Lesson Components

Description:

Focus of Unit: Lesson 2: Interaction, Conquest, and Change (from Global Interactions Unit, 1450-1824).

Topic: Columbian Exchange (Day 1 of 2).

Content Area: Social Studies/History

Instructional Strategies:

The first two instructional strategies of note, as described by the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs of Montgomery County, MD Public Schools (2008), act in “complementary” fashion and are known as Concept-Based Instruction and Comparative Case Study. As students learn to focus on “concepts that support each content area” rather than “simply an accumulation of loosely connected facts and ideas”, they will gain “higher order, conceptual thinking” (Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, 2008, p. 1). In addition to teaching history conceptually rather than merely factually, a great challenge of a teaching especially world history is the “sheer volume of information that could be taught” (Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, 2008, pp. 1-2). As a response to this challenge, a comparative approach will allow students to “examine related case studies to determine similarities, differences, and how they connect to the big idea or question of the unit” (Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, 2008, pp. 1-2).

The second group of methods I will employ is Collaborative Learning Method and Indirect Instruction (Fowler & Markle, n.d.; Johns Hopkins University, 2010; Keesee, 2011; Schoem, Hurtado, Sevig, Chesler, & Sumida, 2001; Sabornie & deBettencourt, 2009; Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012). These two methods will be used during the group work portion of class, which is the bulk of the class. These two methods are important for the particular assignment that the students are engaged in, locating different commodities/artifacts of the Columbian Exchange in their regions of origin, because each group will be assigned to different categories. The separation into groups will help students think of the commodities in different categories so that they will be able to understand them better. Here are the groups:

Group One: Americas’ animals: Alpacas, Guinea Pigs, Llamas, & Turkeys;
Group Two: AfroEurAsia Diseases: Influenza, Malaria, Measles, Smallpox, The Common Cold, Typhus, Whooping Cough & Yellow Fever;
Group Three: AfroEurAsian Animas: Chickens, Cattle, Goats, Horses, Pigs, Sheep;
Group Four: AfroEurAsian Crops: Bananas, Cereal Grains, Citrus, Coffee, Melons, Sugar Cane, & Rice;
Group Five: South American Crops: Avocado, Maize, Peppers (Capsicum) Squash, Sunflowers, Tobacco, & Vanilla; and
Group Six: North & Meso American Crops: Cassava, Cacao Peanuts, Pineapples, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, & Tomatoes.

Furthermore, these types of instruction have many overall strengths: “results show that students who have opportunities to work collaboratively, learn faster and more efficiently, have greater retention, and feel more positive about the learning experience” (Johns Hopkins University, Cooperative Learning, 2010). This particular assignment on the Columbian Exchange, which seeks as one of its primary goals to connect previous student knowledge to wider set of related knowledge, necessitates approaches like indirect instruction and collaborative learning because they encourage “students to use examples and references from their own experience, to seek clarification, and to draw parallels and associations that aid understanding and retention” (Fowler & Markle, Indirect Instruction, n.d.).

Connected to the previous two instructional strategies is the concept of heterogeneity (Johns Hopkins University, 2010; Keesee, 2011; Schoem, Hurtado, Sevig, Chesler, & Sumida, 2001; Sabornie & deBettencourt, 2009; Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012; Stowe, 2000). Due to the extremely diverse nature of the students in this course, diversity of background, gender, religion, learning style, learning challenges, etc., diverse groupings of students will not only teach students to work better with those different from themselves but also it will teach students of different achievement levels to work together to accomplish a task. Heterogeneity has proven effective, within the broader construct of cooperative learning, and helps students “be more highly motivated to learn because of the proacademic attitudes of groupmates, appropriate attributions for success and failure, and greater on-task behavior. They also score higher on tests of achievement and problem solving and tend to get along better with classmates of different racial, ethnic, and social class backgrounds” (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012, p. 475).

Next, and this is a broad category of instructional strategies, I will employ various methods of Differentiated Instruction (Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms, n.d.; Johns Hopkins University, 2010; Keesee, 2011; UDLCAST, 2012; Sabornie & deBettencourt, 2009; Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012; Stowe, 2000) such as use of scaffolding with graphic organizers for students with language or learning needs, use of technology for students with physical needs, use of physical movement to counter the fact that the students are restive at the end of the school day, and music/video/physical maps to help students of various learning styles. There will be a total of three scaffolded graphic organizers, including one for the group project, one for the exit journal, and one for the captain’s log. Each of these will help students, such as the student in the class who has a learning disability who reads two grade levels below the class and possibly also the student with ADHD and the student of another language background who has not reached the level of native speakers, be able to gain the same information as the rest of the students due to the organization already present in the organizers. The deaf student will have access to headphones connected to music and video as well as a transcript of the YouTube video. All students, except not the student with MS if he or she is not able or wanting to walk that day, will be working in groups and moving up to the board to place their id’s on the map as a way to combat the restiveness of students at the end of the day. Also, the fact that the lesson includes music, a short video, short lecture, group work, written work, and placing id’s on the board means that the lesson is differentiated to meet students of various learning styles’ needs. As Snowman, McCown & Biehler (2012) remind, it is essential to “be flexible and learn to use a variety of teaching and assessment methods so that, at some point, every student’s style is addressed” (Snowman et al., 2012, p. 126).

Finally, this lesson makes good use of formative assessments, especially with a pre-quiz and the individual structural approach of exit journaling (Johns Hopkins University, 2010; Keesee, 2011; Snowman, McCown & Biehler, 2012). Especially because this is an introductory lesson, it does not make sense to do any sort of summative testing before students have gained the knowledge, but formative assessment “can be used as a source of feedback to help students improve the quality of their learning efforts” (Snowman et al., 2012, p. 497).

Learning Activities:

Class enters to music of Mayan violin and drum song. (2 minutes)
Class begins with pre-quiz on Columbian Exchange. (5 minutes)
Class watches introductory video on the Columbian Exchange. (2 minutes)
Class listens to teacher provide bridge from introductory material to group work. (3 minutes)
Class listens to and records the teacher provided objectives. (2 minutes)
Group work: students work in their groups/pods to research animals, plants, and microbes of Columbian Exchange (20 minutes)
Group presentation: groups work together to place their id’s on the map based on their origin; one member of the group orally presents the most significant/interesting id to the whole class. (10 minutes)
Complete Columbian Exchange Chart: during group work and while viewing map/listening to oral presentation, students will fill in where each id originated. (throughout class)
Exit journal: students complete a short paragraph explaining the most unexpected id from the Columbian exchange from their personal, cultural heritage. (5 minutes)
Class listens to teacher provide explanation of Captain's Log homework assignment. (1 minute)

Curriculum standards addressed:

-MSDE World History content standards and indicators, standards 3.10:

"Students demonstrate understanding of the aims of, responses to, and effects of exploration and the expansion among peoples of Africa, Europe, and America (1400-1750): assess the impact of the transmission of disease, exchange of ideas, and movement of plants and animals"
-MSDE content standards and indicators: peoples of the world—Modern World History Unit 11.1 LS2, interaction, conquest, and change (8 sessions)
“Students examine how conquest of the Americas led to significant cultural changes and compare how changes brought by Spanish efforts were similar or different to cultural changes brought by Ottoman Empire. Why did culture change as a result of global interaction? Students learn: the Columbian exchange resulted in unprecedented biological and cultural exchange.”
- CCR Anchor Standard #9:

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research. -Essential Skills and Knowledge: Write in response to grade-level print, non-print, and digital literary or informational text(s) with an emphasis on comparison and contrast, cause and effect, as well as contextual analysis in the scope of history.

Objectives:

Cognitive: students will be able to
1. accurately identify, understand, and organize the plants, animals and microbes originating from the new and old worlds while working in groups

2. apply their understanding of the plants, animals, and microbes of the Columbian Exchange to their knowledge of geography by placing their group’s id’s on their relevant location on a world map

3. evaluate the similarities and differences between their previous knowledge concerning the plants, animals, and microbes of the Columbian Exchange and the historical reality of each as they plan a brief writing assignment

4. analyze these similarities and differences in a short writing assignment (or modified assignment based on individual need) that allows them to consider the results of global interaction and cultural change

Affective: students will be able to
1. effectively work in groups as they cooperate to achieve learning objectives

2. be a part of a heterogeneous grouping that requires understanding and give and take

3. present material orally and concisely to class members

4. listen effectively as class members present orally

5. openly and fairly consider cultural change as a historical factor incorporating both positive and negative elements

Materials:

Consumables:

pre-quiz sheet,
transcripts of short video
Columbian Exchange chart,
packets of previously cut out Columbian Exchange animals/plants/microbes research matierals,
group research graphic organizers,
group research presentation map tags,
paper for writing assignment,
differentiated graphic organizer for exit journal for selected students,
pens/pencils,
adhesive putty for placing map tags,
homework sheet and organizer

Non-consumables:

computer with speakers,
computer connected to projector with screen,
mp3 player with headphones for culturally deaf student,
notebook for each student designated as exit journals
world map on board,
scissors

Proactive Classroom Behavior Management:

Overall, I believe that good teaching principles (such as thorough lesson planning, use of engaging and challenging material, having high expectations for students, etc.) are just as much a part of classroom control as are rules and procedures. Rules and procedures are also needed, however, and should be instituted clearly and simply at the beginning of a course.

Core Action Principles of Student Maturity:

1. Be Accountable

2. Organize

3. Listen

4. Focus

5. Commit

6. Analyze

7. Communicate

8. Empathize

Rules:

1. Hold me accountable to the rules in the same way that I hold you accountable.

2. Come to class on time each day.

3. Listen to the teacher and others until they are done speaking.

4. Have a pen/pencil in hand and all times (unless otherwise directed), ready to take notes.

5. Spend at least 30 minutes outside of class each weekday on class material.

6. Ask at least one question related to the topic for the day.

7. Communicate throughout the semester with the teacher.

8. Put yourself in others’ shoes first.

Corresponding Procedures:

1. Students will participate with me in an initial student-teacher contract, to be upheld by both parties throughout the semester.

2. Students will greet me as I greet them at the beginning of each class.

3. Students will sit politely in their assigned seats.

4. Students will submit in-class notes for completion grade every two weeks.

5. Students will complete assigned homework on time for a grade.

6. Students will ask at least one question by the end of each class.

7. Students will attend at least one office-hour per semester and send the teacher at least five emails per semester.

8. Students will work collaboratively in groups for a grade.

I will also discuss important behaviors for students working in groups—this would include such issues as listening with an open mind, providing constructive feedback, balanced discussion and input, etc. At this time, I will arrange the student desks into 6 pods with 4-5 students per group (for the total of 28 students) based on the student groupings. These groups will be used frequently throughout the course, although I will be up front with students about the possibility that I may change the groupings at any time during the course if that becomes necessary.

Provisions for Student Groupings:

I will break the students into groupings based on my access to student IEP’s or other notes from previous teachers and/or guidance counselors, my providing students with surveys (private) about which types of activities they feel the most confident or lack confidence, and my student (private) questionnaires about physical needs, such as hearing or vision issues. The groups I create based on this information will be heterogeneous. In other words, I will attempt to have students with different learning styles, strengths, types of intelligence, backgrounds, genders, etc. work together. One prominent aspect of the heterogeneous groupings is that students with higher levels of achievement will help students with lower achievement, which will be a benefit to both types of students because the higher level students will learn empathy and collaboration while the lower students will learn more content and motivation while also learning collaboration. I will also discuss important behaviors for students working in groups—this would include such issues as listening with an open mind, providing constructive feedback, balanced discussion and input, etc. At this time, I will arrange the student desks into 6 pods with 4-5 students per group (for the total of 28 students) based on the student groupings. These groups will be used frequently throughout the course, although I will be up front with students about the possibility that I may change the groupings at any time during the course if that becomes necessary.