EAD 520 The Lesson Plan

The Lesson Plan
The Lesson Plan
Gloria Santiago
Grand Canyon University
EAD 520: Strengthening Curricular Programs to Promote Continuous School Improvement
Dr. Jeffrey Mehlenbacher
June 1, 2022
2
The Lesson Plan
Part A: Lesson Plan Review
Scaffolding and Differentiation
The lesson plan I chose for this assignment is a Grade 7th and 8th Civics lesson on United
States Foreign Policy. This is a lengthy lesson that prepares students to participate as an active
and civil citizen in a democratic society. For students to be able to independently use and apply
their learning, the lesson has been developed in three stages or sections. This is to facilitate
student learning as they begin to gain and develop new skills through each level of understanding
and accomplishing the lesson objectives. Students will begin by understanding the value that a
society places on individual rights are often reflected in that society’s government. A video is a
fantastic way to introduce the lesson and activate students' prior knowledge (Mulvahill, 2021).
As the lesson progresses, students will be able to acquire knowledge on the difference between
domestic and foreign policy. During the lesson, differentiation will take place by chunking,
simplifying concepts, verbal cues, and cloze procedures. Small group instruction will be offered
to reteach standards, model skills, clear misconceptions, and assist students in making
connections to the content.
Alignment and Materials
The teacher in this lesson plan clearly aligns the objectives and desired results with state
standards. It incorporates strategies that evoke high order thinking and discussions to improve
students' civic engagement and how they participate in their own learning. Team building
activities and materials are incorporated throughout the lesson to increase student's interest.
Artifacts that promote culture and democracy, along with current events projects are
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The Lesson Plan
implemented throughout the lesson plan. This is to increase student engagement, spark
discussions, and create an environment of mutual collaboration.
Learning and Instructional Strategies
The teacher who prepared this lesson plan also incorporated several important
instructional strategies to assess student learning. One strategy incorporated in this lesson plan is
iCivics games, which allows students to actively participate in their learning process and engage
with other students. According to McCusker & Driscoll (2022), iCivics allows students to build
skills, rather than just simply diffusing facts. This way students gain a deeper understanding of
what its like to engage in a democratic process. Two iCivics games included in this lesson are
“Crisis of Nations’ and “Executive Command.” Through these games, key concepts are actively
reinforced within the lesson. This is reinforced with active classroom discussion and connection.
Technology
According to the lesson plan technology will be incorporated by using classroom tablets.
Key learning events and instruction will take place on Nearpod and Quizlet Live games.
However, that is not to completely replace one-on-one or whole class teacher and student
interaction. According to Tucker (2016), there is a limitless amount of information and online
resources available that helps with engaging team building activities. It also encourages student
interest and engagement.
Informal and Formal Assessments
The lesson plan includes several questions as part of the evaluative criteria on the second
stage of instruction. This is intended to evaluate each level of understanding and accomplishing
the lesson objectives. These include lesson quizzes, self-checks, and unit assessments. Other
methods of informal and formal assessments that are used as part of the instructional strategies
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The Lesson Plan
are iCivics and Quizzlet Live games. Using these assessments as part of the instruction and
evaluation process allows for students to demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness to the
lesson.
Part B: Coaching the Teacher
Reinforcement
One-way reinforcement is clearly seen in this lesson plan is through flipped learning. The
teacher enhances content knowledge through the incorporation of technology to increase student
engagement. Quizzlet Live and iCivics facilitate direct instruction through technology and help
learners develop foundational knowledge through active participation. Technology supported
learning benefits middle school and low performing students (Winter, 2017). This is something
this teacher uses to help meet students learning differences and support differentiated instruction.
Refinement
When it comes to this lesson plan, I would suggest the teacher integrates cross curricular
connections. Finding ways to evoke higher order thinking helps develop student’s intellectual
skills necessary for lesson application and content knowledge. For example, when teaching about
United States Foreign Policy, it would be beneficial for students to know the environmental
factors that affect United States relations with other countries through integrating Science into
the lesson. Furthermore, to understand the economic effect the United States has on other
countries, integrating Math concepts would be beneficial to further develop depth of knowledge.
Strategy
According to Kelly (2019), cross curricular instruction makes learning more meaningful
for students. It allows students to see the connections between the different content areas, making
learning more relevant. An effective teacher plans lessons across different content areas to evoke
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The Lesson Plan
higher order thinking and help students draw connections between ideas. Incorporating Science
and Math to Quizzlet Live and iCivics will help students to read texts and be prepared to
collaborate and discuss in class (Winter, 2017). This is a great teaching tool and strategy to help
students integrate different content knowledge and make a profound impact in the learning
environment.
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The Lesson Plan
References
Kelly, M., (2019). Cross-Curricular Connections in Instruction. ThoughtCo.
https://www.thoughtco.com/cross-curricular-connections-7791
McCusker, S., Driscoll, T., (2022). 3 Strategies to Boost Civics Education. Edutopia.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-strategies-boost-civics-education
Mulvahill, E., (2021). 15 Ways to Scaffold Learning. We Are Teachers.
https://www.weareteachers.com/ways-to-scaffold-learning/
Tucker, C., (2016). Escaping the Lesson-Planning Doldrums. ASCD.
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/escaping-the-lesson-planning-doldrums
Winter, J., (2017). Performance and Motivation in a Middle School Flipped Learning Course.
Springer Link. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-017-0228-
7#:~:text=Following%20an%20eight%2Dweek%20unit,increased%20motivation%20and
%20improved%20performance.

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The Lesson Plan

The Lesson Plan

Grand Canyon University

EAD 520: Strengthening Curricular Programs to Promote Continuous School Improvement

Dr. Jeffrey Mehlenbacher

Part A: Lesson Plan Review

Scaffolding and Differentiation

connections to the content.

Alignment and Materials

discussions, and create an environment of mutual collaboration.

Learning and Instructional Strategies

interest and engagement.

Informal and Formal Assessments

Part B: Coaching the Teacher

learners develop foundational knowledge through active participation. Technology supported

Kelly, M., (2019). Cross-Curricular Connections in Instruction. ThoughtCo.

Mulvahill, E., (2021). 15 Ways to Scaffold Learning. We Are Teachers.

Tucker, C., (2016). Escaping the Lesson-Planning Doldrums. ASCD.

Springer Link. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-017-0228-

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