REVISED LESSON

Subject Mathematics
Strand Measurement
Focus Question How do I calculate and use the various measurements around me?

Time 1 hr x 5

Standard Use the correct units, tools and attributes to estimate, compare and carry out the
Measurement processes of measurement to a given degree of accuracy.
Attainment Target .How do I calculate and use the various measurements around me?

Benchmark Use measurements in the environment

Day 1
Objectives Students should be able to;

1. Use the 24-hour clock in problem solving situations.

2. Calculate elapsed time, using various strategies

Materials 24-hour clock

Skills Measuring time using a 24-hour clock

Vocabulary 24-hour clock

Previous Use a 12-hour clock

Knowledge

Engage 1. Teacher highlight the day’s objectives and read students the following: "Digit and
Hacker are in a cook-off for the Golden Hat. They must cook three dishes in
three different locations within certain time limits. Digit's timer is stolen, so he
has to use a watch to time his cooking."

Explain & 2. Teacher reads this warm-up exercise: "Digit's first dish needs 5 minutes to cook,
Explore and the current time is 9:14. At what time should Digit remove his dish from the
oven?"
3. Discuss with the students how they figured out the answer.
4. Teacher introduces the students to a strategy for figuring out elapsed time:
Timeline
5. Students will watch a video segment in which Digit must send in his cooking dish
to the judges by 9:43, and it's currently 9:27. His dish takes 15 minutes to cook.
Will he have enough time for his dish to finish cooking? Students will get the time
to figure out their answers and watch for how they use these time points'
relationships to 9:30 and 9:45.
6. Show the Cooking Contest QuickTime Video.
7. Distribute the Time Passage handout, and ask the students to answer Part I.
8. Read the following: "The last dish is a Cyber Souffle, a very light and puffy baked
egg dish. It must cook for precisely 12 minutes. If Digit puts it in the oven at 9:50,
when should he remove it?" Give the students time to figure out their own answers.
 9. Watch the Figuring Out Elapsed Time QuickTime Video.
10. Ask the students to answer Part II of the handout.

Elaborate 11. Students will use timeline to work out the following activities on their own:
Students may choose activity A, B or both

Activity A:

If it is now 8:21, what time is it after the following amount of time passes:

1) 30 minutes? 2) 1/4 hour? 3) 1 ½ hours? 4) 123 minutes? 5) 42

minutes?

Activity B:

Here is the schedule for the track meet (these are the start times for the
events):

Event Start Time

100-meter 2:00
dash
Long jump 2:15
High jump 3:10
200 M dash 3:35
Pole Vault 3:45
400 m 4:15
1600 m relay 4:30
Awards 5:30

 How long is it for the whole meet, from the beginning of the meet until the
beginning of the awards?
 If Martha competes in the long jump and the pole vault, how much time does she
have between the start of each event?
 If Carlos competes in the 400 meter run and the 1600-meter relay race, how much
time does he have between the start of his two events?
 If his 400 meter run lasts 1 minute, 15 seconds, how much rest will he get between
the end of his race and the start of the relay?
 How long is it between the start of the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter run?

Evaluate 12. Students will record what they have learnt in this lesson in their math journal.
Homework: Prime Mathematics for Success: Page 204
Teacher’s Reflection:
3Areas Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Effectiveness of strategy
Student participation
Effectiveness of instructional material
Objectives met
% that grasped the content taught
% that did not grasp the content taught
Students # in class # present # absent/late

Plan of Action. Reteach Reinforce Concept Advance to

Next Topic

Comments:

Day 3&4
Objectives Students should be able to;

1. Students will be able to determine elapsed time, including word problems.

2. Students will use a number line to solve for elapsed time.
3. Work cooperatively
Materials 24-hour clock, elapsed time record sheet

Skills Measuring time, converting from 12 hours to 24 hours, solving problems

Contents Strategy to teach Elapsed Time:

The 24 hour clock, or military time, has
been used for decades in the medical field as
a concise method of demonstrating time, in
which the day runs from midnight to
midnight and is divided into 24 hours.
Military time operates around a 24 our clock
that starts at 12 a.m. (0000) and goes to 11
p.m. (2300). It does not have notations for
"a.m." and "p.m." Times are presented in
four-number increments -- two digits
referring to hours and two digits referring to
minutes. To complete the format, add 12 to
times from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., and add
Vocabulary 24-hour clock, elapsed time - A period of time that has passed,
usually between a given starting time and ending time
Engage and 1. Teacher will highlight the day’s objectives, review the 24 hour clock and lead the
Explain students in a discussion
about elapsed time (see worksheet).

Teacher: Consider the problem from before: "We started our math lesson at 10
a.m. It is now 11 a.m. How long have we been doing math?" Student: 1 hour.

Explore
Activity 1:

2. Have the students draw starting and ending times on their Elapsed Time Record
Sheet. Then instruct them to calculate the elapsed time.

3. Students will work in pairs and complete the elapsed time worksheet.

4. Students will share answers with the class and the methods they used to arrive
at an answer. Teacher will facilitate.

5. Teacher will introduce the students to the Mountain, Rocks, Hills Strategy.
 Activity 2:
Look at the opening hours for this shop.

Discuss within your groups and answer the following questions.

Be ready to share your responses with your classmates.
- What time does the shop closes during the week?
- What about Saturday and Sunday?

- For how long does the shop operates from Monday to Friday, Saturdays and
Sundays?

Elaborate 6. Students will complete individual seat work using time mountain strategy.

Evaluate Students show at least 90% accuracy for given activity.

Homework Prime for Success: Page 205, 206

Teacher’s Reflection:
 3Areas Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Effectiveness of strategy
Student participation
Effectiveness of instructional material
Objectives met
% that grasped the content taught
% that did not grasp the content taught
Students # in class # present # absent/late

Plan of Action. Reteach Reinforce Concept Advance to

Next Topic

Comments:

Day 4&5:
Objectiv Students should be able to;
es
1. Use the 24-hour clock in problem solving situations.

Material 24-hour clock, worksheets

s
Skills Measuring time using a 24-hour clock, solving problems

Vocabul 24-hour clock

ary
Previous Use a 24-hour clock
Knowled
ge
Engage 1. Teacher and students will review the previous day’s work.
&
Explain
Explore 2. Teacher will introduce students to the T-Chart method of solving elapsed time.
 3. Students will be given several worksheets to use and practice the T-Chart method of
finding elapsed time.
4. Students will share with the class, method they used to figure out answers.
5. Students will be challenged to devise another strategy to figure out elapsed time, time end
or time start.

Elaborat 6. Students will work in small groups to complete given tasks:

e Task 1: An airline timetable is missing vital information. Work in groups and use what
you learnt about 24-hour clock to calculate the missing information:

Flight #1 Flight #2

Departure Time: 11:00 Departure Time: 16:20

Flight Duration: Flight Duration:

Arrival Time: 19:50 Arrival Time: 23:30

Flight #3

Departure Time: 15:15

Flight Duration:

Arrival Time: 21:10

Task 2: students individually engage in problem solving activities:

7. Students may either use a 24-hour clock or a timeline to help them in figuring out the
answers.

Evaluate Think, Pair, Share

• Have students reflect on what they have learned about time with another partner. Give students
a few minutes to think, pair up with another partner, and share their learning.
 • Prompt question: How did you measure time today? What were your challenges with a 24-hour
clock?
Homewo Prime for Success: pages 208-209
rk
Teacher’s reflection:

3Areas Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Effectiveness of strategy
Student participation
Effectiveness of instructional material
Objectives met
% that grasped the content taught
% that did not grasp the content taught
Students # in class # present # absent/late

Plan of Action. Reteach Reinforce Concept Advance to Next

Topic

Comments:

LANGUAGE ARTS
Day 1-2
November
Focus Question How do we use our expression to show our understanding of land formation
and their impact on the environment?
Subject Language Arts
Theme The Physical Environment and its impact
Sub-theme Landforms
Strand Structure- Punctuation - Quotation Marks
Lesson Duration 1 ¼ hours
Attainment Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
Target: punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Learning 1. Demonstrate understanding of quotation marks.

Objectives: 2. Research rules for using quotation marks.
Skills Reading, writing, communicating ideas
Materials Blank sheets for comic strip activity, worksheet, class text-The New Primary
English bk. 6, newspaper, markers
Vocabulary Speech tags (mom said), quotation, direct speech, dialogue,
Content Outline: Rules for punctuation quotations with examples:
1. Quotation marks go around only the spoken words. Ex: John said, “Where are
you going?”
2. Quotation marks always go outside of commas and periods. Ex: Maria replied, “I
am going home.”
3. The reference to the speaker may come at the beginning, in the middle, or at the
end of a quote. A comma always separates the reference to the speaker from the
quote itself. Ex: “I don’t believe,” said Mark, “that we have met.”
4. If a quote contains two or more sentences together, the quotation marks are
placed in front of the first sentence and after the last sentence only. Ex: Juan said, “I
am very tired. I am also hungry and thirsty.”
5. A comma comes after the last word in a quote only if the sentence continues after
the quote. Otherwise, an end mark is used. Ex: “You are a good friend,” said Julia.
6. If the reference to the speaker is in the middle of a quote, the quoted words on
both sides of the reference are in quotation marks. (See rule 3)
Activity Highlights:
Engagement: 1. Students will complete a pre-test to demonstrate how much they
know about quotation marks. (The New Primary English Book 6-
page 74)
Exploration: 2. After given time for the pre-test, students will share their answers
with the class.
3. Students will be encouraged to participate in a discussion,
4. In groups, students will research rules for using quotation marks,
including when it is used with other punctuation marks.
Explanation: 5. Students will work in pairs to complete a worksheet (The Case of the
Missing Science Project). Students will be encouraged to tell the
reason for where they place the quotation marks.
Extension/Elaboration: 6. Students will write a dialogue for a given comic strip.
Evaluation: 7. Observe participation and results from worksheets.
8. Check that students are able to devise the different rules for quotation
in their comic strip dialogue.

3Areas Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Effectiveness of strategy 
Student participation 
Effectiveness of instructional 
material
Objectives met 
% that grasped the content taught
% that did not grasp the content
taught
Students # in class # present # absent/late
39 34 5
Plan of Action.: Teacher will do Reteach Reinforce Concept Advance to
another lesson with quotation Next Topic
marks. yes yes no
Comments: Many of the students are still not aware when to use the quotation marks.
Day 3
Subject: Language Arts
Strand Comprehension
Topic Identifying themes
Focus How do we use our expression to show understanding of land formations
Question and their impact on the environment?
Theme The Physical Environment and its Impact
Suh-theme Landform
Duration 1 ¼ hours
Attainment Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyse their development;
target summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
Objectives 1. Determine the theme of a story, drama or poem from details in the
text, including how characters in a story or drama responds to
challenges or how they reflect upon a topic.
2. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inference from the text.
Skills Identifying themes, communicating ideas, working cooperatively.
Materials Worksheets, PowerPoint presentation.

Content:

A theme is the message or moral present in the story. Some are stated, while others are implied.
Many times, good readers have to use the details and occurrences in the text to determine the
theme.
In order to argue that a certain theme is present, it is important that students be able to identify
direct quotes in the literature that support the theme that they have discovered.
Engagement 1. Read the following lyrics. When you are done reading, write in ONE
SENTENCE what you believe the theme of the lyrics is. What is the
artist trying to say?
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will
not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have
faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself
and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay
before you and how fabulous you really looked…
“Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen” - Baz Luhrmann
After students have written the theme, the teacher will begin:
 Has anyone heard this song before? You don’t have to have heard
the song to understand what it is trying to say.
 What is the artist trying to say about life?
 He is trying to say to appreciate life when you are young.
 Theme is a tremendously important part of understanding the
world around us. Without figuring out the theme (or the moral or
lesson), there is no purpose to reading. Every story has a theme.
The theme is the important message the author wants to teach
readers. Today you are going to learn how to find the theme of a
piece of writing. You are also going to learn how to identify quotes
from the text to SUPPORT what you believe the theme is.

Explanation 2. Students will complete the theme guided notes on the “Marlins Think
Tank: Fifth Grade Theme Practice” handout, while the teacher reads
the following from the PowerPoint:
 A theme is an __essential____ message or truth about life.
 A theme is ________lesson or moral_________ that the character(s)
and/or reader learn.
 Theme is the ___central__ message expressed in a story.
 A __stated__ theme is expressed directly by the author
 An __implied____ theme is suggested, or state indirectly through what
happens to the characters.
 A __repeating___ theme, or a recurring theme, is a message
about life that is expressed regularly in many different cultures and
time periods.
Exploration: 3. Students will read steps to finding theme from PowerPoint.
Steps to Finding Theme:
Step 1: Identify the main characters.
Step 2: Identify the character(s) initial situation.  What is the character(s)
thinking or doing at the beginning of the story?
Step 3: Identify the character(s) ending situation.  What is the character(s)
thinking or doing at the end of the story?
Step 4: Ask yourselves what the character(s) learned (or how the character
changed) throughout the story.
4. Students and teacher will complete worksheet for step 5.
Step 5: Match your answer with the multiple-choice answer it fits most
closely. Watch and write as I model the first example of how to identify
theme (using the steps) while identifying two direct quotes as support.
 What is the theme of this short passage? - Honesty is always the best
policy.
  My two quotes: o “Impressed with his honesty, she allowed him to keep
all three.” o “‘No it isn’t,’ she replied, grabbing it back from him. ‘And for
your dishonesty, you now have no axe at all!’”
5. Working on their own the students will identify the theme of the story
‘King Midas”, using quotes to substantiate answers given.

Extension 6. Students will individually complete a practice sheet on their own,

citing evidence to justify the theme selected. (see practice sheet #1)
Evaluation 7. Each student will make an entry in his journal based on what was
learnt in the lesson.

Day 4:
October
Focus Question How do we use our expression to show our understanding of land
formation and their impact on the environment?
Subject Language Arts
Theme The Physical Environment and its impact
Sub-theme Landforms
Topic Comprehension – Context clues
Lesson Duration 1 ¼ hours
Attainment Read for meaning, fluency and enjoyment of texts, using a variety of clues to
Target: gain information and identify ideas and events.
Materials: Worksheets, video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b75vli9XF6o

Skills: Inferring, predicting, deciphering meaning of words, using context clues,

communicating ideas
Learning 1. Use context clues to decipher the meaning of unfamiliar words
Objectives: 2. Draw conclusions and make predictions using context clues.
3. Listen and respond to information.

Previous Students are familiar with the terms: synonyms, antonyms and inference
Knowledge
Content Outline:
Context clues are hints in the sentence that help good readers figure out the
meanings of unfamiliar words. When we look at the “context” of a word, we
look at how it is being used. Based on how these words are used, and on our
knowledge of the other words in the sentence, we make an educated
prediction as to what the challenging vocabulary word may mean.

Engagement: 1. In small groups, students will be given a pre-test. Their job will be to
figure out the meaning of the underlined words in each given sentence.
2. After the allotted time for this test, each group will share what they
have and how they were able to come up with that answer.,
Explanation Teacher will allow the students time to talk about:
 what context clues are
  the different types of context clues
 how context clues may be helpful when reading.
 How predicting may help to give clues to figure out meaning.
Exploration: 3. In groups, students will be given another worksheet. They will read
the story and try to figure out the meaning of the underlined words.
(without using a dictionary)
4. Students will evaluate the work of their peers by asking:
 What type of context clue did this group use?
 What strategies did you use to determine the unknown word?
 How did your group allow you to infer the meaning without defining it
directly?

5. Students will watch a video entitles “Night of the context clues”

Extension/Elabor 6. Ask students to find the lyrics to a favourite song. Use context clues to
ation: infer meanings of unfamiliar words.
7. Students will watch a listen to songs and try to figure out the meaning
of parts of the song, using context clues.

Evaluation: 8. Students will complete individual seat work.

9. Students will be asked to share answers with the class.
Homework

3Areas Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Effectiveness of strategy
Student participation
Effectiveness of instructional material
Objectives met
% that grasped the content taught
% that did not grasp the content taught
Students # in class # present # absent/late

Plan of Action Reteach Reinforce Concept Advance to

Next Topic

Comments:
Day 5:

Focus Question How do we use our expression to show our understanding of land
formation and their impact on the environment?
Subject Language Arts
Theme The Physical Environment and its Impact
Sub-theme landforms
Strand Writing
Topic Descriptive Writing ( using Metaphors
Lesson Duration 1 ¼ hours
Attainment  Develop approaches to writing process to enable students to
Target: organise their ideas in a coherent structure, including layout,
sections and paragraphs.
 Write paragraphs which have linking sentences

Materials: Paragraph burger, comprehension passages,

Skills: Identifying key terms, discussing key terms
Learning  Define metaphors giving examples
Objectives:  Identify parts of a paragraph
 Write paragraphs with parts clearly identified.
 Listing and explaining parts of the writing process
 Use similes effectively in descriptive writing

Content Outline:  Adjectives are describing words they usually describes/modifies a

noun or pronoun.eg. Black, green and gold are the colours of the
Jamaican flag. *It the at tells how many, what kind, or which one.
* An adjective normally comes before the noun it modifies.
 Adverbs modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. (the
windows rattled loudly.)
 FIGURES OF SPEECH helps to create a picture in the readers mind
and it also makes the author writing more interesting and dramatic.
 A metaphor compares two unlike things which share at least one
quality. It doesn’t use like or as. It says that one thing is another.
Eg. The ship is the camel of the dessert. COMPMARISON:they are
both transportation one on land and the other in water.
 WRITING PROCESS: This is a good way to help writers improve
their writing. Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing and
Publishing

Engagement: 1. Students will watch a metaphor video.

Exploration: 2. Students will make a list of all the metaphors they
remember from the video and from previous grades or
make up two.
3. Students will share list of metaphors for corrections if any.
.
Explanation: 4. Students will revise descriptive writing followed by the
writing process. (See Content)
5. Students and teacher will the using a graphic organizer
brainstorm details of a party you attended and enjoyed.
(remember to use adjectives or adverbs to described the
scene)
6. Students will use the points to compile a draft of their first
paragraph including at least two metaphor sentences.
(Cindy was blazing when she stepped in the room, Andre is
a rainbow as he danced across the stage)

Extension/Elabo 7. Students will now revise and edit paragraph. They could
ration: ask peers to proofread and edit paragraph.
8. Students will publish work orally or for teacher to view.
Evaluation: 9. Students will write a descriptive paragraph entitled, “A
Day at the Beach” My First Hotel Visit” “A Day at The
Zoo”
10. Criteria: using at least two metaphor, parts of a paragraph,
adjectives, adverbs, appropriate punctuation marks and
capital letters and the parts of writing process in sequence.
Homework 11. Complete pages 53-56 of The New Primary English Bk 6.
Integration

3Areas Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Effectiveness of strategy
Student participation
Effectiveness of instructional
material
Objectives met
% that grasped the content taught
% that did not grasp the content
taught
Students # in class # present # absent/late

Plan of Action.: Reteach Reinforce Concept Advance to

Next Topic

Comments: .
 SCIENCE

Number of periods: 2x60 minutes

Theme: Energy and matter

Focus Question 1: How does light behave?

Attainment Target(s): Understand the importance of energy in our everyday

life, and the need for grouping things.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to

 Investigate the interaction of light with lenses/mirrors

 Investigate some effects of reflection/refraction in everyday life
 Carry out fair tests in conducting investigations on the properties of light
 Show objectivity by using data and information to validate observations and explanations
about light

Skills: Investigate, manipulate, observe, record, discuss

Key vocabulary/ concept: refraction, lenses, convex, concave

Benchmark(s):
 Explore the properties of light and sound, and how different materials affect their behaviour.

 Use prior experiences and scientific knowledge to formulate and test hypotheses, and interpret results.

 Plan and carry out fair tests to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

 Display curiosity, objectivity and perseverance in their approach to activities.

Resources: Multi-media materials on lenses, lenses, Objects/materials for

activities

Previous knowledge: Reflection of light

Content: Refraction is the bending of light rays as it travels from one medium to another. A
lens is a piece of curved material which light is able to pass through, such as clear
plastic or glass

Convex - A lens which is thicker in the middle than on the ends which causes
light rays to focus (converge). Concave - A lens which is thinner in the middle
than on the ends which causes light rays to spread apart (divergence).
Resources: Multi-media materials on lenses, lenses, Objects/materials for activities
lens, glass with water, coin in bowl, water
.

Day 1:
Engagement:
Predict what will happen if a pencil is placed in a glass half full with water. Watch video on
refraction.
Exploration:
In groups of 4-5 students, the students will rotate through various learning centres: Spoon in
a Glass, Magic Penny.
Students spend about 5-10 minutes and record the results of each learning centre.
Explanation:
Students come together to summarize what they observed in each demonstration and how
refraction was involved.
Discuss refraction of light, and where they may have seen refraction of light in their own
lives. For example, mirages are caused by refraction, as well as rainbow.

Elaboration:

Discuss what happens when they try walking/running in water? Can they go as fast as on
land?
Read about what causes refraction. Relate it to going faster on land than in water.
Explain in their own words that happen as light travel from one medium to another.
How can knowing about refraction help someone spearfish from a riverbank? Discuss.

Evaluate:
Write a report on one of the experiment they did; must include procedure, observation and
conclusion.
1. Language Arts : explain in sentences what refraction is
2. Arts: draw diagram to show refraction

Enrichment/follow up activities: watch video on refraction. Read information from a variety of sources.
Teacher’s Reflection:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________

Engagement: Pupils will:

Sort pictures under the headings refraction and reflection.
Exploration:
In groups students will receive a piece of newspaper, a piece of clear plastic wrap, an eyedropper,
a cup of water. They will lay the piece of newspaper on their desktop. Lay a piece of clear plastic
wrap on top of the newspaper. Using the eyedropper; they will place a drop of water on the plastic
wrap. Before they begin, they will write a prediction of what they think they are going to observe.
Watch video, read about lenses.
Explanation:
Discuss the two types of lenses, convex and concave. Tell which kind was demonstrated in the activity.
Explain the difference between a convex and a concave lens.
Elaboration:
Discuss practical uses of lenses. Examples might include the following: cameras (convex); magnifying
glass (convex); glasses (near sighted - concave, far sighted - convex); telescopes (at least 2 convex lenses);
and microscopes (at least 2 convex lenses.
Evaluation:
Write observation and conclusion from activities. Explain how different lenses cause light ray to bend

Enrichment/follow up activities: watch video on lenses. Read information from a variety of sources.
Teacher’s reflection:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
 SOCIAL STUDIES

Subject: Social Studies

Duration: 1 hour x 2
Grade: 6
Term 1 Unit 2 :
Focus Question: How did Jamaica achieve independence?
Theme: Our Common Heritage
Attainment Target: Recognize the contributions of individuals and groups who have helped to shape
Jamaica’s development over time.
Skills/ Attitude: reflective thinking, conducting research, listening for information, valuing the struggles of
others
Key concepts/Vocabulary: Nation builder, national hero, activist

Material/Resources:
Objectives:
1. Weigh arguments for and against being an independent nation and draw conclusions about Jamaica’s decision
to pursue independence
2. Explain the significance of Independence Day
3. Distinguish between dependent and independent countries in the Caribbean
4. Compare how independence is commemorated in Jamaica and other countries (Haiti)
Day 1:
Engage: Students will, in groups, brainstorm some ways in which Jamaicans celebrate independence (how they
celebrate with family as well).
Explore:
Students discuss what makes a nation independent (focus on Jamaica).
Discuss advantages and disadvantages of Jamaica’s independence.
PROS
 Constitution specifically geared to protection of rights and freedoms of Jamaican citizens
 Self-governance and ability to vote for leaders
 Less culture bias in the nation’s sense of identity (allegiance pledged to fellow citizens rather than a
remote and unfamiliar monarchy)
 CONS
 No longer have access to the wealth of the colonizer (own dollar weaker than pound sterling)
 Now need visa to travel to countries under British rule
Explain: Students will draw conclusions and use evidence to support the conclusion they draw about whether it
was more beneficial to Jamaica to seek its independence than to remain under British rule.
Elaborate: Discuss the significance of Independence Day. Watch video about Jamaica’s independence
(Jamaica Magazine clip). Listen to songs/ poems about independence.
Evaluate: Create a song or poem of their own to highlight the significance of independence.

Teacher Reflection:

Day 2:
Engage: Students will, from memory, generate a list of 12 Caribbean countries.
Explore: Use Atlases to search for and compete in groups to find information on the political state
(Independent/Dependent) of the highlighted countries by playing the game “Swords in hand”
Explain: Assess the information captured and make statements about the main political status of Caribbean
countries. Say what impact they believe this has on different aspects of life in the Caribbean such as: value of
dollar, health, education etc.
Elaborate: Examine information on how Jamaica and Cuba celebrate their independence.
Evaluate: Make comparative chart to show similarities and differences in how both countries celebrate their
independence.

Teacher Reflection:

Supervisor’s comments:

DATA SHEET
According to the online magazine Before It's News, Cuba celebrates its independence with parades, but there is
not a public holiday associated with Cuba's independence. Cuba gained its independence from Spain on May
20, 1902.

The online magazine Folklife in Louisiana notes that those who grew up in Cuba after the 1959 revolution were
taught that May 20th is a negative day in Cuba's history because the country was passed from Spanish authority
to North American authority. It was not until the end of the 1959 revolution that Cuba became truly
independent. Thus, younger generations celebrate the 1959 revolution instead of the country's day of
independence. However for those who celebrate on May 20, during Cuban independence day individuals take
an interest in celebrations which for the most part incorporate dancing and music. Numerous individuals go to
these celebrations with loved ones.

Cuban flag

Jamaican Flag

Jamaica celebrates Independence on August 6 each year, in commemoration of its first Independence Day on August 6, 1962.

The period leading up to the public holiday is crammed with parties and activities celebrating the island's culture. These
Jamaican celebrations have become even more marked since the reintroduction in 1997 of another public holiday on August 1,
Emancipation Day. This holiday recognises the day slaves were given full freedom in 1838.

Many of the celebrations at Independence are spearheaded by government agencies. The grandeur of those activities is therefore
dependent on how able and willing the government is to spend.

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) stages a variety of events comprising the performing, visual, literary
and culinary arts. The Best of Festival series, Mello-Go-Round, The Festival Queen Competition and the Festival Song
Competition are some of these events.

A Grand Gala featuring hundreds of performers from across Jamaica, is held at the National Stadium in Kingston on
Independence Day. There are sometimes float parades, especially in Kingston.