Ms. Hexum's Unit Lesson Plans

MS. HEXUM’S CLASSROOM GOALS:
  • The classroom would be a place that is a safe, positive, and respectful learning environment.
  • Students would actively take responsibility for their own learning and the learning of others.
  • To develop a positive relationship with each student.
  • To make sure that I am working to my full potential in my quality of teaching and that my students are working to their full potential in their learning.



INDIVIDUAL LESSON PLAN GOALS:
  • Students will be able to:
    • Understand the reasons for the Western Expansion and how it influenced the lives of Native Americans
    • Understand the motives for exploration of the Western United States and for the Gold Rush and how it created culture.
    • Use reliable internet resources to find information on the Old West
    • Create a pamphlet highlighting important events, people, and information pertaining to the Old West.

WEEK 1
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Introduction
Lewis & Clark
Lewis & Clark
Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
WEEK 2
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Gold Rush
Migration to Western States
Cowboy Culture
Pamphlet/ Prepare for Hoedown
Pamphlet/
Prepare for Hoedown



LESSON PLANS:
WEEK 1:

Monday
  • Students will watch a few short clips from famous old western movies as a way to introduce the unit.
  • The teacher will explain how these types of movies have influenced what we know to be true about the old west and how much of what actually happened has been left out. The teacher will separate the students into small groups and will begin to lead the small groups into a discussion by asking the students to collectively write down what they have heard about the old west but know is wrong, what they know is true about the old west and what they would like to learn.
  • At the end of the class period the teacher will collect the group papers as an exit ticket.
Tuesday
  • The teacher will hand out copies of journal excerpts made by Lewis and Clark on their journey along with a map of the United States at that time.
  • Students will be split into groups and will be designated topics (e.g. food, travel, lodging…) that they will have to look for in the entries. The students will make a poster covering their assigned topic and will be required to present to the rest of the class on Wednesday.
  • The teacher will make sure that the students have all the supplies needed to complete their posters and will walk around the room answering questions and making sure that each group stays on task.
Wednesday
  • Students will present their Lewis and Clark posters. While not presenting, students will be required to fill out a note-taking table that has blank spaces for each of the topics being presented on. The students will be able to use this guide as they prepare for the pamphlets next Thursday and Friday.
  • The teacher will hand out the note-taking guides and will facilitate the presentations.
Thursday
  • Students view a painting/picture of the Trail of Tears and will be asked to write down what they see. The teacher will ask the students for responses of what they see in the picture and what they think the picture is showing. The teacher will then explain how the picture is depicting the Trail of Tears in which Cherokee Indians were forced from their homes and had to walk over 800 miles to Oklahoma.
  • The students will watch a segment from Forced Westward. After the movie, students will be given documents written by leaders in American during this time and will be required to bring them back on Friday with two questions and two points that they thought was interesting.
Friday
  • The teacher will instruct the students to tell the person next to them what they thought was interesting about the documents and ask each other what they had questions on.
  • The students will then create a timeline of important events during the Indian Removal Act on a timeline sheet as guided by the teacher. The teacher will lead a discussion about the important events and the implications that those events had on the Native Americans during that time.
  • The timelines will be put in the student’s portfolio along with the note-taking guide from Wednesday so that the information can be referenced when making the pamphlets.

WEEK 2:

Monday
  • Students will be broken up into pods and at each pod will be a separate document describing important events of the Gold Rush with questions requiring the students to think critically. The students will rotate around the room to each of the different pods, but will be required to lead the discussion at least one time. After each rotation of students around pods, one student from each group will stay behind and lead the incoming group of students in the discussion.
  • Teachers will facilitate the activity and will have provided the discussion questions and instructions before starting the activity. The students will write down one thing they learned from each pod and will turn it in as an exit ticket at the end of class.

Tuesday
  • The teacher will provide a brief introduction of the process of migrating westward looked like for many settlers and Indians. The teacher will provide documents that give further details about the way that many people travelled and what they did to survive.
  • Students will write a journal entry using the information given to them. The journal entry will consists of the students writing about traveling to the West Coast as though they were doing so in the early 1800’s.

Wednesday
  • The students will make a Venn Diagram that illustrates what they believe to be true about cowboys and what they can infer from the previous lessons.
  • The teacher will show clips from several different western films depicting the different kinds of frontier life and students will be required to write down different aspects of those characters in their Venn Diagram. Students will also read excerpts from documents describing real life cowboy culture and frontier life.
  • The students will then be split up into groups and will be required to draw a cowboy/cowgirl on a piece of paper given to them and write next to the drawing all the things that they know to be true of cowboy culture.

Thursday
  • Students will get time to research the Old West in the computer lab today. Students will create a research information in order to create a brochure that focuses on the historical Old West to be used at our Old West Hoedown. Students will be placed in groups of 2-3 and will be required to research the Old West and make a brochure that demonstrates what they have learned.
  • Students may also use any information that they have collected over the past two weeks in their brochure.
  • The teacher will supervise this process and will answer any questions that the students may have.

Friday
  • Students will get a second work day to finish their brochures for the Hoedown tonight. Students will be able to finish up any researching that they have left to do and will be able to design the brochure that their group is in charge of.
  • The teacher will supervise this process and will answer any questions that the students may have.

ACCOMODATIONS:

Jim: ADHD
Jim has been identified as having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  He has difficulty focusing and maintaining attention and is frequently impulsive. Jim often has trouble listening to and following directions.  He is easily distracted, which has proven difficult in a middle school environment.  He often blurts out answers, begins assignments early, and doesn’t often consider the potential consequences to his actions.  He is exceptionally imaginative and quite creative.
  • At the beginning of the year I created a seating chart that place Jim near the front of the classroom.
  • I make sure to have a written copy of all of instructions, whether on the board or on a separate piece of paper.
  • If needed, I allow Jim to have extra time on certain assignments.
  • I make sure to incorporate small breaks into the lessons, such as stretching breaks.
  • Make sure that Jim knows where to get the answers to the note-taking guide incase he wasn’t able to keep up in class.

Karina: Persistent articulation problem
Karina has a persistent articulation problem.  She stutters frequently, and is thus reluctant to speak out in class.  She is easily embarrassed and self-conscious when speaking, which hurts her socially, as she doesn’t appear to have a strong support group of friends.
  • At the beginning of the year I paired up students with “buddies” to keep each other accountable throughout the year. I made sure to pair up Karina with someone that I knew would be very accepting, kind and patient with her. I made sure to sit Karina next to her buddy in the seating chart.
  • I don’t call on Karina in front of the whole class unless she raises her hand. Instead, if I want to assess if she knows something I ask her one-on-one or have her write it down.
  • I make sure to put a stronger emphasis on the work the students do instead of their presentation of the information to take some of the pressure off of Karina.
  • I chose to do more smaller group activities instead of whole class discussions so that Karina has a better chance to speak without feeling the pressure of being in front of a huge group.