Final Unit Assessment- PSII

April 20th, 2018

Sydney MacRae (001178626)
Presented to:
Amy von Heyking

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Critical Inquiry Question: How does where people live, impact how
they live?

Contents:

Most successful lesson & Reflection: 3 - 9

Least successful lesson & Reflection: 10 - 13

Samples of students work: 14 - 21

Best: 16 - 17
Satisfactory: 18 - 19
Less than Satisfactory: 20 – 21

Final Reflection: 22 – 25

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 Most Successful Lesson:

Wednesday April 11th, 2018

Grade/Subject: 3/ Social Studies Unit: Environment Duration: 60 minutes (2:15-3:20)
OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES
General Learning Outcomes:
3.1: Communities in the World
Specific Learning Outcomes:
3.1.3.1: Where, on a globe and or map are the communities in relation to Canada?
3.1.3.2: In what ways do the people in the communities depend on, adapt to and change the environment in
which they live and work?
3.1.3.3: In what ways do the communities show concern for their natural environment?
Critical Inquiry:
How does where people live, impact how they live?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, students will:
1. Be able to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the environments for Peru and India
2. Create a travel brochure demonstrating the different environments for both India and Peru,
highlighting its main features.
ASSESSMENTS
Observations: Key Questions:
 Students are trying their best to  How can I create a brochure that highlights the
remember the main regions of each different regions for India and Peru?
community  How can I make sure this brochure is accurate and
 They are putting in their best effort to engaging?
the project
Adaptations:
 Some students will be given a template
for how I want to sentences to look like.
 They will be given a sentence prompt.
 Other students will also be given
Written/Performance Assessments:
 India & Peru brochure
 Filled in key fact sheet
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
 Project Outline
 Blank sheets for brochure
PROCEDURE
Introduction: 15 minutes
Hook/Attention Grabber: FLAT TIRE…SHHHH
Expectations for Learning and Behaviour:
 Students have remembered the different regions within the communities of India and Peru.
 They are willing to try their best with this activity and demonstrate their knowledge to the fullest
extent.
Review:
Go over the key regions in India and Peru.
Find out what the students remember and what they need a refresher on.
Pass out key fact sheet after students complete the review. They will need this information to complete the
brochure.
On the white board, draw their attention to the three different boxes I have created.
They are:

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  Regions in our Community(s)
 Differences and similarities of the communities
 Impact of the environment to their way of life and work

Have students come up with the ideas and sort them into the pre-created categories. Star the items they have
put up that are similar to the ideals I have.
Direct students to the rubric they have created for the unit that will be attached to the wall (or put up via
magnets on the white board)
Have the same version on the SMART Board for students to see. This will be in “teacher terms” rather than the
words they have created themselves.
Body: 45 minutes
Learning Activity 1: Introduce Show Me What You Know Project (10 minutes)
 On Smart Board, introduce students to our final project for this Unit. They will also receive a copy of
this project too.
 They will be creating different brochures for each community to create a travel book!
 I want to go traveling to one of the countries but I want to make sure I select the right region that has
the weather I want.
 Make me a brochure of each country demonstrating its environment and climate.
 I want each of you to make your own, but you can work in pairs to share ideas and to brainstorm what
you want.
 I want you to include both words and images! (Like what you gave me for my postcards, so I know you
can do it!)
Learning Activity #2: (25 minutes)
 Have Lilly help me pass out the paper to help create the brochure
 Work period!
 Circulate the room, helping students where they need
Closure: 5 minutes
Clean up! All markers, crayons and pencils are to be put away. Please put your names on the brochure and hand
it in to me please! (one person from each table will collect them and hand them in)
- Take a scan of the brochures and see if they are close to being completed or not. Depending on how far
they have gotten, they may receive more time to finish them in our next class.

Consolidation/Assessment of Learning: Students would have met my expectations and the lesson objectives if
they were able to have created two brochures demonstrating the environment and regions within Peru and
India.
Transition To Next Lesson: Ensure students have cleaned up their brochure items. Assign each table their EOD
activates and have them get ready for the end of the day.
5 Minutes Buffer

Reflection to lesson:

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 I have included this lesson as one of my most successful lessons for many different

reasons. The students had a blast with this activity, which was the creation of a travel

brochure for either Peru or India, depicting the different environmental factors that are

associated to each country. It was unique in the sense that the students seemed to have

really enjoyed this class, when usually they have a hard time adapting an interest to the

particular topics/communities within the Social Studies curriculum. I was able to have full

participation from the class-which almost never happens. Because the students were so

engaged, the number of behaviours that occurred during the hour block was at a minimum

as well which too, was a rarity with my particular group.

Within this lesson, the creation and implementation of the travel brochure rubric

would be the highlight. I was able to do something quite unique for the students in regard to

the grading rubric. We talked as a class the lesson prior and discussed about the different

ways they should be assessed- or the different things they should show me to demonstrate

that they understand this unit. Or in other words, the key factors they should include in the

brochure. I let them freely come up with many different ideas, and as they were telling me

their thoughts, I had put them into different categories- ultimately coming up with three

main categories. These categories would be the main sections that I would add into the

rubric. I felt that by doing this, it helped the students gain a better understanding of what

my expectations were, and it made them feel like they were in control rather than just

having me telling them what to do. I thought it was very unique and exciting to be able to do

something like this at a grade three level. I find it important to have the students involved

with as much as possible regarding the assessment process so they can have as much input

and demonstrate their understandings to me. It not only shows me what they feel is the

most important aspect of the unit, but it also could give me a different insight of the material

that I did not think of before hand, therefore teaching me new things as well.

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 The students were given access to the information sheet and they found it very

helpful. In addition, many students asked if they could use the textbook and other books I

had brought from the Cur. Lab as research as well. It was fantastic to see the students so

interested in a specific topic/activity. For the brochure aspect, I had created a template for

the students to follow as well for an adaptation to the lesson itself. This helped in giving the

students who usually rely on a lot of assistance, more independence. They were given a

specific layout of where everything should be put and also, in a way I had not initially

thought of, being able to fold the brochure on their own. That was something I had not

thought of being an issue, but with the template, it was a sufficient guide for them to do it on

their own.

I created an example for the students as well mine, being on the environment of

Canada. This gave the students a solid understanding of my expectations without giving

them something they could make an identical copy of. I am happy that I had created the

example of a country other than the ones they were assigned. Students were able to be

more creative and fully demonstrate their knowledge and understanding without having

something they could copy.

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 Travel Brochure Rubric
3.1.1  Does not  Begins to  Demonstrates  Demonstrates
Demonstrate an describe any demonstrate an awareness (individually)
awareness of and interest awareness or a limited of interest an extensive
in the beliefs, traditions interest in awareness of and beliefs of awareness of
and customs of groups other groups and interest groups and interest and
and communities other or in the beliefs communities’ beliefs of
than their own communities of groups other than groups and
other than and their own. communities’
their own. communities Including other than
other than giving an their own.
their own. example to Gives many
their own life. examples to
their own life.
3.1.3  Does not  Begins to  Describes  Describes
• Describes how the describe how describe (with limited (Individually)
physical geography the physical (with assistance) how the
influences human geography assistance), how physical physical
activities in the influences how physical geography geography
communities. human geography influences influences
X2 for points. activities in influences human human
the human activity activity
community. activities in including includes
the multiple multiple
community examples examples
includes an
example.
3.1.3  Does not  Begins to  Describes  Describes
Describes how people in describe how describe (with limited (individually)
the community depend people in the (with assistance) how people
on, and change the community assistance) how people in the
environment to how they depend on, how people in the community
live and work. and change in the community depend on
the community depend on, and change
environment depend on and change the
to how they and change the environment
live and work. the environment to how they
environment to how they life and work
to how they live and work including
live and work. including multiple
Includes an multiple examples.
example examples.

ENVIRONMENT KEY FACTS – INDIA & PERU

INDIA

Northern Plains:
O Climate is very hot and dry for most of the year.
O They have MONSOONS (a wind which brings lots of rain) here from the
months of June to September.
O This is where they receive most of their rain!
O Depending how much rain they get, depends how much food the farmers can
grow.

Mountain Region:

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 O Himalayan Mountains are located here.
O Climate is usually very cool.
O They used to have lots of forests, but due to human activity, most have been
cut down.
O People have created the Chipko movement (to hug) to save the trees and help
the forest.

Southern Region:
O This is where the Deccan Plateau is located, specifically the Nilgiris hills
O The climate is warm and wet with plenty of rain and sunshine
O There is lots of rain!
O Rice grows very well in this region
O They also have amazing tea because of the beautiful weather

PERU

Coastal Region:
O Many of the big cities are in this region.
O The climate in this region is hot and dry.
O There is lots of fish off the coast of Peru.
O Farmers use river water to irrigate land (water the crops)
O They grow rice, fruit, and vegetables.

Mountain Region:
O This area includes the Andes Mountains. They are very high and tall
mountains.
O This land is not good for farming. Instead, people grow llamas.
O The climate is very dry but warm.
O People build terraces near the bottom of the mountain. These look like big
steps. It helps keep soil from washing away.

Rain Forest Region:

O The climate here is very hot and wet.
O There are many rivers and a thick forest.
O Lots of plants and animals live here.
O The rain forest is home to many Indigenous peoples (like the Inca’s)

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 Least Successful Lesson:

Wednesday April 18th, 2018

Grade/Subject: 3/Social Studies Unit: Environment Duration: 60 minutes (2:15-3:20)
OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES
General Learning Outcomes:
3.1: Communities in the World
Specific Learning Outcomes:
3.1.3.1: Where, on a globe and or map are the communities in relation to Canada?
3.1.3.2: In what ways do the people in the communities depend on, adapt to and change the environment in
which they live and work?
3.1.3.3: In what ways do the communities show concern for their natural environment?
Critical Inquiry:
How does where people live, impact how they live?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, students will:
3. Have an understanding of Ukraine and Tunisia; will be able to describe the different climates
associated to each community.
4. Create their own key fact sheets for each country to help them create their own brochure
5. Be able to explain and relate to how the environment affects the ways people live in Ukraine and
Tunisia
ASSESSMENTS
Observations: Key Questions:
 Students are paying attention to teacher  What is the environment like in the Ukraine?
while they are being taught via  What is the environment like in Tunisia?
PowerPoint.  How does the environment affect how people live
Adaptations: in Ukraine?
 There will be two copies of the  How does the environment affect how people live
information sheet! Some will be fill in in Tunisia?
the blank with a word bank (Zak,
Hunter, Travis, Lorina, Jasper) the other
one will be blank.
Written/Performance Assessments:
 Important Information sheet (for each community)
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
 PowerPoint (slides 16-23)
 Important facts blank sheet
PROCEDURE
Introduction: 5 minutes
Hook/Attention Grabber: FLAT TIRE….SHHHH
Expectations for Learning and Behaviour:
Students are to be listening and trying their best to write down the information they will need. They are activity
participating in-group discussions and working well with their table.
Tell students we are finally finishing learning about all of our communities for environment! Today we will
finish up with Ukraine and Tunisia. They are both very different communities so we are going to have to focus
and try our best to pay attention.

 Make sure students are sitting in their home groups to start the class.
 Students will be eating snack after they come in from recess. Set the timer for 5 minutes after recess for
snack. Once the timer is up, snack is to be cleaned up and put away.
Body: 50 minutes

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Learning Activity #1: Learn about Ukraine
Once students have finished their snack, we will be ready to begin. Open up the Power Point slide titled
“Environment”. Go to slide #16 to begin.
 Information will be prompted on the SMART Board to follow along.
 There are two different regions for this community

 1) Steppe Region:
 In this region, the most popular food item is bread.
 It is nicknamed the “Breadbasket of Europe”
 The climate in this region is very dry.
 A steppe is a grassy plain.
 Across the steppe, there are huge fields of wheat.

 2) Mountain Region:
 This is where the Carpathian Mountains are.
 Weather is warm and rainy in the summer and cool and sunny in the winter.
 There have been many floods and landslides in this region. This is because, many trees have been cut
down.
 When all the trees are cut down, there is nothing to hold back the water and mud. It washes the soil
away.

Learning Activity #2: Fill in important information on Ukraine & draw picture
 After students have learned about the different regions, they will create a key fact sheet!
 Remind students of the key fact sheet I gave them for the brochure last week. ASK: was it helpful?
When they say yes, tell them that they will be making a version of their own this time!
 The key information they need to know will be bolded in the PowerPoint (the key items the students
with the fill in the blank will need to have written down)
Learning Activity #3: Discuss about how peoples lives are affected by the environment they live
 Follow along with the SMART Board
 There is a KWL: What they know about environment, what they wished they had known about the
environment… What they learned after this lesson about how the environment affects people in
Ukraine.
 People who live in Ukraine have to deal with many different issues!
 The largest of which is that people in the Steepe region often make bread and are wheat farmers
because the large amount of wheat! In the Mountain region the landslides and floods affect many.
People have to be careful where they build a house and live so it does not get washed away.
Learning Activity #4: Learn about Tunisia
 Information will be prompted on the SMART Board to follow along.
 There are Three different regions for this community:
1) Coastal Region:
 The climate is warm.
 Many people grow fruit here: Olives, oranges and grapes
 Even with being on the coast, it can be very dry.
 Water is collected through rainwater, which can be hard to come by at specific times of the year.

2) Mountain Region:
 The climate is often mind and rainy.
 Where the Atlas Mountains are located.
 Cork oaks grow here; people remove the bark every 10 years.
 This is turned into bottle corks, bulletin boards
 Wheat is grown here.
 When there is not enough rain, farmers use river water.

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  3) Desert Region:
 This is apart of the Sahara desert.
 It is so hot and dry, that almost nothing can live.
 An oasis can occur: where water bubbles up through the sand.
 Many tourists come to visit, lots of people still live here.
 The woods from palm trees are used for roofs and baskets.

Learning Activity #5: Fill in important information on Tunisia & draw a picture
 After students have learned about the different regions, they will create a key fact sheet!
 Remind students of the key fact sheet I gave them for the brochure last week. ASK: was it helpful?
When they say yes, tell them that they will be making a version of their own this time!
 The key information they need to know will be bolded in the PowerPoint (the key items the students
with the fill in the blank will need to have written down)
Learning Activity #6: Discuss about how peoples lives are affected by the environment they live
 Follow along with the SMART Board
 There is a KWL: What they know about environment, what they wished they had known about the
environment… What they learned after this lesson about how the environment affects people in
Tunisia.
 People who live in Tunisia have to deal with many different issues!
 Have the students try and come up with some ideas.
Closure: 5 minutes
Consolidation/Assessment of Learning: Students understand the different regions within Ukraine and Tunisia.
They have been able to identify the main concepts of the each region. Students were also able to understand
and relate to the ways in which the environment affects the way people live.
Feedback From Students: Ask if they feel prepared to create another travel brochure? Wait for response They
will use these sheets to help them! Have them hand in their sheets to me after they are finished. Make sure they
have their names on them, so they can have them later.
Feedback To Students: They have now been given the proper tools to create a brochure of either Ukraine or
Tunisia. They will be working/finish this tomorrow in class.
Transition To Next Lesson: Have them clean up! Once they are ready to go, they will be released out for recess.

Reflection to lesson:
I have included this lesson as one of least successful lessons. The lesson included a

large amount of written components that I knew some students would have an issue with. I

tried to incorporate adaptions for the students – having a fill in the blank version and a

blank version of the worksheet but that was not successful. Most students were very

unfocused and distracted as we had a very busy day and were not mentally capable to do

such a heavy written lesson right at the end of the day. I ended up only getting through a

portion of my intended lesson, and having to re-teach this section to students the following

day. I did so by doing it in a completely different manor that involved more movement and

no pencil-paper tasks.

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 This is mainly an error on my behalf. I wish I had taken more time to look at the

schedule of the day as a whole and took that into account. I also learned the importance of

needing to have a back up activity for every lesson regardless of how well I think it will go.

There are many different variables that could occur that I cannot not always expect, but by

having another lesson prepared, I could have avoided the unsuccessfulness of this lesson

and not have to re-teach the lesson.

Ultimately, having an additional non-written activity prepared would have made

this lesson more successful.

Modified worksheet:

Ukraine
Steppe Region:
 The climate is warm and dry
 The most popular food item is bread.
 The nickname is Breadbasket of Europe
 A Steppe is a grassy plain

Mountain Region:
 The climate is warm & rainy in the summer and cool & sunny in the winter
 There has been many floods and landslides. This is because many trees
have been cut down.
 When all the trees are cut down, there is nothing to hold back water and
mud. It washes the soil away

Tunisia
Coastal Region:
 The climate is warm & dry
 Many different fruit is grown here
 Water is collected through rain water. It can be hard to find water at certain
times of the year.

Mountain Region:
 The climate is often mild & rainy
 The Atlas Mountains are located here
 Cork Oaks Grows here, people remove the bark every 10 years
 This bark is turned into bottle corks & bulletin boards

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  When there is not enough rain, farmers use river water

Desert Region:
 The climate is hot and dry
 This is apart of the Sahara desert
 An oasis can occur: Where water bubbles up through the sand
 Many tourists visit. People still choose to live here too.
 The wood from palm trees are used for roofs and baskets.

** Bolded words will be whited out & students will be left to fill them in based on
presentation given.

Actual worksheet:

Ukraine
Steppe Region:

Mountain Region:

Tunisia
Coastal Region:

Mountain Region:

Desert Region:

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 Travel Brochure!
As you have learned, places around the world are very different from
each other! India, Peru, Ukraine and Tunisia each have their own
specific climate and environment that makes their community and
way of life special and unique.

I want you to work individually within your table and make a

brochure for either PERU or INDIA and then UKRAINE or TUNISIA
to demonstrate the different climate and environment that is within
each community. You will include both text (words) and visuals
(pictures) to showcase the community and its environment!

By the end of the unit, you will have created a brochure of each
community!

Ukraine

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 Travel Brochure Checklist
Yes! I’ve got it Not yet
Are all regions located in the
community covered and
mentioned within my brochure?

I can explain how different

climates and environments affect
the way people live in this
particular region ?

The regions and countries are

spelt correctly?

Did I include both text (words) and

visuals (pictures) in my brochure?
Do these pictures relate to what
my brochure is about?

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Exceeding Expectations:

Title Page Table of Content

Text Page 1 Text Page 2

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Analysis:
This particular example of the travel brochure assessment demonstrates

work that exceeds my expectations for the assessment. The student went above and

beyond in the written component- gathering information from not only the

worksheet given, but outside sources as well. The students organized the brochure

in a fashion that is easy to understand, and similar to a travel brochure you would

see online.

It demonstrates that the student has absorbed most of the required content

within the Program of Studies, and has met the objectives for the assessment

activity. This example also demonstrates that the student took pride in this

assessment, and really took the time to complete it to the best of their ability, which

is amazing to see at a grade three level.

In regards to professional growth, it has taught me that in most classes, there

will be a very large range of students. This particular student often completes work

like this regularly. It taught me that by giving students opportunities to use extra

information and resources, some will use it and it become very successful. It also

taught me that by allowing the students to have input on the rubric and create their

own expectations for the assessment, they will often go above and beyond their own

standards, as this was one of many examples from this assessment I could have

selected for this particular section. This student received a 4/4.

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Meeting Expectation:

Title Page Brochure Body

Brochure Body Brochure Body

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 Analysis:

This example of work that has met my expectations demonstrates a student

who has understood the rubric that was given to them, and used the materials that

were given effectively. The student did not use outside resources but they used what

they were given quite well. They provided both written and picture examples of

each region- following suit to my example of Canada that I had provided as

reference, which was what I had hoped most students would try to do. The pictures

they included were relevant to each region and had a distinct purpose as to why

they were included.

The student demonstrates that they were able to meet the given objectives

for this portion of the unit. Understanding the particular regions within Peru and

explained the types of climate that are associated to them. Because they understood

my objectives, I would say they have met the requirements laid out by the Program

of Studies for this particular unit.

In regards to professional growth, I would say that this assessment is

something I would do again. Most students in my class provided me with exceeding

expectations, or met my expectations examples. I feel like I was so successful, was

due to the fact I had the students tell me what should be important within this

brochure by the creation of the rubric. Students were given an ability to fully

understand the material themselves, and have myself be an extra influence to really

solidify those aspects of uncertainty. Student received a ¾ on the assessment.

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Below Expectations:

Title Page

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Analysis:

This particular example demonstrates work that I saw as below expectations. The

student clearly understood the different regions that was associated to Peru, but did not

include any information regarding the climate or other information that would be needed

for a travel brochure to be successful. The assessment was considered to be completed by

the students understanding. In regards to my teaching, I should have been more focused

with all of my students work. Watching it more closely and reminding them that they need

to have text in their brochure in addition to some images. I should have checked in with

each student more and when I gave them an addition or comment on their work, I should

have gone back to that specific student to ensure they had made the correction.

The student’s learning was not completely demonstrated with this particular

assessment. They did not follow the checklist that was given to then nor demonstrated a

clear understanding of the rubric. By the example provided, student did not meet the

objectives given for the particular unit, and did not understand the SLO’s from the Program

of Studies. This example demonstrates the importance of having more than one summative

assessment for each unit. This particular student was able to demonstrate their learning

through a conversational observation, and through an outcome based Checkbric.

For professional growth, this example shown me the importance of setting out

guidelines students must follow. If I had created an agenda for students to follow, have

students complete all the written work first, and then add colour and images. Some students

need more guidance than others, so if I had done that I could have possible helped this

student go from being below expectations and move upwards on the ladder. Being able to

demonstrate their full range of understandings on this particular unit. Student received ¼

on the assessment.

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Final Reflection:

Within my PSII practicum, I was given the opportunity to plan a social studies

unit for my grade 3 class. My understanding of how to best engage students within

the realm of social studies has changed drastically, especially for division one. My

original through of what these students would be capable of, and what other grade

level resources suggested was a little off with the actual abilities of the class. As I

will note, I had to change parts of my unit to reflect my given class in regards to

writing. I have grown drastically from the beginning of my practicum to now, with

my understanding of instructional design of social studies curriculum and

implementation. I have gained an understanding of how to implement many

different strategies through different assignments, activities and assessment

methods.

My unit plan as a whole, I would say was successful! I was able to follow

along to most my pre-planned unit, which was amazing. There were still some issues

with my unit plan however. These issues rose due to the complexities within my

classroom environment. I had to make multiple versions (3-4) of my assessment

activities to meet the needs of all my students. Many were not on any particular

modified program plan, but my TA knew and understood that they needed

modifications to the activities for them to effectively complete the given task. These

changes were particularly linked with the amount of written work I had asked them

to do. For many of the activities, I made some versions into a fill-in-the-blank, with a

word bank and others to include an image box as an option for the answer.

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 The largest change would be for my particular class that I was given, I would

change the amount of written activities I had included. As much as I tried to create

modifications and adaptations for my students, it would have been more beneficial

if I had just cut out some of the written activities and created a whole new approach

for how I would go about my unit plan. Thus making the most challenging part for

students would be the amount of written components I had wanted them to

complete. My class was on a much lower level in the writing component. Writing

activities made many students nervous and anxious because they were not sufficient

at writing and did not want to ‘fail’. This created more behaviour’s and meltdowns

from my students within the class and limited engagement levels. The students

clearly demonstrated on multiple occasions that they wanted to show me their best

work and please me as much as they possibly can. By challenging them continually

within social studies by the amount of written activities, I feel added the

unsuccessful aspects for my unit plan as a whole.

Another aspect in which I would change would be the amount that I relied on

using the SMART Board/PowerPoint for my lesson instruction. I did not initially

start off using it as much but as the unit progressed, I noticed myself getting more

and more attached to it because of the convenience it had for me. By the end of the

unit, it became clear that the students had grown tired of the PowerPoint’s and the

cool factor had worn off. The students were becoming less and less engaged and

were not using it as a helpful tool that they once had at the beginning of my unit.

Had I mixed up the multi-media and the use of this technology tool, I feel like I could

have maintained the excitement and engagement longer.

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 I wish that I had more opportunity to think of other types of activities that

students could have completed that did not include as much paper-pencil tasks. I did

try to include multiple different activities that were group-based discussion, image

based, and videos but some of the main concepts still had to be with paper-pencil

tasks. As leading into my PSIII, my goal will be to think of, and implement as much

variety of tasks into my social studies lessons as possible. In hopes that if I come

across a class that is similar to the one I was given, I will be better prepared and

capable to adapt to their needs faster than I did with this particular group.

As mentioned earlier, the unit plan was ultimately successful! Not all aspects

were ones that I would necessarily change. After learning how to manage my class

and the different needs each students require, I thought I would challenge my

students and keep my summative assessment the way I had initially planned. I

decided to have the students work with me in creating the rubric for the brochure. I

had the students tell me the most important aspects of the unit were, that if I was to

create an assignment for them demonstrating what I learned, what would they be

looking for? The students told a vast array of answers and I categorized them and

put them together in a rubric. By doing this, it became my most successful element

within my unit plan. The summative activity was the travel brochure. It allowed the

students to be a significant part of their own assessments, which was a fantastic

experience for these students to be apart of. It demonstrated in their work- the

students took a lot more pride in their work, and really tried to provide as much

information as possible. It was a great way to end my practicum experience.

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 One significant thing I have learned in regards to the experiences with

engaging students through meaningful social studies learning is with the ways in

which I can include students through the assessment process. Initially, I thought it

might have been difficult or less impactful to do so at division one level, but it turned

out to be thoroughly successful and meaningful to each student. By planning for a

whole unit rather than just lesson planning in social studies, it has helped me think

long term and to create more unique activities for the students. Social studies can be

more than just pencil-paper activities; there can be lively discussions and many

creative tasks as well. This is what I hope to accomplish more of through my last

practicum experience.

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