Anna Elliott

September 20, 2006

CI 350

 

I.                    Analyze Learners

      This unit is to be taught to first graders, ages six to eight years old, in a normal classroom setting. The students will need to know how to write a poem and how to incorporate what they are learning in the poem. They will also need to be able to locate certain places on a map i.e. West Virginia.

 

II.                State Objectives

          a)  SS.1.4.2-  locate the United States and West Virginia on a globe or world

                map (Social Studies)

                  b)SS.1.5.3- identify characteristics of the past and contributions of heroic

                      people using sources such as stories, folk tales, pictures, poems, songs,

                      legends, holidays and customs (Social Studies)

                  c) RLA.1.1.3- develop a rhythm and rhyme of words (e.g., nursery rhymes;    songs; poems; tongue twisters) (Language Arts).

                  d) VA.1.1.6- make art using various media to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories (Visual Arts)

                  e) VA.1.5.3- recognize and compare artwork that evokes different feelings

                     (Visual Arts).

 

III.   Select Media and Material

·        For this unit plan, I will need the following:

-         glue

-         scissors

-         construction paper of all colors

-         a map to the United States and Europe

-         paper and pencils

-         crayons or markers

-         pictures of Thanksgiving

-         pictures of other holidays i.e. Christmas

-         several potatoes

-         toothpicks

-         chalkboard

-         large colored paper

Four websites that I used:     

Mayflower Activity

§         http://lessonplanspage.com/SSTheMayflowerAndThanksgivingHistoryIdeasToLearnK3.htm-- this website will help the children to realize what the Pilgrims really went through on their journey to America.

   Turkey Project

§         http://lessonplanspage.com/ArtSSThanksgivingTurkeyArtProject2.htm-- this site allows the students to make a turkey using a potato and this craft will get the students to start thinking of Thanksgiving and what it is about.

   Thanksgiving Quilt

§         http://lessonplanspage.com/SSArtThanksgivingPilgrimHardshipsAndThankfulForQuilt1.htm-- this site has the students and myself making a “Thanksgiving” quilt and has the students to really think of what they are thankful for.

 Map Exercises

§         http://www.teachervision.fen.com/thanksgiving/lesson-plan/793.html -- this site is geared toward map use, having the students find locations dealing with Thanksgiving i.e. Plymouth, MA and England.

 Poems

§          http://www.teachervision.fen.com/thanksgiving/lesson-  plan/794.html?detoured=1—students will learn to “free-associate” by writing a poem on the Thankful lists they will make.

 Website for the students

§         http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems9.html-- this site had examples of poems dealing with Thanksgiving that I could incorporate the day the students write their poem (site can be for students).

 

III.             Utilize Media and Materials

        This unit will be taught by introducing the students to what they will be learning about Thanksgiving. The students will be able to incorporate Thanksgiving in their social studies, language arts, and visual arts lessons during the week. The students will be able to have fun by working on crafts and by working together. They will also learn how the events of Thanksgiving came about.

Day One: I will ask the students what they think the words Thanksgiving and Pilgrims mean to them. I will also show them pictures of different holidays and have the children say what each means to them. After they have given a few answers, I will then do the Mayflower activity. I got this lesson plan from Lessonplanspage.com. The Mayflower activity is where I will tape off a small portion of the room and then have all the children sit in the rectangle. This is to show them how small the Mayflower was. Then the children will write down what they think the Pilgrims were thankful for and what they are thankful for.

Day Two: The students will create a turkey using a potato with several other materials and then I will have them get into groups of three and have them come up with what they think the Pilgrims ate at Thanksgiving. This lesson plan also came from Lessonplanspage.com.

Day Three: I will begin by discussing with the students what the Pilgrims went through after arriving in America. Then, I will pass out pieces of colored paper and have each student write what they are most thankful for. After that, all the students, with my help, will glue their paper on a large colored paper in order to make a quilt. Again, this lesson plan came from Lessonplanspage.com.

Day Four: The students will begin by making a map of their neighborhood. I will then have the children locate on a map Plymouth, MA, Hudson River, Holland, and England. The students will then tell me why they think the Pilgrims came to America. This lesson plan came from the website Teachervision.fen.com

Day Five: This lesson will wrap up what the students have learned over the course of the week. I will teach the students how to free-associate so they will be able to make their Thanksgiving poem. The students will also be able to look at the Canteach website for reference. The websites I used for this activity were Teachervision.fen.com and Canteach.ca.

IV.              Require Learner Participation

This topic of Thanksgiving will be very easy to keep the students interested in what they are learning. From the potato turkey, to quilt, to the poem, the students will be able to engage in hands on activities and will also be able to share their thoughts and ideas with me and the class. Maybe, to get the children motivated, I will let them have a Thanksgiving party at the end of the week if they do well. This will help the week to not being boring nor dull.

V.                 Evaluate and Revise

To evaluate CSO’s SS 1.5.3 and RLA 1.1.3, I will have them write a poem on what they have learned throughout the week, making sure they use words like Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, and Mayflower. For CSO SS 1.4.2, I will call each student up to my desk and have he or she point out America, England, and Massachusetts on a map. For the visual arts CSO’s, I will have each student make a collage of pictures relating to Thanksgiving and then I will give each student the chance to share about their collage.