Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

Social Studies--2018

Student: LeaAnna Miller School: Allen Elementary

IWU Supervisor: Dr. Karr Co-op Teacher: Mr. McHenry
Teaching Date: 11/14/2018 Grade Level: 3rd Grade

LESSON RATIONALE:
During my lesson, I want to show my students that the needs of a community of people can have
an affect on the environment. By showing them what our community looked like several years ago and
comparing it to what it looks like now, we can determine how certain needs were met and how they
changed the environment.

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal: Students will see see how the environment in Marion, Indiana has changed because of the
needs of the community.
B. Objective: After this lesson, students will describe how people in a community can change their
environment to meet their needs.
C. Standards: 3.3.13 Identify and describe how human systems and physical systems have impacted
the local environment.
II. Management Plan
a. Materials: Google Earth Pro, IPads/Laptop, Keynote presentation with photo of
environment for them to create their buildings, Exit ticket handout.
b. Time: 45-50 minutes
c. Space: Students will be at the front of the room on the carpet during the anticipatory set
and during instruction. Students will move to their desks to work on the keynote slides.
After students are done working on their keynotes slides and we begin air-playing a few
slides to share with the class, students will come sit at the carpet. Students will move back
to the desks for closure to work on their handout.
d. Behavior: I will encourage using raised hands to give answers. Students should transition well
and use appropriate carpet procedures (being respectful of the person who is speaking and
listening to them, offering answers to questions when called on). Students should maintain
appropriate volume levels. Clipping up on the clip chart is a way to encourage and reward model
behavior. Using attention grabbing method (“Interrupting” “Chicken”) This is a method that is
familiar to them and it is a fun way to grab their attention.

III. Anticipatory Set: 10 minutes

 Students will start on the carpet. “Have you guys ever wondered where Miss Miller lives? Is it
alright if I show you? I have this handy dandy app on my computer called Google Earth. Have any
of you ever used it before? It’s super neat.” Pull up Google Earth and Show students my dorm.
“What I think is so cool about Google Earth is that I can look at what places looked like in different
years. This picture is what my dorm looked like in 2016, two years ago. BUT, I can take it all the
way back to before it was even built! Let’s see what my dorm looked like when it was being built.”
Google Earth from construction of my dorm. “How about we take a look another place. I think you
guys are going to like this one a lot.” Google Earth Matter Park in 1989. “I am going to call on 5
other friends who are sitting nice a quiet to guess what place this is.” Take guesses, pull up current
Google Earth of Matter Park. “Can Anyone tell me where this is now? We have a big garden, a
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies--2018
gazebo, a playground, a pond. Any guesses? Right this is Matter Park. It is incredible to see how
different it was 20 years ago. Did you know that there used to be two baseball fields at Matter Park
and that there used to be a little train that would drive you around the park? It’s so crazy isn’t it.
Alright, now I have one more thing to show you, and I hope you will be super excited. I am going to
show you what it looked like before it was built, and I want you to guess what it is now.” Pull up
Meijer before it was built. “Okay I am going to call on 5 people who are sitting nice and quiet to
guess what they think this place is now.” Take guesses. “Alright we are about to find out what this
land becomes.” Show most recent Google Earth View of Meijer/street view. “Raise your hand if you
have ever been to Meijer! Can you believe that Meijer used to just be a big field? Did you know that
Meijer opened in the same year that most of you were born in? That is just so wild isn’t it! Marion
sure has changed a lot hasn’t it?
IV. Purpose: Today, we are going to learn about how people’s needs affect their environment.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners—Unfortunately during the time of my
lesson, three of my students will be in Learning Lab and will miss nearly the entire lesson. Mr.
McHenry and I have decided that During reading centers on Friday, I will go through the lesson and
activities with them so they get to be a part of the class building project as well. This way, everyone is
included and they all get to hang their pictures up on the cork board in the hallway. My lesson is also
very visual. There are lots of pictures and examples for the students to visualize while receiving
instruction. By adding the photos to the handout exit slip, students will be able to see exactly what has
changed from 20 years ago to now. They just have to verbalize it. I do have a few students who
struggle with reading and writing. I have kept the writing requirements on this project short, yet I still
want to be able to challenge them by giving them writing prompts. Mr. McHenry and I will always be
available to help with spelling and sentence structure. I also purposely made my exit slip a paper
handout because I know that most of my students can write better with a pencil than they can type.
However, by including questions on their Keynote slide, they will still be able to work on their typing
skills which will be very important for iRead testing.

VI. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output) Instruction-15 minutes. Activity-15 minutes

o “Now, someone give an example of what Matter Park looked like in the old Google Earth image
that I showed you all. I am looking to call on someone who is sitting quietly and raising their
hand. What did Matter Park look like 20 years ago?” Answer(s). “Right there are several things
about Matter Park that were different on that Google Earth image from 20 years ago. There
were baseball fields where the gazebo is now, there was no playground, no little fish pond. So
with all of these things that were added to Matter Park, what do think people do at Matter
Park?” Answers. “It is used for all kinds of things. People can go fishing, host events for schools
and businesses, field trips, people like going to look at the gardens, people even have weddings
at Matter Park. People living in Marion can use Matter Park for all kinds of things. What about
Meijer. I know this must be all of your guys’ favorite place in the entire world. Grocery
shopping is so much fun isn’t it! Well, what if we did not have that Meijer there, or Walmart or
Aldi? But what if we did not have a Walmart or Aldi either? The people in Marion would not be
able to buy things like groceries, or clothes, or medicine would they? At least not all in the
same store. You would have to go to several stores to find all of those things.
o “Now I am going to come up with a certain item that you could get at Meijer or Walmart. I
wonder if you guys can tell me where I can find these items if we did not have a Meijer or
Walmart? Okay? I am going to call on people sitting quietly on the carpet raising the hands
very nicely. Can anyone tell me where I could find eggs? You can actually buy eggs at Aldi or
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies--2018
Needler’s. Now what about a winter coat? You could definitely get a winter coat at Goodwill,
TJ-Maxx, or Kohl’s. How about this one. A bag of dirt. Is there a place in Marion where you
could buy a bag of dirt? Yeah you could get that at Lowe’s! Okay now this one might be a bit
tricky. Where could I go to buy a toothbrush? Of course, you could find toothbrushes at CVS or
probably even Dollar Tree. Okay. Last questions. Where could I buy a DVD? I could go to the
family video store and rent a movie there. Sometimes, I think CVS does sell some movies. Now
what if I needed to buy all of those things in one day. Remember, I needed eggs, a winter coat, a
bag of dirt, a toothbrush, and a movie. I would have to go to to probably 4 or 5 different places
to get everything on my list. But guess what. I can get all of those things from Walmart or
Meijer in town and it would only take me about 15 minutes. Plus, Marion did not always have a
CVS, Dollar Tree, Lowes, or Needler’s. Those places were built just like Walmart and Meijer.
But, wait a second. Someone tell me what did the land look like before they built the Meijer?
When I showed you on Google Earth, it looked a lot different before didn’t it?” Answers. Right,
it looked like a big field. Can someone tell me how that land has changed? What is different
about it now?” Answers. “There’s not as much grass, if it was a farm field before, certainly no
one is farming it now because the houses and the stores are all there instead of the field. Can
anyone tell me if that is a good or a bad thing? … Why” Answers. “Could it be both? One reason
why it is a bad thing could be because they had to dig up farmland to make the store. This
means less crops for the farmer who used to own the land. One reason why this is a good thing
is because it is providing the people in Marion with easy access to things that we need to live.
Let’s think about that some more with the activity we are going to do.
o I need everyone to listen very carefully to directions. I have created a Keynote Slide for you
that will be sent to all of your iPads in a few minutes. When you receive this slide, you will see
a picture of a grassy field and a question beneath it. It is your job to meet the needs of the
people in Marion. You are going to create something that anyone in the town of Marion could
use. It could be a gas station, a library, a school, an apartment building, a park, grocery store,
ANYTHING that you think people might need. Before you start your construction, I want you to
raise your hand, and Mr. McHenry or myself will come to your desk so you can tell us what you
plan on building for our community. You will have 10 minutes to create your building and
answer the question at the bottom of the slide. Once we are done, I will pick a few people to
airplay onto the projector screen and share their construction project with the whole class. So
when I say switch, I want you to go back to your seats quietly, and wait for me to send you the
slide you need…. Switch.”
o At this point, students will move back to their desks and wait to receive the airdropped file.
Once they come up with an idea, they will raise their hand and Mr. McHenry or myself will
come around so they can tell us what they plan on building for the community of Marion.
Keynote slide will include a full sized picture of a grass field and the students can use shapes,
symbols, keynote markers, etc. to create a building that can be used by anyone in the
community. Below the picture of their building, there is a textbox with the question: “How will
my building affect the community?” Students will type a short response to this question and
submit this finished product so it can be printed out and hung in the hallway. After activity is
finished, students will transition back to the carpet to watch the screen while a few students
can airplay onto the projector and share their projects with the class. After about 4-5 students
share their projects, students will be dismissed back to their desks to receive instruction for
their exit tickets.
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies--2018
VII. Check for understanding:
-At this point, I have asked my students several questions pertaining to the environment before
and after construction of certain buildings, how certain building have helped people in Marion, and
what kinds of building they will be creating on their keynote slides and why they have chosen to build
that type of building for the community:
 What did Matter Park look like 20 years ago?
 What do think people do at Matter Park?
 What if we did not have that Meijer there, or Walmart or Aldi?
 Someone tell me what did the land look like before they built the Meijer?
 Can someone tell me how that land has changed?
 Could it be both? (Could it be both good and bad that we changed the land in order to build
the Meijer store?)
 How will my building affect the community? (keynote slide)
 I will also be monitoring students as they work on their buildings on their slides. I will be
answering their questions. I will be asking students why they have decided to build a certain type
of building and how the people in Marion could use their buildings. I will also be asking the
students how constructing this building has changed the land in the background picture I gave
them. At the end of the ten minutes, a few students will be allowed to airplay their pictures onto
the projector screen to share their building with the class.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure: 5 minutes

-Once we finish up our activity and students submit their slides, they will be given a half
sheet of paper with a Google Earth image of the land Meijer was built on vs Meijer after it was built. The
students will answer two questions:
1. How did building Meijer change the environment?
2. How did building Meijer help people in Marion?
-“I love your guys’ buildings I think you all did such a wonderful job. I loved hearing about
why you thought that constructing those buildings would be good for the people in Marion. Before we
finish up, I have one more thing that I want everyone to do for me. Everyone is going to get a sheet of
paper with pictures of the land where Meijer is before is was built and after it was built. There are two
questions about those pictures I would like for you to answer for me. Once you are done, I want you to
turn it into the sorter.”

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

-My plan for formative assessment is to monitor students as they work on their keynote slide. I will also
be asking numerous questions throughout the lesson about how certain places in Marion have helped the
people, the environment before construction and after construction, why they have chosen their specific
construction project for they slide, how it will help the people in the community, and how it will change
the environment. Students will also be assessed on the keynote slide and how they answer the question
about how their building will affect the community.
-Summative assessment can include the keynote slide that students will be working on for our activity.
They will be asked the question: “How will my building affect the community?” They will also receive a
handout during closure with pictures of the land where Meijer is before it was built and after it was built.
Students will answer the questions on this handout about how building Meijer affect the community and
how building Meijer affected the environment. Students will be given a few minutes to answer these
questions during class, then turn it into the sorter.
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies--2018
REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS
(CAEP K-6 3.b)
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
After teaching this lesson, discussing individual buildings with students after their presentation, and looking
through the exit slips I had students fill out, I am sure at least half of my students achieved the lesson objective.
A few of the students did not meet the goal because they were pulled out during the lesson for learning lab,
however, I will get time to work with them on Friday on the lesson so they also get to create a building on a
keynote slide. Other students who ddi not meet the goal probably needed more specific ideas to connect with or
maybe more one-on-one conversations including questions and answers during practice work.
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
My strengths were that I was able to capture the student's attention right off the bat using Google Earth. They
absolutely loved it. I also did well incorporating the technology and took advantage of the students'
one-to-one iPad availability. For this lesson, I really took a big step forward and went out of my
comfort zone which is hwy I think this lesson went so much better than my first observation.
I definitely still need to work on pace. I struggle with this area quite a bit and it really showed during my
instruction time. I am improving on this, but I still need to work on my conversation fillers. I tend to
use the 'words, okay, so, alright' quite often. I did better this week, but it is a hard habit to break.
3. How should I alter this lesson?
Like Dr. Karr suggested, and I would agree, the activity with the keynote slides seems more like an
independent practice project and would fit best at the end of the lesson for closure. The exit slip I gave
the students would take the place of the keynote activity. I would also change the end of my
instruction where I asked the students where I could buy certain items. I think they enjoyed it, but it
did not connect much to the physical and human systems aspect of the standard. I shoulld have
incorporated things that impact more than just our grocery habits.
4. How would I pace it differently?
Pacing is something I definiteyl struggle with. I would chage the ending of my instruction. I found myself
repeating during this time a lot. I believe it would be more effective if I did this sections differently,
and it would not take as long. I also found myself unsure of how to close out my lesson when I had
students working on their handouts. I was way overtime, students still were not finished with their
handout, some of them hand't even started it, and I had to ask Mr. McHenry for advice.
5. Were all students actively participating?
If not, why not? I can excitedly say that every student who was able to, was actively participating, especially
during the anticipatory set and during the keynote project. The students loved being able to use the
google earth and see how things in Marion had changed from 20 years ago until now. They were
giving out guesses left and right trying to figure out the places that I was showing them. It was a
happy moment for my teaching. The students also loved creating their buildings. When we gave them
class extra time at the end of the day to finish their buildings, I had several students ask my how I
made the road on my example because they wanted to make a road in front of their buildings just like
I did.
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
Every student had the opportunity to see examples of what to do and how to do their projects. Most of the
lesson was using technology, which is something that they are all used to. One thing I think woul
dhave worked great for students who maybe struggle to read and write was something Dr. Karr
suggested on Seesaw. Using this app, students can see the exit slip document I made on their iPads
ann, instead of writing or typing their answers, they could answer their questions in a voice recording
and submit it online. That idea could have helped a few of my students tremendously during the
closure.
7. Were all students given enough time to finish their construction projects?
The students who were not able to finish their projects durin gthe given time during the lesson were able to
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies--2018
finish their project at the end of the day. The class had more than enough time.
8. Was there one area where I spent too much time?
I spent way too much time in the closure. I personally felt a bit overwhelmed during my closure because I knew
I was already overtime when I started the closure section, and I was unsure of how to wrap everything
up even though I still had students working.
9. Will any students need extra support in order to do the summative assessment? (exit slip handout)
A few of the students did struggle with the exit slip. Especially the students who missed most of my lesson
because they went to learning lab.
10.What types on instructions was I repeating the most?
I was was doing a very repetitive activity during my instruction, the grocery guessing game. This little game
was fun for the kids but overall I discovered it was sort of pointless to the overall objective of my
standard. I needed to be focusing on more human and physical systems but this activity felt repetitive
and longer than it needed to be.
11.How could I better encourage student discussion?
After the activity, students were able to airplay their creations onto the screen. This is something that they
always really enjoy doing and I wish I had built in more time for this. I only gave 4 students the
opportunity to share with the whol class, but I know that every single one of them would have shared
if I would have let them.
12. Were there any students who were just not engaged and did not want to participate? If so, Why?
I actually do not think I had any problems with studnets participating. Everyone seemed pretty engaged with the
lesson and the activity. There were a few occassions where I had studnts not relly paying attention to directions
on how to do the exit slip so this caused some of them to fall behind, but most of the class finished their exit slip
before I had them turn it in.
Screenshot of what the keynote slide will look like when they open it and a screenshot of Miss Miller’s
finished building project:
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies--2018
Screenshot of the exit slip handout that students will receive during the closure part of my lesson.