Discuss and assess the approach to lesson planning in social studies used in your field placement school. If you do not see social studies, you may speak about it in general terms. From this analysis, determine what qualities constitute a good lesson plan.
Social Studies and Science are the only two subjects that do not have a scripted book where they get all of their lessons from. She has a general format for a lesson plan that she uses when creating her Social Studies lessons. They work on a 5 day schedule where she has to plan each week what she will be doing for the following week. This is like a small outline of her lesson plans. She told me that the new teachers are required to write out lengthy lesson plans to go along with the outline, but she does not have to do this.
ReplyDeleteI think a good lesson plan is one that a substitute could pick up and easily know what they are expected to teach that day, how you would like them to teach it, and what ways they are supposed to assess the student's understanding. I think a lesson plan should include an essential question to guide the "big idea" or topic for the lesson. It should have objectives of the student's learning outcomes and the standards that it matches. I feel that it should have a good description of the procedure of the lesson or activity so it is understood what you will be doing. There should be some sort of conclusion or wrap up activity or discussion so that the students understand the point of the lesson and can relate it to other concepts or ideas. Lastly, I feel that there should be some sort of assessment, whether formal or informal, to determine if the students understood the concepts you were trying to teach.
I have not seen social studies yet, but I have observed science. Lesson plans that are required by the school are very easy. Every week my co-op must turn in lesson plans from the week. Really all that is required is the topic, essential question, and standards that will be met when the lesson is completed. When I spoke to her about this she said it is because everything they teach is from a book. She keeps a calender filled with any other materials and handouts that need to be copied on her desk. She said she likes doing it this way, but she wishes she had more freedom to chose the order to teach items and not be made to follow a book. It doesnt allow for much individualization and her ability to show her style.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I like how easy it is for her lesson planning, I do not think it is very effective. A substitute would struggle when looking at the plans and would have no idea what exactly needs to be done during the day. It is also not prsonal enough for me. A good lesson plan needs to be something that everyone can pick up and imagine what it is going to look like. It also needs to include an essential question so that others understand exactly why you are teaching what you are. Also, a wrap up should be included so that you can see what the students got from the lesson and whether if you plan to do it again or need to really change it.
My teacher has a teacher's edition teaxtbook that all the students have. She teaches Social Studies for about 30 minutes a day for 18 weeks out of the year. She has been doing this for four years and specifically fifth grade for two years, so as far as I've seen she works her way through the text book. She teaches her students to take notes from the chapter along with her on the board. She also includes worksheets, graphic organizers, and tests them on the materials after units. Next class I'll ask her more about her lesson plans, but personally I believe that lesson plans should include standards, materials, objectives, assessment, and a start-to-end procedure because a sub needs to be able to follow it.
ReplyDeleteSocial studies at my placement is in my co-op's lesson plans two or three times a week but he does not always get to it. The school says that the teachers did not have to really teach social studies because it is not tested, so what type of social studies the students get is up to the individual teacher. Today social studies was for 20 minutes at the end of the day.I did not get to see the actual lesson plan but the lesson was as follows: review of the oceans using a world map on the smart board, some discussion of how we remember which oceans are where, a game with an inflatible ball of the globe, and a worksheet. My co-op is also trying to use social studies related words a few times a week as the word of the day. This weeks words have included community, citizen, and candidate.
ReplyDeleteA good lesson should include review, a fun activity, student participation,and further knowledge (all elements my co-op tried to include).
A good lesson plan should be detailed enough that someone else (like me or a sub)could teach the lesson for the teacher and still effectively pull off the lesson.
In my classroom social studies and science is rotated after every unit, in which each unit usually last two weeks. Since the first two weeks were dedicated to a lot of assessments, the first social studies unit has lasted three weeks. Today was the last day of the unit on war and identifying countries, which went for the last 25 minutes of class time and was spent on reviewing all of the information the students had learned throughout the unit. The students reviewed their maps that they labeled and highlighted, as well as reflected on their letters that they sent to the soldiers in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day I asked my co-op how she goes about making a lesson plan for social studies. She explained that she gets Big Books and worksheets to do her lessons, but the students don't get a textbook or workbook that they keep with them. She explained to me that the books and worksheets don't cover all of the information that she feels should be covered during a specific unit, so she had to adapt and come up with extra activities and lessons to go with the unit. She said that it is easier for her to teach the science units, because each unit comes with a kit with all the materials and lessons she needs to effectively teach a unit. Overall, she follows the big books and worksheets that are provided for her, but develops lesson plans that cover material that is not present in the books and worksheets. When putting together a lesson plan she always includes an essential question, the objectives, standards, and the prodedure. She has a binder with all of her lesson plans for the next month.
I feel that a good lesson plan should include an essential question, objectives, standards, assessment, and the procedure. I feel that these five things are the basis of a good lesson plan. I liked how my co-op made sure her students were getting the most out of a unit by not just depending on the materials that were given to her. I feel that in order to make a good lesson plan as a teacher, you have to be able to be creative and expand your students' knowledge by doing a variety of activities and assessment. I also feel that at the end of every lesson there should be time for students to reflect on what they are learning. Every teacher has their favorite way of developing a lesson plan, but in the end all lesson plans should be designed to allow students to get the most out of a unit, especially when social studies has to share some of its time with science and vice versa.
I’ve only been able to see a small bit of social studies in my classroom. The topics covered that day were Pennsylvania symbols. When I spoke to my co-op today about social studies lessons, she expressed that although there is time written in for social studies, the class has to frequently miss social studies because other subjects go over their time limit. She mentioned that sadly, the reason the school does not push social studies education is because it is not tested – She predicted that in 5-6 years though when testing begins, so will social studies in their school. As far as other lessons go, Milton Hershey allows teachers to come in on Sundays to lesson plan for the following week (in addition to 1 planning period per day). She emphasized the importance of including an essential question, objectives, main activity, and assessment.
ReplyDeleteTo form a good lesson plan, I think it’s important to create plans that include each of the characteristics that my co-op mentioned, and also essential to provide accommodations to different types of learners. In addition, I think it’s important to provide hooks that will engage students to want to learn the topic, and find a way to connect the lesson to them at their own level.
I have not seen many lessons on social studies, but only some. The lesson planning in social studies in my field placement is based on integration. My co-op concentrates on character building such as using pals in the book "What is a Pal?" and the book "Curious George." She also focuses on historical lessons about the Mayflower and she concentrates on caring for things. Most of the lessons focus on social skills such as friendliness, respectfulness, and how to be a good citizen. It does not contain a scripted book which is similar to what Allison discussed. My co-op follows an outline plan of lesson plans each day where she fills in what she is doing everyday. It is a five day week plan similar to Allison's post.
ReplyDeleteThe qualities that constitute a good lesson plan are focusing on social skills and putting the essential question in terms that students can understand by connecting on students' prior knowledge so that students can relate about the topic. The objectives should focus on what the students are expected to do and should align with the standards according to the grade level. The practice and procedure need to be hands-on, interactive, involve cooperative learning, and independent practice. By having all these qualities, students will gain a better knowledge of the topic through group discussions and applying it to their lives. The assessment should be formal or informal. The informal assessment should focus on students' participation in the lesson and students' completion of worksheets. Formal assessment should focus on providing a test to determine students' comprehension skills. These assessments will allow the teacher to determine what the students learned from the lesson. At the end of a lesson, I think students should discuss what they learned from the lesson and the teacher should discuss the end of the lesson in student friendly terms in order for them to understand it.
I agree with Allison that a good lesson plan should be written in a way that a substitute teacher can understand it. I also agree that there should be a wrap up activity or discussion in order for students to understand the point of the lesson and can relate it to other concepts or ideas. This will lead to students obtaining a higher level of thinking. I also agree with Lorin that a good lesson should include a fun activity in order for students to interact. It should also include student participation so that students can express their opinions about the topic.
I have yet to see any type of social studies in my classroom, and like Lorin said, it is really not required to be taught by the school's teachers. I have seen the lesson plans that my teacher uses to hand into the school. They have to be done at least 3 days in advance. Typically, all of the 2nd grade teachers will type up the agenda for the whole week. My co-op's lesson plan lay out is short and simple. Since she does the same routine everyday, and basically the same activities, she will include different names of stories, word of the day, page numbers, etc. Tomorrow a substitute is going to be teaching the class, so she wrote out a detailed lessons for the day. They were not written in the format we use in class, instead they were written in paragraph form to explicitly explain to the sub what to do. Although she does not write it in her lesson plans, I know that her lessons have all the material ready to go, and will assign students to pass out other needed material. She makes sure that her class is under control and know whether or not they should be talking based on the lesson. Her lessons are very fluid and the transition are smooth, so there is not a lot of just sitting around, which I think is important. Throughout the day, my co-op does a lot of whole group, partners, and interactive lessons, which is great for keeping the students engaged. For a couple of different lessons, she has accommodations for some of the students, which is essential in lessons. I think all of these things help the day run smoothly, I think the most important thing is having the students get into a routine so they know what to expect for that lesson to cut back on confusion.
ReplyDeleteAt my placement, my co-op told me that they do not have a social studies curriculum so anything they teach the kids, they need to come up with and provide the materials for. I have seen the class do a small mini lesson on the continents but that is it. The lesson planning would be extra hard because even though the teachers get to be creative, it is more time consuming to create a plan from scratch rather than getting some ideas from a curriculum. I think being a first year teacher this would be a bigger roadblock because you do not have the experience or materials from other years to help create your lessons.
ReplyDeleteI think for a good lesson it should be very full of knowledge that the students can relate to and remember. They should be able to connect to the information so the text is meaningful and now just busy work. The material would not need to be as integrated with other subjects because the students are seeing ample time in those areas. The focus could be just solely on social studies because it is the subject with the least amount of time given to it. I think the lesson plans should be information that the students are interested in with many activities and hands-on projects. Social studies should be fun learning and students will learn to enjoy it and want more.
In my classroom there is no specific Social Studies curriculum. For example, this weeks theme is "Family". For the Social Studies lesson, the students colored a page with a telephone and their phone number on it, as well as a house with their address on it. In addition, students have been bringing in pictures of their families and sharing them with the class. Also, we took a tally of how many people live in our houses. Like I said, there is no specific lesson plan, but it is incorporated into the theme.
ReplyDeleteI think it is more difficult to have a specific lesson plan for Social Studies with Kindergarten opposed to lets say, 5th grade. I do think that the way my class incorporates Social Studies is great. It is fun, hands-on, and interesting to the students. At their age, I think that a theme and activity each day is just enough.
I believe a good lesson plan includes a goal or objective, content, and a hands-on activity. Each teacher has their own preferences and what works well for them, but as long as their lesson includes the essentials, it does not really matter.
I have never seen a typed lesson plan in my co-op, rather I've seen all of their lessons from their basals. During almost every lesson my teacher has her basal or a sheet from her basal to guide her teachings. I have yet to see a social studies lesson but I have seen a mathematics, science, reading, and writing lessons. My teacher and her other fourth grade teachers work very well together and are constantly discussing their similiar lessons they are teaching throughout the day and what they can change to make it better. They are always helping each other and they plan out a week or two in advance. I think one of the most impressive parts of my teachers day is how she balances her teachings for support students. Since my teacher is the leader for her fourth grade, she has a lot of learning support students in her class. She has one girl whom is placed in her fourth grade class but reads at a kindergarten to first grade level. She makes many accomodations for the student and if she cannot the ELL or reading specialists help her out!
ReplyDeleteSocial Studies in my room is very integrated so my co-op doesn't have formal lessons. In my kindergarten room, my co-op does a lot of readings including famous people or about communities. He told me that their school curriculum for social studies(they don't have to follow state standards) really revolves around holidays. For example, at Thanksgiving he talks about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. The only thing he plans for his lessons are what books or outside material he will be using.
ReplyDeleteI think that good lesson planning takes several points. The lessons should be clear and concise, but not overly complicated. Lessons should also include relateable and interesting material so the students are engaged. My co-op always tries to tie the material ino the culture of his students.
In my field placement the teachers are required to follow a basal; it includes the Social Studies units of Community and Geography, America's Early Communities, People Move from Place to Place, Community Government, Making Economic Choices, and Celebrating People and Cultures. My co-op then creates a lesson plan based off the basal guidelines; like Allison my coop creates her Social Studies lesson plan by following a general lesson plan format. My coop expressed to me that at they are a learning focused school in which they follow a lesson plan format that they call "EATS" (Essential Question, Activating Strategies, Teaching, Summarizing/Assessment). My coop personally has a paper in which she informally jots down what she is going to cover using in each of these particular areas. She also expressed to me that she covers one to two units of Social Studies and then switches to Science because these subjects share the same time slot.
ReplyDeleteIn a way I like this type of lesson planning because it seems to be less time consuming then a typical formal lesson plans, yet it seems to be just as effective. However, I feel that I would be somewhat frustrated with the fact that I constantly had to follow basal guidelines and not experiment with units outside of those covered in the basal. But, I do feel that the students in my school are fortunate because they have been exposed to some form of Social Studies throughout the school day.
I feel that a good lesson plan is one that allows flexibility, but that is also structured enough to provide efficient learning and understanding by the students. A good lesson plan is one that is interactive, engaging, and involves participation. I also agree with Lauryn that lesson plans should include information that the students can relate to and thus more effectively remember. A lesson plan should be one that has a clear objective so that it can be performed swiftly and efficiently by any educator (teacher, substitute, student teacher, etc.). Most importantly a good lesson plan is one that fits the particular teacher's style so that they feel confident performing the lesson.
I have seen social studies each of the three times that I have been at my placement, however my teacher has been absent since the first week I was there. The students have had the same substitute for the past two weeks so she has been doing well following my co-op's lessons plans. The only lesson plans that I have seen are the ones that are emailed for the substitute. They are very basic and follow more of an outline/bulleted format. I have many questions for my co-op for when she returns regarding the social studies curriculum, lesson planning, etc. During my first week I did see that she uses a teachers edition of the student's text book which she uses to guide her lessons. I am not sure if this is the only source she uses for her lessons or not.
ReplyDeleteI think a good lesson plan should be one that is clear and consistent with the topic and easy for anyone (a sub, other teacher, administrator...) to understand and implement in the classroom. I think a good lesson plan should also be detailed enough that it can assist you and remind you about what you are teaching throughout the actual lesson. I think the lesson should include standards, objectives, materials needed, as well as a beginning/middle/end. I feel as if this will prepare yourself as well as any other teacher to teach the lesson.
I do get to see social studies in my placement this semester. Mrs. Curtin usually follows the basil for their lessons. I think that this is kind of boring for the students. Today one student told me, "Social Studies is her least favorite subject." And when I asked her why, she said it's boring and all she can think about is going home. I thought this was sad to hear. I think if Social Studies were more hands on or more student centered it might be more fun, and more engaging for the students. The teacher mostly talks and then calls on the students every once in a while. As I was watching today about half the students were not even on the right page.
ReplyDeleteI think a good social studies lesson plan is one that really involves the students. Something that will allow the students to explore and become more hands-on. I also believe that you really need to bring the content down to their level and give them something they can relate to. I saw more students were volunteering information about themselves and their community then they were for communities they had no relationship to. I also think that students would like social studies more if they were allowed to work with partners or groups rather then just sit in their seat and listen to the teacher as she reads out of a book.
Social studies in general can really entail a lot of different aspects when creating a lesson. A lesson plan in social studies should always follow a standard for whatever grade you are teaching.
ReplyDeleteI really do not see social studies in my placement yet. I feel as though it is not touched upon on Thursdays when I am there, but is done on different days. I do however see some of the work the students do in social studies class displayed on the walls and throughout the classroom.
I think the most important thing about a lesson plan in general is that it meets a standard and is very concise but at the same time descriptive. The main goal for your lesson plan is to be able to have someone else read your lesson plan and be able to teach it just the way you were planning. So in that case having a beginning, middle, and end in the step by step part of the lesson plan. I think that really organizes your thoughts in a great way. The plan must also all generate around one main question called the essential question which is what we discussed in class on Wednesday. Adding social studies content into a lesson with these main ideas would really turn out great!
There is not much social studies instruction that happens in my field placement. My co-op uses the EATS method of lesson planning. She commented that EATS is what they use throughout the school and that those going into the profession of teaching should learn how to write EATS lesson plan formats. She uses the EATS format to write up units, not individual lesson plans and writes in what day she is going to teach what part and then references it later that year or for the following year. It is much easier for her to use because once you have written the lesson plans she does not have to make many corrections and can reuse them every year. I would like to see and learn what the EATS lesson plan format is and why it is used.
ReplyDeleteGood qualities that constitute a good lesson plan are: objective or essential question, materials needed, what will be assessed, detailed procedure (for future use and use by others), and the standard it follows. A good lesson plan is also one that a substitute, another person, or even yourself can pick up and teach without having any problems.
At my placement, all of the second grade teachers work together on lesson planning for the first couple weeks of school. All of the teachers make sure that they are teaching specific lessons each day that they devised collectively. These lessons follow the standards and district curriculum. Beyond, these few crucial activities teachers are then free to choose whatever they would like to do in their classroom with the remaining time that is within the framework of the curriculum. After, the first few weeks of school it becomes more independent and the teachers have to devise lesson plans for their specific group of students. At this point, the students switch teachers for math and reading so each teacher has a different ability level for these subjects. Therefore, each teacher’s lesson plans are going to be different because their students are at different academic level than students in other classes. However, the teachers are still expected to talk to each other and see what everyone is working on. They never work in isolation and are constantly communicating to ensure an effective educational experience for all students.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, social studies lesson planning at my placement is based off of a textbook series. The teachers made lesson plans as a group to follow along with the series. This week when my placement teacher was teaching the social studies lesson there was an activity to go along with the chapter they were reading, but my teacher decided against doing it. She thought it would be more beneficial for students to talk about the questions on the worksheet and answer them orally since they were short on time. She explained to me that sometimes lessons need to be adapted at the discretion of the teacher because they are not going as originally planned for any number of reasons. She says it happens quite often and it is important to flexible. She also told me it is essential to reflect on lessons and if lesson was not successful to go back and make improvements for the next time.
It seems a good lesson plan is one that is well thought out and written out in a way that someone else could come in and deliver the lesson with its original intention. Plus, the lesson follows the standards and ties into the school curriculum for that specific grade level. Another aspect of a good lesson plan seems to be collaboration with other teachers as well as other resources. I think it is also important to have room for flexibility within the lesson plan. Classroom life is unpredictable so it is important for teachers to be able to adapt their lessons to different situations that arise such as a time restraint due to an assembly. Furthermore, a good lesson plan includes thought-provoking essential questions. In my classroom, my teacher has the essential questions that pertain to that day in a pocket chart at the front of the room. This allows students to contemplate them and begin to think about responses to these questions. Finally, it is important to reflect on the effectiveness of the lesson. Teachers need to determine what factors made the lesson plan successful or unsuccessful and adjust their lesson plan accordi
Although social studies is taught to the students in my placement, it is taught by another second grade teacher; my co-op teaches science during this "special subjects" block. Therefore, I will not see social studies lesson planning until the teachers rotate subjects next quarter.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do know that, while teachers have to write the lesson plans for their subject (science, social studies, and computer), they do not have to hand then in to anyone. They just have to have them on file in case an administrator checks. The activities and curriculum are provided, but teachers get to decide and plan exactly what the lesson will look like.
I think that, along with the components about which we are taught to include in a good lesson plan, lesson plans need to reflect the culture of the students. This way, a substitute would be equally prepared to teach the subject and teach the students. This also reflects that the teacher has individualized the subject matter to most benefit his/her particular group of students. Lesson plans should have structure but also allow for flexibility and modifications as neccessary while teaching.
I have not yet seen social studies in my placement. At my school the classes switch off between science, health, and social studies and right now my class is on the science cycle. My co-op is very precise with her lesson planning. The school requires the teachers to fill out a small block outline with their plans; however I feel that this method is not the most effective. This outline is something the teachers must submit to the administrators to be certain they are on the right track. It does not ask for objectives, standards, or anything that I feel should be included in a lesson plan. It is merely a piece of paper cut into five blocks (one for each day) that my co-op has to record what she will be doing. On top of this plan my co-op chooses to write her plans out more in depth to make sure she is creating a solid lesson. A lot of the subjects at my placement are scripted so when planning lessons there is not much room for flexibility.
ReplyDeleteMany things constitute a good lesson plan. For starters, the plan must be well thought out and detailed. It should have an essential question that is meaningful and important. The standards the lesson will cover are also important because it provides purpose to the lesson. The lesson plan should include clear objectives that will explain what the students will be able to do. Any materials or procedures should also be included to make sure the lesson stays on track. Lastly to check for understanding some sort of assessment should be done. This does not necessarily need to be formal, but should allow the students to reflect upon what they learned. All these things combine to form the ingredients of a good lesson plan.
At my school, I have not seen social studies yet. I will see it this week; however, I do not have much to comment on at this point. I know that she teaches social studies and switches with another classroom for science, which is rotated either weekly or bi-weekly. I know that she has tons of books on social studies and reads them to the class. I will look next week to see if there is a basal or if she makes up her own lesson plans. I know that she does not integrate social studies with any other subject, which I enjoyed hearing. The students will be seeing how important social studies is. I am excited to see social studies this week to discuss more in detail how it is incorporated into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteA lesson plan should be easily read by substitutes so that they can pick up right where the teacher left off. With that said, everyone wrote such great things about what makes a great lesson plan and I agree. It needs to be detailed, have essential questions to follow the big idea, step-by-step instruction and notes with where materials are. In order to keep your classroom on target it is important, especially if you know you will not be there, to write notes for the substitute. Keep the lesson engaging for the students so the substitute will not be struggling to keep their attention. Have a fun or challenging wrap up to assess what they understood from what was taught that day.
This week in my placement was the first time that both me and my students saw Social Studies in the classroom. Luckily my co-op is the in charge of teaching Social Studies for the entire second grades so I am able to witness it first hand. This being said my co-op has the job of teaching a social studies lesson three times for all three second grade classes. Since they only have 30 minutes for social studies, each lesson focuses on one chapter (2-3 pgs) in their very very old Social Studies textbook which even my co-op admits is out of date. At my particular school second grade focuses on early American history (13 colonies, first thanksgiving, native americans, expiditions/explores, etc.) Unfortunately, since it was only the first time Social Studies was in the classroom this year, I do not know much about the lesson planning other than this; therefore, I do not know if there is anything she specifically has to incorporate in her lesson or anything else.
ReplyDeleteLike a lot of other people, I agree that a lesson plan must be easy for any substitue to follow the exact way you would wish them to. This being said a lesson plan should be very detailed listing step by step procedures, questions you would ask during the lesson, and even a script of exactly what you want to say or make a point to say during the lesson would be helpful. Lesson plans should also provide a lesson which is involved, exciting, and motivating to the students on the partioular topic. Another things lesson plans should have is a clear focus and objective which the teacher hopes to achieve.
Even though I have only seen one day of Social Studies in the classroom I feel my co-op did a good job with the particular lesson she taught. They started with an activity that involved them thinking about history and what they would be discussing, they read the chapter stopping to answer questions along the way, and then they ended the lesson with an open discussion pulling the starting activity into what they just read making connections. At every point of this lesson my co-op kept the students involved and interested in what they were learning about Social Studies on the particular day. Taking all of these things into consideration I feel my co-op did a great job on the Social Studies lesson which I had the opprotunity to experience and observe!
I have not seen any Social Studies yet. As far as I know, there is a text based curriculum for all subjects. My co-op makes a brief outline for each class based off of the way the book breaks down the material. she is careful to note the pages she needs copies and any extra resources she needs. although her procedure is kept brief in her lesson plans, she is very good at making she sure all the required materials are accounted for and that she is prepared beforehand.
ReplyDeleteI've also witnessed the 4 teachers working working together on unit plans to make sure they were covering the same basic things in about the same amount of time. They also work together dealing with students special needs and talking about to how to handle outbursts.
I think it's important to have an end goal so you know where you need to end up when making lesson plans. Always be prepared and with all the technology in the classroom be ready for the worst, just in case it doesn't work.