Deciding Classroom Rules

Submitted by: Michael Feher

EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social Science Nevada State College Spring 2013 Instructor: Karen Powell

Deciding Classroom Rules

Summary of the Lesson Plan: This social studies lesson is created for first grade students and is designed for them to learn why communities need laws and to help them be able to express ideas clearly. This lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook School and Family (p. 230-235). Target Population: First grade Students at all learning levels. Whole group reading and individual assessment. Materials: Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook School and Families. Paper, colored pencils, markers, crayons, pencils. Large Poster paper Objectives: C13.1.1 Identify and follow classroom and school rules that guide behavior and resolve conflicts.
C13.1.3 Participate in class decision-making, i.e., individual responsibilities in the classroom and school. C13.1.1 I can name school rules that I follow.

Procedure: 1. Ask students if they can explain what a law is. Have the students take out their books and the teacher will read the definition of what a law is on pg. 230 (laws make a community safe, clean, and fair for everyone). Then, have them read pg. 231 Explain what the government is (a group of people chosen to make the laws in our community). Discuss: In our community, what are some laws that we should all follow? (Must be a certain age to drive, curfew, no stealing, etc) Talk about why each is important. 2. Create a scenario where the students are going to pretend they are the government in our classroom community and ask them this question, In our classroom community what are some laws that we should all follow? Create a poster of the students answers record ALL answers. Go over each law and determine whether or not these laws are real istic for a classroom setting. Make sure each law involves one of the three areas; safety, cleanliness and fairness Take a vote on the best 5 laws for the classroom and they will become the laws of the classroom.

Deciding Classroom Rules

Have the students explain how these laws will help the classroom resolve/reduce conflicts. Discuss two scenarios, each involving a student breaking a law, and go over the consequences. 3. Transition to pg. 234 and have them read the sentence allowed. Complete the skill builder on pg. 234. 4. Have students draw a picture of a class law and then write a sentence about the law.

Assessment: The teacher will collect the picture and sentence and check to see that the students understand the laws and to determine if they are writing ideas clearly. The teacher will then read many different sentences and the students will be asked to determine if it is a law by considering if it follows one of the three main ideas; safety, cleanliness and fairness Reflection:
Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? I think the part of the lesson that will be the easiest is having the students come up with examples of laws around them because they hear about them all the time and live with them. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? I think the part that explains what exactly is needed for something to be considered a law will be the most challenging because the students might not grasp the concept quickly. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? I would go over different laws outside of school and in the community around us and expand a bit on this part. Maybe go over laws that they may not be aware of because they are young. What can you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? I would use review and more examples. If they still didnt understand I would pull them aside and do some mini lessons. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? The lesson seems pretty straight forward. The only thing that may happen is students may take too long on their drawing and I may have to push them to not spend too much time on coloring or detail. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? The most difficult part was to get the procedure started. I knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted it to go I just wasnt sure where to start it at.