Student:

School:
IWU Supervisor:
Co-op Teacher:
Teaching Date:
Grade Level: First
Lesson Title: Thanksgiving Play by Play
Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template
Social Studies: DSS LESSON PLAN
2007 ACEI Standards
READINESS
I.
Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s)
1. Students will be able to identify Thanksgiving as a national holiday
unique to the United States.
2. Students will be able to identify the roles of the Pilgrims and the
Native Americans during the first Thanksgiving, and apply the
individual roles to the overall concept of the traditional holiday.
3. Students will be able to decompose the individual roles (parts) of the
people involved in the setting of the first Thanksgiving and apply it to
the purpose of the traditional Thanksgiving celebrated today (whole).
B. Objective(s)*individualized for each station
1. Given a picturebook script provided by the teacher, students will participate in a
mock play including Pilgrims and Native American characters, reenacting the
sequencing of events and character roles correlated to the first Thanksgiving.
2. Given a closed sorting chart, students will be able to categorize roles and
characterizations during the first Thanksgiving into either being associated with
the Pilgrims or Native Americans through completion of sorting, cutting, pasting,
and coloring icons on the sorting chart.
3. Given an IPad, photo props, and fill-in-the-blank activity cards, students will be
able to identify actions of Pilgrims and Native Americans during the first
Thanksgiving by filling in the blank and taking a picture holding the card
dressed as the correlating Thanksgiving character.
4. Upon completion of the stations, students will be able to identify the roles of the
Pilgrims and Native Americans through verbal response and collaborative group
discussion.
C. Standard(s):
NCSS:
1. Thematic StrandPeople, Places, and Environments
IAS:
1.1.5 Identify people and events observed in national celebrations and
holidays.
ISTE:
1a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
2b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a
variety of media and formats.
II.

Materials & Management

A. Materials
3 copies of Thanksgiving Playbook
Smartboard

B. Time

Digital copy of Thanksgiving Playbook (uploaded pictures)

Brown paper bags and printed pictures for playbooks
Station signs
Construction paper chain (behavior management)
Pencil prizes (behavior management)
Station 1:
o Instructions
o Thanksgiving playbook
o Indian feathers and hats
o Pilgrim hats and dress
o Plastic food toys
o Cardboard boat
Station 2:
o Instructions
o Thanksgiving playbook
o Indian and Pilgrims sorting chart (place in tray when finished)
o Glue
o Scissors
o Crayons
o Pencils
o Coloring chart on back for early finishers
Station 3:
o Instructions
o IPad with camera
o Photo props (Indian and Pilgrim)
o Sign with attachable fill in the blanks
o Fill in the blank options
Total: approximately 45 minutes
Anticipatory Set: 3 minutes
Input: 10 minutes
Stations: 3 @ 10 minutes each= 30 minutes
Closure: 5 minutes

C. Space
For the anticipatory set, students will be seated at individual desks. For lesson presentation
input, students will continue to be seated at their individual desks. For lesson presentation
output, students will be placed in small groups and use the space around the classroom. For
Station 1, students will use the front area of the classroom. For Station 2, students will use
the area at and around the kidney table. For Station 3, the students will use the area in the
reading corner. For closure, the students will gather back into whole-group and sit at their
individual desks.
D. Behavior
To manage behavior, I will give positive re-directives to the students. I will use a construction
paper classroom chain to motivate students; stickers and pencils will be rewarded for whole
group positive reinforcement as deemed appropriate. I will also utilize the classroom
behavior management system.

For transitions, I will use the method implemented by my cooperating classroom teacher.
She uses transitional songs, which is developmentally appropriate to their age and familiar
by her students. In addition to songs, I will use the clapping method to gain attention of the
class during transitions between stations. Each station will be 10 minutes; with 1 minute
allotted to transition time. I will give 2 minute warnings during station time as appropriate.
During stations, I will utilize the strategy Ask 3 Before Me, and if 3 other students do not
know, then they may approach me or raise their hand to ask their question. I will be walking
around the room guiding students, with my main focus on Station 1.
I will have 3 heterogeneous groups composed of 4 students each with one group of 5,
grouped according to mixed abilities and personality. To organize groups, I will preplan the
grouping, and give coordinated color index cards to members as I call their name to their
station. The groups considered are listed in the table below:
Group 1 (Blue)
Kaitlyn
Delaney
Colton
Ryder
McKenzie

Group 2 (Green)
Daniel
Veda
Kyran
Cambrea
Enrique? (if still attending)

Group 3 (Yellow)
Michael
Emma
Kinley
Levi

E. Technology
For technology inclusion, the teacher will display material included on lesson presentation
input on the Smartboard for students to easily view and interact with. In addition to use with
the Smartboard, the teacher will dedicate a station to technology interaction between
students. At Station 3, students will use photo props, IPads, and fill-in-the-blank cards to
identify roles of the people involved in the first Thanksgiving and take photos dressed in
proper attire and holding appropriate fill-in-the-blank cards to document understanding and
share personal work with the other members of the class.
III.

Anticipatory Set

For the anticipatory set, the teacher will stimulate prior background knowledge in the
students to guide understanding of how the Pilgrims felt when arriving to a new place. In
order to do this, I will talk about moving to college, my new place, and the feelings I had
while arriving. I will emphasis the feelings I felt, and then relate the experience back to the
students, asking them to close their eyes and remember their first day of school in a new
place. I will ask them what feelings they felt, and write these feelings on an anchor chart.
Last time we talked about our special places and why they are special. We also talked
about our individual roles in making a big change. Sometimes we make a big change when
we move. I want you to raise your hand, dont tell me yet, if you have ever been to a new
place, or somewhere where you have never been before. Good! Well I have too. My new
place was college. I had never been to college before, and it was a little bit scary. I had to
have a lot of people help me at my new place, like teachers and my friends. Now that you
know my new place, I want you to close your eyes and think about your new place. Where
was your new place? How did you feel? Open your eyes. Raise your hands, and tell me
where your new place was and how you felt? I will write the answers on the board of our
feelings. Good! (the teacher will take student responses and write feelings on the board).
Now that we talked about our feelings, lets think about the people that made us feel better
when we went to the new place for the first time.
After we discuss the feelings we had on our first days at new places, I will introduce the idea
of how we all appreciated the help we received on the first day at our new place. I will ask
the following questions to guide discussion and response:

Who were some people that helped you at your new place? (Teacher; family member;
friend)
When they helped you, how did that make you feel?
Do you think it is important to help someone when they come to a new place? Think
bigger. Why?

After we discuss feelings associated with new places and how we can help others feel better
and more equipped, I will introduce the journey made by the Pilgrims, their established
relationships with the Native Americans, and the history and meaning of Thanksgiving.
IV.

Purpose:

After the teacher completes the anticipatory set, she will state the purpose of the lesson.
Today we are going to learn about people from across the world who came to the United
States. The United States was their new place, and they felt the same way we did when we
went to a new place for the first time. It is important to learn about these people because
they are the reason we have Thanksgiving!
We are also going to learn about what these people each did to create the holiday of
Thanksgiving! We have talked about how we can change the whole world, but today we are
going to learn about how these people changed part of the world. It is important to know
how they changed the world, because it impacted the way we celebrate holidays and treat
people. All Parts Contribute to a Whole.
PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION
V.
Adaptation to Diverse Students
A. Remediation: For remediation, I will have students that are not demonstrating
competency meet in a small group with the teacher the next day. To reinforce
the material, I will have cut out pictures of the sequence of events associated
with the first Thanksgiving. They will identify the Pilgrims and the Native
Americans, what they did, and put the events in order. They will paste the
events on a piece of paper.
B. Enrichment: To enrich the lesson, I added an option to create their own
sentence at the third station, rather than match the cards I provided. I will also
challenge these learners by asking higher level of order questions and
encouraging to act out the play further than what the book provides.
C. ELL: For my ELL student, Enrique, I will model the centers thoroughly and
include pictures next to each step of directions. I will also connect American
thanksgiving to a Mexican feast tradition, so that he is able to comprehend what
Thanksgiving tradition look like.
D. Exceptional Needs: For Kaitlyn, Michael, and Daniel, grouping was considered
so that they will be able to collaborate with other group members to achieve
desired objectives. They will be able to respond to discussion prompts at their
individual development rate. In addition to collaboration, activities will be
changed often to maintain the interest and attention of these learners.
For students that are unable to read, pictures will be provided to guide their
responses. A word bank will also be provided at the third center to guide fill-inthe-blank answers.

E. Multiple Intelligences: For various learning types, I included several activities

that addressed different learning styles. For visual learners, the interactive
Thanksgiving playbook will provide picture prompts to help the students
visualize what happened. The sorting chart will also serve as a visual means to
organize information from the story. The pictures from the photo booth center
will help the visual learners retain information. For auditory learners, discussion
will be a primary method of instruction. They will also be able to hear stories
associated to Thanksgiving, and verbally collaborate with other group members
to complete activities. For kinesthetic learners, the hands-on activities will allow
them to expand understanding on a deeper level. The mock play will help them
act out what happened, and the cutting and pasting activity will develop their
awareness of who played which role in the first Thanksgiving.
(ACEI 3.2)

VI.

Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

Input:
After the anticipatory set and purpose statement are completed, the teacher will move into
the input component of lesson presentation. During the input portion, the teacher will build
background knowledge of the topic by conducting a whole-group interactive instructional
reading of the first Thanksgiving created by the teacher. Each page of the teacher-created
book will show on the Smartboard, and the teacher will read and describe the roles and
characteristics associated with the first Thanksgiving. She will relate the material to current
traditions associated with American Thanksgiving. On the board is the story about how
Thanksgiving was created! There were these people from across the world, called Pilgrims,
heres a Pilgrim, who came to America in a boat. The teacher will continue to review each
slide. The slides will contain the story about how the Pilgrims traveled over in a boat, settled
in the land, and had to have help from the Native Americans because it was a new place. To
thank the Native Americans for their help, the Pilgrims prepared a dinner feast and to
welcome the Pilgrims, the Native Americans hunted and prepared native food for the
Pilgrims. After they prepared the food, the two groups of people ate together. After the
interactive read-aloud on the smart board, the class will hold a discussion of the first
Thanksgiving. The teacher will ask the following questions:
What were things that the Pilgrims did?
What were some things that the Native Americans did?
What are some new things that you learned?
This was the very first Thanksgiving. Is it like the Thanksgiving we celebrate? Why or
why not?
After class discussion, the teacher will transition into modeling the station activities
integrated into the lesson. As she models, she will move around the room to demonstrate
the activity at each station. After she models each of the three stations, she will ask the
students to repeat directions back to her to insure they understand expectations. Directions
for all stations will also be posted in each area accordingly.
Now we are going to experience what it was like to be a Pilgrim or a Native American
during the first Thanksgiving! We are going to do three centers (I will refer to them as
centers rather than stations because that is a term the students are familiar to). At the first
center in the front of the classroom board, 2 of you will dress as Native Americans and the
other 2 will dress as Pilgrims (3 Pilgrims if you are a group of 5). Then, you will act out the
book we just read out loud! Just like a play! Pretend you are the Pilgrims and the Native
Americans. There are props for you to play and act the book out with!

For the second center at the kidney table, you are going to sort out what the Pilgrims did
during the first Thanksgiving, and what the Native Americans did during the first
Thanksgiving. There is a book here, just like the one we just read, to help you find the
answers if you need help remembering. There is a column that says Pilgrims, so you cut out
all the pictures of the things the Pilgrims did during Thanksgiving and glue them in this
column (the teacher will be pointing at an example as she models). In the column that says
Native Americans, you will cut out all the pictures of the things the Native Americans did
during the first Thanksgiving and then glue them in that column. Then, after you are done
cutting and gluing, color your picture! If you get done coloring the pictures, then there is
another picture on the back that you can color. On the coloring page, match the number to
the color. So color all 1s on the page green, all the 2s red, and so on. BUT YOU HAVE TO
CUT AND GLUE FIRST BEFORE YOU COLOR.
For the third center at the morning meeting place, you will finish the sentence on these
cards with blanks. One card says: Im a Pilgrim and I ________, and you will chose an
answer from the answer pile and attach it to the card. I will chose this one. Im a Pilgrim
and I came to America on a boat. Then after I complete the sentence, one person in my
group will use this IPad and take a picture of me holding the sign! You can use these props
to take pictures: here is a Pilgrim hat, a Native American band, etc. You can do more than
one, but make sure everyone from your group has a last one picture of themselves. We are
going to hang these pictures up when we are finished. There is a book at this station too to
help you find the right answers to finish the sentence.
After the teacher models each of the stations, she will explain that there are sets of
directions at each station. She will then ask three students to explain a station one at a time
to reinforce expectations. After students repeat directions, the teacher will remind the
students that she will be walking around and to ask 3 Before Me. Then, she will call the
names of each group and begin the centers.
Output:
During the lesson presentation output, I will be around the room guiding students and
checking for understanding as the students are participating in their stations. To check for
understanding, I will use questioning techniques and leveled monitoring to assess
competency.
Each station will be 10 minutes long, and I will provide 2 minute warnings. When providing
warnings, I will use the clapping method to gain attention and then I will inform them that 2
minutes is left so they need to wrap up what they are doing and clean up for the next group.
After 2 minutes, I will use the clapping method again to gain attention, direct student which
way to alternate, and give them one minute to transition to the new center.
For the interactive mock play station, I will ask the following questions:
Who are the Pilgrims? What are you doing that is in the book?
Who are the Native Americans? What are you doing?
What came first? The Pilgrims coming to America on a boat or the Native Americans
helping prepare food for Thanksgiving?
What came after the Pilgrims arrived to their new place?
How did the Native Americans and Pilgrims help each other?
How did they change the world?
For the sorting chart activity and coloring station, I will ask the following questions:
Who came to America in a boat?

Who helped the Pilgrims in their new place?

Who ate at the feast?
How did they help change the way we treated people?

For the photo booth and fill-in-the-blank activity, I will ask the following questions:
What is your sentence? Does your sentence make you a Pilgrim or a Native
American?
What is a different sentence that you could make for a Pilgrim? Native American?
What all did they do to help change the world?
VII.

Check for understanding

To check for understanding, I will use formative and summative assessment strategies that
address several components of multiple intelligences. I will continuously ask comprehension
questions and analyze student answers during each lesson component. The teacher will use
the sorting charts, photo booth pictures, discussion responses, and observation techniques
to assess the competency of each student. Visual understanding will be assessed through
the sorting chart and the photo booth answers, kinesthetic understanding will be assessed
through the mock play activity, and auditory understanding will be assessed through student
discussion and response to teacher questioning.
During stations, I will observe the students interactions with each other during the group
station activities, as well as their thought processes when observing and analyzing the
events and characters corresponding to the first Thanksgiving. If students appear to be
struggling, the teacher will assist them at their stations, or prompt collaboration among the
group to aid in the solving of the problem.
Based on checklist data and observation: If 80% of the students show mastery of content,
move forward in the lesson and unit. Address the 20% in a small group setting for
reinforcement and re-teaching, scheduled for a meeting time sometime throughout that
week. If less than 80% show mastery, then re-teach the lesson to the whole class, using
different instructional strategies.
VII. Review learning outcomes / Closure
After the lesson output, the teacher will use the clapping method to gain attention of the
class and then direct students to regather at their individual seats. Once they are seated at
their desks, the teacher will begin discussion to close the lesson. The closure will consist of a
guided discussion reviewing concepts targeted during instruction. The teacher will ask the
following questions, and record student answers on the board. She will have two circles
drawn on the white board, one labeled Pilgrims and the other Native Americans. She will fill
the two circles with the answers provided by the students so that they are able to obtain a
visual and organize information effectively. She will ask the following questions:
Which center was your favorite? Why?
What were some things that the Pilgrims did during the first Thanksgiving? (write
answers in circle)
What were some of the things that the Native Americans did during the first
Thanksgiving? (write answers in circle)
What do you do for Thanksgiving? Is it like what the Pilgrims and Native Americans
did or not?
Why were the Pilgrims thankful for the Native Americans?
Why do we still celebrate Thanksgiving today?
How did small people, like the Pilgrims, make a big change?

After questioning, the teacher will transition into the next activity scheduled for the day.
PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT
A. Formative: For formative assessment, the teacher will use informal observations of student participation in
centers and student answers during discussion to assess competency. She will also use the tangible
activities completed during the centers, including the sorting chart, sequencing of events play, and fill-inthe-blank sentences to assess understanding.
B. Summative: For summative assessment, the teacher will ask students a question pertaining to the roles of
the characters involved in the first Thanksgiving on the unit celebration of learning. She will also use the
pictures taken during the third station to assess student answers and hang on display.
.
REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS
1.

(ACEI 4.0)

How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?

All students met the objective with the exception of two students. These two students were
absent during the beginning of the lesson due to speech therapy, causing them to miss the
direct instruction component of the lesson. Those who demonstrated mastery of the
objectives did so through the forms of formative assessment including observation, verbal
discussion, kinesthetic plays, sentence matching, and picture sorting.
2.
What were my strengths and weaknesses?
My strengths included my anticipatory set, guided practice, and forms of assessment. Students
were active and engaged during the beginning of the lesson, and stayed on task well during
guided practice. I was able to make valid observations and ask guided questions during
center times. I was able to include many forms of assessment that students enjoyed.
Sentence cards, pictures on the IPad, sorting charts, and observations were among the few.
Another strength included structure. There were many interruptions during my lesson, but,
working with the students, I was able to stay on pace with the lesson.
My weaknesses included the transition to closure. When students were through each of the
three centers and asked to return to their individual desks, the time took longer than
deemed necessary.
3.

How should I alter this lesson?

To alter the lesson, I would provide more props for the 'role playing' center. I would also have art
supplies provided at the second center before hand, so that students do not need to worry
about their art boxes during transitions.
4.

How would I pace it differently?

To pace it differently, I should read through the book (direct instruction) twice. Once by me, and
then the second time by groups of students. This will instill the necessary knowledge in
students more firmly before being dismissed to centers.
5.

Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?

Yes, all students were actively participating. The activities required high levels of engagement
and collaboration, allowing for each team member to contribute evenly to the activity
provided.
6.
a.

What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
Blooms Taxonomy: For Bloom's Taxonomy, I leveled my questioning techniques to range
from comprehension level questions to evaluation style questions. I also integrated many
activities that required high levels of application rather than identification and
comprehension, such as the role playing station and the sentence card prop center.

b.

Gardners Multiple Intelligences: For multiple intelligences, I incorporated a range of

activities that addressed several components of learning styles. Kinesthetic learners were
addressed through the role playing station and hands-on sentence matching station.
Auditory and verbal-linguistic learners were addressed through the high levels of discussion
and collaboration required for each activity. Whole group discussion also catered to their
needs. Visual and spatial learners were able to analyze the pictures in the Thanksgiving book
and create their own IPad pictures. Artistic learners were able to cut and paste and color at
the second station when completing the sorting activity. Interpersonal learners were able to
interact with other group members during the completion of activities.

7.

Did the Thanksgiving playbook provide enough information and background knowledge
to guide students in each of their centers?

Yes! Students were able to meet the objectives and expectations of the centers easily and with
limited support. Students were found referring to the copies of the Thanksgiving provided at
each center repeatedly. The sentence structure was designed to be simple, so that all levels
of readers could engage in the book.
8.

Were students able to actively make personal connections with the material and the
underlying meaning of Thanksgiving?

Yes! Students were able to relate to 'new places' that they have experienced and the feelings
associated with those new places. They were able to relate to the Pilgrims for coming to a
new place, as well as relate to the Indians for wanting to help others in need. Students were
also able to make connections within the community. During direct instruction, one student
commented that the Indians offered a 'helping hand' to the Pilgrims, just like the Salvation
Army building named "Helping Hands" does for the town of Fairmount.
9.

Were transitions smooth? Did students clearly understand expectations and instructions
provided at each station? How could the stations be adapted to better fit the learning needs
of first graders?

All transitions were smooth with the exception of the last transition to conclude the lesson at
their individual desks. Centers were numbered so students were clear as to where they
began and ended. All students were able to understand the picture directions posted at each
station, and the number of questions were few especially after implementing the 'Ask 3
Before Me' management technique. All stations proved to be developmentally appropriate
for first grade students. Perhaps having organizational baskets for materials at the third
station (sentence cards and IPad pictures) would have improved the management of
materials for first graders.
Revision Date: August 25, 2015

2007 ACEI Standard

Resources:
Station 3 Photo Booth printable props: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/235102043021311401/
Coloring Sheet: http://www.free-coloring-pages.com/page/thanksgiving-09.html

10

Name ____________________________________

Pilgrims

Native Americans

11

Center 1 Instructions
1.
Two people dress up like Native
Americans.

2.
Everybody else dress up like
Pilgrims.

3.
Pretend you
and Native Americans.

4.

Act out the book.

12

are Pilgrims

Center 2 Instructions
1. Cut out pictures.

2. Glue pictures where they belong.

3. Color the pictures.

4. Color the picture on the back when

done.

13

Center 3 Instructions
1.
Fill-in-the-sentence with the
answer.
I am a Native American and I
_________________________

I am a Pilgrim and I
_____________________

2.
Dress up like the person on your
card.

3.

Take a picture.

14

Readiness

Goals
Objectives
Standards

Anticipatory Set

Purpose

Plan For
Instruction

Adaptation to
Diverse Students
ACEI Standard 3.2

Lesson Presentation
Social Studies
ACEI Standard 2.4

Lesson Presentation
ACEI Standard 3.3

Check for

Needs Improvement
1
Lesson objectives are
poorly written and/or
have little or no
connection to learning
goals or standards.
Little connection
exists between
objectives and lesson
activities and
assessments.
The anticipatory set is
missing or has little or
no connection to the
goal or content of the
lesson.

Emerging
Competence 2
Lesson objectives are
correlated with
learning goals and
standards. The
connection between
objectives and lesson
activities and
assessments is weak
or unclear.

Competent 3

Outstanding 4

The lesson plan

contains objectives
that connect goals
and standards with
lesson activities and
assessments.

The lesson plan contains

clearly stated content
objectives. Objectives are
logically connected to
appropriate goals and
standards and are
consistent with lesson
activities and assessments.

The connection
between the
anticipatory set and
lesson objectives and
content is weak or
unclear.

The anticipatory set

is clear and direct
and focuses students
attention on the
lesson.

The statement of
purpose is ambiguous
or worded so
generally that the
connection with the
content of the lesson
is not apparent.

A statement of
purpose is included in
the lesson, but has
little power to
motivate students and
capture their
imaginations.

The statement of
purpose is clearly
connected to the
content of the lesson
and is presented in
terms that are easily
understood by
students.

The anticipatory set

connects the current lesson
with previous and future
learning and focuses
students minds and
attention on the days
lesson.
The statement of purpose
has the power to capture
the imaginations of
students and motivate
them to accomplish the
expected learning.

Needs Improvement
1
Few or no instructional
opportunities are
included. Any
instructional
opportunities are not
developmentally
appropriate or
adapted to diverse
students.

Emerging
Competence 2
Instructional
opportunities are
provided in this
lesson; however, they
are not adapted to
diverse students.

The candidates
lesson plan suggests
that he or she is not
familiar with the
themes, concepts, and
modes of inquiry
drawn from the
academic fields of the
social studies.
The candidate does
not demonstrate
understanding of the
major concepts and
modes of inquiry from
the social studies, and
does not promote
elementary students
ability to make
informed decisions as
citizens of a culturally
diverse democratic
society and
interdependent world.

The candidates
lesson plan suggests
emerging familiarity
with the themes,
concepts, and modes
of inquiry drawn from
the academic fields of
the social studies.
The candidate
demonstrates limited
understanding of the
major concepts and
modes of inquiry from
the social studies, and
minimally promotes
elementary students
ability to make
informed decisions as
citizens of a culturally
diverse democratic
society and
interdependent world.

The lesson
presentation does not
encourage elementary
students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.

The lesson
presentation includes
little provision for
students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.

Little or no provision is
included to check for
student understanding
or to reteach concepts
that elude students

A guided practice
15
section is included in
the lesson plan, but
the connection with
the lesson

Competent 3
Instructional
opportunities are
provided in this
lesson. The
opportunities are
developmentally
appropriate and/or
are adapted to
diverse students.
The candidate
demon-strates an
under- standing of
the themes,
concepts, and modes
of inquiry drawn from
the social studies in
his or her lesson
plan. He or she
develops experiences
to help elem.
students learn about
major social studies
concepts. The
candidates lesson
plan demonstrates an
understanding of the
major concepts and
modes of inquiry
from the social
studies, and enables
stu- dents to learn
about the major
themes that integrate
knowledge across the
social students and
helps them become
productive
participants in a
democratic society.
The lesson
presentation includes
at least one teaching
strategy that
encourages
elementary students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.
The lesson plan
includes a plan and
the means to check
for student
understanding of the

Outstanding 4
Specific instructional
opportunities are provided
in this lesson that
demonstrate the
candidates understanding
of how students differ in
their development and
approaches to learning.
The instructional
opportunities are adapted
to diverse students.
The candidate
demonstrates in-depth
knowledge and
understanding of how the
major concepts and
themes of social studies
are integrated across
academic fields in his or
her lesson plan.
The candidates lesson
plan demonstrates an indepth understanding of the
social studies and a
significant ability to help K6 students learn the
essential concepts and
become productive
participants in a
democratic society.

The lesson presentation

includes a variety of
teaching strategies that
encourage elementary
students development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.
Plans to check for student
understanding of the
content are an integral part
of the lesson, and include
frequent questions and