Morse code.

Closure (provides Once the students have successfully created a message and had it checked by the
a wrap-up for the teacher, and, if time allows, had their reading buddy decode their message, the teacher
lesson) (1)
will discuss how technology is continuously changing. The teacher will discuss how
this technology greatly impacted North Carolina in the 1800s, and how technology still
greatly impacts us in the 21st century. Students work for this assignment will be hung
in the hallway for other students to see.
Evaluation (How Primary Objective: To evaluate whether or not students are able to make connections to
will you assess
Reconstruction and the new technology that has arose in North Carolina and be able to
students learning perform a given task practicing Morse code used on a telegraph. Students must have at
so that you can
least one sentence with no errors in Morse code to have reached mastery.
determine if they Secondary Objective: Teacher observation will be conducted when the students are
met the objective working in partners to determine if students are able to verbally express their answers
of the lesson?)
and perform the given tasks.
(2)
Plans for
Students, who are unable to find a partner or have difficulty working with others, will
Individual
be assigned a partner by the teacher or will receive teacher assistance throughout the
Differences
lesson.
(differentiations
needed for
Students who have difficulty visually or with auditory will be placed in the front of the
students) (1)
classroom during large group discussion as well as during partner work.

Materials used in
the lesson;
Resources used in
developing the
lesson (1)

21st Century
Skills (must be in
three lessons)

Students who are ELLs will partner with each other to allow them to assist one another
with translation needs.
Smartboard
Document camera
Sharcourt Social Studies: North Carolina Geography, History, and Culture (one per
group)
Worksheet/key:https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/TCR/1557346046_135.pdf
(two per table)
Social Studies journals and pencils
Computer paper
The teacher will walk around the classroom during partner activity to assess the
students work and the effectiveness of the activity. The students will have the
opportunity at many times through out the lesson to share their thought and ideas,
which displays appropriate communication skills needed for college readiness.

Revised for spring, 2012