Millicent Atkins School of Education: Common Lesson Plan Template

Teacher Candidate Name: Sierra Wieseler

Grade Level: 8th Grade
Subject: Social Studies – Active Lesson
Date:
PLANNING
List the Common Core/State Standard(s) to be addressed in this lesson.

• 8.H.3.1 - Compare the political and social differences between 13 separate colonies and one independent
nation.
• 8.W.2.b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples.
• 8.SL.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant
evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume,
and clear pronunciation.
• 6-8.WHST.1.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.
• 6-8.WHST.1.c. Use words transitional, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships
among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

List the Rationale (cite theories or theorists):

• N/A

List the learning objective(s) to be addressed in this lesson (specific, measurable, attainable, timebound).
Use the following format: “Students will be able to…”

• Students will be able to identify the social and political differences between the 13 founding colonies and
the United States as one independent nation.
• Students will be able to explain different facts and information they found about their assigned colony or
independent nation to their peers.
• Students will be able to publicly speak in pairs in front of their classmates to present information.

Describe how the learning objective(s) and the learning outcomes is/are appropriate for the
age/developmental level of the students.

• Students in the 8th grade are working towards learning more about the government and the processes that
have happened and are currently happening within the government system currently.
• This lesson will allow for students to see the differences between what has happened in the past that
shaped the United States and what is happening now.
• Students will have the opportunity to compare and contrast the three different parts.

Describe the Classroom Demographics: (e.g., ethnicities; gender ratios; special needs, including those of
gifted students, those of students’ physical needs, and those due to cultural characteristics).
 • 30 students

Describe your Knowledge of Students: (in terms of the whole class and individual students)
(e.g., language needs; approaches to learning; prior learning and experiences; academic
proficiencies/behavioral differences; areas of interest).

• N/A

List the materials/resources you will need to teach the lesson.

• Writing Utensil
• Paper

Technology
Describe the instructional and/or assistive technology that you plan to incorporate into the lesson and explain how it
will enhance instruction and student learning.

• iPads
• Computer
• Smart Board

Accommodations: Base this on the information you provided for Classroom Demographics and
Knowledge of Students above.
Describe the accommodations/differentiation/modifications you will use to meet the needs of all learners
and accommodate differences in students’ learning, culture, language, etc. *

• N/A

Pre-Assessment: Describe the instrument or process you will use to measure students’ level of
understanding toward the learning objective(s) prior to teaching the lesson.

• N/A

Pre-Assessment: Describe how the results of the pre-assessment (what the students have demonstrated
they know) will be used to design the lesson objectives, instruction, and post-assessment. (Include charts,
graphs if applicable)

• N/A

Classroom Management
Identify the management and motivational strategies you will use to meet student behavioral/developmental needs
in order to keep students on task and actively engaged throughout the lesson.

• Proximity – when students begin to get off task, I will walk over by their group to keep them on task.
• Redirection – when students begin to find information that is unnecessary or not useful for this specific
lesson, I will redirect the back to where they should be at.
 • Positive Reinforcement – I will positively reinforce any rules or directions the students may need repeated,
and I will positively give feedback to students when it is necessary to do so.
• Clear Expectations – I will be very direct in my directions, so the students are fully aware of what the
expectations of the project are.
• Firm and Direct – I will be firm and direct while teaching this lesson. By doing this, it sends the message to
the students that even if they do not want to do what is asked of them that they will be doing it and
respecting my teaching strategies.

Implementation
“I Do”
(Teacher introduces lesson and models expected outcome(s) of learning objectives)
Describe what instructional strategies you will use to model/explain/demonstrate the knowledge and skills
required of the objective.

• Step 1: I will begin by saying, “Students, yesterday we talked about the thirteen (13) colonies and
how they are part of the formation of the United States as an independent nation and the nation
that we have today.”
• Step 2: I will tell the students, “Today we are going to break up into groups of two and do research
on these thirteen (13) colonies, the United States as a new independent nation, and the United
States as it is today.”
• Step 3: I will bring out the fifteen (15) popsicle sticks that have a colony name, the United States as
an independent nation, or the United States as it is today written on them.
• Step 4: I will set out the rubric sheets, requirement list, and a ‘to help you get started’ sheet that I
have created. (See pages 5-7)
• Step 7: I will put the pairs of the students up on the Smart Board, as I have already chosen who
each student will be working with.
• Step 8: I will tell the students, “I will be calling up each group individually to come pick a popsicle
stick by random to see which topic you will be researching.”
• Step 9: I will say to the students, “When you come up, the partner whose name is on the top will
grab a popsicle stick, and the partner whose name is on the bottom will grab a rubric sheet,
requirement list of things you must use in your project, and a ‘to help you get started’ sheet.”
• Step 10: I will tell the students, “After you have picked up all of your materials, you are free to have
flexible seating with your partner throughout the classroom to begin your research.”
• Step 11: I will ask the students to put their right hand on their head if they understand what the
directions are.
• Step 12: I will call up each individual group and have them choose a topic.
• Step 14: As the students are working in their pairs, I will be walking around the room helping
prompt any students that may need some extra help as well as keeping everyone on task.

“We Do”
(Teacher engages students in guided practice)
Describe the learning activities you will use to provide students multiple opportunities to practice the skills and
content needed to meet the learning objective(s).

• Step 5: I will tell the students, “Before we draw for your assigned topic, let’s think of some things
that you may want to research to add to your project.”
 • Step 6: We will think about different facts or questions that we may think about as we do this
project, and I will write any of the ideas on the board for the students to look back at while working
for reference.

“You Do”
(Students engage in independent practice)
Describe what the students will do to independently practice the knowledge and skills required by the lesson
objectives?

• Step 13: The students will work in their pairs to find the required information as well as any extra
information they may believe will be important to add to their project.

Lesson Closing
Describe how you will reemphasize the lesson objective(s) and any skills/content that were taught in an
interactive manner (whole/small group, etc.).

• I will say to the students, “Today we worked on our individual colonies and independent nations in
pairs. We were able to find information that pertained to each topic, and you all worked hard to
put all of that information into one outline format.”
• I will continue by saying, “Tomorrow, we will continue on with this project by putting all of the
information that you have found into one PowerPoint presentation that you will eventually present
to the class with your partner.”

Post-Assessment: APPENDIX: Include a blank copy of the lesson post-assessment you will use to measure
students’ level of understanding toward the learning objectives after teaching the lesson.

• N/A

Analyze
Post Assessment: Based on the results of the Pre and Post-Assessment, to what extent did students achieve the
learning goals/objective of the lesson? Cite examples from the lesson plan, assessments, and/or video.
If applicable, insert a table/chart/graph before your explanation.

• N/A

Reflect
Reflect on your instructional strategies, interactions with students, and classroom management strategies. Describe
what went well and what areas you need to revise in the future. Cite examples (from video) that support your
conclusions.
Describe revisions that you could make if you were to teach this lesson again. Why would you make each revision?
Cite examples from the lesson plan, video and/or student work that would prompt revisions.

• N/A
 To Help You Get Started
• Where did the people in this colony/independent nation come from?

• What year was this colony/independent nation created?

• Where was this colony/independent nation located?

• How many people lived in this colony/independent nation at this time?

• Did this colony/independent nation have an agricultural economy?

• Did this colony/independent nation have an industrial economy?

• Were animals domesticated within this colony/independent nation?

• Who was considered to be “important” within the colony/independent

nation?

• Who was the leader in the colony/independent nation?

• Was/is this colony/independent nation nomadic?

 Requirements

1. You must use a minimum of three (3) different reliable websites.

2. You CANNOT use Wikipedia as a reliable resource.

3. You must answer these questions:

a. What is the name of your colony/independent nation?

b. Who colonized this colony/independent nation?

c. Is this colony/independent nation still important today?

d. What types of food did this colony/independent nation have?

e. Where was/is this colony/independent nation located?

f. What was/is the role of men in this colony/independent nation?

g. What was/is the role of women in this colony/independent nation?

h. Did this colony/independent nation have any government system?

i. If so, how did/does it work?

ii. If so, what type of government system was/is it?

4. You must include five (5) random facts that you found.

5. You must have a citation page – so copy all of the websites you take

information from!
 13 Colonies and the United States as an Independent Nation Rubric

Grading Topic 1 (Poor) 2 (Average) 3 (Excellent)

Neatness The information is not It is visible that the The outline is neat and
given in an outline information is in an easy to read with no
format. outline form and/or has spelling errors.
multiple spelling errors.
Met all of the requirements 0-49% of the Over 50% of the All of the required
requirements have been requirements have been information has been
met. met, but not 100%. found.
Citation Format 0-49% of the websites Over 50% of the websites All of the websites have
have been cited correctly. have been cited correctly, been correctly cited on
but not 100% of them. the works cited page.
Website Reliability The websites are not Over 50% of the websites All of the websites were
reliable OR Wikipedia was were credible sources, but reliable resources.
used. not 100% of them.
Due Date The assignment was not The assignment was The assignment was
handed in. handed in, but it was handed in on time.
done so after the due
date.
Participation There was little or no There was some The project was done
participation done while participation done, but with 100% group
doing this assignment. it was not a group participation.
effort.
Total:
Total Score: