Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name Monica Beland Date October 22, 2008
Subject Social Studies Grade 3
Objective: Given information and vocabulary about John Muir through a primary source and a
secondary source, students will be able to differentiate primary and secondary sources while gaining
an understanding of the biography of John Muir. After reading John Muir; America’s Naturalist by
Thomas Locker, students will understand how important John Muir was in helping to preserve the
geographic features we have studied. Students will also apply their comparison skills by
differentiating the differences between primary and secondary sources in their Venn Diagram and
writings.
Social Studies Content Standards:
Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs,
and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
Identify geographical features in their local region (e.g., deserts, mountains, valleys, hills, coastal
areas, oceans, lakes).
ReadingLanguage Arts Standards:
3.4 Determine the underlying theme or author’s message in fiction and nonfiction text.
2.2 Ask questions and support answers by connecting prior knowledge with literal information
found in, and inferred from, the text.
2.3 Demonstrate comprehension by identifying answers in the text.
English Language Development Standards:
Times: I. Anticipatory Set
Conduct Standards
In our lesson today, we’re going to be learning about a very important person, John Muir,
who studied some of California’s most unique land. I expect that everyone please be
respectful as we observe some photographs and pictures of people and places long ago.
Some of the pictures might not seem like good quality, but the pictures are very important
because there are not that many pictures from long ago. Also, we will be working in
partners today and I expect that you respect your partner’s, as well as everyone in this
class, thoughts.
Transfer
In the last class, we learned about the photographs that Ansel Adams took in the West.
Ansel Adams most famous photographs were taken in Yosemite. Now we are going to
learn about the man, John Muir, who helped save Yosemite so many artists could come
and depict the beauty of the nature in Yosemite.
Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is to continue to learn about the geography in California and to
learn about the special people who continue to preserve, or save, the beautiful geography.
Motivation
During our lesson, we’re going to get to play a little game so I expect everyone to
participate as much as possible so we can make the game lots of fun!
II. Instruction: Follow along in the Powerpoint during this time.
Direct teaching or discovery
1. What is a source? A source is a person or thing that provides information.
2. What are some examples of sources? A book, newspaper, quote, speech, magazine
article, website, photograph, and MANY more!
3. What are sources used for? Sources help us learn more about an event, person, or thing
in the past.
4. Pair Share: give examples and non examples to your partner
5. Primary Source: original works such as photographs, drawings, letters, diaries,
documents, books, films, posters, play scripts, speeches, songs, sheet music, and
firstperson accounts that are recorded at the time of an event.
6. Which one is a primary source:
An original letter written by George Washington.
A summary of an original letter written by George Washington by your teacher.
7. Pull numbers to ask students why they think the examples on the Powerpoint are
primary sources. Speaking prompt: I believe _________ is a primary/secondary
source because _________________________.
8. Secondary Source: photographs, drawings, letters, diaries, documents, books,
films, posters, play scripts, speeches, songs, sheet music that are NOT from the
time of an event.
9. Which one is a secondary source?
A video that recorded a Martin Luther King’s speeches.
A movie about Martin Luther King using actors for Martin Luther King.
10. Describe the example of Pocahontas.
11. In order to explain the effects of secondary sources, we’re going to play the game
telephone.
Check for Understanding (optional):
1. What happened at the end of the telephone line?
2. Why do you think this is important?
3. The only person who received a primary source was (child’s name) because I told
him what I said. No one else heard what I said. Everyone else got a secondary
source.
4. Do you think secondary sources are very accurate?
5. How could we make this so everyone could get the primary source?
Example: record me saying it. Play it out loud for everyone to hear.
Write what I’m saying down on a piece of paper and project it on the screen.
6. Introduce John Muir.
In 1867, John Muir walked from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico! That’s a 1000 mile
walk.
On his trip, he gathered and recorded information about plants and the land.
He discovered the beauty of Yosemite (remember the Ansel Adams photographs?).
He wrote to Theodore Roosevelt about making Yosemite a National Park because
people were not respecting Yosemite.
Because of his letters, Yosemite is now a National park.
III. Guided Practice
1. Do a whole class guided reading.
2. After reading, we will fill out the graphic organizer as a whole class on the
document camera. The Academic Language words (Naturalist, preserving,
groaves, lumber, and preservation) will be defined and used in a sentence form on
the worksheet.
3. Then I will read a letter from John Muir out loud to the class.
4. Naturalist, Scotland, wilderness, Wisconsin, preserving, groves, soaring, valley,
mountains, glaciers, groves, fir trees, redwoods, sequoias, lumber, cattleman,
preservation, legislators will be defined during the reading. Because we will
already have a geographic poster in the classroom, valley, mountains, and glaciers
will be visual. I will also post pictures differentiating the different trees (fir trees,
redwoods, and sequoias) in the Powerpoint.
5. We will create a graphic organizer. (I will guide this more because this reading was
above their level)
6. Then we will create a Venn Diagram based on the 2 readings comparing the
characteristics of primary and secondary sources.
Check for Understanding:
1. Which one do you think is the primary source?
The story about John Muir or the letter written by John Muir?
2. Which one is the secondary source? Speaking prompt: “I believe ______ is the
secondary source because___________________________.
3. Which one do you think is more accurate? Speaking prompt: “I believe _______ is
more accurate because _________________.”
4. Which one do you trust more? I trust _____________ more than __________
because _______________.
5. Which one might have some mistakes? I believe _______ source will have more
mistakes because ____________________________________________.
IV. Independent Practice
1. Now you are going to compare a few items on your desk and tell me which ones
are primary sources and which ones are secondary sources.
2. For the lower level students, they will write their paragraphs with a paragraph
frame worksheet. The paragraph frame will provide structure for the students to
provide the input discussed in class.
3. For the GATE students, they will be required to use the new vocabulary that we
have already learned in order to get full credit.
4. You will write about the sources on your desk.
5. The first Paragraph is about the primary sources. Tell me which items are primary
sources and why they are primary sources.
6. The second paragraph is about the secondary sources. Tell me which items are
secondary sources and why they are secondary sources.
7. In the third paragraph, tell me which sources you think are the best. Why?
8. Leave this up on the projector for the students to use as reference.
V. Closure:
9. Have the students read their paragraphs out loud.
10. Discuss how we will be learning about more types of geography but we need to
know about primary and secondary sources so we know how accurate the
materials we find are.
Assessment:
General Assessment tool:
0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points
The student does not The student
The student The student
participate participates
participates in the participates in the
productively in the minimally in the pair
pair share activity. pair shares. The
Participation pair shares and does share activity and
The student does not student takes the
not take the does not take the
take the telephone telephone activity
telephone activity telephone activity
activity seriously. seriously.
seriously. seriously.
The student correctly
The student partially
The student does not The student and completely fills
Graphic Organizer completes the Venn
fill out/turn in the completely fills in the in the Venn Diagram
& Venn Diagram Diagram with
Venn Diagram. Venn Diagram. the way we
information.
completed it in class.
The writing is
The writing is not The writing is
structured correctly.
structured correctly. structured correctly.
The student does not The student does not
The student does not The student lists all
Writing Prompt complete/turn in the list all materials in
list all materials in materials in the
writing assignment. the correct
the correct correct paragraph.
paragraph.
paragraph.
GATE Students’ Assessment Tool:
0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points
The student
The student The student In addition to the
participates
participates in the participates in the general assessment,
minimally in the pair
pair share activity. pair shares. The the student is able to
Participation share activity and
The student does not student takes the infer and offer other
does not take the
take the telephone telephone activity ideas for primary and
telephone activity
activity seriously. seriously. secondary sources.
seriously.
The student
participates
The student partially
The student does not The student minimally in the pair
Graphic Organizer completes the Venn
fill out/turn in the completely fills in the share activity and
& Venn Diagram Diagram with
Venn Diagram. Venn Diagram. does not take the
information.
telephone activity
seriously.
The writing follows
the correct structure In addition to the
but includes many general assessment,
grammatical and the writing is
The writing is
The student does not spelling errors. The complex in rich
structured correctly
Writing Prompt complete/turn in the writing does not vocabulary and
but does not include
writing assignment. include the new follows correct
the correct content.
vocabulary sentence structure,
developed during the grammar, and
lesson. The content spelling.
material is accurate.
Lower Students:
1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points
The student does not The student
The student The student
participate participates
participates in the participates in the
productively in the minimally in the pair
pair share activity. pair shares. The
Participation pair shares and does share activity and
The student does not student takes the
not take the does not take the
take the telephone telephone activity
telephone activity telephone activity
activity seriously. seriously.
seriously. seriously.
The student correctly
The student partially
The student does not The student and completely fills in
Graphic Organizer completes the Venn
fill out/turn in the completely fills in the the Venn Diagram the
& Venn Diagram Diagram with
Venn Diagram. Venn Diagram. way we completed it
information.
in class.
The student does not
understand primary
and secondary The student lists The student lists all
The student does not
sources because they some of the content in content in the
Writing Prompt complete/turn in the
guess or list the the paragraph frame Paragraph Frame
writing assignment.
content in the correctly. correctly.
incorrect paragraph
frames.
Teaching Materials:
Letter from John Muir
Powerpoint presentation
Student Materials:
John Muir:America’s Naturalist by Thomas Locker in Social Studies Textbook
Examples of primary and secondary sources about John Muir
Graphic Organizer Worksheet
Paragraph Frame Worksheets
pencils