Lesson

Title/Focus

Social Studies/Canada Lap Books

Date

Nov 17, 2014

Time Duration

74

Teacher

Jaylene Reitsema

General Learning
Outcomes:
Specific Learning
Outcomes:

Page | 1

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

3: Connecting with the World

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. Identify provinces and territories of Canada
2. Identify capitals of Canadian provinces
3. List provincial populations
4. List provincial flowers
5. Identify regions of Canada
6. Identify natural resources of Canada

ASSESSMENTS
Observations:
Key Questions:
Products/Performances:

Student work, questions, answers

Lapbooks

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

PROCEDURE
Advance
Organizer/Agenda
Introduction
Attention Grabber
Assessment of Prior
Knowledge
Expectations for
Learning and Behaviour
Transition to Body
Learning Activity #1

Assessments/ Differentiation

Learning Activity #2

Assessments/ Differentiation

Learning Activity #3
Assessments/ Differentiation

Last week we researched Canadian provinces and assembled our

lapbooks, today we are going to share our research information
with the rest of the class.
- As the other students present, please be respectful and listen.
Write in the information as you hear it.
- As we understand more about Canada, we will be able to learn
about other countries later.
Body
Present Information
- Groups present their provinces to the class
- Class fills in boxes during presentations
- Students should also fill in capitals under the map
- Write information on the board during presentations for students
who need visuals
Regions of Canada
- Canada can also be divided into regions based on the differences in
the land. Canada has 7 regions.
- Each table will research a region, fill in information on sheet.
- Go over sheet with students, make sure they understand all words.
- One laptop/iPad per table
- Students will find a link at jreitsema.weebly.com/Canada.html
- Students who finish early may colour completed parts of their
lapbooks
Present Information
- Groups present their region to the class
- Class fills in boxes during presentations
- Write information on the board during presentations for students

Time

Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

Time

Lesson
Title/Focus

Social Studies/Canada Lap Books

Date

Nov 17, 2014

Time Duration

74

Teacher

Jaylene Reitsema

who need visuals

Closure
Assessment of Learning:
Feedback From Students:
Feedback To Students

Page | 2

Time

Comment on work completed

Explain what the next step will be
Mention how knowing about Canada helps us learn about the rest
of the world.

Transition To Next
Lesson
Reflections
What went well? What
changes would you make
in your planning? What
have you learned to
improve upon future
instruction?

See Below

This lesson did not go as I had hoped. I had intended that students would be able to record three
facts about each province quickly and that in a 74 minute time slot, we could move through all three
learning activities. We were unable to finish even the first activity.
I asked students to come up in their groups to present their research to the rest of the class. This
did not work well for a number of reasons. Students copied down the information, but they did not
understand what they were copying. As a result, the students were unable to present their information
clearly. They were unfamiliar with large numbers, so could not convey the provincial populations to their
classmates, nor could they read the names of the capitals in order to tell the rest of the class. Some
students had also written incorrect information. Many students were soft-spoken, making it impossible for
other students to hear the information from the back of the class.
I felt that I had cast my lot with this lesson, students completed research in a previous class and
excited about presenting their information. I continued to push through, helping students to present the
information, writing their findings on the board, and constantly checking back with students to see if they
were able to write down the presented facts. I was aware that this was not going as successfully as I had
hoped; students were losing interest and beginning to chat amongst themselves. It was at this point that
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

Lesson
Title/Focus

Social Studies/Canada Lap Books

Date

Nov 17, 2014

Time Duration

74

Teacher

Jaylene Reitsema

my teacher associate suggested that we do the rest another day, as I was beginning to experience
diminishing returns. I was relieved to take his advice and we moved on to another subject.
While my lesson did not go as planned, I did need to implement a variety of classroom
Page | 3
management strategies in order to maintain and regain control of the class. My first strategy is to ask
students to remember the expectations and return their attention to the task. If the volume has gotten
above a certain point, this is not effective. At that point, I switch off the lights. This is often a slight shock
and the class will drop their voices. If this effective, I continue with the lesson. When turning off the
lights failed to attract student attention, I then clap a rhythm. I have found this to be the most effective
method to get students attention, as they must stop whatever they are doing with their hands in order to
clap the rhythm. It does not take long for the whole class to respond to my rhythm, which them makes it
possible to move on. However, during this lesson, I found that I was constantly using some method to pull
the students attention back to the subject matter.
When my teacher associate suggested that I drop the lesson for the day, he had noticed that I was
not getting the results that I should be. In this area, I had failed to read the class. I knew that I was not
getting my desired results, but I was teaching a lesson, and I was going to push on. My teacher associate
reminded me that I needed to be aware of the students and adjust as necessary. Throughout the course
work of PS 1, We are teaching students, not lessons was a catch phrase. Hearing it in a University
classroom, I agreed, but when in the classroom, I did not recognize when I was failing to teach students.
This has highlighted the importance of constantly assessing my students engagement and understanding
to continue in a lesson.
Going into this lesson, I knew that it was a great deal of information for my students and that I
would need to help them as much as possible. I integrated a variety of strategies to help my students take
down the information in a quick and organized manner. On the smart board, I had a large template that
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

Lesson
Title/Focus

Social Studies/Canada Lap Books

Date

Nov 17, 2014

Time Duration

74

Teacher

Jaylene Reitsema

would look just like the template they were using. I hoped that they would be able to see where they were
to write the information, which would help them stay engaged and limit confusion. While I think this was
helpful, I soon discovered that I was limited because many students could not copy down the information
Page | 4
at an efficient rate and were therefore holding up the rest of the class. When I would write the information
elsewhere, students were unable to figure out where the information should go. I believe this added to the
loss of engagement in this lesson.
As I knew that I needed to continue this lesson the next day, I contemplated changes that I could
make. It was important to recognize the effort that students had put into their research, so I still wanted
students to share their information. As I contemplated the lesson, and how I would change it for the next
day, I decided to begin the next lesson by allowing students time to catch up. I had noticed during this
lesson that many students were not ready to begin writing down the provincial information. The students
had done the work during the previous class, but many had been absent. As a result, there was confusion
with students who were not ready to begin writing down new information. During the next class, I gave
time for students to catch up. Students who were ready to write down information were given time to
colour their lap books as they waited for the rest of their classmates.
I also asked all the students to write Population, Capital, and Flower for each province and
territory before we began. This way, when a student would say, The population of Alberta is 3,645,257,
the rest of the class knew where to write the information. I also used the white board and smart board to
write the information down, allowing it to remain longer for students where were slower writing down
information. This was effective, students were able to finish the rest of the provinces the next day, and do
much better work.
In the future, I would try to have pairs or triads research the provinces and territories, as that
would give each student a chance to share a specific detail. I would also have prepared the students better,
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

Lesson
Title/Focus

Social Studies/Canada Lap Books

Date

Nov 17, 2014

Time Duration

74

Teacher

Jaylene Reitsema

so that everyone was ready to move on to the next step, instead of only those who had been efficient in the
previous class. My teacher associate also suggested that at this age, students could potentially research
things that would be interesting to them, such as entertainers or interesting facts about each province and
Page | 5
territory. Students were not engaged by population because the number was too large for them to
comprehend nor by flower, because without the picture of the flower, the name was meaningless to them.
This lesson may not have been the most educational for my students, but I believe that I have
learned a great deal from this lesson that I will take to adjust subsequent lessons to become a more
efficient teacher who is able to teach the student and not the lesson.

Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe