Immersion I Lesson Plan Format Field Study Teacher: Jule Peterson Grade Level: 2nd Unit: Civics Lesson

School: Park Elementary Number of Students in Class: 17 Duration: 1 Hour

Day, Date, and Time of Lesson: 4/8 at 8:10 AM 9:10 1. Objective(s): By the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe characteristics that create a responsible community member.

2. Colorado Academic Standards: Content area: Social Studies Standard: 4. Civics Concepts and skills students master: 1. Responsible community members advocate for their ideas evidence outcomes: a. Describe important characteristics of a responsible community member (DOK 1-2)

3. Learning Target(s): I can identify important characteristics that create a responsible community member.

4. Assessment: Teacher will collect their persuasive writings about when they have shown courage or another trait in a community they are a part of. Assess how well they related a moral or characteristic to community well-being.

5. Materials: The book, Balto and the Great Race and students writing journals.

6. Introduction/Anticipatory Set: I will begin the lesson by tapping into students schema and asking what they know about the Iditarod. Where is it located? (allow wait time) "What is the culture where it is located? (allow wait time)

What is the history behind the Iditarod? (allow wait time) What is a community? 7. Essential Questions or Big Picture Statement: How can we be responsible community members and respect every culture? 8. ****Step-by-Step Lesson Process:**** 1) Begin lesson with anticipatory set. 4 minutes 2) Tell students more about the culture that they did not touch on. Explain that this particular culture did not have the transportation or technology we have today, but this does not make them less than us. Emphasize the importance of unity within a community and that, without it, this culture may not have survived. Lastly, explain that we are going to read a story about a dog who had an important characteristic that allowed him to help his community. 5 minutes 3) Begin reading book, Balto and the Great Race whenever the id ea of courage comes up, talk to students about it. Relate Baltos courage to an important characteristic of a responsible community member. Use think aloud method. 20 minutes 4) After reading the book, ask students about how Balto helped his community (check for understanding). First, ask them what community means again. Then, ask what a characteristic is. Next ask, What characteristic allowed him to help his community? What are other important characteristics to have in a successful community? 5 minutes 5) Direct instruction: After discussion about courage and how it helped the community, tell students to begin a reading response about a time they have helped their community (independent practice). If they cannot think of a specific moment, ask them to write why it is important to be a responsible community member/what traits create a responsible community member. (Check if they understand the assignment by asking for a thumbs up or down). Write prompts on board for students to refer back to. 25 mintues a. Model for students an example of what you may write, I might write about when I was your age and planted a community garden that the entire town could use, this was a way that I helped my community. Reiterate that a community can be their classroom, school, organization, or Durango. 1 minutes 6) For closure, ask students to share their writing with the class. If there is additional time remaining ask how they can be a responsible community member today. Call on anyone raising their hand.

Jule Peterson

Evaluation of the Community Lesson When I did my community lesson plan, I felt like many things went really well. For one, we had some really great discussions. Before I read them the story, Balto and the Great Race, I asked them some questions to understand what their background knowledge was about what a community is. I asked what the word community meant and they answered correctly. We got into a discussion of different types of communities, and then talked about what makes us good community members. The students brainstormed ways that a community works together, which made me feel like we had a meaningful discussion. This part of my lesson went a lot better than I imagined, and it was a great discussion to have before the book because students could listen and make connections to Balto and his community. The second thing that went really well was reading the book. I was unsure if the book I picked out was going to be boring for them; however, after I finished reading some students yelled out, read it again!that was a reassuring moment. Lastly, I felt like the activity following the story went well because they all enjoyed making their own connections. I wanted them to write about how they have been helpful in their own community, which could be their class, school, Durango, neighborhood, or another group they are a part of. I was fearful that students would not understand the community aspect and just write about a time they did something good, but to my surprise, every single one of them connected their story to a community. I thought this was the best part of the lesson, because I could see whether they really understood what a community was, and characteristics of a good community member. From my impression, the objective was met because they all responded with meaningful, relevant stories.

Not everything went as smoothly as I hoped. Of course, like many of my lesson plans, time management was a little rough. Thankfully, we managed to get through mostly the whole lesson. Some students were not able to finish their reading response, and we did not get to the closure part of the lesson where students could share their responses with the class. I do not think this was avoidable on my part, because my CT gave me about 30 to 45 minutes to do the lesson, when I was hoping for one hour. However, given the shortage of time, I felt like the lesson still went smoothly and I did not have to rush through the reading or discussions. Other than time management, I felt like the rest of the lesson went well, and, as I mentioned before, the objective was definitely met. My objective was that, students will be able to describe characteristics that create a responsible community member. They met this goal when we were having a discussion before the reading, and after the reading when I asked how Balto helped his community. I could also see that the entire class understood the objective when they did their reading response. Their responses were all a characteristic of a responsible community member, and they all knew a community was their class, school, Durango, or other another group they are a part of. I would like to do a follow-up lesson of some sort to see if they still remember what communities are and examples of how to be a responsible community member. Although, from my formative assessment during their reading response, I feel like they all understood what it means to be a responsible community member. If I were to do a follow-up lesson, I would read another book about community and/or a characteristic of a good community member, and then at the end of the book ask them what the book was about that we recently studied. I would try and see if they could pull the concept out of the book on their own, or if they would need guided support

in doing this. Ideally, if they all truly understood the idea of community and community members, they would be able to recognize it in a book that is all about that concept. As far as culturally responsive pedagogy, I believe I paid attention to this aspect, but it was not my main focus. Looking back now, I believe I was more culturally responsive than not. The story of Balto is definitely one that I can relate to more than these students and it is more a part of my culture, so I tried to connect the idea of Baltos story to things they would relate to better. My teacher helped me explain that the distance traveled was as if someone biked from here to Montana. This helped put the distance more into perspective. I was also aware that some students may not know certain words in the book, so I would define the word as I read it, or ask students what it meant. Most students in my classroom are all at about the same place academically, culturally, and economically, so being extra culturally responsive is not always necessary. I felt like this lesson did not require for me to adjust my pedagogy very much either, because everyone understood the lesson and what was being taught. If I were to do the lesson again in the future, I am sure I would do a lot differently. Perhaps, I would try to find a story that was a little more challenging to read, to give the more advanced readers some differentiation, and then have everyone read silently alone, instead of me reading to them. I really liked our discussions before and after, so that would remain the same. I would also consider, if I had more time, having them do a more intricate activity after reading Balto. They could create a poster, cut out pictures, and explain what a responsible community member looks like to them. In general, if I did this lesson again I would focus on expanding it into a more in-depth project. The students had a lot to say about communities and their part in a community, and I would have loved to hear their responses. I thought a great

way for them to incorporate their new writing skills they are learning would be to have them create their own fictional story about a character who helps a community. This would allow them to put their background knowledge into a more creative, fun writing piece. This lesson was one that I could definitely see myself doing in the future. I was happily surprised at the amount of input that the students had to offer during our discussions. Even though they all seemed to have an idea of what a responsible community member looks like, by the end I could tell they had an even deeper understanding. This lesson may not have went as I initially expected, but nonetheless, it was successful and a great learning experience for myself.