TE 404 Field Based Lesson Planning

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DMya Harris
Social Studies Lesson Plan
Grade level: 5th Length of lesson: 1hr, 20 mins
Curriculum
Native American Regions Review
Lesson Abstract:
This lesson will be on the culture and geographical locations of the Native
American regions The Great Plains, The Desert Southwest, The Eastern Woodland, and
Pacific Northwest. Students will be put in expert groups that focus on a specific region
and they will fill in their region on a blank map and they will fill in a chart for their
region that includes the type of clothing, food, and housing their region of tribes had in
the past, they will perform this in groups. Then the groups will create a poster to
represent their information about the region to share with the class. The students have
already learned about these regions in there textbook, this lesson will focus on the regions
similarities and differences.
c). Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will identify regions of Native American tribes on a map.
2. Students will compare and contrast Native American regions in terms of culture,
including type of clothes, food, and housing.
3. Students will explain how the environment of the tribes in these regions played a part
in their clothes, food, and housing.
d). Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs):
Use maps to locate peoples in the desert southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic
nations of the Great Plains and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River
(Eastern Woodland). (Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations 5-U.1.1.2)
Compare how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest
adapted to or modified the environment. (Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations 5U1.1.2)
e). Rationale:
This lesson is a combined rational between the Michigan GLCEs, my mentor
teacher, and my own. The GLCEs rational in this lesson focuses on students
understanding of where events took place geographically as well as human interaction
with the environment before European exploration and conquest. My mentor teacher
wants me to use technology in the lesson because it is important to show students an
example of how to use technology to demonstrate ideas and share them with others.
Learning about Native American is also important because it will allow students to think
more critically about their lives and to think about the factors that influence the way they
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lived. I also want the students to understand that Native American culture is not only in
history but also relevant to the present. It is important for students to better understand
the past and present of people unlike themselves in order to be well rounded citizens who
are conscious of the diversity in America. Understanding the content of this lesson should
be meaningful and worthwhile for these students because they are primarily from the
same area in Lansing and this lesson can help broaden their horizon on other parts of
America and its history.

g) Big Idea(s).

Native Americans in all regions adapted their culture and ways of life based on
their environment.

Native Americans from all regions differ in their culture and ways of living.

h). Social Studies Content:

First students should be able to identify the Native American regions Eastern
Woodland, Great Plains, Southwest Desert, and Northwest Coast on a map of the United
States. This part is important because this is how the students will be able to distinguish
the geographic differences in region. They should understand from the map that because
of different location weather and landscape will also be different. I will also make a point
to drive this concept home and explain the differences of each geographical location
which leads into why each region has a different way of life.
The Eastern Woodland region had the same type of weather as Michigan which
includes all 4 seasons. That is why they had practices such as gardening in the spring and
persevering for the winter. Seeing this region on the map the students can also see why
the tribes in this region had 1000s of lakes, rivers, and streams for fresh fish and plenty
of water. This location also has very thick forest which offered wood for their longhouses
and other wood needs as well as animals such as deer, bears, elk, and beavers.
The Great Plains was a flat region that had few trees and very dry weather. With
fewer trees their homes were not made of only wood they were large round huts or lodges
created from earth packed over a wooden frame. This region also had millions of buffalo
which the tribes in the regions used for meat, clothes, blankets, and covers for tepees. The
tribes in this region traveled to hunt the buffalo in the spring and summer which is why
they needed the tepees as shelter that is easy to travel with. Dogs and later horses were
used to pull the travois that were sacs with everything they traveled with. The tribes in
this region also settled along rivers and farmed corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins.

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The Southwest Desert region was a hot and dry region and the tribes in this region
often had a need for more rain for their farming where they also grew corn, beans, and
squash, but also cotton. The hunters in this region raised sheep and used them for food
and many other needs. The villages in this region looked more like apartment buildings
that were several stories off of the floor in order to defend against enemies.
The last region the Northwest Coast had many natural resources. One of the most
important resources they had were tall cedar trees that they used for many things
including their houses made of logs and canoes. Tribes in this region were master wood
carvers because of all the access to wood so they were known for other things like their
totem poles. There was a mild coastal climate so the tribe wore light to no clothing. The
tribes in this region did not farm because they used hunting and gathering to feed
themselves. They ate seals, fish, sea otters, and other game, sometimes including whales.
Going through the different regions based on geographical location what I want the
students to take away is how different the tribes in these regions are. I want them to
understand most of the differences come from their location in the US.
a). Resources, Preparation/Materials:
Materials for whole class:

Materials for groups:

PowerPoint created
by me to have the
directions of each stage
of the lesson displayed
in the front of
classroom.

Annotated Bibliography:

Hand out created by

me that is specific to
each region. This
handout includes a
blank map for the
students to fill in their
region and information
on that region for them
to put in their
organizers.
Organizers created
by me including spaces
for the type of clothing,
food, art, and housing
of their region.

Materials to accommodate
individual student needs:
(be sure to indicate how you
are going to provide
resources needed for any
students with special needs
ESL, gifted, autistic, etc.)

The PowerPoint I
make displaying the
instructions will helps
students be able to see
instructions as I read
them aloud, as well as
refer back to them.

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Foresman, Scott. (2008). Building A Nation. Glenview, Illinois. Pearson

Education, Inc
This textbook was made for 5th graders so is at the 5th grade
reading level, the only problem with that is not all of the students in
my class are at 5th grade reading level. The textbook broke down each
region into a section and gave information on the region. Each section
discussed the tribes geographic location and the tribes that were in
each region along with some of their cultural practices. There is
potential bias coming from the textbook authors which I noticed on the
Thanksgiving Dinner summary that called it a peaceful and successful
gathering. This textbook provided the information for each regions
houses, food, and climate.
Liptak, Karen. (1991). Indians of the Pacific Northwest. New York, NY.
Facts on File
This book was one of the books I selected from the library.
The book focuses only on the tribes in the Pacific Northwest region and
included the specific tribes known to be from this region. This book
includes extensive information on the tribal practices including war,
food, hunting, religion, art, and traditions. The author of the book is
Native America and could have made the book in a positive light but I
think that the information in the text was reliable. I mainly used this
book to show pictures of artifacts that the tribes in this region used.
Wilbur M.D., Keith. (1995). The Woodland Indians: An Illustrated
Account of the LifeStlyes of Americas First Inhabitants. Old Saybrook,
CT: The Globe Pequot Press
This book was one of the books I selected from the library. The
book focuses only on the Woodland tribes and included the specific
tribes known to be from the Woodland region. This book includes
extensive information on the tribes practices including war, food,
hunting, religion, and traditions. The author of the book is Native
America and could have made the book in a positive light but I think
that the information in the text was reliable. I mainly used this book to
show pictures of artifacts that the tribes in this region used.

Who are my students?

My students are amazing! Each one of these 5th graders has so much character I could
talk to them all day. My placement at Mt. Pleasant is a good example of an urban school
it is small and very diverse. The class sizes are too large so classes do not have enough
books for the students to have science instruction. I often wonder why my mentor teacher
does not make lessons for science without having a textbook since a textbook is not
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always needed. The school has a high number of students who qualify for special
education services and behavior problems occur throughout the school on a regular basis.
I have a mixture of Black, White, and Hispanic students in my classroom. My mentor
teacher informed me that this class had the most single parents or deceased parents she
has seen in her classroom in her life, she says the students have been through so much. I
knew these students were experiencing stress at an early age on my first day in class and
the students told the class why they were proud of themselves. One student said Im
proud that I stayed strong with all my family issues, she and my mentor teacher made
eye contact and my teacher nodded confirming the teacher knew the experience she was
referring to. A lot of other students expressed how they were just proud that they made it
to the 5th grade because they thought they would not pass the fourth grade. I never would
have thought that so many students would have been worried about passing the fourth
grade.
In my classroom we have a range of different learning abilities and the school does not
do much to support students on the higher learning spectrum. Many students in my
classroom start to talk minutes after being assigned work because they are already
finished, these students are not being challenged. My classroom also consists of around 5
students who are pulled out every day for special education and many of these students
are the students who are disruptive during class. The rest of the class ranges from
students who have loud personalities to very soft and shy personalities.
Student knowledge and interests..
Recently in class my students have been working on a number of things, focusing
on some things more than others. There is a lot of time dedicated to language arts
instruction where students read quietly from their text book or write a rough draft and
final draft for their experience with The Cardboard Challenge. The teacher does
incorporate social studies in when it fits into the schedule which is just having the
students do work for their social studies textbook. I was unable to see what the students
were doing in the books because none of the students were doing the work. This social
studies only lasted around 15 minutes and seemed like it was used as filler until time to
go to library.
During my Seeing Student Thinking analysis I was able to see that the
background knowledge of my students was a brief overview of the entire Native
American unit in their textbook. Their knowledge seemed to be just concepts they took
away on their own. It also seems as none of the content was reviewed or taught by an
instructor because the students were applying their characterizations of the Native
Americans very generally, for examples saying that Natives Americans built tepees but
only one Native American region had tribes that used tepees when traveling. The students
never mentioned that the Native Americans in each region were different which is one of
the important ideas to take away.
Classroom context.
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My mentor teacher has her classroom set up in an odd way based on her teaching
activities. There is a map of the layout of the class room below. The desks are set up in a
way that is difficult for group work which was something I had to accommodate for in
my lesson because it included group work for majority of the lesson. I had to have the
student find space in the back of the room and arranged their desks in order to work
together.
The classroom set up could allow for lots of think- pair- share activities however
my mentor teacher does not do those types of activities and unless speaking to her or
asking a question she requires her students to be in complete silence. This contradicts the
seating arrangement which is optimal for one-on-one student interaction. My mentor
teacher does do her Todays Expectations as well as any discussions she may have in
the back of the classroom where she sits on the rocking chair and has the students gather
on the floor around the poster paper. There is not much space here so the students whose
desks are already in the back of the class have to stay in their seats and turn around.
This classroom also seems to be lacking resources. The only technology in the
classroom is the teachers computer, the smart board, and the Elmo Projector. There are
no ways for students to access a computer in this classroom and there is also a lack of
books that are usually in a classroom. I also have not seen any small low-tech assistive
devices for students with special needs. This classroom is not very well designed for
students with special needs and there are no modifications that have been made in the
case of having a students with special needs.

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Linguistic, social and academic challenges, resources and supports.

In this classroom all students are physically able to access the entire room so there
was no need to add any accommodations for physical disabilities. The students do
however have a range of academic ability some students being at reading level and others
not, and some being more independent learners than others. The lesson was designed with
lots of supports to help struggling students because there was a PowerPoint with step by
step instructions to refer to, the assignment was done in groups so students were able to
discuss ideas with their peers, as well as the teacher walking around making sure all
groups were on task and allowing them to ask any questions they may have.
The lesson also kept students busy. Students who are usually restless sitting in
their seats not being able to talk were able to talk so they stayed on task better than usual.
In my class we also have a large amount of students who like to draw instead of doing
their work but this lesson asked them to draw pictures that help describe their region on
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their posters so those students were also able to stay more engaged with their groups.
There are 2 to 3 students who are typically shy in this classroom and I suspected they
would not want to present with their groups but when it was time to present they did their
best and did not complain.

TE 404 Field Based Lesson Planning

a) Lesson Procedures
Activity Element
& Time (in minutes)

Introduction

Activity 1

Procedures and management

Step-by step procedures including questions and main points:
visualize what you are going to say to the students. Select at least
three high-leverage practices you will focus on. It might be
helpful to script out what you are going to say, although during
the lesson you do not need to use this language verbatim.

Teacher tells students that in this lesson we are going to be

work cooperatively and remind them of the rules when
working with their peers. These rules include: every student
puts in effort, everybody gets a chance to share ideas, ideas
are respected and if disagreed with students respectfully give
reason for disagreeing, all students should stay on task, and
voices at level 2 when speaking with group members.

Then the Teacher should start getting the students thinking

back to what they already learned about Native Americans.
Teacher asks what was the most interesting thing you
remember learning about Native Americans. This can be in
the form of a class discussion where the teacher goes around
the room listening to the students interesting things and
commenting. The teacher will be able to see some the
misconceptions or get a grasp on what the students
understand.

Academic, social & linguistic

adaptations, resources, and
support
How will you support ALL
students?

All students are able to come to

the teacher with any issues at
this time however there are no
special accommodations made
other than the PowerPoint with
the list of instructions.

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Teacher assigns students into expert groups saying you

five will represent the Northern Woodland region etc. and
gives out an informational handout that corresponds to the
Native American region the group has as well as a blank
information organizer with a section to color in their region
on the map and a section with topics environmental
conditions, food sources, homes, and type of clothing.
Teacher gives instructions that students are to color in

There will be a PowerPoint

slide with all the
information that the teacher
says for students who
understand better while
being able to see what the
teacher is saying and being
able to refer back to the
teachers main point if they
forgot. So many students in
this classroom raise their
hands and say they forgot
what they were going to
talk about when they are
called on.

TE 404 Field Based Lesson Planning

Transition

Activity 2

Transition
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their region on the map then first read their information sheet.
After that they are to work as a group to fill in their organizer
with facts from their information sheet. The teacher then
calls on a student to repeat the instructions and asks the class
if there are any questions.
The teacher should walk around the class while students
are engaged in group discussion and filling out their
organizers. Teacher should see how the students are working
and make sure their ideas are accurate, if not the teacher
should be redirecting their ideas.
Teacher switches the lights on and off to get the students
attention and ask for voices to be at level zero and students to
be in their seats.
Teacher shows a representation of using a poster sized
paper to teach others about their topic. The teacher uses an
example of Michigan and there is a drawn picture of
Michigan at the top and at the bottom there are some facts
about Michigan. This is done to model the type of
representation the experts groups will be making and to show
the items that should be included on the poster.
The teacher should model how to represent to the class
using the Michigan representation.
Teacher ask if there are any questions.
The teacher gives each group a large paper and has the
students create a similar representation of their Native
American region.
Teacher lets groups know headed of time that each
member of the group will have to explain a part when their
group presents so they should take some time to assign roles.
Teacher switches the lights on and off to get the students

Modeling and giving a

visual representation of
what the students are
expected to do.

TE 404 Field Based Lesson Planning

Activity 3

Conclusion:

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attention and ask for voices to be at level zero and students

are back in their seats.
Each of the four groups presents the representation of
their region to the class.
Students are allowed to ask the group questions then
students clap for the group.
The teacher will conduct a discussion about what some of
the Natives American regions had in common and some of
their differences. Asking students questions like which
region used tepees and why? Also asking which regions
hunted and gathered and which regions farmed and why?
and to explain some of the differences of their types of
houses.

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Basis for assessment
Task:
A 4-part Venn diagram of the regions that
should tell what characteristics the regions
had in common and the characteristics that
were different. There will be a word bank
with all of the ideas that are to be included
in the diagram.

Diagnostic features:

The teacher
will be looking to
see that all items
listed in the word
bank are out into
their proper
places on the
Venn diagram.

This task can

be assessed by
assigning a point
value of 2 points
per item correct
and calculating
the total percent
correct each
student receives.

Support:
For students with special needs the
teacher could first read aloud all of
the options in the word bank for
any student with reading
difficulties. Also providing a word
bank is a resource for all students
with spelling needs.

Out-of-school learning opportunities to expand and enrich the curriculum outside of class
An assignment students could do outside of school would be to research current
information about their regions. Specifically the student are to try to find out where in America
there are reservations for the tribes that were once in their region. This will allow students to
make a connection from the map they colored of their regions and the amount of land tribes in
those regions have now after the Europeans came and colonized America.

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