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Jodie Conte Dr. Tracy Rock Social Studies 3223-001 IMB Observation Report I found that social studies is not a high priority subject taught at the school I was assigned. In my initial meeting with my cooperating teacher, she discussed how the social studies curriculum is met. As a team, the teachers plan the lessons and they all follow the same plans. However, social studies is only taught for fifty minutes on Friday afternoons, if they get to it. I thought this observation was going to be a challenge, but my cooperating teacher eagerly rearranged a few days to accommodate my requirements. The class was in the middle of a unit on the American Revolution and a unit test was coming up; a lot of the topics discussed were review. For the week, the teacher had the students read a short chapter in the text book on Loyalist and Patriots and then complete a study guide for homework due by Friday. This gave some review as well as background knowledge for the upcoming lesson, as well as the lesson I taught. The teacher began the lesson with a review of characteristics of Loyalists and Patriots. I noticed my cooperating teacher used the turn and talk strategy during lessons and she had the students turn to a neighbor and briefly discuss the characteristics. She had preselected groups based on how the tables were set up to get ready for the big debate. She introduced the lesson as mock debate and day one was going to be Argument Protocol day. My cooperating teacher had a slide in which she presented six rules to be followed and went over them one by one.

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1. Name your argument 2. Listen and gather evidence on both sides 3. Argument use words to prove your evidence 4. Caucus with your side 5. Face-off 6. Repeat back to your opponent their best point of the argument The students were very excited to find out if they were going to be arguing as a Loyalist or a Patriot and were not sure why they needed to prepare for both sides; my cooperating teacher explained that in order to argue effectively they needed to be knowledgeable on what their opponents might say. She also explained through questioning what it means to argue (not fight or get unruly) and also what it means to caucus. The students were eager to get started. She allowed ten minutes of this lesson to gather three key points of evidence for both sides and record those points in a graphic organizer. The last portion of the lesson was to get together with their groups and discuss their key points. The students were still eager to find out which side they were going to argue. My cooperating teacher saved that for the very last minute of the lesson time. She went around to each table and told that the left side of the group they were to argue the Loyalist point of view and the right side were to argue for the Patriots. There were a few groans because they wanted to be the opposite of what was assigned. All in all, most received the assigned position well. The big question for the Patriots was Why do you want to break away from Great Britain? and the Loyalist had to answer as to why they should not. Day two was Debate Day. I was very thankful that my cooperating teacher planned this for a day that I was to be there. She began this lesson by reviewing the rules once more and told the

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students that they were first going to have three minutes for each side to speak individually and then one minute together. I was a little apprehensive to see how this was going to go with everyone talking at the same time. The students paired up with the opposing side directly across from them. They had to stand up and start talking when she said go, first the Patriots then the Loyalists. It was loud and a little chaotic, but that was expected. I walked around listening to a few of the groups. It really went well. The teacher told me the goal was to get everyone talking and to learn to respect anothers point of view. The goals were achieved and the students will definitely associate the debate with the lesson. After the debate, the teacher recapped the day and had the students write a reflection in their social studies notebook. I really think this whole lesson was an innovative strategy to have the students connect the knowledge with an experience. Another useful strategy the teacher used was grouping students together and assigning them a role. They had to be prepared for both sides because they did not know which side they may have to argue for. She also used a timer. She used the timer for many assignments and told me that is a key management technique to keep the lessons on track. I will definitely incorporate a timer for assignments in my classroom. I think a mock debate is a great idea for older students; they understood what was required and how to carrying it out. I think this probably would be ineffective in a kindergarten classroom. From this enlightening experience, I will always remember how motivated the debate made the students. Everyone participated with enthusiasm and at the highest potential. Learning comes easier when the students are excited about the lesson; they definitely benefitted from this experience and did well on the test that followed on Friday. In my opinion, it was a very successful lesson for the teacher and students and a great experience for me to watch.

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Grade Level/Subject: 5th Grade Topic: Women In History-Revolutionary War Author: Jodie Conte Essential Standard/Common Core Objective: 5.H.1.3 Analyze the impact of major conflicts, battles and wars on the development of our nation through Reconstruction CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1.a Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2.a Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. Daily Lesson Objective: Working with a pre-selected partner for research and writing, students will write a newspaper article about an important woman of the Revolutionary War scoring a 3out of 5 on rubric checklist for mastery. 21st Century Skills: Collaboration Communication ICT Literacy Academic Language Demand (Language Function and Vocabulary): Function: Explain roles of historical women by researching facts and details Vocabulary: Loyalists-American colonist who opposed independence from Great Britain Patriots-American colonist who wanted freedom from Great Britain Date submitted: 3/15/14 Date taught: 3/15/14 Central Focus: Research content and present information in the form of a newspaper article

Prior Knowledge: This lesson builds on prior lesson in unit on Revolutionary War. Students need to know basic culture of society and basic facts of the Revolutionary War.

Activity 1. Focus and Review

Description of Activities and Setting Say to students, I know you have been learning about Loyalists and Patriots. Everyone was supposed to read chapter eleven for homework. I found while

Time 1 minute

Conte 5 reading the chapter that half of us in this classroom were not represented. Your text book speaks a lot about different historical figures but all but one person was male. What were the women doing? Say, Today, you are going to learn that many women played very important roles in the Revolutionary War. After a story about a very brave teenager named Sybil Ludington you will see how history would have been different without the contributions women made. You are going to work with a partner to research a different women and write a newspaper article. Slide 1 Ask students to take out a sheet of notebook paper for a KWL chart. Ask students to divide sheet in thirds vertically and label each section What I Know/What I Want to Know/What I have Learned Take 2-3 minutes and fill in a few items in the columns what I know and what I want to know about colonists during the Revolutionary War. Who would like to share what you wrote down? Have several volunteers share KWL entries. Thank students for sharing. What did you notice about the people on your charts? Looking for nothing really about women. 3. Teacher Input Turn and talk with your group, discuss what roles women and children played during the war. Who wants to share? Thank students again. Now I am going to read you a story about a young girl who played a role that may have changed the war. Share the cover of Sybil Ludingtons Midnight Ride, ask what they think this may be about? Begin reading book by reading authors note, Read story asking stop and jot questions. Slide 2 Review facts on slide Compare Sybils ride to Paul Revere 20-30 minutes

2. Statement of Objective for Student

1 minute

Conte 6 Ask if anyone knows how far Paul Revere rode? 16 miles Slides 3 5 Show pictures of historical statue and marker of Sybil Ludington. Does anyone remember where this is located? Slide 6 Questions to think aboutDo you know there were other women just as brave as Sybil Ludington? What were some other things that you think women may have done during the Revolutionary War? Show book Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson Tell students it has a great timeline of the events of the war and provides blurbs on several different women of that time and their contributions. Another historical fiction book is They Called Her Molly Pitcher for reference. Slide 7 Working with your partner, you will choose a woman from this list and with your interactive technology research your choice and on the sheet given write a brief newspaper article to share with the class. Ask students for some ideas what information should be included in the article. Teacher will walk around providing scaffolding as needed. Read page 153 about Mercy Otis Warren for another example of an important womans contribution to the war. Complete the third section of your KWL chart Formative-questioning throughout lesson and with KWL chart Collect students newspaper articles to review for: 6. Assessment Methods of all objectives/skills: Art Format Three interesting facts about subject including what the subject is noteworthy: Assessment checklist attached

4. Guided Practice

20 minutes

5. Independent Practice

10 mins

Conte 7 Volunteers will present share newspaper articles and interesting facts about subjects. 7. Closure Great job everyone! What do you think we learned today? Have volunteers answer, leading to women are important in history. 8. Assessment Results of all objectives/skills: Targeted Students Modifications/Accommodations: All students in class will be able to participate. Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations: Pre-selected partners

Early finishers may read silently.

Those who may not finish on time will be allowed to complete assignment during Soar time. Materials/Technology:
(Include any instructional materials (e.g., worksheets, assessments PowerPoint/SmartBoard slides, etc.) needed to implement the lesson at the end of the lesson plan.)

Power Point slides/Smart board Social Studies Text Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell Sybil Ludingtons Midnight Ride by Marsha Amstel Notebook Paper Individual interactive technology Pre-printed newspaper template References: Social Studies text Reflection on lesson:

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Newspaper checklist 12345Art Format Contribution noted Fact noted (example: birth to death dates, location of act, family history) Fact noted

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Jodie Conte Dr. Tracy Rock Social Studies 3223-001 IMB Lesson Reflection Women of the Revolutionary War This was my last lesson to teach for this experience and I think this lesson went great! My cooperating teacher gave very useful feedback and said it was, by far, my best lesson. This lesson was an extension to the unit the class was previously working on. My goal was to reinforce the fact that women played very important roles in history focusing on the Revolutionary War. This goal was achieved. My lesson began with a quick review by having the students do a KWL chart with information they knew and wanted to know about the people during this era. A few volunteers shared their responses and of course they asked questions that I had no answer for. I was honest and just told the students we should look that up. I did not want to give misinformation. I then posed this question, What do you think the women were doing during war time? Sewing, cooking, and raising kids were a few of the students answers. Next, I showed a few short books with courageous women and read Sybil Ludingtons Midnight Ride. I realized I need more practice reading out loud, this made me nervous. I muddled through it and continued with the lesson. I did pre-read the story and had some open-ended questions posed as I read, like why do you think Sybil volunteered, what feelings were going through Sybil and her family, and do you think this scenario would happen today. When I met with my cooperating teacher for feedback on the lesson, she was happy that I had Stop and Jot notes in the book. It was difficult to think

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of good questions to ask. My cooperating teacher actually showed me a document she uses with aids for this type of tasks. She stated that sometimes she has trouble coming up with questions too. It was comforting to know that even a long term teacher gets stumped sometimes. There are plenty of teacher resources out there, I just have to go and find them and be open to asking for help. After the story, we had a brief discussion comparing Sybil Ludington to Paul Revere and how women did play an important role in this war. My cooperating teacher helped me acquire IPads from the computer lab for the students to do their research on a woman and the contribution to the war effort from a preset list I had available on a slide. I allowed the students to work with their writing partners for the research, but everyone had to write their own article. The students really were enthusiastic about this task. I instructed the class to select a woman off the list to research, find three facts and then write a brief newspaper article on a printed template I provided. The newspaper criteria was also on a slide that remained up for the students to reference as needed. My cooperating teacher had pre-approved my lesson and thought the girls would really enjoy this assignment. To my amazement, the girls were happy to do the task but the boys really got into this! They were calling me over to tell me all the cool information they found out. I took this as a success. They were completely motivated for this lesson. Time ran out so fast. We never got back to the KWL chart but after reviewing the newspaper articles, it is evident that the student understood the objective for the day. All students had completed the assignment with a title, a picture, and three facts. I was extremely pleased that one student who rarely completes his work, had actually finished and did a great job. If recess had not been the next transition, I firmly think, the class would have eagerly continued

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researching and writing about these heroic women. One thing I did learn was it is hard to compete with recess. Thirty minutes of physical activity is also required now. There was one student who took it upon himself to get up and get on the computer during the writing portion of the lesson. I walked over and quietly asked him what he was working on and he quickly logged off and returned to his desk with no disrespect. My cooperating teacher later told me she has to stay on him about that and she thought I handled the situation perfectly, just as she would have done. It is really hard to know how to handle these types of disruptions when you are a visitor in the classroom. However, my cooperating teacher gave me the floor like it was my class during my lessons. By teaching these lessons, I found out, like the students I was learning too. Other than running out of time and this one incident, everyone stayed on task

and the lesson went very smoothly. I think having a creative assignment for these high-level learners was a key component of classroom management during this lesson. This lesson as is would be appropriate for third through fifth grades. I think the younger students would have trouble researching and getting their thoughts down in an organized fashion within fifty minutes. They would also not have the background knowledge about the war to understand what is required. There are definite aspects that could introduce women as role models in many different concepts at all grade levels. Working as a class creating a newspaper article would be more appropriate for the younger grades. This was a fun activity. I think this perspective gives students a unique look into history. Sometimes textbooks focus only on male contributions. My cooperating teacher was pleased that I had incorporated many of the strategies that she thought I could work on from previous lessons. Experience is the best teacher. I felt more comfortable as the lesson went on. Reading the story out loud was definitely my weakest point

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in the lesson. Another factor I definitely need to work on, is time management. We never got to finish the KWL chart and I forgot to wrap up the lesson. In my defense, we did have to line up for recess before the class had gathered back to their desks. Planning will come with experience. My cooperating teacher gave me advice about preparing and trying to figure out how long the lesson should take; using a timer is a good strategy and walking around to keep students on task is also very important. The most important thing I think I could have added would have been to connect this lesson to students today. Many students have parents or loved ones, both male and female, in the armed services and I could have definitely made a connection with this. I came into this experience apprehensive because I was completely out of my comfort zone. Most of my classroom experience has been in the lower grades. I do prefer kindergarten or first grade but I realized fifth grade was not as bad as I thought it would be. I learned a lot from my cooperating teacher. She was very helpful and let me be a teacher just like she was. That was exactly what I needed. Overall, this was a great experience in fifth grade.

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