Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan

Social Studies--2020
Student Name: Sarah Jackson
IWU Supervisor: John McCracken
Grade Level: 4th
LESSON RATIONALE
This lesson will introduce how the first amendment has impacted the way we use our rights today and how the use
of freedom of speech has impacted our classroom environment. Using this knowledge students will better
understand the importance of their voice and how it can influence others.
I CAN STATEMENT:
“I can understand why the first amendment was passed and the influence it is having on me and the nation today.”
READINESS
I.Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goals:
a. Students will understand the rights and privileges we have as citizens of the United States of America.
B. Objectives:
a. Students will gain knowledge on the history of freedom of speech and the impact it has had on the
nation.
b. Students will understand the importance of freedom of speech and how it has influenced them today.
c. After learning about the history of freedom of speech, students will be able to make connections to it
with their own experiences.
C. Standard: 4.2.2 Describe individual rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the right to
a public education, which people have under Article 1 of Indiana’s constitution.
D. NCSS: Civics, ideals and practices
II. Management Plan
 Materials
o Posted notes
o Posters
o Google trek link
o Guided notes worksheet
 Time: 50 minutes
o Anticipatory set: 10minutes
o Instruction: 20minutes
o Check for understanding: 10 minutes
o Closure: 10 minutes
 Space
o Anticipatory set
 Students will be using the whole room to walk around and post their responses on the
posters around the room.
o Lesson
 Students will be sitting on the carpet in the front while I instruct. This is a better way to be
taking notes and help them easily discuss with the peers around them.
o Closure
 They will be back in their seats answering questions but also are able to walk around the
room to post more answers on the poster when needed.
 Behavior
o Students are expected to follow the rules and respect their peers.
o Students are expected to participate in the class discussion and stay on task during the instruction
as well as the closure.
o Students are also expected to follow directions and ask questions when needed. They should be
excited to learn and not be scared to ask for clarity when needed.
o If students do not respect each other or follow the rules they will be given a verbal warning to
redirect their attention. If that doesn’t work, then they will be given a refocus slip to make them
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan
Social Studies--2020
think about what they are doing that is disrespectful.
III. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
 Blake, a curious, highly verbal, and rambunctious boy with behavior disorders who received special
education services in elementary school.
a. During this lesson Blake will be able to get up and walk around multiple times in order to get his
energy out if needed. During the instruction I will ask him questions to make sure his focus is on
the instruction. If his focus seems to be distracted, then I will give him a choice of a fidget toy or
different seat in order to help him focus. If he isn’t able to take notes, I will make a copy of a
peers notes for him to follow and save.
 Irma, a charming but shy Latina child who was served as an at-risk student with Title 1 supports in
elementary school.
a. During the anticipatory set I would pair Irma up with someone who could help her and guide her
thinking in understanding this topic. Helping guide her in note taking during the instruction is
important as well. giving her the opportunity to speak and talk about her thoughts on things will
help her as well.
 George, an inquisitive, resourceful student with traumatic brain injury who received special education
services in elementary school. Short term memory is impacted but improving.
a. Repeating important information during the instruction and highlighting important things to take
notes on will guide his thinking. During the anticipatory set, letting him speak his own thoughts
on these certain words will help him and going back at the end of the lesson this these posters
will help him remember and make connections.
 Anna, a bright, energetic young woman with cerebral palsy who was above average academically and
received Section 504 accommodations. She does use a motorized chair with a battery and the chair
measures 2.5 feet wide by 3 feet long.
a. Making sure the room is spread out enough for her to move around and participate will help her
feel included. Giving her opportunities to feel heard will keep her engaged and allow her to
participate when she wants. During the instruction and closure if she needs help taking notes,
students can take turns taking notes for her and helping her throughout the day.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

IV. Anticipatory Set/ Staging the Question [Compelling Question]
 Compelling question: What is the impact of the Bill of Rights on our freedom as US citizens?
 Supporting questions: How has the first amendment impacted our lives today? What rights or
protections do we have under the first amendment and how does it impact me today?
 We are going to respond to the question, how does the first amendment impact our lives today, by looking
at what various words mean to us. Such as Freedom, Liberties, Rights, and Restrictions.
 I will have an anchor chart with these words written on sperate posters around the room. Students will
write down what they think these words mean to them on posted notes for each word and whenever they
are ready, they can put it on the poster. I will wait until everyone is done answering then go over some of
the responses and have a discussion about what they each mean and why it can look different for different
people.
 I will read a couple out loud before they go and give examples of ways I would respond and how I feel
towards these words in order to get them thinking about how they could respond.
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan
Social Studies--2020
 I am going to pass out 4 posted notes to each of you. Look around at the posters with the words Freedom,
Liberties, Rights and Restrictions on them. I want you to write down what each of these words means to you
on the posted notes and when you are done, put it up on the poster. You can either respond with one word that
represents your feeling or a statement explaining why it makes you feel a certain way. When you are done,
please go back to your seat and wait patiently for the next instructions.
 I will keep their answers up and the posters up on the wall during the lesson in order for them to look back
at the vocab and as a guide through the content we will be going through. Throughout the unit we will look
back at these words and add onto the meaning, definition, and how it makes us feel as we deeper our
understanding.
 Your responses were very helpful in finding the meaning behind these words, I will keep these posters up
during the unit to help guide our understanding as we deepen the meaning throughout the unit. We will come
back to these words and see how they relate to what we learn today about the Bill of Rights and the First
Amendment.

V.Purpose: Today we are going to learn about how we as a nation established our Bill of Rights in the US
constitution, a document that impacts our daily lives.

VI.Lesson Presentation (Input/Output) Supporting Question/ Explicit Teaching

 By using a google trek I will guide the students through the history of the first amendment and freedom of
speech. The google trek will have various movements and laws that freedom of speech was influenced by,
but we will only go over the first part relating to the first amendment because it is an introductory lesson.
 Going over why freedom of speech was created will give a better idea of how it has helped us today. I will
pass out a note guide for students to write on while I am going through the google trek.
 Everyone come up to the front while I pass out these note guides. We are going to take a deeper look into the
First Amendment and the part that talks about freedom of speech. We are going to go over the reason why
freedom of speech was needed and who helped make it become part of the first amendment. Why do you think
it is something we need as a nation?
 The first stop on the google trek is Fairfax County in Virginia. This is where George Mason lived and where
he became a statesman and one of the founders of the United States. He helped develop the first
Amendment where it was signed in Philadelphia. There were many other men involved in signing the first
Amendment, but George Mason is best known for his proposal of the bill of rights.
 By going over a significant person who helped contribute to the development of the first amendment,
students will be able to gain more insight on how it got started and why it was proposed.
 After going over George Mason in Virginia, we will follow the google trek to Philadelphia where the First
Amendment was signed. We will discuss the importance of it and why it was written in the first place.
 In order to find out why our nation needed it, we have to make a few stops to understand the background. Our
first stop is in Virginia. This is where one of the founders of the United states was born, his name is George
Mason. George was one of the many men who signed the first Amendment, but his impact was seen more
because he contributed to many other documents that advanced the Amendment. The first Amendment is part
of something called the Bill of Rights and the first Amendments gives citizens the freedom of speech, press,
religion, assembly and petition. He helped develop and propose the bill of rights in order to help develop a
growing country.
 Our next stop is in Philadelphia. This is where the First Amendment was signed and where many men came
together to discuss the importance of this document. If the first amendment gave citizens the freedom of
speech, why do you think it was needed at that time and is still needed today?
 The importance of this document was to help every citizen feel secure in their rights. Citizens during this time
demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms, so the first amendment was made in order to create an open
society that protected the freedoms of the people. This mindset and need for basic freedoms are still so
important and needed even in todays society. This was made 229 years ago and is still important for our
society to run smoothly today.
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan
Social Studies--2020
 Write down on your note guide some things you are allowed to do based on what we just learned about the
first amendment? Think of your everyday life and things are allowed to do.
 We are going to focus on the freedom of speech part today and why it is so essential for us to have. Our
freedom of speech is what makes it possible for us to discuss openly in class and be entitled to our own
opinions. What other types of things are we allowed to do because our right to freedom of speech?
 Give students time to think and discuss this with their peers and I will guide their thinking back to the
presentation and why the Bill of Rights was signed in the first place as well.
 If we didn’t have freedom of speech what do you think our nation would look like today? Turn and discuss
with your friends around you.
 Give them time to talk and discuss, write down notes and answer questions. This is an important topic
because it still affects them today. By bringing freedom of speech into the classroom and letting them
practice it, shows them how it is impacting them.

Check for understanding

 After note taking and going over the instruction, students will have time to discuss about what they have
just learned and how it affects them today.
 We will take a look back at our posters that we started with. If there is anything else, we think should be
added the students will have an opportunity to discuss it with their peers and post more understandings of
these words.
 Now that we have learned about the impact of the first Amendment and freedom of speech, I want you to go
back to your seats and on your way, grab a posted note from my desk. Let’s take a deeper look back at the
posters we started with.
 After they have finished writing their new understandings, they will post them back on the posters. If they
don’t have anything else to say they don’t have to post anything new because these posters will be growing
and keep getting added to throughout the unit.
 If you have more to add to the understanding of these words after today’s lesson, I want you to write that
down and add to the posters. If you don’t think there is anything else to add that’s fine too, we will continue to
add to it during this unit and there is no specific answer.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure

 When all the answers are on the posters and the students seem to be done responding we will talk about
what changed and what our thought processes were for these answers.
 What changed your understanding after this lesson? Where some things clearer than others? What word do
you want to add more to and learn more about?
 Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts and excitement about freedom of speech.
PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT
 Formative:
o During the lesson I will listen in on the student’s conversations and prompt them with questions to
think deeper into the meaning of freedom of speech.
o The note guide will help me see where their thoughts are on various things and see where they
might be confused on certain things
o Their answers to the anticipatory set will help me see where their understanding is at of those
words and how to move forward
 Summative:
o This is an introduction to the first Amendment unit. So, a summative assessment will be given at the
end of the unit to help see how the students understood each section of the Amendment.
o Reviews and help will be given along the way to prepare for a unit assessment.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan
Social Studies--2020
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Where they able to put into practice freedom of speech?
8. How could I show the impact of freedom of speech more in the classroom?
9. Did the students seem engaged?

Student:
IWU Supervisor:
Grade Level:
Compelling Question:
OPPORTUNITY FOR Format COMPETENT OUTSTANDING
IMPROVEMENT

Heading Student uses the provided template

for Social Studies content.
Template Student includes all of the
information in the template heading.
Audit Trail Student includes a list of dates and
methods for communicating with
cooperating teacher.
Rationale Statement of rationale for the
learning experience and
environment in this lesson.
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan
Social Studies--2020
Goals The lesson plan contains
objectives that connect goals and
Objectives
standards with lesson activities
Standards and assessments.

Each objective should include

the following: Conditions;
Desired learning; Observable
behavior; and Accuracy (as
necessary)

NCSS:

IAS:

Management A. Materials:
Plan B. Time:
C. Space:
D. Behavior:
E. Technology: (as
appropriate)
Anticipatory Set The anticipatory set is clear and
direct and focuses students’
attention on the lesson.

Purpose The statement of purpose is clearly

connected to the content of the
lesson and is presented in terms that
are easily understood by students.

Plan For
Instruction

Adaptation to Instructional opportunities are

Individual provided in this lesson. The
Differences and opportunities are developmentally
Diverse Learners appropriate and/or are adapted to
diverse students.

Early Finishers
Reteaching-
ELL –
Exceptional Needs-
Lesson Candidates demonstrate
Presentation for understandings, capabilities and
Social Studies practices associated with the
central concepts and tools in
Civics, Economics, Geography,
and /or History within a
 Indiana Wesleyan University
Elementary Education Lesson Plan
Social Studies--2020
framework of inquiry.

Lesson The candidate’s lesson

Presentation demonstrates an understanding of
developmentally appropriate
practice.

The candidate’s lesson includes

both modeling and guided practice.

The lesson presentation includes

relevant activities that encourage
student participation and critical
thinking.

Check for The lesson plan includes a plan and

Understanding the means to check for student
understanding of the lesson. A
[CFU] provision is included to reteach all or
part of the lesson to all or part of the
class.

Review Learning Lesson closure relates directly to the

Outcomes and/ or lesson purpose and/or objective.
Closure

Plan for
Competent 3
Assessment

Formal and A plan for formal and informal

Informal assessment [ mainly
Assessment formative]throughout the lesson is
included. The assessment strategies
are uniquely designed for the
students.

Reflection and The lesson plan includes all required

Post-Lesson self-answer questions.
Analysis

SCORING
A lesson plan with elements that do to meet A competent lesson plan earns a An outstanding lesson plan
the competent level will receive a score of score of 34-37/40. earns a score of 38/40-40/40
33 /40 or lower

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