O'Hanlon's+Lesson+Plan+1

include component="comments" page="O'Hanlon's Lesson Plan" limit="30" ** Daily Lesson GAME Plan **
 * Teacher:** Jay O’Hanlon
 * Lesson Title:** Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?
 * Subject**: Social Studies
 * Grade Level:** 8th
 * Related Lessons:** Primary and Secondary sources, bias, multiple perspectives
 * Unit:** Exploration


 * __ Goals: __**
 * Content Standards:**
 * Primary and Secondary sources are used to examine events from multiple perspectives and to present and defend a position
 * North America, originally inhabited by American Indians, was explored and colonized by Europeans for economic and religious reasons


 * ISTE NETS-S**
 * 1) Creativity and Innovation
 * 2) Communication and Collaboration
 * 3) Research and information fluency
 * 4) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decisions making
 * 5) Digital citizenship
 * 6) Technology operations and concepts

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the idea of multiple perspectives of historical events and the influence this perspective has on history. Students will be introduced to primary and secondary sources and learn how their analysis is critical towards making decisions on historical events. Students will learn these skills in the context of Columbus’ early voyages and his interaction with the Taino. Students will ultimately make a decision on whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated, and decide what realistic action they would like to take as a result of their position.
 * Instructional Objectives:**


 * __ Action: __**
 * Before-Class Preparation:**
 * The teacher should gauge students’ understanding of Christopher Columbus and his expeditions from fifth grade social studies. The teacher will have the students create a journal entry having the students explain what they know about Columbus and why he was important. Teacher should gather primary sources for the students to analyze including :
 * Sections from []
 * Selection from class textbook (can use online textbook)
 * Selection of Columbus Images (courtesy of Wikimedia commons)
 * Letters from Columbus and Bartolome de las Cases from []


 * The teacher should create heterogeneous student groups of 2-4 students, depending on class size.
 * The teacher should also create a graphic organizer to help the students organize their information as they analyze the primary and secondary sources.
 * The teacher should also be familiar with Diigo and have an account created. Students will also use Diigo in order to highlight and comment on online resources. The teacher should introduce this tool to students prior to this lesson. Students should also be familiar with using the class wiki, provided by Wikispaces.
 * On the teacher webpage, the teacher should post an outline of the agenda for each day, as well as instructions for each class period.
 * Teacher should create a final product/presentation rubric for final assessment.


 * __ During Class: __**
 * Time:** Seven forty-five minute class periods.
 * Instructional Activities:**

Students will be asked to journal for ten minutes independently everything they know about Christopher Columbus. The teacher will then lead a class discussion about what students already know about Columbus, assessing prior knowledge. Students will share their journals and respond to teacher questions during the class discussion. The students will then be asked to hypothesize as to why the United States currently celebrates Columbus Day. The teacher will lead a discussion about the qualifications necessary to earn a nationally celebrated holiday. Students will be guided through a review of how to use Diigo, and how to read and add comments. Classroom procedures and expectations, as well as online etiquette will be reviewed. Students will then be introduced to primary and secondary sources, and work in small groups interacting with primary and secondary sources provided by the teacher.
 * Part One: Primary Source Analysis**
 * Day 1:**

Students will work in small groups analyzing primary and secondary sources provided on the teacher’s Diigo page. Students will use the highlighting and comment tools provided in order to annotate the webpages as well as collaborate with each other while reviewing these resources. The students will then work together to complete a graphic organizer of the information as they analyze the primary and secondary sources.
 * Day 2:**


 * Part Two: Product Creation**

The students will work in their groups to finish their analysis of their primary sources and the completion of their graphic organizers. The students will then begin to work on their final presentations that display their information. Students will be encouraged to answer the question “Should we celebrate Columbus Day?” using any multimedia format to present their findings. Students can create videos, VoiceThreads, Prezis, or other multimedia presentations with prior approval. The students also need to choose their audience for their presentation in order for their opinion to be heard. Students can choose to direct their presentations to a local, state, or national level. The presentations should be both informative, included information from the analyzed primary and secondary sources, as well as persuasive.
 * Day 3-6**

The students will share their presentations, and the teacher will lead discussions about the main points and topics from the presentation. Concepts to discuss:
 * Final Day**

What influence does perspective have on history? Why should we study primary and secondary sources, and which is preferable? What danger is there in relying on one source (class textbook) for information? How can bias influence history? What forms of cultural bias surround us today, and what can we do to prevent it as historians?


 * Materials and Resources:** Mobile Laptop Cart, Diigo accounts (teacher account preloaded with list of all included websites) graphic organizers, Video Camera, student mobile devices.


 * Notes:** Collaboration through Diigo and among group members is critical for higher-level thinking skills to be developed. It is important that students have a working knowledge of how to use Diigo, as well as how to work effectively in groups prior to working on this project. If necessary, a teacher should review proper group work expectations.

The teacher should monitor and evaluate how each group is working every day. Informal review of group graphic organizers should also occur. A teacher may choose to give specific deadlines or checkpoints so that groups stay on task. For example: primary sources 1 and 2 should be completed by the end of class on Tuesday. This can be listed in the instructions placed on the class website and displayed on the board to start class. The timelines suggested are rough estimates and may need to be adjusted based on student needs. It is the teacher’s responsibility to monitor and adjust in order to allow the students proper time to work on their assignments, without feeling rushed, in order to produce a high quality product. Conversely, too much time should not be given in order to reinforce on-task behavior.
 * __ Monitor: __**
 * Ongoing Assessments:**

Teachers can choose to have interventionists work along side students with special needs in order to provide individual accommodations and redirection. The teacher should also take the placement of special needs students into consideration when creating group. Each group should have assigned a “leader” role who assures all group members are working and understand the material. During the primary source reading, special needs students and ELLs can read the blue highlighted text that has been selected by the teacher. This will ensure they will be able to understand the material and participate in their group activities. Gifted students will be able to extend their thinking by drawing connections across the primary sources and given access to additional sections of the text, as well as additional resources, when appropriate.
 * Accommodations and Extensions:**


 * Back-up Plan:** If students do not have online access, class textbooks, and printed copies of all primary sources should be available. Students can use actual post-it notes to take notes and work with their groups in order to annotate during the primary and secondary source analysis.

The final presentation should be assessed using a rubric that is discussed with the students at the beginning of the unit. If time allows, students should be invited to construct the rubric as a class in order to determine what a high quality presentation looks like.
 * __ Evaluation: __**
 * Lesson Reflections and Notes:**