Social Science Unit Plan With Technology

INDEPENDENCE DAY AND ITS HEROES

Teacher: Kristin Anne I. Soriente Subject: Social Science/History Grade Level: 1st grade

NATIONAL STANDARDS: NSS-USH.K-4.3 The history of the United States: democratic principles and values and the people from many cultures who contributed to its cultural, economic, and political heritage. • Understands how democratic values came to be, and how they have been exemplified by people, events, and symbols • Understands the causes and nature of movements of large groups of people into and within the United States, now and long ago

VIRGINIA SOLs: History 1.2 The student will describe the stories of American leaders and their contributions to our country, with emphasis on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington Carver. 1.3 The student will discuss the lives of people associated with Presidents’ Day, Columbus Day, and the events of Independence Day (Fourth of July).

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS: Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a) interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. b) communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. c) develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. d) contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY SOLs: Technology Communication Tools C/T K-2.7 The student will use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. • Identify the best tool to communicate information. • Use technology tools for individual writing, communication, and publishing activities. • Demonstrate the ability to create, save, retrieve, and print document.

BIG IDEA QUESTION: •

Who are the important figures in the proclamation of Independence Day and what are their other contributions to our country?

RATIONALE:

In this unit first graders will learn about the exciting story of how the United States became an independent nation. Although an exciting story to us now, the students will learn about the struggles the colonists encountered in order to gain independence, as well as important figures during this time period. These people include Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. The students will learn why the Declaration of Independence was written and the origins of Independence Day. Throughout this unit, the students will create their own timeline in order to track these important events, and they will create their own book as a way to review and organize the information that they learn.

UNIT OBJECTIVES: • • • • • • • • •

The students will identify Thomas Jefferson as one of the main writers of the Declaration of Independence. The students will evaluate why the Declaration of Independence was written. The students will recognize July 4, 1776 as the day that the Declaration of Independence was approved. The students will individualize George Washington as the first president of the United States and a general in the Revolutionary War. The students will examine the facts about George Washington by using a Venn diagram. The students will establish that our national capital, Washington D.C., was named after George Washington. The students will organize facts about Benjamin Franklin on a Venn diagram and make comparisons to George Washington. The students will write a paragraph assessing least two ways that Benjamin Franklin helped America during the American Revolution. The students will illustrate a few of the many accomplishments made by Benjamin Franklin during his life.

CONTENT OF THE UNIT: I. II. III.

IV. V. VI.

Independence Day a. Declaration of Independence b. Importance Thomas Jefferson a. Contributions George Washington a. Biography b. Contributions To: i. United States of America ii. History Benjamin Franklin a. Biography b. Inventions Similarities of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin Differences of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin

SCHEDULE OF THE UNIT:

Unit Overview

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Week One

Lesson1 (45-50 minutes)

No Social Science class

Lesson 2 (50 minutes)

Lesson 3 (50 minutes)

Friday Culminating Activity (20 minutes)

LESSONS: Lesson 1: The Declaration of Independence Daily Objectives: Concept Objectives: By the end of the lesson: • Students will understand the chronological organization of history and know how to organize events and people into major eras to identify and explain historical relationships. • Students understand political institutions and theories that have developed and changed over time. Skill Objectives: By the end of the lesson: • The students will identify Thomas Jefferson as one of the main writers of the Declaration of Independence. • The students will evaluate why the Declaration of Independence was written. • The students will recognize July 4, 1776 as the day that the Declaration of Independence was approved. • The students will assess and write why Independence Day is being celebrated. Essential Questions: • What is a declaration? • Who wrote most of the Declaration of Independence? • Why did he do most of the writing? • Why was the Declaration of Independence written? • The Declaration of Independence was approved on what famous day? • Why do we celebrate Independence Day? Materials: • The Declaration of Independence: Foundation for America, by Jon Wilson • SmartBoard • Laptop for each student • Appendix A- A part of the Declaration of Independence • Appendix B- Declaration of Independence – Vocabulary • Class blog or blackboard Key Vocabulary:

•

Declaration – a public statement or announcement of something important (see appendix B for other vocabulary words)

Procedures: Expected Time: 45-50 minutes **Before the class starts distribute the laptops to each child and have the students log in the network. Opening/Motivator: Gather the students in front of SmartBoard. Tell them that today they will be learning about an important document that was written just a little over a year after the war began, in 1776. This document, or piece of writing, is called The Declaration of Independence. Read to the students the book, The Declaration of Independence: Foundation for America, pages 12 – 23. Ask the following questions after reading this section of the book. • What is a declaration? • Who wrote most of the Declaration of Independence? • Why did he do most of the writing? • Why was the Declaration of Independence written? • The Declaration of Independence was approved on what famous day? Development of Activities: Explain to the students that although the Declaration of Independence is quite long, there is one part that is particularly important to Americans. Show this statement to the students by projecting the copy of Appendix A in the Smartboard. Read this statement to the students, explaining that you will explain many of the words after you read it. Open Appendix B in the Smartboard side by side with the Declaration of Independence to give a definition to many of the words in this sentence, putting each part into words that are more understandable to first graders. Remind the students that the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, before the war was even over. Americans still celebrate on July 4th every year to remember how we became independent. This day is also called the Fourth of July or Independence Day. Divide the class in pairs and have them brainstorm on the different ways that people celebrate Independence Day. Give the students 5 minutes to talk with their partners. After that, tell the students to go to their table and from their laptop have the students open MS Word, instruct them that they will write a short paragraph and put pictures that answers why Independence Day is being celebrated. They should write the following sentence at the top of the page: “Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. It was approved on July 4, 1776. We still celebrate Independence Day on July 4th.” Write this statement on the Smartboard to assure that spelling is correct. Closure: After given them enough time to work, save their output in the class folder and publish their works gather them and as a whole class, list everything that they learned in today’s lesson on the Smartboard with the heading American Revolution. If there is enough time, show case there output in the Smartboard so that everybody can see and share their views. Tell the students that tomorrow they will be learning about an influential figure in our history. Save all the discussion from the Smartboard and post it in the class blog so students can review it at home. Evaluation: Formative: • Questions and answers of the class regarding the subject matter, observation and assessment of ideas, reasoning for each answer.

Summative: • The students will be assessed based on their completion of the MS Word activity. Their output should answer the question why the Independence Day is being celebrated. Extensions: Gifted and Talented: The student can be peer helpers and can be given open-ended questions that foster a higher level thinking in the class discussions. Research on the web trivia about Independence Day that they can share in the class. Instead of doing the activity on MS Word they can be given the choice to do it in PhotoStory, Go Animate, Mix or Voicethread. They can lead in the discussion and pair activity. Accommodations: ELLs and Learning Disabled: Simplifying the direction and repetition of the concepts mentioned in class. Emphasis on the intonation on important ideas in the group discussion is useful as well as cueing and using of gestures. Proximity is also important in any group activity to make sure that the teacher has the attention of the student. Highlight the keywords on the Smartboard. Repeat the directions to the child and provide written directions if needed. Allow the child to answer orally. A video direction can be prepared ahead of time so they can view it on their own in their laptops.

Lesson 2: George Washington: The Father of Our Country Daily Objectives Concept Objectives: By the end of the lesson: • Students understand the chronological organization of history and know how to organize events and people into major eras to identify and explain historical relationships. • Students understand political institutions and theories that have developed and changed over time. Skill Objectives: By the end of the lesson: • The students will individualize George Washington as the first president of the United States and a general in the Revolutionary War. • The students will examine the facts about George Washington by using a Venn diagram. • The students will establish that our national capital, Washington D.C., was named after George Washington. Essential Questions: • What did George Washington do for a job when he was very young? • What did Washington become a part of when he was only 20 years old? • Who did George Washington marry? • George Washington was a great leader, a general, in what war? • George Washington was our very first president. In what year did he become president? • What made George Washington a good leader? Materials: • Appendix C -Assessment

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• • • • •

• •

George Washington: Our First President, by Garnet Jackson Several $1 bills to pass around the classroom Smartboard Kidspiration Appendix D – Quite a Guy! Picture of the Washington Monument (pictures can be found on the Internet at http://www.kestan.com/travel/dc/monument) Class blog or blackboard Go Animate Video on George Washington (Teacher made http://tinyurl.com/ndcng2)

Key Vocabulary: • Surveyor – someone who measures land and makes maps to describe the land • President – a president is someone who is the leader over a group of people; in our country it is someone who is elected by the people • Democracy – a government where the people in that country get to decide (or vote on) whom their leaders will be (as opposed to having a king where the people do not get to decide) Procedures: Expected Time: 50 minutes Opening/Motivator: Review the previous lessons by reading the information that the class has accumulated on the chart labeled American Revolution. Ask the following questions to review the previous lesson: • What document was written to declare our independence from England? (The Declaration of Independence) • Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence? (Thomas Jefferson) • In what year was the Declaration of Independence written? (1776) • On what day do we celebrate our independence from Great Britain? It was also the day that the Declaration of Independence was approved. (The Fourth of July, Independence Day) Hold up a one-dollar bill and ask the students if they know whose picture is printed on this bill. Obtain several one-dollar bills so that they can circulate around the classroom and students can look closely at the picture. If the students don’t know whose picture is printed on the one-dollar bill, tell them at this time. Tell them that George Washington is known as the father of our country. (Many of the students may have prior knowledge about George Washington.) Open the Smartboard. As a group, have the students list what they know about George Washington on the Venn Diagram using Kidspiration. Development of Activities: Read to the students the book, George Washington: Our First President, by Garnet Jackson. After completing the book, ask the following questions. • What did George Washington do for a job when he was very young? • What did Washington become a part of when he was only 20 years old? • Who did George Washington marry? • George Washington was a great leader, a general, in what war? • George Washington was our very first president. In what year did he become president? • What made George Washington a good leader?

Also tell the students that our capital, Washington D.C., was named after George Washington. This is where the White House is located and where most of the important decisions about our country are made. Project the song, “Quite A Guy!” (Appendix D) on the Smartboard. Teach them the song to help them remember some of the important facts about Washington. This is sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” After singing the song once through, you may need to give an explanation of the words survey and democracy. Also explain that the Washington Monument is in Washington D.C. If available, show the students a picture of the Washington Monument. After practicing the song a few times, encourage the students to add facts about George Washington to Washington’s side of the Venn diagram. Hand out the Assessment (Appendix C) to the students, give them time to answer the question to assess what they learned today. Closure: Gather the attention of the students watch the Go Animate video. Let the students share the parts that they liked and have them connect it in the previous lesson on Independence Day. Tell the students that tomorrow they will be learning about another influential figure in our history but remind them that they will have to remember the facts about George Washington. Evaluation: Formative: • Questions and answers of the class regarding the subject matter, observation and assessment of ideas, reasoning for each answer. Summative: • The students will be assessed based on their completion of the Assessment which should result to 90% accuracy. Extensions: Gifted and Talented: The student can be peer helpers and can be given open-ended questions that foster a higher level thinking in the class discussions. They can lead in the discussion for the Venn Diagram. If they finish the assessment before the class, give them the opportunity to create a slide presentation about this lesson and the previous lesson that they can using Voicethread or Accommodations: ELLs and Learning Disabled: Simplifying the direction and repetition of the concepts mentioned in class. Emphasis on the intonation on important ideas in the group discussion is useful as well as cueing and using of gestures. Proximity is also important in any group activity to make sure that the teacher has the attention of the student. Repeat the directions to the child and provide written directions if needed. Allow the child to answer orally. Give them the chance to write in the Smartboard so they can have a tactile connection with the lesson.

Lesson 3: The Amazing Benjamin Franklin Daily Objectives: Concept Objectives: Students understand the chronological organization of history and know how to organize events and people into major eras to identify and explain historical relationships. Students understand political institutions and theories that have developed and changed over time. Skill Objectives:

• • •

The students will organize facts about Benjamin Franklin on a Venn diagram and make comparisons to George Washington. The students will write a paragraph assessing least two ways that Benjamin Franklin helped America during the American Revolution. The students will illustrate a few of the many accomplishments made by Benjamin Franklin during his life.

Essential Questions: • What were some of Benjamin Franklin’s jobs? • What were some of his inventions? • Why was he important during the American Revolution? What did he do? • What are similarities of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington? • What are their differences? Materials: •

• • • • •

A Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin, by David A. Adler Appendix E – Rubric for paragraph assessment Smartboard Laptop PhotoStory program Microphones

Key Vocabulary: • Patriot – a person who thought the colonists should be free from British rule Procedures: Expected Time: 50 minutes **Before the class starts distribute the laptops to each child and have the students log in the network. Opening/Motivator: Gather the students in the mat in front of the Smartboard. Review what the students have learned about the American Revolution by having them read the information that has been written on the chart labeled American Revolution. Also have the students read the information that has been written so far on the George Washington part of the Venn diagram. Tell the students that they will be filling in the other part of the Venn diagram with information about Benjamin Franklin. Therefore, when they are listening to the story about Benjamin Franklin, they need to be listening closely so that they can add many details about his life. Read to the students the book, A Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin, by David A. Adler. After reading about Benjamin Franklin, ask the following questions: • What were some of Benjamin Franklin’s jobs? • What were some of his inventions? • Why was he important during the American Revolution? What did he do? Development of Activities:

As a group, write on Benjamin Franklin’s side of the Venn diagram, listing all the information that they can remember from the book. Then have the students compare George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, listing their similarities in the middle section. Instruct the students to think about what their personalities may have been like in order to accomplish so much. Also instruct them to think about how they were both involved in the Revolutionary War. Remind the students that Benjamin Franklin went to France to convince them to help the colonists with the Revolutionary War. Having France’s help really helped the Americans, and in 1783, we won the war. America officially became independent from England. Tell the students to go back to their seats. Instruct them that they will have to activity to close this unit. The first activity that they will have is that they will create a slide show presentation from PhotoStory naming at least two things that Benjamin Franklin invented and they should write a sentence about it and if they like they can put their voice comments on the slides. Give students ample time to do this activity. Go around the class to assist the students who are having difficulty. Closure: After the students have saved their work on the class folder and published them and as a whole class, show case there output in the Smartboard so that everybody can see and share their views. List the inventions that the students has mentioned in the Smartboard under the heading “Benjamin Franklin’s Inventions. Save all the discussion from the Smartboard and post it in the class blog so students can review it at home. Tell the students that tomorrow they will spend a few minutes doing an activity that will synthesize and evaluate all the information that they have learned from these three lessons. Evaluation: Formative: • Questions and answers of the class regarding the subject matter, observation and assessment of ideas, reasoning for each answer. Summative: • The students will be assessed based on their completion of the Photostory activity. The students should be able to show at least 2 inventions of Benjamin Franklin with 100% accuracy. Extensions: Gifted and Talented: The student can be peer helpers and can be given open-ended questions that foster a higher level thinking in the class discussions. Research on other inventions of Benjamin Franklin that was not mentioned in the book read in class. They can create a book from Mix book about the other inventions they have researched that they can share in class. They can lead in the discussion and pair activity. Accommodations: ELLs and Learning Disabled: Simplifying the direction and repetition of the concepts mentioned in class. Emphasis on the intonation on important ideas in the group discussion is useful as well as cueing and using of gestures. Proximity is also important in any group activity to make sure that the teacher has the attention of the student. Allow the child to answer orally. Repeat the directions to the child and provide written directions if needed or create a video direction can be prepared ahead of time so they can view it on their own in their laptops.

Culminating Activity: Materials: • Laptop • Smartboard • Appendix E- Paragraph

Procedure: Expected Time: 20 minutes Ask the students to write a short essay in their about what they learned about Independence Day, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in MS Word. Post the Rubric in the Smartboard so the students can see the grading scale. Give enough time to complete the activity.

HANDOUTS/SMARTBOARD ACTIVITIES: Appendix A:

The Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Appendix B:

The Declaration of Independence – Vocabulary Declaration – a public statement or announcement of something important. Independence – freedom from the control of another Self-evident – something that can be easily seen or figured out Endowed – provided by some talent Creator – one who creates, God Unalienable – not capable of being changed Liberty – freedom Pursuit – the act of following or chasing something

Appendix C:

Assessment Name: __________________________ Date: ____________________

George Washington: Father of our Country 1. List two things you learned about George Washington. a. ______________________________________________ b. ______________________________________________ 2. George Washington was our _____________ president. A. second B. third C. first 3. George Washington was a ____________in the Revolutionary War. A. general

B. cook C. private

4. On what piece of money do we see George Washington’s picture? A. a quarter B. $1 bill C. $100 bill 5. Who did George Washington marry? A. Mary Robinson B. Martha Custis C. Nancy Reagan

Appendix D:

Quite A Guy! (Sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy”)

Here’s a song of Washington, General in the army. Married Martha Custis and He’s father of our country! Chorus: Washington was quite a guy! First president ever. Would he let his country down? No! Impossible! Never! Surveyed the land when he was young.

Was honest in his youth. Did he chop down a cherry tree? He always told the truth. (Repeat chorus.) Two terms he served as president. Would not be called a king. Made it clear to all concerned Democracy was his thing! (Repeat chorus.) He’s honored with a monument. He’s on our dollar bill. Could we, in time, forget this man? Oh no! We never will! (Repeat chorus.)

Appendix E:

Paragraph Rubric