Student: Toni Marie Martini

Professor: K. Sheehan
Course: EDU 351 01
Date: November 9, 2015
Grade: 4
Topic: Were the Native Americans More Democratic Than the European Colonists?
Content Area: Social Studies
Instructional Objective(s)
After reading and analyzing four documents about the Iroquois Confederacy and the European
colonists, students will form an opinion based on evidence about whether the Iroquois people
were more democratic than the European colonists. Students will present their point of view by
writing a tweet using at least one historical accuracy learned in the lesson.
STANDARDS AND INDICATORS
New York State Social Studies Standards
Key Idea:
4.2 NATIVE AMERICAN GROUPS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: Native American groups,
chiefly the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) and Algonquian-speaking groups, inhabited the region that
became New York State. Native American Indians interacted with the environment and
developed unique cultures.
Key Concepts:
4.2b Native American groups developed specific patterns of organization and governance to
manage their societies.
Indicator: This will be evident when students construct a stance on the key question about
whether or not the Iroquois government was more democratic than the colonists based on
historical accuracies learned in the documents.
Key Idea:
4.3 COLONIAL AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD IN NEW YORK: European exploration
led to the colonization of the region that became New York State. Beginning in the early 1600s,
colonial New York was home to people from many different countries. Colonial New York was
important during the Revolutionary Period.
Key Concepts:
4.3b Colonial New York became home to many different peoples, including European
immigrants, and free and enslaved Africans. Colonists developed different lifestyles.
Indicator: This will be evident when students construct a stance on the key question about
whether or not the colonists government was more democratic than the Iroquois based on
historical accuracies learned in the documents.

National Social Studies Standards and Themes:

1. Culture
Human beings create, learn, share, and adapt to culture
Students come to understand that human cultures exhibit both similarities
and differences
Students learn to see themselves both as individuals and as members of a
particular culture that shares similarities with other cultural groups
1
Indicator: This will be evident when students read and analyze the documents about the culture
and institutions of the Iroquois and the colonists in order to form a stance on the key question.
Common Core ELA Standards
Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Write arguments focused on disciplinespecific content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that
demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
c. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows and supports the argument presented.
Indicator: This will be evident when students form a stance on the key question and construct a
tweet based on their analysis of the documents.
Social Studies Practices: Habits of Mind
2. Perceive past events and issues as they might have been experienced by the people of the time,
with historical empathy rather than present-mindedness.
Indicator: This will be evident when students analyze documents and answer questions based on
close reading perspectives on how the Native Americans felt about the colonists
4. Interrogate texts and artifacts, posing questions about the past that foster informed discussion,
reasoned debate and evidence-based interpretation.
Indicator: This will be evident when students use higher order thinking questions to analyze
documents and examine biases.
MOTIVATION
The teacher will review the questions for the Brain Pop video homework and engage the students
in a question-based discussion.

MATERIALS

SMARTBOARD
Document handouts with questions (4 in total)
Smart device
Twitter account

STRATEGIES
Collaborative learning
Higher-order thinking questions
Class-based discussion
ADAPTATIONS
The student who is an English Language Learner will be placed in a group with
proficient speakers who will support them during the lesson.
The student with a vision impairment will be provided with someone to read the
document and document questions to them.
DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION
The teacher realizes that not all students learn the same way.
Visual learners will be stimulated by the key points being listed on the
SMARTBOARD
Auditory students will hear spoken-word in listen and retell activity
Social Interaction learners will be engaged by the social interaction of working in
groups
Kinesthetic learners will be engaged by the stand and deliver activity.
Linguistic learners will be engaged in the writing activity
Tiered Differentiation
Tier One Learners will be provided with a definition sheet for each
type of government and an outline to be filled in.
Tier Two Learners will be provided with an outline for their
writing exercise.
Tier Three Learners will be do the paragraph on their own without
any support.
DEVELOPMENTAL PROCEDURES
ASSESSMENT

The students will take a stance on the key question Were the Native Americans more democratic
than the European colonists? and format a tweet containing at least one historical accuracy
learned from the documents.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
The students will watch the music video for Katy Perrys song Firework and analyze the lyrics
in order to find evidence on the question: How were the Native Americans feeling when the
Europeans were stealing their government structure, but still considered them savages? The
students will use textual evidence to support their lyric choice.
FOLLOW-UP: DIRECT TEACHER INTERVENTION AND ACADEMIC
ENRICHMENT
Direct Teacher Intervention: Students who did not easily meet the lesson objective will, along
with the teacher be provided with a graphic organizer with the pros and cons to each type of
government.
Academic Enrichment: Students who easily met the lesson objective will find an article in the
paper about each type of government in our world today.