Name: Mae C. Roquemore
Mentor Teacher's Signature & Date
Mini-Research eBook Lesson Plan 2
Teaching Strategy Activity
Title of Mini-Research eBook Lesson: Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence
Primary Learning Outcome (PLO):
The primary learning outcomes to be achieved with this lesson include:
PLO:
Students will identify
Thomas Jefferson, the threats Great Britain posed to the rights of
American colonists, and the main points of the Declaration of
Independence.
Materials and Equipment:
1. Have an example of Mini-Research eBook activity to show students
2. Paper for drawing
3. Crayons and/or color markers
4. Pencil & paper (to make notes for lesson plan assessment and
reflections)
5. Modification of a lesson developed by Dr. Diane L. Judd
Technology Connection:
Technologies that will be used in this lesson include:
Procedures:
Step One:
Introduction
Have a small group of students go to a computer. Explain to
students that you are going to use the computer to read an
Mini-Research eBook
about Thomas Jefferson and why
he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
List 2 or more
questions that introduce students
to your Mini-Research eBook that will establish a
connection to students' prior knowledge by asking them:
1. "Have you ever heard or read about a
document called the Declaration of Independence?
2. "If you have, did you know it was
written by a man named Thomas Jefferson?"
Today we are going
to read an eBook
on the Internet. I have made a special Mini-Research eBook on the
Internet for your
class. (During discussion have students turn around away from the
computer to interact.)
Estimated Time for Step One:
5 minutes
Step Two
Teaching the Primary Learning Outcomes:
(Students will sit at the computer where they can control the mouse
and computer.) (Explain to students the process of the
lesson.) After we read the Mini-Research eBook and visit
several websites.
Check for understanding
Students with teacher assistance will read the Mini-Research eBook,
explore, and
discuss
the information in the four linking websites that go with the
Mini-Research eBook. Ask
students guiding
questions about the important concepts in the Mini-Research eBook and
the linking
websites. List four or more questions from each of your
linking websites that will guide your students to gain information for
your PLO.
1. What were some of
Thomas Jefferson's accomplishments?
2. Name some things
that Great Britain did to limit the colonists' freedom.
3. What were some of the things
Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence?
4. What were some of the things
that happened as a result of the Declaration of Independence being
written and adopted by America?
Practice and feedback related to the
PLO
Read the Mini-Research eBook project to students. Explain to
students that
they
are going to take an imaginary field trip back to
1776.
Tell
the
students that the information that they will need to complete
their Mini-Research eBook project is listed and connected in
the Mini-Research eBook
activity. Review the
information in the linked website in
the Mini-Research eBook activity with the students to emphasize
interesting and important information students will need to complete
mission
project.
| Imaginary
Field Trip |
| Real World Activity: Now
that you have learned about Thomas Jefferson
and the Declaration of
Independence, let's take an imaginary field trip back in time to 1776,
when Jefferson drafted the Declaration. Think about how the colonists
lived under British
rule and imagine what you would see and feel.
Remember what the Declaration of
Independence did and said. To review,
click on the links above. Then pick one of the
activities below to show me what you've learned. Now imagine that you were Thomas Jefferson, living under British rule. Write a letter to the world explaining why you are rejecting British rule. This will be your own Declaration of Independence. It doesn't have to be long, but it needs to mention some of the main things the British did to limit American freedom. With your letter, include a drawing of what you think is the worst offense against liberty by the British. Sign your name on the back, or just use your initials if you are in the paint program. |
| Lesson 2 Directions: 1)
After reviewing the information in the eBook, take a plain sheet of
white paper and fold it hamburger-style at your desk. 2) At the top, draw your picture using markers or crayons. If you use crayons, remember to color dark, so it will show up well. 3) On the lower half, write your letter to the world according to the directions above. |
Step Three
Closure:
Have students discuss their Mini-Research eBook activity and
information they found on the Internet.
Tell students that your Mini-Research eBook Website is on the Internet
and
they can
visit the website at school or home. Explain to students
that you are going to put their pictures and information
on the Internet and they will be able to share their mission
projects with
their friends and family. (If possible teacher should take
brief
notes during the lesson and concluding discussions to be added
later
to the assessment and reflections in lesson plan.)
Estimated Time for Step Three:
5 minutes
*********
To here for lesson
plan
evaluation. Information below will be entered after teaching
your lesson.
**********
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Accommodation:
This will be turned in as an in-class activity.
Comments & Reflections:
Assessment for the
Primary Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Student will be assessed through
observation and oral discussion to
evaluate if student with teacher guidance is able to identify
Thomas Jefferson, the threats Great Britain posed to the rights of
American colonists, and the main points of the Declaration of
Independence.
| Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 | |
|
(List
your PLO from top of page of this lesson.) PLO: Students will identify Thomas Jefferson, the threats Great Britain posed to the rights of American colonists, and the main points of the Declaration of Independence. |
Student is able to independently identify some threats posed by Great Britain and some of the main points of the Declaration of Independence, and that Thomas Jefferson was its writer. | Student with teacher guidance is able to address a few of the three points mentioned in the PLO, or can only identify one or two points for each. | Student is not able with teacher guidance to address any of the points in the PLO. |
| Student | Performance
Level |
Descriptions
of Students' Evidence that Illustrate the Achieved Performance Level of
the PLO (* To receive full credit description must include minimum of two sentences and a detailed example of the students' evidence.) |
| 1 |
1 |
Upon the second teaching of this lesson
to this student, he refused to answer questions, and when compelled to
answer, would only read off the screen, with no attempt to paraphrase
or answer in his own words. He refused to read some of the information
because he wanted to read something else, and when time came for him to
work on his activity, he refused to start and harassed other students
around the room. Eventually, he was able to identify that it was bad
for soldiers to stay in people's homes and eat their food, although I
received no indication, verbally or otherwise, that he knew which side
was which, or what he intended to portray in his drawing. |
| 2 |
1 |
Upon the second teaching of this lesson
to this student, he would only answer questions by reading directly off
the screen, with no attempt whatsoever to demonstrate any absorption of
knowledge. When I taught it to him the first time, he had to be removed
from the computer for various offenses, and made no student product.
This time, I had to take his keyboard and earphones away and watch him
constantly to see that he stayed on the correct page, since he wanted
to be on any internet page but the one he was supposed to be on.
Instead of reading the material, he random-clicked until somehow he
managed to put one of my eBook pictures on the computer as the backdrop
for the desktop, and we couldn't figure out how to undo it. In his
activity, he only attempted to identify that he didn't like people
getting killed, with no specific reference to any lesson content. |
1.
Comment and describe the
learning strategy
that you implemented in your
Mini-Research eBook Teaching Strategy Lesson. (*
To receive full credit description must include a minimum of two
sentences and a detailed example.) To
begin with, I asked a few questions about the American Revolution and
Thomas Jefferson to activate prior knowledge. After the students read
each page, I asked them all questions about what the page contained,
then summarized their answers and, in the absence of answers, the page
content. For instance, when I asked them about the reading on the
Declaration of Independence page, I got very little from them and
summarized that it a) stated that America was its own country, b)
stated that the people had the right to be free, and c) listed the
crimes against liberty committed by the British Crown.
2. State evidence to show that
your students gained knowledge during your Mini-Research eBook Teaching
Strategy Lesson. (*
To receive full credit description must include a minimum of two
sentences and a detailed example.) In
neither of the two teachings of this lesson to these two students did
they appear to have gained any real understanding of the subject(s) at
hand, nor did they demonstrate any willingness at all to meaningfully
participate in the lesson. You would never guess, either from the
products they submitted or their conduct during the lesson, that they
both read above grade level and are unusually bright. Details of what
they information they did demonstrate are listed above in their
respective evaluations.
3. Give at least one suggestion that
would lead to improving your teaching practices and student
achievement. (*
To receive full credit description must include a minimum of two
sentences and a detailed example.) Most
of my problems with this lesson were disciplinary, and not being a
regular, fully-privileged teacher, I could deal with infractions only
by verbal warnings (almost completely ineffectual) or by removing the
students from access to the computer, which would render the
continuance of a computer-based lesson impossible. I did, between the
first and second teachings of the eBook, edit the text in an attempt to
make it simpler to read and easier for the students to comprehend.
Also, even in the abbreviated version here presented, this person and
topic contain a huge amount of information, and may have been content
overload for students conditioned to give cookie cutter answers
verbatim from the reading selection.
| Link to your Home Page |
Link to your
Email mcroquem@valdosta.edu |
Title &
Link of your Mini-Research eBook Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence |