Lesson #3

Thanksgiving Now and Then

Direct Instruction Lesson Format

GENERAL PLAN
Academic Content Standard/s: History and Social Studies Grade 2:

2.2. Students demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and

relative locations of people, places, and environments.

2.5. Students understand the importance of individual action and

character and explain how heroes from long ago and the recent past
have made a difference in others’ lives (e.g., from biographies of
Abraham Lincoln, Louis Pasteur, Sitting Bull, George Washington
Carver, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Golda Meir, Jackie Robinson,
Sally Ride).

Visual & Performing Arts Framework:

Component Standards 2.2 Creative Expression: Retell familiar stories,

sequencing story points and identifying characters, setting and conflict.
Theater 3.1: Role and Cultural Significance of Theater: Identify theater
and storytelling from different cultures.

ELD Standard/s: Part I: Interacting in Meaningful Ways

A. Collaborative
1. Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral
collaborative conversations on a range of social and academic topics
2. Interacting with others in written English in various communicative
forms (print, communicative technology, and multimedia)

B. Interpretive
5. Listening actively to spoken English in a range of social and
academic contexts
6. Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing
multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed explicitly and
implicitly through language
C. Productive
9. Expressing information and ideas in formal oral presentations on
academic topics
10. Writing literary and informational texts to present, describe, and
explain ideas and information, using appropriate technology.

Lesson Objectives: Content Objective

 Students will be able to use technology tools to access, explore, and
synthesize information on Thanksgiving traditions in our community,
country, and wherever else is celebrated. STWB to compare and
contrast Thanksgiving traditions from centuries ago and the
celebrations we have today. Students will also be able to reenact a
scene from a Readers’ Theater scene.

Language Objective

Students will be able to use and understand vocabulary words learned

in previous lessons when comparing and contrasting traditions from
previous years to traditions from present times. They will be able to
verbally communicate with their peers and practice reading the readers'
theaters.

Assessment The students will be given a summative assessment. As an assessment

the students will write one paragraph stating what they have learned
throughout the unit. The students will also be asked to reenact with
their peers their part of their readers’ theaters.

Lesson Summary: The students will review what they have learned throughout the
Thanksgiving unit. The students will be guided to compare and contrast
the traditions from the first Thanksgiving celebrations to the way we
celebrate today. The students will also write a paragraph about what
they have learned in the unit. After the students’ have completed their
paragraphs they will act out the readers’ theater Thanksgiving Then
and Now.

Time Allotment and Context: Time allotted for this lesson is approximately 50 minutes

IMPLEMENTATION

Directions: Describe the Teacher Activity Student Activity

essential elements or steps
of your lesson and the
instructional strategies to
teach this concept/skill.
Learning Context and
Anticipatory
Set/Engagement
Input
Modeling
We will start with reviewing what the Students will participate in class discussion
students have learned in the previous indicating what they learned in previous
lessons.
The students will be shown a video
about Thanksgiving traditions from
then and now.
https://youtu.be/ipL5oBjsq-4
We will be discussing as a whole
class what we have learned from the
video.
After the video has been shown the
teacher will ask students to create a
Venn Diagram in which the students
will compare and contrast videos
from previous traditions and
traditions from now.
The students will then write a
paragraph using the information from
the diagram to complete their
paragraphs stating what they have
learned throughout the unit.
Teacher will draw a Venn Diagram
on the board. On one of the circles
the teacher will label the Then of
Thanksgiving traditions and on the
other circle, we will label it the Now
of Thanksgiving traditions.
Next, the teacher will prompt
students to write a paragraph about
what they have learned throughout
the unit.
Then, the teacher will guide students
into small groups discussion in which
they will share what they have
written about their learning.
Last, the students will act out a scene
from the readers’ theater
lessons.
Students will listen to the video and they
will participate in the discussion about the
video.
Students will raise their hands to answer
questions and share what they know about
traditions from the past and traditions from
now.
Students will complete the Venn Diagram
with the information provided from the
discussion.
Students will be expected to use the
information from the Venn diagram to
complete a five sentence paragraph stating
what they have learned throughout the
unit.
Students will provide answers to the
questions and will engage with the
discussion.
Then, they will be able to complete the
Venn Diagram. The students will complete
a five sentence paragraph in which they
will write about what they have learned
throughout the Thanksgiving unit.
The students will read and act out the
readers’ theater scene Thanksgiving Now
and Then.
 Thanksgiving Now and Then.
Guided Practice Teacher will give students time to
think about their responses.
Teacher will demonstrate some
thinking out loud on how to write
their paragraph. Teacher will also
write a paragraph as an example for
the students to reference when
needed.
Teacher will model how students
should act out their reading.
Teacher will provide materials and
monitor their progress throughout
their writing.
Check for Teacher will proofread the students’
Understanding paragraphs and guide students in the
right direction when needed.
Teacher will provide feedback to
students as soon as possible.
Independent Practice Teacher will instruct students to
utilize the information discussed in
class.
Teacher will monitor students as they
write their paragraphs.
Teacher will walk around as students
practice acting in the readers’ theater.
Closure Teacher will collect all the students'
paragraphs.
The teacher will guide students into
their final act of the readers’ theater.
Universal Design Multiple Means of Multiple Means of
for Learning Engagement Representation
(UDL)
Allowing my students to Providing the opportunity for
use technology to express students to demonstrate their
their learning. Giving them knowledge through art and
Students will choose the main ideas that
were more important to them. The students
will reference the example provided by the
teacher whenever needed.
Students are expected to ask for help when
needed.
Students will utilize the sentence starters to
complete their writing.
Students will practice reading and acting in
the readers' theater with their group mates.
Prior to students submitting the final draft
of their paragraph, they will submit their
rough draft to the teacher and fix any
mistakes.
The students will write down their
paragraphs about what they have learned
throughout the unit, they will ask the
teacher for help when needed.
The students will share their paragraphs
with their teacher prior to submitting their
final draft.
The students will practice and act out the
readers’ theater Thanksgiving Now and
Then.
Students will perform their final
performance of Thanksgiving Now and
Then in front of the whole class.
Multiple Means of
Action
Provide extra support for
students who need it. I
will also provide extra
 the opportunity to share
with their partners.
Providing opportunities for
students to write about
what they have learned.
Watching and acting
Thanksgiving traditions
from previous times and
present times.
informal presentations, rather
than with a test. Allowing
students to use technology to
complete their work. These
strategies help EL, Sped and
gifted students because they
can express themselves
through art and oral
presentation.
time to complete
assignments for those who
need it.
I will have students who
don’t want to share their
project to the class, they
will individually share
with me at a different
time.

These strategies help all

types of learners in the
classroom.

Student Grouping How students will be Rationale for choosing this

grouped (homogeneous, grouping style
heterogeneous, mixed,
choice, random)

Students will be working This group style was chosen

with their table groups.
Their table groups consist
of four students that are on
their pods. These groups
have been assigned to them
since the beginning of the
school year.
because of their seating charts.
The students are grouped
because low performing
students are sitting next to a
higher performing student.

Materials/Resourc ● Writing materials (i.e. Paper, pens, pencils)

es
● Readers’ Theaters Thanksgiving Now and Then

● iPads

Technology/Resou ● Youtube Video: Thanksgiving Then and Now

rces ● https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/2017-lesson-plans/pilgrim-
wampanoag-daily-life-grades-prek-2/ - This is the resource I used to create my
lesson plan.

● Readers’ Theater: Thanksgiving Now and Then