Unit Plan – Lesson 1
SUBJECT: _Social Studies NAME: _Theresa Wheeler GRADE LEVEL: __4th Grade _____ DATE: _28 October, 2008
I. People of Pennsylvania
II. PA State Academic Standard(s)
8.2.6 Pa History
A. Identify and explain the political and cultural contributions of individuals and groups to Pennsylvania history from Beginnings to 1824.
III. Objectives
Fourth grade students will chose a historical Pennsylvania figure (not Abraham Lincoln or William Penn), research them and share 3-5 facts about the person with the rest of the class. After hearing about all the people, students will match the person with their description.
IV. Materials needed
Means for research (library access, computer access, etc.)
V. Lesson Outline
A. Motivation (Anticipatory Set) –
Ask the students: has anyone ever met anybody famous?
After giving time for brief answers, explain to them that during the settling of America, when our country was just beginning, PA was a central part of everything going on and there are many famous men and women from Pennsylvania in our history that helped shape our country into what it is today.
B. Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity) –
Have the children split into groups of 2’s and each choose and research a historical figure, finding out approximately 3-5 major facts about the person.
C. Conclusion (Application Activity) –
Give each group a chance to share with the class what they’ve learned about the person they’ve chosen, and then hand out a matching worksheet (create while students are researching and presenting, because you need to know who they pick first.)
D. Evaluation of Learning –
Do Students list 3-5 accurate facts about their person of choice?
Do they match all the people with 80% accuracy or higher?Unit Plan – Lesson 2
Unit Plan – Lesson 2
SUBJECT: _Social Studies NAME: _Theresa Wheeler GRADE LEVEL: __4th Grade _____ DATE: _28 October 2008 _______
I. American Colonies
II. PA State Academic Standard(s)
8.2.6. Pennsylvania History
A. Identify and explain the political and cultural contributions of individuals and groups to Pennsylvania history from Beginnings to 1824.
· Political Leaders (e.g., William Penn, Hannah Penn, …)
III. Objectives
Fourth grade students will identify how the conditions of the Quakers before they left for the Americas influenced their guidelines for the New World.
Materials needed
· Classroom world map
· First Constitution of Pennsylvania
IV. Lesson Outline
A. Motivation (Anticipatory Set) –
Remind the students that in previous lessons, they learned about the first Americans who settled in areas that later became states, including Pennsylvania.
Ask: what is name of the people who first settled Pennsylvania? (Quakers / William Penn).
Explain that most of the American colonies were ruled by England. Have a student locate England on the classroom world map and then trace across the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern seaboard of the United States to show the distance between the two places.
Ask: What are some of the reasons that a country such as England would want to establish a colony in a far away place?
(Acquire new land, take advantage of the natural resources of the colony)
Ask: Why do you think people would want to leave their country and go to live in an unfamiliar, far away place? (Make a new start, opportunities to make a better living, etc.)
Tell the students that there were many reasons why people wanted to move to the colonies. One of the major reasons was because of human rights and religious freedom.
Explain that the Quakers encountered problems in Europe caused when a person's basic rights are denied. A right is "the freedom to do a certain activity" for example freedom of speech or the freedom to practice the religion of your choice. Write the definition on the board.
B. Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity)
Have the students split up into groups of 4 or 5. Tell them think about how the early colonists of Pennsylvania felt when they were being denied their rights in Europe, and what they felt like or anticipated when they were headed to the New World.
Next tell them to imagine that they are the leaders of a group of Quakers who just landed in the Americas. Have them discuss in their groups what rights and what laws they would want in the new world based on their experiences. Have them write a list of guidelines and / or laws for their new colony. After they have had enough time to come up with some ideas, have one person from each group share their results with the rest of the class.
C. Conclusion
Give each student a copy of Pennsylvania’s first constitution, written by William Penn. Read the beginning aloud together. Then have the students compare it with the freedoms and guidelines that their group came up with and write a short reflection (1-2 paragraphs). How are they the same? How are they different?
D. Evaluation of Learning
Do the students identify connections between the religious persecution the Quakers experienced and the rights and laws that are part of our constitution today? Do their essays illustrate the concept that America was colonized by people who sought various kinds of freedom?
Unit Plan – Lesson 3
SUBJECT: _Social Studies NAME: _Theresa Wheeler __GRADE LEVEL: __4th Grade _____ DATE: _28 October 2008 _______
I. Revolution / Taxes
II. PA State Academic Standard(s)
8.2.6. Pennsylvania History
B. Identify and explain primary documents, material artifacts and historic sites important in Pennsylvania history from Beginnings to 1824.
· Documents, Writings and Oral Traditions (… Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer)
III. Objectives
After participating in an activity simulating the taxation of the American colonists by the British, fourth grade students will write a 1 page essay in which they will:
· Identify the reasons the colonies fought the American Revolution.
· Describe the meaning of "taxation without representation."
· Explain why the colonies were so angered by British-imposed taxes
IV. Materials needed
· Small candies (15–20 small pieces for each student)
· Disposable cups, one per student
· Chart paper
· Black marker
· Writing paper
· Pencils and erasers
V. Lesson Outline
A. Motivation (Anticipatory Set) –
Discuss the reasons that American colonies fought the Revolutionary War. Why did they want independence from Britain? Do you think that Britain was right to tax the colonies on paper, tea, and other goods?
Explain that John Dickenson was a Pennsylvania farmer who wrote a series of letters challenging the taxes that Britain put on the colonies. He is an example of how one person can make a difference.
Introduce the phrase "taxation without representation" and explain that this slogan was a rallying cry used by colonists seeking independence from Britain. Ask students: What does the slogan mean? Talk about the pros and cons of life in colonial America. For example, the colonists enjoyed a great deal of freedom in some areas because they were governed from afar, but the taxes imposed by the British angered them. They felt exploited because no on in the British government represented their interests.
B. Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity)
Tell the class that they are going to play a game about taxation. Choose two students to act as British tax collectors, one as a Member of Parliament, and one as King of England. All other students will be “colonists”. As a class, brainstorm some taxes that could exist in a classroom situation, possibly a tax on books, pens, or pencils or a tax on tardiness.
The tax collectors, Parliamentarian, and king will decide on 10–12 taxes to enact. Have these students write their list on a piece of chart paper that will be displayed in the classroom. Instruct them to include a tax on noise so students remain quiet during the lesson.
When the list is complete, give each student a cup of candy. Explain that the British tax collectors will collect taxes from all the colonists. Read through the list of taxes and tell students that the tax collectors will collect one piece of candy for each item on the list. If students have a pencil, they must pay the pencil tax with one piece of candy. If they do not have a pencil, they do not pay the tax. Tell tax collectors that any student they think is talking too loudly must pay a tax of one piece of candy.
Ask the king and Parliament member to stand in the front of the room, observing while one collector takes taxes from half of the students and the other takes taxes from the other half. If a student refuses to pay a tax, have the collector escort that person to a "jail" in a corner of the room and take the entire cup of candy. Instruct the tax collectors to keep 10 percent of the candy they collect, give 40 percent to the Parliament member, and 50 percent to the king.
After the taxes have been collected and divided, have students count how much candy they have. Tell them that they will keep only this amount. How many pieces of candy do most of the colonists have? How many pieces of candy do the tax collectors have? How about the Parliamentarian and the king?
C. Conclusion
Ask students to talk about how the activity made them feel:
Who feels upset and why?
Are they angry that they lost pieces of candy?
Is it fair that the king has so much?
Were the taxes fair? (note: they were taxed for things they had to have @ school)
What happened to a colonist who did not pay a tax?
Would there have been a way to make the taxes fair? If so, how?
In what ways did this activity resemble the taxation system in colonial America?
D. Evaluation of Learning
Tell students to write a one-page essay about the activity, addressing the following.
· What was your role in this activity? How did it make you feel?
· How were the taxes unfair? Was there a way they could have been fair?
· How was this activity similar to the events in colonial America before the Revolutionary War?
· What were the colonists fighting for in their battle to become independent?
Do you think the colonists were justified in their anger toward the British? Why or why not? Explain fully the phrase "taxation without representation."
Unit Plan – Lesson 4
SUBJECT: _Social Studies NAME: _Theresa Wheeler GRADE LEVEL: __4th Grade _____ DATE: _28 October 2008 _______
I. Abraham Lincoln and the country divided
II. PA State Academic Standard(s)
8.2.6 Pennsylvania History
C. Identify and explain primary documents, material artifacts and historic sites important in Pennsylvania history from Beginnings to 1824.
· Documents, Writings and Oral Traditions
· Artifacts, Architecture and Historic Places
III. Objectives
Fourth grade students will learn about the life of Abraham Lincoln, each reporting on a specific time in his life. They will identify three ways that Lincoln’s personal values influenced his presidency.
IV. Materials
· Computer access or library access for research
· Printer access
· Book: The Value of Respect
· Copies of the Gettysburg Address for each student
V. Lesson Outline
A. Motivation
Read The Value of Respect: The tale of Abraham Lincoln.
Explain that Abraham Lincoln was the president during the Civil War. He valued human rights and felt strongly that the United States should remain as one undivided nation. He gave his famous Gettysburg Address in Pennsylvania during the Civil War.
B. Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity)
Hand out a copy of the. Gettysburg Address
Ask: how did Lincoln demonstrate the qualities found in the Gettysburg Address?
How did Lincoln’s personal beliefs affect the way he acted as president?
Have each student draw a picture and write a few sentences about a part of Lincoln’s life.
Assign sections or let students choose, but make sure everyone has a different time in his life. (see example)
C. Conclusion
Share pictures and responses with the class and create a timeline of Lincoln’s life.
D. Evaluation of Learning
Are the students able to find information and present along with a picture?
Do their answers in discussion indicate that they see a connection between a person’s personal values and their political views?
Unit Plan – Lesson 5
SUBJECT:_Social Studies NAME: _Theresa Wheeler GRADE LEVEL: __4th Grade _____ DATE: _28 October 2008
I. Freedom
II. PA State Academic Standard(s)
8.2.6. Pennsylvania History
D. Identify and explain primary documents, material artifacts and historic sites important in Pennsylvania history from Beginnings to 1824.
· Documents, Writings and Oral Traditions
· Artifacts, Architecture and Historic Places
III. Objectives
Fourth grade students will identify what it means to be ‘free’, as an American by comparing the freedom in America with that of other countries, and that of America in the past. They will also identify the freedoms guaranteed by the 1st Amendment.
Materials needed
· Poster board for a timeline
· Markers
· Game board & question cards
IV. Lesson Outline
A. Motivation (Anticipatory Set) –
Tell the students that you will be creating a display showing what they have been learning throughout the past week. Inform them that they will not be tested on the past unit!! The purpose was for them to focus on Pennsylvania in American History and the things that our state has contributed to the country in order for us to have the freedom we have today.
B. Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity)
Have the students work together to fill in the timeline and display the work done the past week. Ask them to think about what they learned in this unit.
After completing the display, have the students journal about what they did or did not like about the previous week and what new things that they learned. Have them also include what was their favorite part.
C. Development of the Concept or Skill (Information Activity)
Next, explain that you will be talking about some of the events and people that have to do with America’s journey towards freedom. Ask the students what famous people, places, things, or events in Pennsylvania that they can think of that represent American Freedom.
( some examples: Lincoln, Washington, liberty bell, Declaration of Independence, Ben Franklin, etc.)
Have the students make a list of things that they know about Pennsylvania and add to this list additional information.
D. Conclusion
Have the students play a board game using the information from the past unit. Split the class up into 4-5 groups and have one member from each team come up at a time to write the answer for their team.
E. Evaluation of Learning
Check for active participation from each student. Are they able to remember at least 80% of what they’ve learned in the past week?