Direct Instruction Lesson Plan

Name:
Sam Taylor

Grade Level/Subject: Central Focus/Big Idea of the Lesson:

4th Grade Social Studies and ELA/Literacy
The U.S. Constitution is the
foundation of the United States
government.

Essential Standard/Common Core Objective: Date Taught:

5.C&G.1.3 Analyze historical documents that shaped the 11/29/17
foundation of the United States government.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples

in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly
and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures,

ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical
text, including what happened and why, based on
specific information in the text.

Daily Lesson Objective:

Students will analyze the US Constitution and its meaning, and have the opportunity to work
together to write their own preamble.

Identify the 21st Century Skills in the lesson: Academic Language Demand
Collaboration (Language Function and Vocabulary):
Communication
Critical Thinking Language Function:
Information Literacy Analyze
Vocabulary:
Constitution
Preamble
Common good

Syntax: Primary sources/Secondary

sources, PPT anchor chart slide

Discourse:
 Classroom discussion, turn and talk

Prior Knowledge:
Some knowledge of the founding of the United States.

Activity Description of Activities and Setting

Time

1. Focus and Review The teacher will display an image of the U.S. 5 minutes
Constitution on the projector and ask: Who can tell
me what this is?
Give students a chance to think then share.
Explain: This is the United States Constitution. It is
what establishes our nations government, laws, and
freedoms.

2. Statement of Today we are going to discuss the U.S. Constitution 2 minutes

Objective for Student and read and analyze the Preamble. Then you will
have an opportunity to collaborate with your group
and write your own preamble.

3. Teacher Input The teacher will give a brief explanation of the 10

Constitution (when it was written, why it was written, minutes
the 3 sections, etc.).
Teacher will say: Reading and analyzing the entire
Constitution would take us a very long time, so we are
going to focus on the Preamble.
4. Guided Practice Pass out a copy of the Preamble to each student. 15
Teacher will instruct students read the Preamble minutes
silently, circling any unknown words and making any
notes.
When students are finished, have them talk in their
small groups about unknown words and what they
think the Preamble might be about.
After 1-2 minutes, have one group volunteer to share
what they discussed.
Teacher will say: Next we are going to re-read the
Preamble and break it down into smaller parts to
determine what it means.
The teacher will read a small part of the Preamble,
one at a time. After each, the class will have a
discussion to determine the meaning of each part,
then the meaning of the Preamble as a whole.

5. Independent Practice Pass out a Preamble worksheet to each student. 15

Instruct them that they will work in groups to minutes
collaborate and decide what they want to include in
their preamble, just like the Founding Fathers did.

6. Assessment Methods The paper copies will be collected and displayed in the classroom.
of all objectives/skills:

7. Closure The class will come together and a volunteer from 5 minutes
each group will read their preamble to the class.

8. Assessment Results of
all objectives/skills:

Targeted Students Student/Small Group

Modifications/Accommodations: Modifications/Accommodations:

Struggling readers:
English language learners: Struggling readers can be given extra time to
If there are any ELLs in the class, they can read the preamble individually, and the
work in a small group with the teacher when classroom discussion should help them to
 it is time to write their own preamble. analyze and understand the preamble.

Academically/Intellectually Gifted:
If a group finishes early, they can come up with
ideas for a constitution that would go along with
their preamble.

Materials/Technology:
Copy of preamble, preamble worksheet (included below)

Reflection on Lesson:

Overall, I think that this lesson ran very smoothly and was a success. From the beginning, the
students were interested and engaged, and they seemed to really enjoy being able to get creative
and write their own version of the preamble. I was worried at first when the teacher told me I
could choose a 4th or 5th grade standard because his 4th graders are advanced, but I was not sure
if they would be able to handle the Constitution. However, I was pleasantly surprised and very
impressed at the students reading comprehension level. They were able to develop a very strong
understanding of the meaning and purpose of the Constitution, even though a lot of the language
used is outdated and challenging.

The biggest thing that I would change about this lesson if I taught it in the future would be editing
the Focus and Review section. I would pick something that is a little bit more engaging for
students, like a video or a song. I think that it would be a good way to immediately grabbing
attention of students instead of just directly jumping into a classroom discussion.

After teaching this lesson, I have learned a lot about teaching and student learning. This was the
first whole group lesson that I have ever taught and I was really happy with how well it went. I have
gained confidence in my teaching abilities and my ability to handle a classroom full of students. I also
enjoyed reading the positive feedback from my cooperating teacher. While stressful at times, this
was a great experience and this is a lesson I will keep for my future classroom.