Lesson Plan 1

5th Grade Social Studies
Curriculum Standard:
3. Analyze spatial and ecological relationships between people, places, and environments utilizing social studies tools(e.g. timelines, mental and physical maps, globes, resources, graphs, a compass rose, political cartoons, charts, primary and secondary sources, technology, and other geographical representations).
f. Evaluate land use with a variety of maps (e.g. farming, industrial, recreation, housing, etc.)

Big Idea: Land Usage

Prerequisites:
The students should know:
That our land is used for many resources

• Be able to use a map to locate various areas where land is used for farming, industrial, recreation, housing, etc.
  

Preparation:

• Introduce land usage
• Ask the students to elaborate on the various ways the land can be used in groups.
• Demonstrate ways the land can be used by planting a live plant in soil, water, and place in sunlight.
• Discuss the different way the land can be used.
• Discuss the importance of land usage.

Guidance:

• Students brainstorm about the various ways the land can be used.
• Students will explore in depth the various ways land can be used in groups, and discuss ways they will show land usage in the United States.
• The teacher will walk around providing help and feedback when needed.

Application:

• Introduce the concept of land usage
• Examine the different ways the students elaborate on how the land can be used.

Assessment:

The teacher will formally assess the students on the way(s) they show how land is used in the United States. The teacher will also informally assess the students by their participation in group collaboration.

****Here is a great resources I would use with this lesson. Of course it is from brainpop!!!****
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/industrialrevolution/preview.weml
http://www.brainpop.com/science/ourfragileenvironment/humansandtheenvironment/preview.weml
http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/landbiomes/preview.weml

Conley's Chapter 5

In Chapter 5, the most important thing I read was using different text while teaching our students. Not only confiding ourselves just to text that comes form the textbooks, but also, web pages, trade books, music, movies, and other media, magazines, and newspapers. Incorporating these things into our lessons leads the students to a better understanding in the content areas. We are to also use the text to motivate the students to overcome problems they are currently facing in life.
The different types of text Conley elaborated on are: informational, narrative, and digital text.

• Informational text are our textbooks which can appear on billboards, lists, graphics, and logos on food packages, and traffic and road signs. One other type of informational text is documents, which include forms, schedules, indexes, tables, charts, checks, deposit slips, labels, music transcriptions. They are consistent and their message is purposeful.
  
• Narrative text represent varied worlds, cultures, values, and beliefs. This type of text invite students to compare their experiences with characters and situations reflected in the text. When the students reflect, they gain knowledge about themselves and the people and world around them.
  
• Digital text this was my favorite, and most interesting. I includes photographs, the media(television, electronic newspapers, and cartoons), movies, and Internet images. All of the digital text has its own creative language. It allows the students to encounter experiences with literacy.

Before we as teacher are about to choose text for our students. We are to find out the student learning needs. The text offered creating a BIG IDEA chart, which I thought would be very useful. Creating this chart gives the students their options of what they can learn due to their knowledge and practices.
By doing these we are able to see what the students need to learn and from there we are able to select the appropriate literature to incorporate into our lessons by using useful strategies.

A Great Teacher Blog

So....while I was searching for a good teacher blog, I found this. Will the state of Mississippi have to debate if you are worthy of a bonus? Let's make sure we are all wonderful teachers, where there is no doubt we are qualified and worthy of anything extra. All because we take the extra step to educate our students.http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/education/

Conley's Chapter 4

There are different types of assessments that are important in today's elementary classroom. Ongoing assessments should be diverse and happen all the time. The teachers must always update their knowledge about what the student experience inside and outside of school, what students can and can not do, and how they can create context for the students to become more literate and learn.
Classroom assessments include conversations with students on a daily basis, observations, and reviews of classroom work and test performances. There are other kinds of assessments such as state tests and standardized testing, which are used for high-stake purposes. Personal assessments are also used in the classroom. These include conversations, interviews, surveys, and observations.
Conversations with in the classroom provide the teacher with insight about the students. These types of conversations seem to emerge when the students are experiencing difficulty. It is our responsibility to find out the reason, why the students are stuck and experiencing difficulty.
Classroom observations complement classroom conversations. During these observations, the students respond to questions, read aloud, solve problems, do labs, translate, interpret, explain, represent, and evaluate.
Interviews are the best way to learn about students. This type of assessment allow the parents to provide useful insights about their student' literacy and approach to learning in the content areas.