SOCIAL STUDIES LESSON PLAN

JMU Elementary Education Program: ELED 434

Students Name: Esther Chung

School: Cub Run Elementary School
Grade: 4th Grade
Cooperating Teacher: Rebecca White
Date and time lesson is to be presented: October 20, 2014 9:00 AM to 9:45 AM
Date written plan is submitted to the practicum teacher:
1

Signature of Cooperating Teacher

A.

TITLE OF LESSON: American Indian Princess

B.

CONTEXT OF LESSON

Date Reviewed

The students will be learning about the Native Americans such as Powhatan and Pocahontas, the English
settlers such as Captain John Smith, and how the Native Americans and the English settlers interacted.
From my observation, the students love to do hands-on activities and reading as well as acting. So I
thought the book Pocahontas: American Indian Princess would be a good read-aloud, because it has all
of the information needed for my objectives and the words are understandable for fourth grade level.
Also, the dramatic play would let the students to engage actively and to remember the information better
by acting and participating in the thought bubbles and the hot seat questions. The lesson would help the
students put themselves in anothers shoes which would give them different perspectives, and the lesson
fits the constructivism theory of Piaget and Vygotsky. They both believed that children learn actively
and through hands-on experiences. Students learn by doing from direct experiences such as the dramatic
play; learning should be whole, authentic, and real (Education Portal).
Citation:
Education Portal. (n.d.). Differences between Piaget & Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Theories. Retrieved November 14,
2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/differences-between-piaget-vygotskys-cognitive-developmenttheories.html#lesson

C.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand what are the

broad generalizations the
students should begin to
develop? (These can be difficult
to assess in one lesson.)

Students will understand how

the Natives and English
settlers interacted, including
the contributions of
Powhatan to the survival of
the settlers.
Students will understand why
the relationship between the
native peoples and the
settlers changed, including
Pocahontass role as a
contact between the natives
and the settlers.

Know what are the facts, rules, specific data

the students will gain through this lesson?
(These knows must be assessed in your
lesson.)

Students will know that the native peoples

traded mainly food with the English in
exchange for tools, pots, and copper for
jewelry.
Students will know the natives showed the
settlers how to plant corn and tobacco.
Students will know significant people such
as Powhatan, Pocahontas, and Captain
John Smith.

Do what are the specific

thinking behaviors students
will be able to do or practice as
a result of this lesson? (These
will also be assessed in your
lesson.)

Students will compare and

contrast historical events
in sequence.
Students will interpret
ideas and events from
different historical
perspectives.
Students will draw
conclusions and make
generalizations.

Students will know that Pocahontas served

as a contact between the native peoples
and the English settlers.
Students will know that over time, the
native peoples realized the English
settlement would continue to grow and
they came to see the settlers as invaders
who would take over their land.

D.

ASSESSING LEARNING:

Task:
What learning tasks
have you organized
that can be used for
assessment?

Diagnostic features:
What features will you look for in student
responses or products from the task(s)?
What criteria will you use for
assessment?

Whole class
discussion
Reading aloud
Pocahontas
Group dramatic play
after the read-aloud

Have they discussed how much they know

about the native peoples and the settlers:
Captain John Smith, Powhatan,
Pocahontas, tobacco and corn, jewelry,
etc.?
Have they acted out different parts of

Support:
What resources can you draw upon (or
adaptations can you make) to be
certain you are actually assessing the
objectives youve set for this lesson?
Some children may still be developing
the basic skills needed to complete your
assessment, but it does not mean they
have not learned the objectives for your
lesson. How will you support these
students?
Have students in groups discuss
what they need to do and then ask
each group to make sure they know
what they are doing for the followup activity after the read-aloud.
Walk around the classroom and

 Individual thought
bubbles & hot seat
questions

E.

Pocahontas?
Has everyone vocalized the thoughts of
each people on stage?
Have they pointed out/explained why the
relationship between the native peoples
and the settlers changed?
Have they described how the Natives and
English settlers interacted, including the
contributions of the native peoples to the
survival of the settlers?

guide students with the activity and

answer questions if they have any.

RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (and NATIONAL STANDARDS if required)

Virginia Studies 3g
F.

MATERIALS NEEDED
Ford, Carin T. (2006). Pocahontas: American Indian Princess. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow.
Thought bubble
Five divided summaries and supporting pictures of the book with instructions of dramatic play
I will be responsible for all of the materials needed for the lesson.
G.

PROCEDURE

ACTIVITY
ELEMENT
AND
TIME

PROCEDURES AND
MANAGEMENT

STUDENTS

ACADEMIC,
SOCIAL, AND
LINGUISTIC
DIFFERENTIATION

Students will raise their hands

I will introduce the lesson by
to answer the questions. For
asking students this question, Can
the first question, students
you tell me how the Natives reacted
may answer: The Natives
towards English settlers when the
welcomed English settlers,
settlers first came to America? I
The Natives did not like
will select random students to
English settlers, The
I will randomly select
INTRODUCTION answer when they raise their hands
Natives were curious about
students to answer but I
(5 minutes)
until I get two to three different
English settlers, etc. For the will try to pick different
answers. I will also ask, Can you
second question, students
academic levels of
name some of the famous Natives
may answer: Powhatan,
students for a variety of
and English settler?
Pocahontas, and Captain John
answers.
The last question I will ask is, Can Smith. For the last question,
you describe what kind of goods
students may answer: The
the Natives and English settlers
Natives traded food, corn,
exchanged?
and tobacco with the English
for tools, pots, and copper for
jewelry.
After students answer (whether the
answers were correct or not), I will
then tell students that I will read

TRANSITION
(1 minute)

LEARNING
ACTIVITY
(10 minutes)

TRANSITION
(2 minutes)

LEARNING
ACTIVITY
(5-10 minutes)

TRANSITION
(2 minutes)

aloud a book called Pocahontas:

American Indian Princess and it is
about Pocahontas, a daughter of
Powhatan who was the Native
American tribe leader, and how she
met John Smith and helped the
settlers in Jamestown.

Students will listen to my

instruction.

I will use a projector to show each

Students will listen to first
picture from Pocahontas: American two chapters of Pocahontas:
Indian Princess while I read aloud.
American Indian Princess
I will also walk around the
and look at the pictures on the
classroom and ask questions to
screen.
make sure everyone is paying
attention and listening to the story.
After the read aloud, I will hand out
five different short summaries and
pictures of Pocahontas to five
groups (the classroom is divided
into five groups already) for them
to read and come up with silent
dramatic play. I will explain that
Students will listen to my
the play will be silent and should be instruction and ask questions
about 20 second based on images in
if they have any.
the book and everyone in the group
has to participate. I will also tell
students the scene must end in a
freeze frame and that they are given
five minutes to prepare for the
scene.
I will walk around to see if students
are creating silent scene related to
their given passages and help them
if necessary. I will give them extra
five minutes if they are still not
done with creating.
Once students are done, I will then
explain that while the actors are
frozen, each audience member
will be invited to take a thought
bubble and vocalize the thoughts of
each of one or more of the people
on stage. I will also tell them that
actors may also be hot seated by
me. I will explain what hot seating
and thought bubbles are.
After modeling, I will assess
students by their depiction of the

I will ask why the

Natives did not like the
settlers, how John
Smith and Pocahontas
became friends, and
why this story might
not be all true.

I will type the direction

on the summary page
for students to read as
well.
I will model how to do
silent scene.

Students will discuss with

each other and create silent
scene depicting their given
passages and everyone in a
group will have a part in the
scene.

I will help students with

difficulty creating scene
by showing them or
pointing at the given
pictures of their given
scenes/passages.

Students will listen to my

direction and ask questions if
they have any.

I will model thought

bubbles and hot seat
questions.

LEARNING
ACTIVITY
(10 minutes)

CLOSING
(5 minutes)

H.

story, thought bubbles, and hot seat

questions. Some of hot seat
questions will be: If you were
Powhatan, what would you think
when the settlers came to your
land?, If you were one of the
Natives, what would you think
when Pocahontas helped the
settlers?, If you were John Smith,
what would you want from the
Natives?, If you were
Pocahontas, what would you do if
you were still alive when the
settlers took the natives lands
later?, etc.
I will ask students why the
relationship between the Natives
and the English changed. I will
also tell the students the correct
answers to the introduction
questions if they have not answered
them correctly.

Students will act their given

scenes, take a thought bubble
and vocalize, and answer hot
seat questions.

Students will answer that the

native peoples realized the
English settlement would
continue to grow and they
came to see the settlers as
invaders who would take over
their land.

DIFFERENTIATION:
I will randomly select students to answer the pre-reading questions but I will try to pick different

academic levels of students for a variety of answers. If they answered any question incorrectly, I will
ask them what they have learned from the book and what were different from their answers after the
read-aloud. I will ask why the Natives did not like the settlers, how John Smith and Pocahontas became
friends, and why this story might not be all true during the read-aloud to make sure they are paying
attention. I will also walk around the classroom while reading so that the students see me paying
attention to each one of them.
I will type the direction on the summary page for students to read so that they will not be
confused on what they are supposed to. I will model how to do silent scene but I will wait for modeling
thought bubbles and hot seat questions until they are done so that the students are focusing on creating
scene first. I will help students with difficulty creating scene by showing them or pointing at the given

pictures of their given scenes/passages. Once they are done creating silent scene, I will then model
thought bubbles and hot seat questions.
The last way I will differentiate is by changing the length of the reading. I was originally going
to read the whole book but decided to read the first two chapters instead because it would take a lot
longer and the students might lose interests as well as concentrations. Also, the first two chapters were
the only parts that I needed in order to teach my lesson because those two chapters have met the SOL.
So I will read the first two chapters and then hand out the summaries of the chapters not to just show
each group the part they are supposed to do but also to refresh their memories of the book.

I.

RATIONALE:

The lesson would teach the students to develop an understanding of different perspectives and points of
views. The book states the fact that history is not always true and that everyones story is different. The
students would see that one event could be portrayed differently from different peoples perspectives:
the settlers saw America as the New World where they could start a new life and seek for opportunities
whereas the Native Americans saw the settlers as invaders trying to take their lands. This could teach
the students that people could view things otherwise and have different opinions just like how every
citizen has his or her opinion about things in the community and the world. By teaching the students to
look at things from other peoples perspectives, the students could learn to respect and consider others
opinions. Through the thought bubble and hot seat activities, the students could see how other students
might see and think of the same event. Also, the lesson focuses on the inequality and mistreatment
between two groups of people, as well as teaches the students that this should not happen again. All of
these aspects of the lesson would help the students to be good citizens. To be a good citizen, we should
understand people have different perspectives, respect and consider others opinions, and treat each
other equally.

J.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

Students might have hard time figuring out what they need to do or want to do for the dramatic
play activity. I will guide them to point out verbs from the given summary and to try to act out
those verbs.
Students might have hard time what to say for thought bubbles. I will tell them to think about
comic books and that they can say whatever that comes up first to their minds. Also, I will tell
them their group mates can help them too.

Group 1.

ACT IT OUT ACTIVITY

* You and your group must create a 20 seconds silent scene based on images & the
story of the book. The scene must end in a freeze frame.

Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas, was the leader of about thirty Powhatan
Indian tribes. They lived in the area that is now Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.
The Powhatan Indians were farmers. The women grew corn, squash, beans, tobaccos,
and other plants. The men fished in the bay and hunted deer and turkeys in the
woods. The children gathered firewood, helped make animal skins into clothing,
carried water, and worked in the garden. Most Powhatan Indians lived in wigwams
which were small round houses. Chief Powhatan lived in a longhouse.

Group 2.

ACT IT OUT ACTIVITY

* You and your group must create a 20 seconds silent scene based on images & the
story of the book. The scene must end in a freeze frame.

Only Indians lived in North America until people in Europe were curious about this
land, which they called the New World. One day in the spring of 1607, three English
shipsSusan Constant, Godspeed, and Discoverysailed across the Atlantic Ocean
in a hope to find gold. Although they did not find gold, they did set up an English
colony called Jamestown, named after King James I of England.
Group 3.

ACT IT OUT ACTIVITY

* You and your group must create a 20 seconds silent scene based on images & the
story of the book. The scene must end in a freeze frame.

John Smith had sailed to the New World on the Susan Constant. In Jamestown, he
was chosen to be one of the leaders of the colony. The settlers built a fort that
shaped like a triangle with guns at each corner. Many of the Powhatan Indians did
not trust the new settlers. They remembered that men had come from Europe in the
past and killed many Indians. So they believed Englishmen were bad. Some of these
Indians attacked the fort or shot arrows at Englishmen hunting for food in the
woods.

Group 4.

ACT IT OUT ACTIVITY

* You and your group must create a 20 seconds silent scene based on images & the
story of the book. The scene must end in a freeze frame.

Some Indians were curious about the English settlers. They brought food and furs to
trade for tools, pots, and copper for jewelry from England. Pocahontas was one of
them. She brought the settlers food as winter drew near. She played with the boys at
the fort, running around with them and turning cartwheels for fun.
Group 5.

ACT IT OUT ACTIVITY

* You and your group must create a 20 seconds silent scene based on images & the
story of the book. The scene must end in a freeze frame.

One day, when John Smith went off to find food, he was captured by Indians. They
took him to Chief Powhatan. Smith was grabbed by two Indian men. He was forced
to lie down on a large block of stone. The guards raised their wooden clubs over
Smiths head. Smith was sure they were going to kill him. At that moment,
Pocahontas ran over to Smith and threw herself on top of him to save him. Powhatan
told the guards to lower their clubs and said that Smith was not his friend.

Lesson Implementation Reflection

As soon as possible after teaching your lesson, think about the experience. Use the questions/prompts
below to guide your thinking. Be thorough in your reflection and use specific examples to support your
insights.
I.

How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes and
explain why you made them.
- The lesson went a little longer than I had planned because the students needed more time to plan their
scenes. At first, I thought about skipping the closing which was about asking students why the
relationship between the Natives and the English changed and re-asking questions from introduction to
correct misconceptions or wrong answers. But the closing was so important to see if the students
misconceptions have been corrected or not and if they have learned all of the objectives. So I just asked
my cooperating teacher if I could use ten more minutes and she approved.

II.

Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your impact on student
learning? Did they learn? Who learned? What did they learn? What evidence can you offer that
your conclusions are valid?
- The students in each group definitely learned and memorized their part while practicing and
performing the scenes, because they did not need to use the summaries that I gave out to perform and
they were able to answer and discuss questions after. The students discussed and explained the people,
the important crops, and the relationship between the natives and the settlers as a whole class and as a
group.

III.

Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a
better or more thorough way if you were to teach this lesson again.
- If I were to teach this lesson again, I would plan the lesson more flexible so that the students who need
more time to brainstorm ideas for the dramatic play could get extra time without interfering other class
schedule.

IV. Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you do/teach next if you were the
classroom teacher?
- If I were the classroom teacher, I would plan a lesson on what happened after Pocahontas and John
Smith had become friends as well as the success of tobacco as a cash crop.
V.

As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about
young children as learners?
-Young children tend to learn better when they are actively engaged in activities. They enjoy moving
their bodies to express themselves and they also like to be a part of activities. I have learned that thought
bubble activity really helped the students to respect and pay attention to the students who are performing
so that they can participate.

VI. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about
teaching?
- I have learned that lessons have to be flexible because you would never know how the lesson would
actually turn out. I think I need to figure out a way to be more flexible and work on my time
management skill.
VII.

As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about
yourself?
- I have learned that I personally dont really like doing worksheets or any activity that would require me
to just sit down and listen just like my students. So I think the lesson has somewhat reflected my own
learning styles.