Global Issues Lesson Plan

Date: February 16, 2015

Grade/Class/Subject: 4th and 5th grade students, Social
Studies/Science/Language Arts
Unit/Theme: Unit Earthquakes

Lesson Focus Earthquake in Haiti

Standards:
4.A.2b: Ask and respond to questions related to oral presentations and
messages in small and large group settings.
18.A.3: Explain how language, literature, architecture and traditions
contribute to the development and transmission of culture
18.C.2: Describe how changes in production and population cased changes
in social systems
18.C.3.b: Explain how diverse groups have contributed to U.S social systems
over time
Content Objective(s):
1. Students watch a video clip about the disaster
2. Students will identify key vocabulary words
3. Students will write about the topic independently using the guiding
questions worksheet.
4. Students will research topic to gain a better understanding of the crisis
Language Objective(s):
1. Students complete oral brainstorm about what they know about
earthquakes
2. Students will discuss as a group what they notice in the picture
3. Students discuss implications based on worksheet
4. Students share ideas and feelings about the disaster

Key Vocabulary
Global Education
Earthquake
Damage
Trauma
Disaster
Import
Export

Supplementary Materials
Website with pictures Haiti
Pictures
Video on earthquake
Guiding questions outline
(worksheet)
Website about Earthquake
facts FACTS

TIME resources about Haiti

Earthquake TIME Resources
Time for Kids Article Time for
Kids - 1 year later

SIOP Features

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Preparation
Adaptation of
Content
Links to
Background
Links to Past
Learning
Strategies
incorporated

Scaffolding
Modeling

Guided practice

Independent
practice
Comprehensible
input

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+
+

Integration of
Processes
Reading
Writing
Speaking

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Listening

Small groups
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Partners

Independent

Application
Hands-on
Meaningful
Linked to
objectives
Promotes
engagement

Grouping Options
Whole class

Assessment
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Individual
Group
Written

Oral

The Lesson Sequence:

MOTIVATION:
(Building background)
To begin the lesson, the teacher will pull up pictures on the SMART
Board depicting the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti (Level pictures
based on the appropriateness for the maturity and age of students). The
teacher will begin a class discussion by asking the students to make
predictions about what is happening in the pictures, what they know about
the situation, and where they think the pictures were taken. Before sharing
whole-group, have the class turn to a partner and share. This activity allows
the students to take charge of their own learning, think out side of the box,
and use critical thinking skills to determine the issue at hand. If students

struggle, the teacher will provide guiding questions to get them started such
as, Look at the land, what do you think could have happened? Look at the
peoples faces, how do you think they feel?.
PRESENTATION:
(Support language and content objectives, comprehensible input, strategies,
interaction, and feedback)
During this unit, the teacher uses a wide variety of methods to support
language needs within the classroom. The teacher uses ample visual
representations, videos, and group discussions to engage students. The
computer and Internet are also used to complete a web search. During
group discussions, the teacher begins by modeling one viewpoint In this
picture I see _____ which makes me wonder what happened? After this, the
teacher allows students to share ideas commenting on them when applicable
I like how James said _________ what does the rest of the class think? Later
when students work on the research aspect the teacher walks around and
provides positive feedback and suggestions for improvement.
PRACTICE/APPLICATION:
(Meaningful activities, interaction, strategies, practice/application, feedback)
Day 1: 45 minutes (takes place during reading class)
1. Teacher places pictures on the board and asks students to make a
prediction (building background information)
2. Teacher writes the word earthquake on the board and asks students
what does earthquake mean?
3. Class has a discussion about earthquakes: what they know about
them, how they affect people, the damage they cause
4. Teacher shows an additional picture from the earthquake in Haiti
showing more damage, teacher asks students to comment
5. Teacher reads an article from Time Magazine to students about the
earthquake
6. Students complete global analysis in partners
7. Students come back together as a group and share what they learned,
teacher writes student responses on the board for the class to see
8. With any remaining time, the class discusses the ideas from the
worksheet

Day 2: 45 minutes (takes place during social studies)

1. Teacher asks students to preview what they learned from the previous
day, asks guiding questions to get students thinking about the
earthquake in Haiti and what has been learned
2. Teacher shares a video slideshow from the Time website about the
destruction of the earthquake
3. Teacher begins discussion by saying Yesterday, we discussed the
causes and effects of earthquakes focuses on the earthquake that took
place in Haiti. Today, we are going to look at how this earthquake not
only affected the people of this country, but the whole world. Lets
discuss trade routes and what they mean for different countries.
4. Teacher writes the word import and export on the board
5. Class discusses the meanings of these words
6. Teacher models using the computer how to search for the imports and
exports of different countries, teacher locates information about Haiti
and writes on the board Haiti exports bauxite, cocoa, coffee, essential
oils, mangoes, sisal and sugar to the United States and France
7. Teacher has a discussion how the earthquake would impact these trade
routes, and how does this in turn affect the other countries?
8. Teacher assigns Internet search assignment for each student, students
are to choose the country in with their families come from, research
the trades (imports and exports), search for any disasters, wars or
additional obstacles that would affect these trade routes, and prepare
a short paper of findings
9. Volunteers share their papers with the class later in the week when
they are completed
REVIEW/ASSESSMENT: (Review objectives and vocabulary, assess
learning)
The complete and final assessment is the final paper created by the
students. The teacher is looking to see that the student understands the
interdependence between countries and the impacts that natural disasters
have on the countries they occur in as well as other countries connected.
Students show an understanding of global education and the affects.
In addition, throughout the lessons the teacher will be reviewing and
checking for understanding constantly during discussions and small group
work. The teacher asks guiding questions to different students to be sure
everyone is engaged, understanding, and following along with the topic of
study. Teacher listens to group discussions and adds input when applicable.

MODIFICATIONS/ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL

NEEDS:
In order to accommodate this lesson for students with additional needs there
is a wide variety of things the teacher can do:
1. Prepare a discussion question ahead of time and give it to the student
(Allowing the student additional preparation time for class discussion
make him/her more comfortable to share)
2. Use additional visual representations and videos along side the text,
stop during the video to ask questions and check for understanding
3. Use a graphic organizer when students are asked to write, keeping
them organized
4. Allow for additional time to process information and questions before
asking for a response
5. Instead of individual work have them work with a partner, decreasing
the workload but providing the same learning experience and allowing
for additional language and social communication and interaction
Summary:
The world is constantly changing. As teachers, we need to continue to
teach our students about these changes and how to become more educated
about what is happening, how it affects us, and how to cope with changes.
Unfortunately, a lot of the global issues that arise are not always positive
topics to teach about. This being said, students still need to learn about
what goes on in the world around us, we just find an appropriate way to
share and explain these topics. When looking into global education, there are
a wide variety of definitions. According to Cates (2002) global education can
be defined as education, which promotes the knowledge, attitudes and skills
relevant to living responsibly in a multicultural, interdependent world. Cates
(2002) discusses the components of teaching about global education
including 4 components: knowledge about the problems, acquiring
communication skills, acquiring a global attitude, and action. All four
components teach our students how to identify a situation and learn to cope
with it and understand it better. Within the lesson plan, the worksheet
attached helps students ask and answer questions about the topic to make it
more clear and easier to understand. Assisting students in making

connections about these topics to their own lives or how it may impact them
helps to make the situation more real to them allowing them to gain a better
understanding.
This lesson plan reflects the global issue of earthquakes in other
countries and the affects it has on the people who live there and live within
the surrounding countries. When thinking about the implications of an
earthquake like the one that took places in Haiti on January 12, 2010
students can learn a variety of different things. One of the biggest
components to understand is how this impacts the course of trade routes for
the country itself as well as the countries that depend on the exports. Within
our textbook author Chartock (2010) discusses the ideas of interdependence
and how our countries rely on each other. When disaster hits other countries
need our assistance to help them get back on their feet. In addition to this,
other countries also rely on each other for things like imports and exports as
discussed within the lesson plan. When teaching students about these topics
teachers face many challenges. The overall idea of teaching students to
put themselves is someone elses shoes and understand a different
perspective can be very difficult. Nonetheless, when teaching students with
language learning needs as well as special needs this is a very difficult
concept. I think the biggest challenge of this lesson is showing the students
how a big disaster can really affect a lot of countries, not just the one in the
center and how we can support them to make things better. In order to over
come these obstacles when teaching the lesson plan includes a variety of
different teaching methods and resources to give the students multiple
perspectives. The Time magazine website has everything from pictures,
videos, short articles and even teaching lessons available. Using a variety of
different instructional tools will keep meeting the needs of all individual
students within the classroom. Our language learners do not learn well
under direct instruction, which is why within the lesson plan we use lots of
class discussions, modeling and use of technology.

When incorporating the idea of global education into my classroom

there are many ways to go about it. I felt the best way was to add it to as
many content areas as possible. For our language learners the more
exposure to the concept the more they learn and understand it. Within this
lesson plan I was able to discuss Earthquakes within Science, Reading and
Social Studies. If I had additional time there are even ways to add a math
and language arts component as well. The biggest thing to keep in mind
when implementing global education is how this can relate to each individual
student, and how we can make this learning real for him or her regardless of
the content area. Within this lesson plan as we discussed the Earthquakes
the students begin to research their own cultural backgrounds and search for
disasters that may have affected their ancestors. Relating it to personal life
makes the content real and more meaningful to the students. I think overall
this activity will give my students a great awareness of the devastation of
natural disasters and how the disaster will overall affect the whole world.
Conclusion:
All in all, global education teaches students so many life skills that they
should learn at an early age. Students should feel responsible for
understanding what goes on in the world around us, and how it affects not
only them immediately but their future as well. The more understanding and
sympathy we teach students, the more rounded people they will grow to be.
The teacher will be able to determine success within this lesson later on
within the school year based on class discussions and through observations.
Unfortunately global disasters occur multiple times throughout the year and
we will continue to educate students about them. This is a life long learning
process.
References:
Cates, K. A. (2002). Teaching for a Better World: Global Issues and Language
Education. Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center, 5(1).

Chartock, R. K. (2010). Strategies and lessons for culturally responsive

teaching: A primer for K12 teachers. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Epstein Ojalvo, H. (2010, January 14). 5 Ways to Teach about Haiti Right Now.
New York Times. Retrieved from
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/5-ways-to- teach-about-haitiright-now/