Teacher Education Lesson Plan Template

Teacher: Hannah Miller Date: January 2018

Title of Lesson: An Introduction to Ancient Greece Cooperating Teacher:

Core Components

Subject, Content Area, or Topic

English, Social Studies, Art

Student Population
Third Grade

Learning Objectives
Students will learn about Ancient Greece. They will read the story, learn vocabulary, choose an
aspect of Ancient Greece that they would like to learn more about (either: the Olympics,
Democracy, Mythology, or Theater) and research the topic. They will then write a paragraph
about their research and make a pop-up to illustrate what they learned.
Virginia Essential Knowledge and Skills
Art: 3.6 - The student will create works of art that communicate ideas, themes, and feelings.

History: 3.1- The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have
influenced the present world in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative
democracy), and sports.

Reading: 3.4 - The student will expand vocabulary when reading

3.7 The student will demonstrate comprehension of information from a variety of print
and electronic resources.

Writing: - 3.11 The student will write a short report.

Materials/Resources

Hour of the Olympics, printed articles/research materials for additional research, cardstock and
art supplies for pop-ups, research notebooks, sticky-notes, Greece chart
Safety (if applicable)

Scissors for pop-ups

Time
Process Components
(min.)

*Anticipatory Set

Have sticky-notes with basic facts about Ancient Greece scattered around the room (one
for each student). Students are told to go “discover” a fact about Greece and bring it
back to their desk. Once each student has a note, they will then take turns reading the
fact and placing it on a chart divided into four sections: the Olympics, Democracy,
Theater, and Mythology. The students will place their “discovery” in the section of the
chart that it belongs in.

*State the Objectives (grade-level terms)

1. Students will practice working together with their peers, listening, and talking when
discussing their research

2. Students will practice how to put facts they learned into a short report

3. Students will show how to actively listen and use knowledge from a book in their
own writing

4. Students will learn about Ancient Greek: Olympics, Democracy, Theater, and
Mythology

*Instructional Input or Procedure

1. Have students take out their research notebooks

2. Each students should have one to two sentences from each day of reading and social
studies that can be used for their report

3. Have students write down any additional facts from the chart that they do not already
have in their notebooks

4. Have students divide into four groups – two groups working on pop-ups and two
groups working on reports

5. For those working on reports:

a) begin by writing down sentences from research notebooks on slips of paper

b) organize the sentences in the order you want to write the report

c) make sure your report uses at least four facts about your topic

d) write down the whole report on a single piece of paper, adding an introduction
sentence and conclusion sentence, as well as transitional phrases (as able)

e) have classmates review each other’s reports within the group, editing as necessary

f) meet with the teacher to make sure they are on the right track

g) if reports are not finished before it is time for the next activity, students can take
the assignment home and finish it as homework

6. For those working on pop-ups:

a) begin with a 8x12 sheet of cardstock

b) fold cardstock in half width-wise

c) use scissors to cut two one-inch slits on the folded edge of the paper about two
inches apart. Make sure students do not cut all the way through the paper

d) unfold the paper and pull the cut section forward so it rests like a shelf

e) have students decorate the background of the pop-up according to what they know
about Greek architecture and geography, as well as what they are writing their report on

f) on a separate sheet of paper, have students draw and decorate a character from the
book that matches their scene (Jack, Annie, Plato, Anonymous, Zeus, an Olympian, an
actor…)

g) have students cut this character out, leaving extra paper under the feet of their
drawing. This paper can be folded and used to attach the character to the pop-up

h) paste character onto the pop-up

i) if work is not completed before it is time to switch activities, students can finish
their art at home

7. Once the students have completed their activity, have them switch and complete the
other objective.

8. Have the students put away their supplies and return to their desks

9. Call on a couple students to present their projects

10. Anything that could not be completed have students take home and finish as
homework

11. The completed projects and accompanying reports are then displayed in the
classroom

*Modeling

The teacher will demonstrate how to make a pop-up and have an example prepared
before class

*Check for Understanding

Watch students writing reports and putting together fact charts

*Guided Practice

Have one-on-one mini-session to review reports and to talk through how students can
improve their writing skills

*Independent Practice
Students will create a pop-up that matches their topic and attach a copy of their report
underneath. They will use class time to put together their report using rough drafts from
earlier in the week. The goal is for students to have all of the information for their
reports, as well as a few well written sentences from each day of reading, before it
comes time for this lesson. In this way they just have to organize their notes and write
everything down in a coherent manner

Assessment

The teacher will grade the reports for completion and accuracy as well as formatively
assessing the students as they are working in the classroom.

*Closure

Ask one student from each topic share their report and what they learned about Ancient
 Greece. Each student can then display their finished report and pop-up on the bulletin
board.

Differentiation Strategies (enrichment, accommodations, remediation, or by learning style).

This lesson is good for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Visual learners get to see other
students’ art, as well as a chart containing facts about all of the reports. Auditory learners get to
hear a book being read to them. Kinesthetic learners get to use art to show what they learned. For
my advanced students, I would have extra research materials for them to utilize if they wanted to
add more to their reports. For struggling students I would have them have conferences at my
desk to review how to write a report and what information to include. This would give them
more time to review what we have been learning in social studies, as well as how they should be
writing and editing their report.

Classroom Management Issues (optional)

I would go over classroom rules before the anticipatory set to ensure that everyone is using their
walking feet and are respectful of others. I would also divide students into small groups to work
on their pop-ups and to revise reports together.