Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: 4th grade Central Focus:

Civil War Timeline
Students will make a timeline of the American
Civil War and explaining the use of the timeline to
show order of events
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.5
Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology,
comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of
events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or
Date submitted: 3/21/16
part of a text.
Date taught: 3/23/16
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.B
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and
examples related to the topic.
Daily Lesson Objective: Students will make a timeline of 5 events from the
American Civil War reading passage and explain how using a timeline shows how
each event lead to the next.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand (Language Function
Creating and Innovating- and Vocabulary):
Timeline
students will be using
Chronological
technology to create
their own timeline based Timeline
Civil War
on events in a reading
Union
passage
Confederacy
Problem Solvingstudents will have to
connect each event and
understand the
importance of the

progression of events on
the timeline
Prior Knowledge: Students already have prior knowledge of the Civil War. Theyve
read Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Pink and Say. Theyve read about the
causes of the Civil War as well. They know how to make a timeline using the online
program.
Activity

Description of Activities and Setting

Ti
me

Boys and girls, for the last week or so you have been reading
1. Focus
and learning about the Civil War. Can someone tell me
2
and Review something theyve learned about the Civil War? Have a few
min
students share.
2.
Today I am going to have you make a timeline and explain how
Statement of each event lead to the next.
5
Objective
min
for
Student
3. Teacher Show students example of a timeline of WWII events with 5
Input
events already on it.

4. Guided
Practice

Its important to understand how one event can lead to another

event. We can use a timeline to show the order of events but we
need to understand the significance of the order. For example,
the first event is Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and the
second is France and Britain declared war on Germany in 1939
as well. How are these two events significant? Im going to say
that France and Britain did not want Germany invading Poland
so they declared war on Germany. They sided with the Polish.
See how I connected these two events? Lets try the next two
together.
The next event is the Nazis invaded France on May 10th,
1940. Why is this important enough to put on our timeline?
How are the two events related? Who can give me 1 sentence
explaining how these two events are important and connected? 5-7
min
Repeat with the next 2 events.

5.
Now I am going to have you make your own timeline about
Independent Civil War events. I want you to read this passage and put 5

1520

events, with the year, on your timeline. (Hand out passage on

the Civil War). Then I would like you to give me 1 sentence
explaining why the event you picked was important and
connected to the next event on your timeline.
Have students go to Ms. Pasvankas website and pull up link to
virtual timeline. Explain that they will be making their timeline
on this website.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/studentinteractives/timeline-30007.html
Practice

min
In Label put the year
In Short description put what happened in that year during
the Civil War
In Full description put how the event, along with the
previous event are connected. This means you dont need an
explanation on your first event but you need one in your 2nd to
connect it to your first
The full description will not be shown on your timeline until
you print it out

6.
Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/s
kills:
7. Closure

Students will need 5 events on their timeline, with the year. They will
also need 1 sentence per event, explaining its importance and
connected to the next event on their timeline.

I would like you to turn and talk with your partner about your
timelines. Compare your timelines and explanations.

2
min

Pull the class back together and ask them to share a few events
and explanations on their timelines
The students successfully created a timeline with 5 events. Some
struggled with connecting the events to one another.

8.
Assessment
Results of
all
objectives/s
kills:
Targeted Students
Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations:
Modifications/Accommodations:
If needed, some students will
If students are having trouble, add more
only need 4 events and
examples in guided practice
Have struggling students discuss with
explanations
Some students may have more
another student before beginning
Have struggling students work with a
than 5 if 5 is too easy/ google
partner if absolutely necessary
more facts for the timeline
Visually/hearing impaired
students may sit closer to the
Smartboard on the rug

Materials/Technology:
Civil War reading passage
Smartboard
Blank timeline for each student
Chromebooks to make timeline
References: http://mrnussbaum.com/civil-war/printables/

Reflection on lesson:
Overall, this lesson went extremely well. Through teaching this lesson,
students learned how to make a timeline online using dates from a Civil War
passage. There were no surprises but we did have a few technology glitches.
However, I knew prior to teaching that Ms. Ps Smartboard is unreliable so I printed
out a copy of the World War II timeline I was using as my example. I had never
used a doc-cam before. All of the students did their work individually and Ms. P
gave them a grade when completed and printed. It was great to have my
cooperating teacher implement my lesson into her class as an actual grade. Some
students asked me if they could have more than 5 events. Others used Google to
extend the lesson further and research more timeline events. Some students were on
task; others were messing around and needed to be redirected.
When asking the class questions, I tried to observe who might not be paying
enough attention and purposely called on them to get them engaged once again. I
learned a lot from teaching the lesson twice. Ms. P has 2 classes and I was able to
teach it twice. It went much more smoothly the second time. The first class had a
ton of questions that needed to be answered individually as I walked around. For
the second class, I told the class the answers to the questions the first class had
asked me. The second class had fewer questions and was more independent. I was
able to glance and Ms. Ps feedback before conducting my second lesson, which
was helpful. Next time, I would definitely think of all the possible questions
students could ask and play around with the timeline website myself before having
them do it. This lesson taught me a lot about myself as a learner and a teacher. It
taught me to remain calm when things dont go as planned. Also, Ms. P took
pictures/ videoed me for a time period while I was teaching. It made me nervous
but I knew I had to get used to this being done, as well as being observed. The
second time around I felt much more confident. I was not flustered and tried to
remain confident and calm throughout the entire lesson.