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Lesson Plan Using Organizers in Psychology

Subject / Course:
Psychology 20
Grade Level: 11
Topic: Social Schema
Cooperating Teacher Name: Mrs. Tegancamp & Mr.
Cote

TC Name: Nicole Marquis

Date: October 19, 2015
Time of Class: 10:05 11:10 a.m.
Room # / Location: Mount Royal
Collegiate

1. Broad Areas of Learning and Cross Curricular Competencies

a) Outcomes: Students will understand the concept of a social schema and how it
helps us interpret the world around us. They will understand how various types of
mental schemas play a role in ones social behaviour. Students will understand
how experience is represented in the brain, and will consider how they interpret
schemas. They will explore ways in which schemas can be revised or altered,
and in which ways they create their own schemas. Students will identify their own
personal schema for life.
b) Indicators: Students will complete a mind-map identifying various interpretive
elements though which schemas are represented. Students will participate in a
small group role-play activity, where each element will be acted
out/demonstrated to the class. Students will assess a schema simulation, and
identify components of how that schema was comprised. Students will reflect on
their own personal life metaphor through which they see the world, and present
them in a literacy or graphical form at the end of the unit.
c) Cross Curricular Competencies: (approx. 2+ other learning expectations not assessed, eg. learning that
happens as a result of the lesson, organization, group work, listening, co-operation, reading, writing skills etc.)

Students will also exercise skills in group work, reading, writing, critical thinking,
and comprehension throughout this lesson. Co-operation in groups will be
necessary to create a role play. They will need to research and read some
information on their own to explore what life metaphor speaks to them
personally. They will need to write down their assessments of the mental schema
simulation presented by myself and the partner teacher. Students will critically
think about how they construct, interpret, and are influenced by social schemas.
They will develop comprehension skills through the creation of flow-chart and
mind maps as they apply the concepts learned.
d) Professional Growth Portfolio Goal(s):
3.2 The ability to use a wide variety of responsive instructional strategies and
methodologies to accommodate learning styles of individual learners and support
their growth as social, intellectual, physical, and spiritual beings.
- This lesson will demonstrate, foster, and assist students in becoming aware
of their own and others social schemas, and critically think about how schemas
are constructed and interpreted. Students will explore how expectations and
behaviours are closely linked within social schemas through various instructional

strategies to appeal to various types of learners.

2. Assessment and Evaluation:

(What assessment and/or evaluation strategies do you need to have to ensure you are accountable for students
learning and addressing curriculum outcomes? What formative and summative assessment should you include?
e.g., sample questions, activities or attach tests, homework, rubrics, evaluation schemes, answer keys etc.)

-Students will participate as a class in creating a mind map of Interpretive Elements

we use to process and organize our perceptions using the text book as a reference.
Each element will be thoroughly explained then students will demonstrate each
element through group role play. Each group will be assessed on group
participation and how closely their demonstration represented their given interpretive
element.
-Students will earn a class participation mark for their individual contribution to either
the group discussion or group reflection. Group discussion will explore first
impressions and how believable is love at first sight? Students will consider what
strategies/methods people use to form first impressions. Group reflection will explore
situations where students have demonstrated self-fulfilling prophecies, and how
changing their behaviour may change the nature of a situation.
-Students will create a take-home flow chart based on an in-class example, where
they are to describe how to act in certain situation (ie: How to get out of bed in the
morning). Organization and content will be the main indicators of an acceptable
flow-chart.
3.

Preassessment and Accommodations/Modifications

a) Students
(consider the students you will be teaching and anything that will affect their learning or your teaching strategies (e.g.,
include cognitive, social/emotional, physical and diversity needs,+ provide accommodations/modifications - how you will
differentiate learning for each student and/or type of need N.B. use initials of students rather than full names)
Preassessment:

Accommodation/Modification:

-There is a culturally diverse student population in this

class.

-Foster acceptance and relational understanding by

creating diversity in group work

-A few students struggle to understand the curriculum

content.

-Use as much visual material and various organizers as

possible to aid learning complex concepts

-Some students play on their cell phones if content is

uninteresting or teacher lacks class management skills.

-Advise students they will be allowed to use their phone

in group task for research, but during instruction; create
interactive opportunities to engage students

b)

Learning Environment:
(describe the learning environment such as the set up/location of desks, where audio-visual equipment will
be, where the teacher stands, where the students are working etc. you may wish to include a map/layout of
the classroom on a separate sheet and reference it with modifications if lesson changes)

This lesson will take place in a regular classroom, with a traditional direct
instruction layout: desks in single rows facing the front of the classroom, where

teacher and white board are front and centre. A projector is available for
multi-media use and power-point presentations for lesson content. The
teacher will address students from the front of the room during instruction; for
individual work and class discussion students will remain in their desks; and for
small group work role-play task students will be allowed to organize in the
hallway, just outside of the classroom.

4. Required Resources
(list ALL resources required to conduct this lesson with detailed specifics such as textbook titles, chapters, page
numbers, author/publishers, website URLs, resources like paper, pencils, protractors, chalk, rulers, paint, specimens,
books, maps, videos, posters, lab materials, handouts include name of handout and number of copies, etc.)

-Students will need pens/pencils, erasers, and paper to take additional notes, and
draft mind map.
- Adler, R. B., Towne, N., & Rolls, J. A. (2001). Looking out, looking in. Forth Worth, TX
: Harcourt College Publishers, 1st Canadian ed, p.96.
-30 Mind Map templates will be handed out for class mind map activity.
-30 Sequence-of-Events flow charts will be disbursed to students for take-home
activity.
-cell phones or electronic devices may be used (optional) during discussion of lifes
metaphors, and to research ideas for role-play demonstration.
-Power-point lecture notes will be provided in print form containing chapter content
and definitions.

5. Content and Teaching Strategies of Lesson

a) Overview/Agenda/Review
(consider a quick overview of the lesson and/or list key elements in lesson which may be written on white/blackboard
as an agenda for students and you to follow, you may also choose to consider a review of previous days work)

-Discuss life metaphors (explain unit project).

-Discuss how we assemble schemas in our brains; break down various ways we
compose schemas.
-Discuss how we interpret schemas.
-Role-play
-Mental schema simulation.
-Explore ways schemas can be altered and created.
-Discussion & reflection.
-Application flow-chart
b) Introduction (motivational start, minds-on, hook, etc.)
(describe how you will motivate students, get their attention, relate the lesson to their lives, such as a minds-on activity,
a hook or something that will pull learners into lesson)

-Discuss and reflect on Lifes metaphors.

-Introduce Lifes metaphors project: Students will create their own life metaphor
through a creative literary or graphical medium of their choice (prose, poetry,
drawing, painting, video of slam poetry, photo-collage, etc.). They will share their
Life Metaphors in a museum walk at the end of the unit.

c) Subject Content and Teaching Strategies

(include the subject content - what you are teaching; detail the instructional strategies / teaching strategies for
teaching the subject content - how you are teaching it; write some guiding questions - actual questions (variety of
thinking levels) and suggested and anticipated answers; possibly include time approximations/timelines such as 10:00
10:30 a.m. or 25 minutes; and include application activities/components - how the content will be applied such as an
activity, problems to solve, worksheets etc.).

Students will be taught how we create schemas as mental models to understand

ourselves, others, and the world. They will explore what major schema (life
metaphor) shapes how they live their life. The main teaching methods will be direct
and independent instruction, and interactive, indirect, and experiential methods.
Direct instruction will be used to disseminate foundational content information about
schemas. Independent instruction will be used as students explore their own life
metaphor. Interactive learning will take place during group role play of interpretive
elements of schemas and during a mental schema simulation. Indirect strategies will
be utilized through the use of flow chart and mind-map exercises. Experiential
methods will take place through class discussion and reflection on first impressions
and love at first sight, and on self-fulfilling prophecies.
Key questions:
1) How do our experiences become represented in our brain?
2) What affects how we interpret and organize the world we perceive?
3) How can our schemas become altered or revised?
4) Do our expectations and behaviours influence a given situation or others
behaviour?
5) What is my own personal schema for life or life metaphor?
I will introduce the lesson by explaining how as children we try to understand and
organize the world in which we live, and the schemas we develop (or Life Metaphors)
ultimately shape how we live. We will go over some examples of life metaphors and
get students thinking about their own metaphor for life. Instructions will be given
pertaining to their end-of-unit life metaphor creative project (6 mins). Next I will
provide some direct instruction looking at various ways in which our schemas are
represented in our brain (cognitive maps, event scripts, etc). As a class we will then
create a mind-map exploring seven interpretive elements (relational satisfaction, past
experience, etc.) that we use to organize social schemas (10 mins). Afterwards
students will be divided into seven small groups and will be assigned one of these
elements, and will create a quick two-minute role play to demonstrate the principle
to the class (20 mins). Next, the partner teacher and I will act out planning an event
(ie: camping trip or weekend at the lake), while the student audience assesses the
simulation, recording one of the following: images, concept schema, cognitive
schema, event scripts, mental models. Discussion will follow (8 mins). Following, will
be a block of more direct instruction looking at how schemas can be revised and
what self-fulfilling prophecies are. Then there will be a discussion on first
impressions, how believable is love at first sight, and a critical look at how we
experience self-fulfilling prophecies and how changing our behaviour could change a
situation (15).

d)

Consolidation

(indicate how you will review concepts taught, wrap up lesson, confirm students know what next tasks are e.g.,
having class to give you feedback on what was taught, review key application of concepts this is important in
terms of assessing the effectiveness of the lesson)

To conclude, we will create a flowchart (ie: how to make popcorn) as a class to

apply the concept of creating a schema. Finally, a homework assignment will be
explained: students will create their own flowchart describing how to act in a
certain situation (ie: how to get out of bed in the morning, how to dye your hair),
and ideas will be shared at the start of next class.

7 Interpretive Elements of Social Schemas Mind Map

Use this map to organize your thoughts and make connections to your topic. Write the main idea
in the center and add related topics in each surrounding map bubble.

Sequence-of-Events Chart (Sethna, 2011)

Making Popcorn
Title: __________________________________

Use this chart to put events in chronological sequence. Start by writing the first event in the first box.
Include as much information as you can about when it occurred. Add boxes if needed.
First Event
-Get out popcorn machine (round dome
type), plug into outlet, turn on to heat
up

-Pour about 1 to 1 tsp. of oil into machine

-Pour approximately 1 cup of dried popcorn

seeds into popcorn maker

-Place dome lid securely on top. When

popcorn is done popping, shut off and unplug
machine. Dump popcorn into large bowl

-Toss popcorn with melted butter or

coconut oil. Top with salt or favourite
popcorn seasoning. EatEnjoy

-Wipe popcorn machine with damp cloth,

wash dome lid in warm soapy water, dry,
and put machine away

References
Sethna, M. (2011). Literacy Skills and Strategies for Content Area Teachers:
Comprehension and
Vocabulary. Retrieved from
http://www.valrc.org/resources/docs/MHS_Literacy_Strategy_Book.pdf
Saskatchewan Curriculum (2003). Psychology 20: Social Psychology A Curriculum
Guide for the
Secondary Level. Retrieved from
https://www.edonline.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/curricula/English/Social_Studi
es/Psychology_20_2002.pdf
Stewart Resources Centre (2003). Psychology 20, 30: A Bibliography of Resources.
Saskatchewan
Teachers Federation. Retrieved from https://www.stf.sk.ca/portal.jsp?
Sy3uQUnbK9L2RmSZs02CjV6+6OHjzI2FdXYJRbYJ3xpE=F