Katie Abraham

Internship for Teaching and Learning

Spring 2016
Assignment #2
Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning
Learning Needs:
The fifth grade class in Madison Elementary consists of 76 students, 39 girls and 37
boys, and split between four classes. Two teachers teach reading, writing, spelling,
and grammar and the other two teachers teach math, science, and social studies.
The class Im going to focus on for assignment 2 consists of 18 students. There is
one Native American student and 17 Caucasian students. One student is on an IEP
for math. One student takes medication for ADHD and there are two other students
who have high levels of energy.
American Revolution Unit:
Lesson

Da
y

Introduction to
the American
Revolution
Pretest
o Backgrou
nd
informati
on
Discuss
The
Death of
General
Mercer at
the
Battle of
Princeton
, January
3, 1777
painting
Famous
American
Report
Introduction

Objectives

Vocabulary

Activity/Assess
ment
American
Revolution
Scavenger Hunt

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2
2

Lesson 1:
Fighting for
Control

Lesson 2:
Colonists Speak
Out
o Stamp
Act
o Townshen
d Acts
o Boston
Massacre

Lesson 3:
Disagreements
Grow
o Boston
Tea Party
o Coercive
Acts
o Lexington
and
Concord

Describe the
fight to
control North
America.
Describe
how
alliances
between
Native
Americans
and colonists
affected the
French and
Indian War.
Explain the
new laws
passed after
the French
and Indian
War.
Identify the
laws that
caused
conflicts in
the colonies.
Explain the
importance
of the
Committees
of
Corresponde
nce
Explain why
the colonists
refused to
accept the
new laws
passed nu
Parliament
Describe
why fighting
broke out at
Lexington
and Concord

alliance
delegate
Parliament
Proclamatio
n
budget

Put the events

in order in
which they
happened
(Starting at the
French sending
soldiers to Ohio
Valley and
ending at the
Sugar Act)

Write a letter to
the editor in
support or
against the
stamp act.

representat
ion
treason
congress
boycott
repeal
imperial
policy
protest

monopoly
blockade
quarter
petition
Minutemen
revolution

Videos:
Liberty
Kids #1
Boston
Tea Party
Liberty
Kids #6
The Shot
Heard
Around
the World
YouTube
Boston Tea
Party Song &
Dump it Off
Students
write a
song

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2

Midnight Ride of
Paul Revere

The Road to War

Declaring
Independence

about
Boston
Tea Party
PE reenact the
Lexington
through a game
of dodgeball.
Mark the battles
of Lexington
and Concord on
the map of the
13 colonies (to
be used at the
end of the unit
to make one
large map of all
battles).

Understand
the
significance
of the
battles of
Lexington
and Concord
and Paul
Reveres role
in those
events
Distinguish
fact from
fiction in a
historical
poem
Explain the
significance
of the
Second
Continental
Congress.
Understand
the
importance
of the Battle
of Bunker
Hill.
Understand
the people
and events
associated
with the
Declaration
of
Independenc
e.
Tell why the
Declaration
of
Independenc
e is
important
and identify
its key

commander
in chief
earthwork
olive
branch

independen
ce
resolution
declaration
preamble
grievance

SchoolTube
about the facts
of the ride
Mark the battle
of Bunker Hill
on the map of
the 13 colonies
(to be used at
the end of the
unit to make
one large map
of all battles).
Video: School
House Rock
The Preamble

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2

Americans and
the Revolution

Fighting for
Independence

10

Winning
Independence

political
concepts.
Describe the
personal and
economic
effects of the
war.
Explain the
roles of
women,
African
Americans,
and Native
Americans
during the
war.
Identify the
early battles,
campaigns,
and turning
points of the
Revolution.
Examine the
roles of
American
and British
leaders.
Describe
how
individuals
and other
nations
contributed
to the wars
outcome.

Identify the
major battles
and
campaigns
of the
Revolutionar
y War.
Describe
how
individuals
and other
nations
contributed
to the wars

Patriot
Loyalist
neutral
inflation
profiteering
veteran

Compare and
Contrast
Patriot/Loyalist

enlist
mercenary
campaign
turning
point
negotiate

Mark the battle

of Trenton,
Saratoga ,
Valley Forge on
the map of the
13 colonies (to
be used at the
end of the unit
to make one
large map of all
battles).

Explore food
eaten during
this time:
Hoecakes

civilian
traitor

Music: Yankee
Doodle play
on instruments
Mark the battle
of Yorktown on
the map of the
13 colonies (to
be used at the
end of the unit
to make one
large map of all
battles).

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2
outcome.

11

Effects of the
War

12

Famous People
of the American
Revolution

Evaluate the
Declaration
of
Independenc
e changed
views on
slavery.
Understand
the
significance
of new land
policies and
their impact
on NativeAmericans.

abolitionist
abolish
territory
ordinance

Identify
influential
people
during the
American
Revolution.

Make a map of
the battles on
mrnussbaum.co
m
Write a news
article covering
the Elizabeth
Freeman court
case.
Art: Create own
picture of a
famous picture
from American
Revolution
Declaration of
Independence,
Crossing the
Delaware, Betsy
Ross, Boston
Tea Party
Students give a
speech on the
famous
American they
researched.

South Dakota State Standards/Common Core Standards:

Social Studies:
5.US.1.3 Students are able to identify influential people and key events during the
American Revolution.
5.W.1.2. Students are able to describe the impact other countries had on the
United States through exploration, trade, and conflict.
5.W.2.1. Students are able to identify key conflicts with other cultures of the world
and the effect they had on the United States physical, economically, and socially.

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2
5.C.1.2. Students are able to define and describe the roles of the democratic
government of the United States.
5.C.2.1. Students are able to describe how volunteerism helped develop the
United States.
Writing:
W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas
and information clearly
W.5.2b Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge
through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information
from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and
finished work, and provide a list of sources.
Speaking:
SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically
and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas
or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Instructional Strategies:
I strive to deliver lessons and review lessons in a variety of ways to reach all
different learning types. I use direct instruction, creative thinking, classroom

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2
discussions, music, hands-on, cooperative learning, and technology tools. The
lessons I prepare on the Promethean Board (interactive board) tend to review the
important concepts read in the lesson. When working together in groups, each
student is able to share his/her ideas and learn about the importance of teamwork
and doing his/her share of the workload. Students are able to move around the
classroom to a place in which they comfortable learning. This not only helps
students with ADHD get up and move to release energy, it helps all students.
I use ActivExpressions to check for students understanding. Questions over the
lesson can be posted on the Promethean Board or sent to the students individual
devices and the ActivExpressions give me instant feedback on my computer to let
me know if students understand the lesson just taught. If students are having
difficulty understanding, I am able to review on the same day or the very next day.
Research shows having skills mastered before moving on is best practice
(Rosenshine 2012). Other assessments I use are worksheets, rubrics, writing
prompts, quizzes, projects, and exit slips.
Impact of Instruction:
At the beginning of this unit, I gave a ten question quiz to identify what students
already knew about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. The class
average was 35%. This percent indicated that the majority of the students had little
knowledge about the events leading up to the war. With the different learning styles
in my classroom, I knew I had to be creative in my instruction and assessment.
Through different ways each lesson was presented and assessed, the class average
on the post quiz rose to 93%.

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2
Plan for Redesign:
Next time I teach this unit I will incorporate more childrens literature. There were
some sections in the student textbooks in which the reading level was beyond some
of the students reading levels. By bringing in childrens literature books, the lessons
might have gone more smoothly and I probably wouldnt have had to do a lot of
reteaching.
I would also add more math into this unit. The math numbers students could explore
are the number of soldiers at the start of the war compared to the end and how
many lives were lost at each of the battles. More math information students could
find is the distance between battlefields and the calculation of approximately how
long it would have taken the soldiers to march or ride to each battle. Howard
Gardners theory states that there are eight different learning styles in which
students learn best. Some of the students in my room learn best by using and
working with numbers.

Sources:

Katie Abraham
Internship for Teaching and Learning
Spring 2016
Assignment #2

Auger, W. E., Langford, H., & Rich, S. (2007). Curriculum theory and methods:
Perspectives on learning and teaching. Mississauga, Ont.: J. Wiley & Sons
Canada.
Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction: Researched-Based Strategies Every Teacher
Should Know. American Educator, 177-39. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from
http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Rosenshine.pdf