TE404 Lesson Planning Format

Prepared by: Lindsey Pirochta

Mentor Teacher: Louie Robinson
Date (lesson planned): October 19th 2016
Length of lesson: 30 – 40 minutes
Date (To be taught): November 9th 2016
Grade level: 3rd

Part I: Lesson Overview and Background Knowledge

a). Lesson Title: A Timeline of Michigan History
b) Big Idea(s):

 Timelines show a way to categorize historical events in chronological order.

 Timelines show relationships among historical events, focusing on the relative time and the absolute time.

c). Rationale:
This lesson gives students the opportunity to understand and grasp the many significant changes the state of
Michigan has encountered over time. By understanding a historical timeline of the events which shaped Michigan’s
history, students will develop as conscientious citizens, well beyond their classroom experience. The various events
that will be analyzed and reviewed have clearly played an important role on the state that all of these students live in
today. By furthering the student’s knowledge about these events, students will gain insight into why certain
economic, political, and historical events are the way they are in present time, as well as understand how influential
particular events have been on the development of their home state.
This lesson also gives students the experience with creating a historical timeline. A timeline is a very
beneficial tool that will allow students to compare the relationships of events, as well as notice the impact certain
events may have had on others. Students will learn how to display events in chronological order, a skill that can also
be applied outside of the classroom. By creating and displaying historical events through the use of a timeline in
chronological order, students will be able to further their knowledge regarding the state they currently reside in.
Students will develop an awareness and understanding relating to their personal community and state, which will
further mature these individuals as citizens.

d). Lesson Objectives:

● Students will be able to recognize the significance particular events have had on Michigan’s history
through discussion.
● Students will be able to interpret chronological events through the use of a timeline.
● Students will be able to represent a historical event through the use of an illustration.
● Students will be able to categorize and sort events into chronological order.

e). Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs):

 2 – H2.0.1 - Demonstrate chronological thinking by distinguishing among years and decades using a
timeline of local community events.
  3 – H3.0.3 - Describe the causal relationships between three events in Michigan’s past (e.g., Erie Canal,
more people came, statehood).
 3 – H3.0.9 - Describe how Michigan attained statehood.
 3 – H3.0.10 - Create a timeline to sequence early Michigan history (American Indians, exploration,
settlement, statehood).

f). Lesson Abstract:

For this lesson, students will be given an introduction to the concept of timelines and how to represent
events in chronological order. Students will then be grouped into pairs, picked by the mentor teacher in advance, and
given a specific event and date of an important event throughout Michigan’s history. These descriptions will be in
language easily understandable for the students. Students will be asked to draw a picture in order to represent their
given event with their partner. After the illustrations are completed, students will be responsible for sharing their
event with the class and placing their event appropriately in chronological order on the timeline. The timeline will be
positioned on chart paper and available to hang in the hallway to display the student’s work and the significance of
the events responsible for shaping Michigan’s history.

Part II: Resources

a). Resources, Preparation/Materials:

Materials for whole class:
 chart paper with timeline
frame
 masking tape
 printed titles and dates of
events with space for
illustrations for each pair
 Separate completed
example to show to class
 example of a timeline
 Michigan from Sea to
Shining Sea textbook
Materials for groups:
 markers
 1 printed title and date of
event for each pair with
space for illustration
 Cut up list of events per
pair to sort
chronologically
Materials to accommodate
individual student needs: (be sure
to indicate how you are going to
provide resources needed for
diverse student needs (i.e.
emerging, on level, advanced, ESL,
autistic)
 will need to plan on
helping some students
read through the
descriptions provided
 use tier one and tier two
vocabulary words for
student’s comprehension
 Scaffold students’ thinking
on how to best represent
their events through
illustrations

b). Annotated Bibliography:

Johnson, E. M. (2001). Michigan from Sea to Shining Sea. New York: Children's Press.

This children’s picture book discusses topics such as history, people, and places of Michigan. This book
represents high quality text and historical content relating to the history of Michigan. This source could potentially
be bias because it does not provide a comprehensive list of events, certain events were selected and favored over
others. This source was helpful because it incorporated a timeline of historical events in Michigan at the end of the
picture book.

Levy, J. (2010). Michigan: Past and present. New York: Rosen Central.

This source discusses the history, land, government, and economy of past and present Michigan history.
This resource only addresses the European perspective, therefore displaying an extreme bias towards the events
occurring throughout history. Other important perspectives appear to be missing from this account of history. This
resource was helpful in planning the lesson because it included a timeline detailing significant events in history.

McConnell, D. B., Deeter, T., & Zenz, A. (1999). Our Michigan Adventure! Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational
Pub.

This resource is a children’s social studies textbook focusing on Michigan history. This resource is of high
quality because it focuses, in detail, on many perspectives. This resource may be bias, due to the fact that it was
written and intended for children audiences, so some of the language may have been adjusted in order to appeal to
the audience. This book was used as the classroom textbook at Reo Elementary, and was recommended for use in
planning the lesson by the mentor teacher.

Michigan Time Line Chronological Timetable of Events (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/mitim

This website lists significant events in chronological order. This timeline does not provide any other
perspectives, simply because it is only a list. One negative factor in this resource is that it does not provide any
additional information about the events, it simply just lists the events and the dates. This source was helpful because
it includes a comprehensive list of events, which are significant to Michigan’s history, as well as the process of
attaining statehood.

Part III: Knowing Your Students and their Learning Environment

a). Who are my students?

I am placed in a third grade classroom at Reo Elementary School. My mentor teacher informed me that the
students do not receive a regularly scheduled time for social studies instruction. The main focus of the school day in
this third grade classroom is math and literacy. The students spend roughly three hours a day learning math, and
three hours per school day learning literacy by participating in various math and literacy centers. The third grade
students move around from classroom and teacher, depending on what center they are participating in. Therefore, I
will be teaching my lesson to all of the third grade students, rather than simply my mentor teacher’s “homeroom”.
Among the 52 third grade students: 31 of these students are male and 21 are female. 32 of the 52 total third
graders are African American, 7 students are Caucasian, 6 students are Hispanic, 4 students are Asian, and 3 of the
52 students (presumably their parents) did not specify a “race code” when completing registration for enrollment.
Evidently from the provided demographics, the third graders are predominately male and come from a variety of
diverse backgrounds; however, the majority of the third graders at Reo Elementary School are African American
(61.5%). These demographics were obtained from my mentor teacher’s class list and report.
According to my mentor teacher’s report, a total of 5 of the 52 third grade students are English Language
Learners. Among the 52 students, 3 of these students require special education modifications and adaptations for
lesson plans. One student also has a hearing impairment and is partially deaf. Specific modifications and adaptations
will be needed in order to accommodate the diverse needs of all learners in the third grade. The lesson and
explanations will need to be broken down into step by step pieces in order to be easily comprehendible by the
students.

b). Linguistic, social and academic challenges, resources and supports.

In order to meet the diverse needs of my students, several accommodations will be needed. In order to
accommodate for the auditory impaired student, I will visually show examples and use the digital display provided
in the classroom. In order to accommodate for the low proficient and ELL students, directions and descriptions will
be created with tier one vocabulary words, in order to allow the students to easily comprehend the language.
Students will be able to artistically demonstrate their knowledge of the events, rather than be asked to compose
sentences summarizing the historical events. Low proficient learners will be paired with high proficient learners, in
order to offer support to both students. Low proficient learners will benefit by working with a higher proficient
learner. Higher proficient learners will benefit by explaining the event to the lower learner, furthering their own
comprehension.
The teacher will also offer support by walking around the room while students are working, and providing
support for students who are having difficulty reading their assigned events. The teacher will read the events aloud
to the classroom and scaffold students’ thinking about possible illustrations that could represent the given event. The
 teacher will ask prompting questions to pairs that appear to be struggling with comprehension of their events in
order to promote comprehension and scaffold the learner’s thinking. Students will be able to work together with a
partner in order to understand the idea of chronological order and build their own ideas off of one another.

Part IV: Lesson Procedures

a) Lesson Procedures

Activity Element Procedures and management Academic, social &

& Time (in linguistic adaptations,
minutes) resources, and support
Introduction (3  Has anyone ever seen a timeline before? Can  Write out student’s
minutes) anyone tell me what a timeline is used for? ideas about
 Teacher will then explain what a timeline is by timelines on white
building on the ideas suggested by students: a board in order to
timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in display the
the order that they occurred throughout history. suggestions shared
 Teacher will show an example of a timeline from by students. This
the Michigan from Sea to Shining Sea textbook. will provide
support to the
student with an
auditory
impairment.
 Visually show
students an
example of a
timeline.
 Teacher will
explain the
definition of a
timeline in simple
words for easy
comprehension by
low proficient
students.
Activity 1 (3  Teacher will explain directions for the activity. ● Teacher will show
minutes) o Teacher will tell students that they will an example of the
be working in pairs for the activity. handout that
o Pairs will be predetermined by mentor students will
teacher. receive, including
o Teacher will use the Elmo Docking a completed
Display to show students what the illustration.
activity will include: title, date, and ● Teacher will
space for illustrations. utilize the Elmo
 Each pair will receive a Docking Display
handout with a date and title of in order to display
the event. a visual to
 Each pair will be responsible students.
for reading the given ● Teacher will walk
information and brainstorming around the room
how to represent the event. while students are
 Each student will draw an working, and
illustration to represent the provide support for
event. students who are
  Once finished with the having difficulty
illustrations, each pair will reading their
work together to arrange events assigned events.
in chronological order from a ● Teacher will ask
list of cut outs. prompting
 The teacher will also read the list of events aloud, questions to pairs
scaffolding students’ thinking regarding potential that appear to be
illustrations that could be made for each event. struggling with
o “So, if our event is “Michigan gets ready comprehension of
to become a state by writing its first their events.
constitution (a constitution is a set of ● Questions: what do
laws on a piece of paper.)”, what are you think this
some ideas we could draw in order to means for the state
represent this event?” of Michigan?
 Possible representations could What are some
include: a piece of paper with ways we could
writing on it, a ‘mitten’ or represent this
drawing of Michigan, written event in pictures?
out rules, etc. How could we
draw this event?
● The teacher will
help students
brainstorm
illustration ideas
and potential
drawings to
include.
o
Transition (3  Teacher will pair students up based on a  Teacher will pair
minutes) predetermined list obtained from the mentor students based on
teacher. proficiency level.
 Teacher will hand out events to pairs of students,  Low proficient
utensils needed for coloring pictures, and cut out learner will be
lists of events to arrange in order. paired with a
higher proficient
learner in order to
offer support to
both students.
o Low
proficient
learner
will
benefit by
working
with a
higher
proficient
learner.
o Higher
proficient
learner
will
benefit by
explaini-
ng the
event to
 the lower
learner,
furthering
compreh-
ension.
 Students will be
able to have a
choice among
many coloring
utensils.

Activity 2 (15  Students will work together in pairs.  Students will have
minutes)  Together, students will discuss what the event is the opportunity to
about and separately draw a picture in order to build ideas with a
represent the given event. partner.
 Students will then arrange events from the cut out  Students will be
list in chronological order when finished with able to use a form
their drawings. of art in order to
o This will integrate the content area of represent their
math, and give students more practice event. This will
with number lines, as well as putting provide support for
numbers in order. students who
o This activity will serve as a formative struggle with
assessment. expressing
themselves
through
composition, as
well as offer
support to students
creatively.
 Students will be
able to work
together with a
partner in order to
understand the
idea of
chronological
order, through the
arranging activity.
 This arranging
activity will also
provide an
extension of the
lesson to students
who finish early,
as well as allow
more practice with
the concept of
chronological
order.
Transition (1  Teacher will direct student’s attention to the  Students who may
minute) white board at the front of the class, where a large have been
timeline of Michigan history, created on chart distracted will be
paper, will be hanging. able to redirect
their attention
 through whole
group discussion.
Activity 3 (12  Students will be called up to the front of the class  Students will be
minutes) in order to read their events and present their able to choose
drawings to the class. which partner will
 Students will then tape their event in read the event to
chronological order on the large chart paper the class.
timeline.  The teacher will
support students
who appear to be
struggling with
reading their
events by helping
these students read
aloud or sound out
the events on their
paper.
Transition (1  Students will then go back to their own seats once  This transition will
minute) everyone has read aloud their event and correctly remove
placed their event on the large timeline. distractions from
pairs and allow
students to feel
comfortable by
being back in their
own seats.
 This transition will
also alleviate
anxiety from
students who did
not feel
comfortable
working with their
assigned partner.
Conclusion:  Teacher will ask questions in order to observe  Students will be
what the students have learned and what still able to listen to
needs to be addressed at a later date. fellow classmates’
o These questions will serve as a ideas, in order to
Formative Assessment. strengthen and
 Questions will include: build upon their
o What is a timeline? own ideas.
o Why are timelines important?  Students will be
o How did we sort our events? exposed to a wide
o Why is chronological order important in range of events
terms of sorting and telling history? that were
influential to the
state of Michigan’s
development and
history. This will
allow students to
gain exposure to
various events in a
short amount of
time.
 List of events that will be covered in this lesson:
These are the events that students will be responsible for drawing illustrations for. Additionally, students will
receive cut-outs of these events, paper clipped together. Students will be responsible for arranging these events in
chronological order, when their illustrations are completed.

Date: 1620
Event: French Canadian explorers come to the upper part of Michigan.

Date: 1763
Event: The great Ottawa chief Pontiac (a part of the Native Americans) tries to take over Detroit but fails. The
British (people from England) takeover Michigan.

Date: 1783
Event: The United States of America takes over Michigan.

Date: 1805
Event: Large fire in Detroit.

Date: 1835
Event: Michigan gets ready to become a state by writing its first constitution (a constitution is a set of laws on a
piece of paper.)

Date: 1837
Event: Michigan became 26th U.S. state.
Date: 1847
Event: Lansing became the state capital.

Date: 1908
Event: The Ford Model T (a Ford Model T is a type of car) is first made.

Date: 1930
Event: Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opened (this a underground route that leads from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor,
Canada.)

Date: 1957
Event: Mackinac Bridge (a bridge is a road over a large body of water) opened, connecting the lower and upper part
of Michigan.

Date:1963
Event: Michigan’s new constitution ( a constitution is a piece of paper with laws) is written.
Date:1967
Event: Fights start in Detroit because of skin color.

Date: 1989
Event: The Michigan Library and Historical Center is given to Lansing.

b) Assessment

Task: Diagnostic features: Support:

To be able to put events in
chronological order. To demonstrate an
understanding of proposed questions
focusing on chronological order and
how this can be represented through the
Students should be able to
arrange events in
chronological order. This will
be assessed by looking at how
students sorted the given
Teacher will look for how students
respond to prompting questions,
asked to students who appeared to be
struggling with comprehension of
event, in Activity 1.
use of a timeline. events and dates.
Students should be able to
demonstrate an understanding
of chronological order and the
use of a timeline. This will be
assessed through Formative
Assessment and student’s
responses to proposed
questions.
Teacher will look at illustrations for
events for each student as a Formative
Assessment for comprehension.
Teacher will watch students as they
place event on large timeline and
scaffold the student’s thinking when
needed.

Part V: Post-Teaching Reflection

a) Reflection:
Through the entire process of creating this lesson plan and delivering the lesson to my students, I learned a
lot about myself as a future teacher, the students in my placement, and several other aspects of teaching in general. I
also learned a lot about the chosen topic of timelines and how this tool is used in representation of significant events
in terms of Michigan’s history. I was able to integrate the content area of mathematics into my lesson plan, and build
off the idea of number lines that my students were already familiar with in their math centers. I learned just how
much planning is truly needed in order to create a well-rounded lesson plan, as well as make adaptations and
modifications for particular students. I also learned a lot about my students, and how the classroom dynamics come
into play. As I taught this lesson to two different third grade classrooms, it was very interesting to see just how much
these classes varied. The environment of the first classroom was very unorganized, and the students did not really
care to listen and learn from the ideas being presented. The second classroom, was entirely different. The students
were much more calm, quiet, and eager to learn and illustrate their ideas.
I felt that this lesson was much stronger the second time around. This could be due to the fact that I had
already practiced the same lesson right before, or because the students in the second group were eager to listen and
learn. One strength of the lesson was that students quickly picked up on the idea of chronological order and were
able to sort the slips of paper with the given events efficiently. Students also benefitted immensely from hearing the
events read aloud, and my scaffolding of ideas that the students could potentially illustrate. This helped the students
to begin thinking about possible illustrations.
I felt that the lesson went fairly well overall. One weakness would be the management of the first
classroom. The students were very disorderly and I felt that they were trying to take advantage of me, being a
“student teacher”. While I tried to control the noise level and the various interruptions by following the mentor
teacher’s procedures, these were not entirely effective in quieting the interruptions and directing the class’ attention
back on the speaker, whether it was myself or another student reading their event to the class. The management of
the second classroom went much better. The students quieted down almost instantly and raised their hand in order to
ask questions or propose ideas. The students were very eager to share their drawings and often called me over in
order for me to make comments and give feedback relating to their representations of the events.
An additional weakness with my lesson plan and delivery was that the students did not have much
background knowledge relating to the events of Michigan’s history, or the concepts of what constitutes a city, state,
or country. When planning my lesson, I was unaware that some of my students really did not have an understanding
of what ‘Michigan’ is, or that Michigan is the state that they live in. The students have heard of ‘Michigan’, but they
were unaware that this is their home state. I assumed that the students had already been taught these concepts, based
on the Grade Level Content Expectations for third grade; however, since Social Studies teaching does not appear to
be a high priority in my placement school, this was not the case. If I were to teach this lesson again, or modify the
content, I would provide more background knowledge about what constitutes a city, state, and country and provide
examples that the students could relate to and easily comprehend.
My mentor teacher thought that the lesson went very well. Specific comments were made related to the use
of examples and how this helped students understand what was expected of them. My mentor teacher also thought
that it was very beneficial to go through each potential timeline card and provide examples of illustrations that could
be included. Additionally, my mentor teacher commented that walking around and checking in on students helped
keeping the students focused while working with their peers. The students did not have very much background
knowledge relating to this topic, and this was noted by my mentor teacher as well. My mentor teacher commented
that many of the students in this population are in a “shell”, and are simply not exposed to many resources outside of
the classroom.