4MAT in Action

PRACTICE
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4th Edition
CONNECT
REF
INE
4 M AT i n A c t i o n
4MAT in Action
PERFORM
Susan Morris
Bernice McCarthy
The purpose of th is book is to help people apprec i ate the diverse appl ications of
4MAT. It was wri tten by t ea chers and trainers for teachers and trainers. The
instructional plans incl uded are the work of exemplary profess ionals. Th ey were
ch osen for their diversity of content, cla ri ty of conce pt, genera l i za ble appea l ,
creative meth ods of instruction , brain-frie ndl y s trat egies and incorporation of
4MAT p ri nc i ples. M os t i m portantly, the auth ors report ed th at th ese plans had a
pos i tive impa ct on tea ching and lea rn i n g. The task of ch oosing th ese plans for
th is 4th edi tion was a mos t pleasura ble on e; it is grati fying to see how m uch we
have all learned since the previous edi tions of 4MAT in Action were publ ished in
1983, 199 0, a nd 199 5.
DEDICATION
We are indebt ed to the tea chers and trainers who con tri b u t ed to th is collection .
We are humbled by the ma ny profess ionals who con ti n ue to fi nd va l ue in our
work. We gratefu ll y dedicate th is book to all of them.
Be rn ice McCarthy
Sp ri n g, 1999
4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

THE 4MAT SYSTEM: A CYCLE OF LEARNING
MAJOR PREMISES
OF
4MAT
pe r sonal con n ection , lea ding to

reflection , to conce ptua l i zation , to
t es ting and ada pti n g, then to
creativity a nd integration .
Hu man be i n gs have individual
prefere nces for h owth ey m os t
com fortably function on the cycle
of lea rn i n g.
Hu man be i n gs pe rce ive expe rie nce

a nd information in di ffe rent ways.
Hu man be i n gs process expe rie nce

a nd information in di ffe rent ways.
The com b i n ations form ed by our
pe rceiving and processing techniq ues
form our uniq ue lea rning sty les.
There are four maj or ide n ti fi a ble

lea rning styles.
They are all equally valua ble.

Lea rners need to be comforta ble about
their own uniq ue lea rning sty les.
Type One Lea rners are pri ma ri l y

interested in pe r sonal meaning.
Tea chers need to create a reason .
Type Two Lea rners are pri ma ri l y
interested in knowled ge as it lea ds to
conceptual unde r s tandi n g. Teachers
n eed to give them sign i ficant
knowled ge th at dee pens
u ndersta ndi n g.
Type Three Lea rners are pri ma ri l y
interested in how th i n gs wor k.
Tea chers need to let them try it.
Type Four Lea rners are pri ma ri l y
interested in self - discovery a nd
a da ptation . Tea chers need to let them
a da pt w h at th ey lea rn in their own
creative ways.
2001 About Learning, Inc.

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All rights reserved.
No duplication allowed
ii
Hu man be i n gs lea rn in a natu ral cycle. A ll lea rners need to be ta u ght in all four
ways, in order to be com forta ble and
The cycle of lea rning begins wi th
s uccess ful pa rt of the time while be i n g

s tret ch ed to develop in oth e r ways.
A ll lea rners wi ll shine at di fferent
pla ces in the lea rning cycle, so th ey
wi ll lea rn from ea ch oth e r.
The 4MAT System moves thro u gh the

lea rning cycle in seq ue nce, teaching in
a ll four m odes and incorporating th e
four com b i n ations of characteris tics.
The seq ue nce is a natu ral lea rning
p rogress ion .
Ea ch of the four lea rning modes needs

to be ta u ght wi th both right- and
left - m ode processing techniq ues.
Lea rners who favor the right m ode
n eed to stret ch into the left m ode.
Lea rners who favor the left mode
n eed to stret ch into the right m ode.
The development a nd integration of

a ll four m odes of lea rning and the
development a nd integration of both
right- and left - m ode processing ski ll s
sh o u ld be a maj or goal of all tea ching
a nd learn i n g.
Lea rners wi ll come to accept their

strengths and lea rn to ca p i ta l i ze on
them, w h i le developing a hea l thy
res pect for the uniq ue n ess of oth e r s
a nd furth e ring their a b i l i tyto lea rn
in alternative modes wi th o u t the
p ress u re of "being wron g."
10
The more comforta ble we are about

who we are, the more freely we lea rn
from oth e r s.
Lea rning is fundamentally social.

People need to lea rn abo u t w h at matters to them.
Lea rning needs a supportive envi ronment.
Lea rning is conce ptual in natu re and vis ual ima ges enhance
THE TWELVE
PRINCIPLES OF
LEARNING
conceptualization .
Lea rning is fu nction a l .

Lea rning by doing is more powerful than memori z i n g, and coa ching is the key.
Lea rning needs to prom ote a mindset th at e ndures beyond the teaching.
Self-direct ed lea rning is the core.
Cra cking the whip sti fles learning.
Failure to lea rn is often the fault of the system.
Som eti m es the best learning is unlea rn i n g.
Real lea rning leaves us changed.
Remember, ea ch of the four lea rning style types has a quadrant, or pla ce in th e
cycle, where s/he is mos t com forta ble, w h e re success com es natu ra ll y.
TEACHING TO ALL
FOUR LEARNING
STYLES USING
RIGHT- AND LEFT-
The Ima gi n ative Lea rn e r s,

th ose who favor Q ua drant One, prefer to lea rn th ro u gh
a com b i n ation of sensing/feeling and reflecti n g.
MODE TECHNIQUES
The A n a l ytic Lea rn e r s,

th ose who favor Q ua drant Two, p refer to lea rn th rough a
com b i n ation of th i n king th rough conce pts and reflecti n g.
The Com m on Sense Learners,

th ose who favor Q ua drant Three, p refer to lea rn by
th i n king th rough conce pts and trying things out for
th e m selves by doi n g.
The Dyn a m ic Lea rn e r s,

th ose who favor Quadrant Four, prefer to lea rn
by sensing/feeling and doi n g.
iii

The 4MAT System is des igned so all lea rners are com forta ble some of the time
a nd challenged some of the ti m e, so th at ea ch develops the gra ce to lea rn in
m u l ti ple ways. We continue to unde r s ta nd the 4MAT cycle in dee per ways. What
follows is the result of our expe rie nces since the first edi tion of 4MAT in Action .
We con ti n ue to ma ke discove ries abo u t 4MAT. The mos t important on going
affirmation is th at 4MAT is more di fficult than it looks and the second is th at
some steps are more di fficult than others.
4MAT requires maj or atti tudinal sh i fts in the way we think about teaching.
These atti tudinal sh i fts are necessa ry in orde r to produce lea rning envi ron m e n ts:
where all lea rners have an eq ual ch a nce to lea rn ;

where motivation is con s idered the pri ma ry task of the tea ch e r;
where sign i ficant conce pts form a sol id instructional base;
where the skills that are taught are related to concepts and have immediate
usefulness;
where lea rners are encouraged to speak in their own voices w h i le attending to
a nd honoring the voices of oth e r s ;
where lea rners are led to the del ight of self - discovery;
where ale rtn ess is fos t e red by tea ching to all four lea rning styles using
right- and left-mode techniq ues;
where lea rners are assessed wi th multiple techniq ues, including non-ve rbal on es.
that not only h onor but a l so celeb rate the diversity of learners.
M ore on the Cycle.
QUADRANT ONE:
Quadrant One: Connecting the Concept with the Self
CONNECTING THE
A process from Sensing/Feeling to Reflecting.
CONCEPT WITH
All learners go th rough all of the qua dra n ts and all lea rning begins in Qua drant
One, the Ima gi n ative Lea rn e rs mos t com forta ble pla ce. The favorite
q ues tion of the Ima gi n ative Learner is Why? The
t ea ch e r needs to create an expe rie nce th rough
which lea rners discover how their p revious
expe rie nces con n ect them to the conce pt at hand.
THE SELF
TEACHERS ROL E MOTI VATOR/WITN ESS

ME THOD SI M U LATION, DISCUSSION
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iv
STEP ONE: CONNECT
THE QUADRANT
Create a reason
ONE STEPS
TEACHERS ROL E MOTI VATOR

ME THOD DISCUSS ION
QU ESTION TO BE A NSWE R E D WHY?
In Quadrant One we create a reason . We answer the ques tion Why? We begin by
Creating an Expe rie nce. The Right M ode, Quadrant One step.
The objective is to allow the lea rners to enter into the expe rie nce, to engage
them, and to integrate the expe rie nce wi th pe r sonal mea n i n g. Remember, the
right m ode jumps right into the expe rie nce, a nd the left m ode sta nds ba ck a nd
analyzes w h at happened.
I m b ue the expe rie nce wi th meaning so lea rners are able to see con n ections from
their own expe rie nce. Richard Gi bbon ey of the Un iversity of Pennsylvania Sch ool
of E ducation com m e n ts on objectives and meaning: Objectives must be va l uable
now, in their own immedi ate having.
The tea chers and trainers we have wor ked wi th have found th is step to be ve ry
di fficult. They som eti m es stru ggle to create a di rect expe rie nce, something th at
can be appre h e nded or pe rceived on an immedi ate level by the lea rn e r s,
som ething th at con n ects to the lea rn e r s own lives and is therefore va l ua ble
to them.
When we encounter teachers who have th is di ffic u l ty, we begin by asking them to
clearly ide n tify WH AT th ey are teaching. In other words, we go immedi ately to the
Second Qua drant and their content to help them det e rmine the conce pt th atwi ll
make the content they are teaching the most relevant to their stude n ts.
They a n swer, for exa m ple, C a p i tal Lett e r s. We then ask, What is the conce pt of
capital letters? A nd to our amazement we are usua ll y m et by sile nce, a nd a mos t
uncom forta ble sile nce.
If capital letters di fferentiate between generalities and spec i fics, then one can
easily construct expe rience based on this conce pt. The stude n ts know, for example,
th atth eylike to be ca lled by their names, Joh n , Jane, etc., rather than the girl in the
red sweat e ror the boy in the grey sh i rt. They understand the conce pt of
genera l i ties versus specifics when you point out to them how th eylike to be ca lled
by their names, how th eylike to be spec i fied. You can then teach them there is a
meth od for specifying in wri tten form , and it is ca p i tal letters.
In addi tion , you can give the stude n ts the expe rie nce of a wor ld where ca p i tal
letters are not u sed , a nd have them disc u ss and , wi th luck discove r, the reason for
capital letters, a reason th at con n ects to their own expe rie nce.
But the more se rious ques tion remains: h ow can the tea cher help lea rners ma ke
the con n ection to meaning, the purpose and usefu l n ess of the unde r l ying
concept, the gl ue th at holds it t ogeth e r, the reason th at ma kes se n se, if th e
t ea ch e r does not have a grasp of the conce pt?

In order to CON N ECT, you must u nde r s ta nd the concept. Jerome Bruner speaks to
th is : "When we try to get a child to unde r s ta nd a concept the first a nd mos t
i m porta n t condi tion , obvio u sl y, is th at the expos i t ors th e m sel ves understa nd it.
I ma ke no apology for th is necessa ry poi n t. To unde r s ta nd som ething well is to
se n se wherein it is simple, wherein it is an insta nce of a simple r ge n e ral case t o
unde r s tand som ething is to se n se the simple r s tructu re th at u nde r l ies a ra n ge of
i n s ta nces, a nd th is is nota bl y true in mathematics. "
We tea ch ski lls in boxes. Som e h owth ese ski lls have become ends in th e m selves,
isolat ed enti ties, a nd have become separat ed from their meaning.
Wi thout meaning, there is no understandi n g. It is like memorizing words in a
fore ign la n gua ge without knowing w h at th eymean, a fru s trating and fool ish task.
To create an expe rie nce th at h as meaning, you must know the conce pt. The
problem graphically i ll u s trat ed is this:
Ou r system has ta u ght us to brea k things down , to look at the pa rts. We must
retu rn to the w h ole pictu re. Tea chers need to motivate their lea rners to want to
lea rn w h at th ey are abo u t to tea ch . We fel t the di fficulty we wo u ld encounter in
Q ua drant One was th at some tea chers would not a gree th at m otivation was
their primary task.
In some cases th at has been true. The following conve r sation took place du ri n g
the first brea k in one of our workshops. The speaker was a high school sc ie nce
teacher on a fa c u l tyin a Midwes t e rn city. He moved in quickl y and wi th great
intensity.
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vi
M otivating stude n ts is not my j ob. Thats an outra geous notion . I re pl ied, Then
whose j ob is it? He answered , Its their j ob, the stude n ts, I mea n . Its their
respon s i b i l i ty to be motivat ed when th ey come to my class. And its their pa rents
j ob to ma ke sure th ey s tay th at way.
I asked, Then w h atis your respon s i b i l i ty? He answered, To give them information .
I repl ied, "Then they dont n eed you. A good text, a good computer program co u ld do
th atjust as well."
So we con tinue to meet t ea chers who ope rate unde r the ass u m ption th at th ey are
on l y req u i red to tea ch motivated lea rn e r s, lea rners who enter their class room s
excited and curious abo u t the content to be ta u ght. These tea chers do not a cce pt
the idea th at the art of t ea ching is arousing curios i ty, creating excitement,
a n swe ring the ques tion Why? M otivation is the purpose of the CON N ECT, the
Right M ode Step of Q ua drant O n e.
But, in orde r to des ign the expe rie nce that wi ll create a pe r sonal con n ection for a ll
of the lea rners, a tea cher needs to know the conce pt to be ta u ght. Wi thout th e
proper grasp of the conce pt, one ca n not create a meaningful pe r sonal con n ection. It
req u i res grasping the idea of som ething in a way that connects to mea n i n g. It is th e
core idea form ed by mentally combining all the charact e ris tics and pa rtic u lars into
a useful con s truct. We are convinced th is process is whole-brained, simply because
we must analyze the pa rts w h i le seeing the w h ole.
The Calculus lesson prese n t ed in th is book (see pa ge 112-113) is a pe rfect exa m ple of
creating a core idea expe rie nce. The Qua drant One, Right M ode expe rie nce created
by the auth ors con s titutes the esse nce of the concept of maxi ma l / m i n i mal
opti m i zation , the objective of the lesson. The stude n ts are given wrapping pa pe r
a nd gi ft boxes to be wrapped . Their task is to wrap a maximum numbe r of
pa cka ges using a minimal amount of pa pera relatively com m on , eve ryday task
th at taps the hea rt of the concept of optimization .
It is the simpl icity inherent in the meaning th at con n ects the conce pt to
unde r s tandi n g. Note th at the Bru n e r q uote ends wi th the stat e m e n t, to
unde r s tand som ething is to sense the simpler s tructu re th at unde r l ies a ra n ge
of i n s ta nces, a nd th is is nota bl y true in math e matics.
When the teacher tru l y unde r s tands the concept, the creation of the con n ecting
expe rie nce simpl y becomes a matt e r of tra n slating the conce pt into the la n guage
of the stude n ts, the la n gua ge the stude n ts wo u ld use if th ey were att e m pting to
explain the same thing.
In Literatu re, it is pa rticularly important for the tea ch e r to ide n ti fy the concept
th at is exe m pl i fied by the literary wor k being studied . In oth e r words, the tea ch e r is
not just tea ching the literary wor k which the lea rners wi ll read, but rather a
s ign i ficant concept is ide n ti fied which all of the lea rners can relate to their own
l ives. Lynn Dieter uses the conce pt of "Ch oices" to engage her s tude n ts in the stud y
of A Man for All Seasons ( see pa ge 98-99 ) . She begins by i nvol ving them wi th
Sc ru ples questions th at de ma nd individual moral j ud ge m e n ts, creating an
i m m ediate con n ection between her s tude n ts life expe rie nces and the theme of
the litera ry wor k th ey wi ll read and stud y in th is unit
The con n ecting activi ty must e m body the esse nce of the concept at a simple r level ,
in order to pre pare the stude n ts for the com plexi ties th at l ie ahead as th ey move
around the circle. Herein lies the right - m ode as pect, the conce pt ges ta l t co u pled
wi th the pe r sonal expe rie nce, the expe rie nce th at con n ects to the self.
vii

The right m ode enga ges the se n se of relation ship. It embodies a natu ra l , intuitive
way of thinking. We need to encourage intu i tive ways of thinking, as our left
brains have become too sti ff wi th techniq ue, fa r from the scanning eye. (Bruner)
One of the biggest s tu m bling blocks in des igning the Qua dra n t O n e, Right M ode
Step is the inability to tra n slate the concept into a simple structu re, into la n guage
lea rners can unde r s ta nd and relate to, and in a ma n n e r th at con n ects to their
pe r sonal lives.
STEP T WO: ATTEND

Reflect on Experience
TEAC H E RS ROL E WI TN ESS
ME THOD DISCUSSION
QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED WHY?
The left - m ode as pect of reflecting on expe rie nce lies
in the qua l i ty of analysis. Now the lea rners att e nd
the expe rie nce. The meth od is disc u ss ion , but the
focus has ch a n ged. Lea rners are asked to step
o u ts ide the expe rie nce and look at i ts pa rts.
Tea chers do not seem to encounter much di fficulty wi th th is step, alth o u gh there
are two things to gua rd against: on e, getting too tech n ical in the analysis, and two,
att e m pting to introduce new material. When tea chers con s truct a meaningfu l
con n ecting expe rie nce, th ey have no di fficulty h elping lea rners to reflect on that
expe rie nce. The expe rie nce itself flows into meaningful reflection and di a log.
Notice th is natu ral flow when you read the lesson units included in th is book.
Tea chers have ma de creative use of coope rative lea rning strat egies, mindmapping, class i fication charts, and tea ch e r - led disc u ss ion to enable their lea rn e r s
to reflect on their pe r sonal feel i n gs, pe rce ptions and com m on expe rie nces.

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viii
The goals th at are emph asized th roughout the first q ua drant are focusing and
ge n e rating ski ll s, making meaning, ob se rving, visualizing, imagining, inferring,
con n ecting, dive rgi n g, listening, intera cti n g, h onoring subjectivi ty, a nd reflecting.
In Qua drant One, s tude n ts may be enga ged in activi ties such as sh a ring pe r sonal
reflections and autob iogra ph ic episodes, relational thinking, j o u rnal entries,
bra i n s t orming, mind-mapping, drawi n gs, group disc u ss ions, s i m u lation s, stud y
teams, exi t slips and self - assessment. Tea chers may assess stude n t pe rforma nce
th ro u gh ob se rvation of s tude n t interes t a nd enga ge m e n t, level of s tude n t
excitement, stude n ts a b i l i ties to own their own messa ge, acce ptance of ea ch
oth e rs ideas, i ndividual auth e n tic i ty and wi ll i n gn ess to prese n t ideas th ey are not
yet sure of, the freq ue ncy of s tude n t - i n i ti ated ideas, analys is of products resulting
from stude n t disc u ss ion or the qua l i ty of journal entries.
Quadrant Two: Concept Formulation
QUADRANT TWO:
A process from Reflecting to Developing Concepts.
CONCEPT
A ll of the students go through this process, but

Qua drant Two appeals most to the A n a l ytic Learners.
The favorite ques tion of the Analytic Learner is
"Wh at?" The teacher n eeds to provide expert
knowledge while helping them to see the conceptua l
whole as it is related to the specific pa rts.
FORMULATION
TEACHERS ROL E CONC E PTUALIZER/TEAC H E R

ME THOD IMAG I NG, DIRECT INSTRUC TION
The first q ua drant is create a reason a nd the
second is t ea ch it to them.
The second qua drant, a nd th ose th at follow, are divided into right- and left - m ode
t echniq ues, as well . The development of both right- and left - m ode functioning
con ti n ues th roughout the lea rning cycle.
Quadrant Two has been discussed above in the
context of the relation ship between the connecting
expe rience and the concept to be taught, but we need
to attend concept form u lation more carefully, as it is
the essence of Quadrant Two, as well as the core of the
entire unit plan. It leads directl y to practice and
pe r sonalization in Qua drant Three, and on to SelfDiscove ryin Qua drant Four. The degree to which the
Why? of the first qua drant is answered affects the
understanding of the What? of the second qua dra n t;
so also the What? of the second qua drant has an
impact on the success of the third and fo u rth
qua dra n ts.
As we move into Qua drant Two, we are leading stude n ts from the specific ,
s ubjective, pe r sonal rea l i tyto the th eoretical conce ption of the content at hand.
We now need to dee pen stude n t unde r s ta ndi n gs of how the conce pt can be
att e nded to in the abstract, at the th eoretical level. We are integrating the
CONNECT (Right - M ode, Quadrant One) and the ATTEND (Left-Mode, Quadrant One)
into a deeper u nderstanding of the conce pt.
If CON N ECT a nd ATTEND in Quadrant One have embodied the essence of the
concept, then the stude n ts are rea d y to move to Quadrant Two.
You begin wi th IMAG I N E, the Right - M ode step, possibly the most c ri tical step in
the lea rning process.
ix

THE QUADRANT
TWO STEPS
STEP THREE: IMAGINE

Integrate Observations into Concepts
TEACHERS ROL E CONC E PTUALIZER
ME THOD IMAG I NG
QU ESTION TO BE A NSWE R E D WHAT?
The right - m ode step of Qua drant Two attempts to
dee pen reflection; it is an integrating step. We have
come to see this step as the key to the learners
intern a l i zation of their n eed for fu rther
understanding of the conce pt at hand. It is the place
where th eylink their pe r sonal, subjective expe rie nce
wi th the objective, analytic world of the content at
hand.
The poetry plan by Diane Ri z zetto on Robe rtFros ts The Mending Wall h as an
excellent example of the IMAGINE process of Step Three, a deepening of the
conceptual unde r s tandi n g. To achieve th is, she has her s tude n ts create pe r sonal
vis ual analogs portraying wa lled in or wa lled out. ( see pa ge 76-77). John Wolf, on
the other hand, begins his Democracy unit wi th a game wi th no ru les. In his
IMAGINE step, his stude n ts are asked to create vis uals w h ich depict w h ata place
wi th no ru les looks like. Both th ese Step Three activi ties enable the lea rners to tap
into and deepen the richness of w h atth eyalready know about the concepts being
studied.
When you design the IMAGINE strategy, look for another medium, another way of
looking at the concept th at engages the senses while simultaneously a ffording the
op portu n i tyfor m ore reflection . Remember you are moving the lea rners from th e
concrete to the abstra ct, you are ble nding their world of subjective expe rience wi th
the abstract th eory in the content to come. The IMAGINE activi tyse rves as a lens
thro u ghwhich the lea rners wi ll view not only the parts of the content, but a l so
how the pa rts con tribute to the conce ptual whole. You must create an activi tyth at
causes them to mull over the expe rience and reflectionj u s t com pleted in Qua drant
One, while dee pening their u nderstanding of the concept, the purpose of Quadrant
Two.
The use of m eta ph or is pa rticularly powe rful in th is step. Some resea rchers have
claimed th atmeta ph ors create the leaps th at move lea rners from the known to
the unknown , and as such are crucial techniq ues for h igh level conceptua l i z i n g.
(Prawat)

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STEP FOUR: INFORM

Develop Theories and Concepts
TEACHER ROL E TEACHER
ME THOD DIRECT INSTRUC TION
QU ESTION TO BE A NSWE R E D WHAT ?
The left-mode step of Q ua drant Two ta kes lea rn e r s
to the hea rt of conce ptual information . Be sure th e
s ubject matt e r does not swamp the lea rn e r wi th
information eas i l y ava i la ble el sewhere, but rath e r
information is given selectively to ass is t in learner
inquiry. We are not interes t ed in rote memory, the
a n ti th es is of th i n ki n g. We are stressing information
th at relat es to the core of the conce pt. Many of the unit plans in th is book
de m on s trate INFORM activi ties in w h ich creative tea chers have gone beyond
tra ditional lectu re accom pa n ied by the text to tea ch content to their lea rn e r s.
In Don Webe rs social studies unit on Local His t ory ( see pa ge 70-71 ) , the teacher
invites local senior citizens into the classroom to be interviewed by the stude n ts,
and a guest spea ker from the his t orical soc iety prese n ts the mini-lectu re. A second
good example of intera ctive instruction is Ka ren Dietrichs Biology unit teaching
the structu re of DNA (page 114-115). In addi tion to the tradi tional lectu re wi th
overheads, ch a lk board, and text, her s tude n ts expe riment wi th alcohol and egg
whites as well as use pop beads to more fully demon s trate the structu re of
natu res building blocks.
The Fourth Step is to t ea ch it to them. The ch oices of content must be relat ed to
the concept a nd enge nde r further lea rn e r inquiry.
The goals th atare emphasized in Qua drant Two are reflecti n g, seeing relationships,
developing idea cohere nce, conce ptualizing, defining, patterning, classifyi n g,
com pa ri n g, con tras ti n g, being objective, disc riminati n g, planning, constructing
th eoretical models, and acquiring knowledge. In the second qua dra n t, students may
be enga ged in activi ties such as non - ve rbal representations of con n ections, essays,
spatial non - representations; creating analogs, m etaphors, and clusters;
outlining;using fish , Venn and tree di a grams; discussions; oral exams and research;
con s tructing th eoretical models; objective tests, exi t slips, and self - assessment.
Tea chers may assess stude n t progress by ch ecking for conce pt con grue nce (oral or
written), q ua l i tyof conce pt maps showing linkages between ideas, desc ri ptions of
reasoning; q ua l i tyof planning steps; ide n tification of criteria; ability to break into
pa rts ; evide nce of th eoretical understandi n g; and essays showing understanding of
knowledge presented.
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QUADRANT THREE:
Quadrant Three: Practice and Personalization
PRACTICE AND
A process from Developing Concepts to Active Experimenting
PERSONALIZATION
A ll of the stude n ts con ti n ue on th rough th is process,

but Qua drant Three appeals most to the Common
Se n se Learners. The favorite ques tion of th e
Common Se n se Learner is How? You must not on l y
provide activi ties for sol id gu ided pra ctice, but also
op portu n i ties for lea rners to tinker with their new
knowledge, to explore multi ple ways for manifes ting
their new unde r s ta nding in the real wor ld.
TEACHERS ROL E COAC H/RESOURCE
ME THOD GUIDED PRAC TICE/EXP LORATION
Common Se n se Lea rners rely h eavi l y on ki n esth etic
involvement to lea rn , using bod y senses as a focus for
understandi n g. Th eyn eed to try it. They are conce rn ed wi th understandi n g,How
does this wor k ?They are anxious to try it themselves. Th eyedi t rea l i ty. The
teach e rs role is to provide the mat e rials and the encouragement n ecessary for a
trying th i n gs out environ m e n t.
Ab raham Maslow s pea ks of growth as ta king place subjectively from wi thin
o u tward. He com m e n ts on the healthy ch i ld as follows:
(s)he tends to try out h is (her) powers, to rea ch out, to be absorbed, fasc i n at ed ,
interested, to plan, to wonde r, to ma n i p u late the wor ld . Exploring, ma n i p u lating,
expe rie ncing, being interested, choosing
(Th is) lead(s) to Becoming th rough a se re ndipitous way, fortuitously, unplanned,
unanticipat ed . Spon ta n eo u s, creative expe rie nce can and does happen wi thout
expectations, plans, fores ight, purpose or goa l .
In com m e n ting on the relation ship between safety a nd growth , M aslow goes on
to say:

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Apparently growth forward customa rily ta kes place in little steps, a nd ea ch step
forward is made poss i ble by the feeling of being sa fe, of ope rating out into th e
u n known from a sa fe home port of da ring because retreat is poss i ble Now, how
can we know when the child feels sa fe eno u gh to da re to choose the new step
ahead? Ultimat ely, the on l y way in which we can know is by his choice which is to
say on l y he can ever really know the right moment when the beckoning forces
a h ead over-ba la nce the beckoning forces behind, and courage outwe ighs fear.
Ultimat ely the pe r son, even the child, must choose for h i m self. Nobody can ch oose
for him too often, for th is itself e n feebles him, c u tting his self - tru s t, and confusing
his ability to pe rce ive his own internal delight in the expe rie nce, his own impulses,
jud gm e n ts, and feel i n gs, a nd to di fferentiate them from the interiori zed
sta nda rds of oth e r s.
Maslow s pea ks eloq ue n tly of ch oices encouraged by a sa fe envi ron m e n t. We

e m ph atically a gree. We do not bel ieve lea rning can ta ke pla ce wi th o u t a llowi n g
lea rners to ma ke ch oices, to explore, to ma n i p u lat e, to expe rie nce. These activi ties
are often fo u nd in pri ma ry sch ools, but exploration , ma n i p u lation , and
expe ri m e n tation in the high e r gra des and pos t - seconda ry lea rning envi ronments
is freq uently l i m i t ed to rea ding anoth e r book or wri ting anoth e r essay, a ctivi ties
th at a p peal to on l y a sma ll pe rcenta ge of lea rn e r s.
The four qua dra n ts in the 4MAT System move from tea ch e r - i n i ti at edto lea rn e r i n i ti at ed activi ties. In Qua drant One (CON N ECT a nd ATTEN D ) , the tea ch e r is the
i n i ti at or, the pri ma ry a ct or. S/he plans and implements the expe rie nce as well as
the reflective disc u ss ion th at follows the experie nce. In Qua drant Two (IMAGINE
a nd INFORM), the tea ch e r is the information give r; first in Step Three by linking
the expe rie nce and the reflection into the conce pts to be ta u ght, a nd second
( Step Four) by t ea ching the material and ski ll s.
Th is changes as we move into Quadrant Th ree. The th i rd qua drant is w h e re th e
lea rners become active, m ore self-initiati n g. Lea rners become the pri ma ry a ct or s
even more in Qua drant Four.
In the first q ua drant the tea cher creat es a reason .
In the second quadrant the teacher t ea ch es it to
them.
In the th i rd quadrant the teacher lets them try it
th e m sel ves.
The teachers role in the third qua drant is one of
Coach/ Resource. The crucial tea ching ski ll in this
q ua drant is organizational, to gather the materials
n eeded for manipulation and to set up an
e ncoura ging envi ronment so th atlea rners can try
it themselves. Without the active involvement of the learners, schooling at a ll levels
is a steri le ove r lay, an externally appl ied act, satisfying the teacher perhaps (aft e r all,
s/hes working), but not invol ving the students in any mea n i n gful way.
So, the emph as is in the th i rd qua drant
( a nd the fourth) is on learner a ctivity.
The lea rners ta ke the conce pts and ski lls th at have
been ta u ght and try them. The th i rd qua drant is also
divided into left- and right - m ode techniq ues.
Note th at Left Mode techniq ues come first in th e
th i rd qua drant.
xiii

Th is is beca u se of the proxi m i tyto th e

Conce ptualizing dimension . As we move into
Q ua drant Three (PRACTICE) the lea rners react to
the give n s prese n t ed in Qua drant Two, but in a
m ore fixed , p rea rranged way than in Step Six.
THE QUADRANT
STEP FIVE: PRACTICE
THREE STEPS
Work on Defined Concepts (Reinforcement and Manipulation)

TEACHERS ROL E COACH
ME THOD FACILITATION
QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED HOW DOES THIS WORK?
In Step Five, the stude n ts rea ct to givens. They do
worksh eets, u se wor k books, try fi xed lab
expe ri m e n ts, e m ploy ma n i p u latives th at p rovide
h a nds - on gu ided pra ctice, u se com p u t e r - ass is t ed
t echnology, etc. These activi ties (and th ey may be
ma ny a nd va ried) are used to reinforce the concepts
a nd ski lls ta u ght in Qua drant Two. A good wor k book
of pre pa red exe rcises can be used in Step Five. Th is is a
tra di tional step, as is Step Four. Sad to say, the INFORM
a nd PRACTICE steps in the 4MAT M odel con s ti tute the bulk of w h at transpires in
ma ny tra ditional lea rning environments and w h at is recom m e nded in ma ny
t ea ch e rs ma n ua l s.
Note th at th ese two steps, I N FORM and PRACTIC E, are Left - M ode techniques.
INFORM appeals to the Analytic Left- Mode lea rn e r s, a nd PRACTICE appeals to th e
Common Se n se Left - M ode learners. One can eas i l y see the value of th ese two
steps for a ll lea rn e r s, but excl u s ive tea ching in th is way h a ndicaps all lea rn e r s. We
must t ea ch the whole cycle if we are to individua l i ze stude n t p roductivity and
pe rforma nce in meaningful ways.

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Good unit plans have lea rners enga ge

in se rious pra ctice. For exa m ple, in th e
unit on Natu ral Selection/ A n i mal
Hiding Pla ces (see pa ge 32-33), after
a n swe ring tra di tional questions and
filling in wor ksh eets, the stude n ts
must look o u ts ide sch ool, fi nd and
sket ch poss i ble real animal hidi n g
pla ces, an immedi ate appl ication and
field-tes ting of class room lea rn i n g.
L i kewise in the literatu re unit, Where
the Red Fe rn Grows, s tude n ts are
given several activi ties to help them
reinforce and further explore th e
as pect of Se paration as a form of ch a n ge. They develop lis ts of adjustm e n ts

people ma ke when dealing wi th se paration ; th ey create a T chart to ide n ti fy h ow
Se paration as a form of ch a n ge appl ied in the story; th ey write imaginary letters
to and from the ce n tral character in the story; a nd so forth .
The left - m ode charact e ris tic of Step Five lies in the rea ction to givens. The lea rners
have been ta u ght a skill or a conce pt, and now th ey are asked to manipulate
information and mat e rials based on th ose ski ll s / conce pts. They are sti ll ada pting
to expe rts; th ey are sti ll wor king on presc ri bed materials. Th eyhave begu n . But th e
creative stepping out, the adding som ething of their own, the applying th e i r own
uniqueness to the material, com es in EXTEN D, Step Six, the right mode step of
Quadrant Three.
STEP SIX: EXTEND

Add Something of Themselves
TEACHERS ROL E RES OU RCE
ME THOD FACILITATION
QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Real integration begins wi th Step Six.
The lea rners are a dding som ething of themselves,
m essing aro u nd, a nd making the mat e rial theirs.
The right m ode ch a ra ct e ris tic of Step Six, EXTEN D, is
in the integration of the material and the self, the
pe r sonal syn th es is, as well as in the op portunity for
lea rners to approa ch the content in their own mos t comforta ble way. The right
m ode Com m on Se n se Lea rners are mos t comforta ble in Step Six.
To retu rn to Maslow:
If the ch i ld can ch oose the expe rie nces w h ich are va l idated by the expe rie nce of
del ight, then he can retu rn to the expe rie nce, re peat it, savor it to the point of
re pletion, sati ation or boredom . At th is poi n t he sh ows the tende ncy to go on to
m ore com plex, richer expe rie nces and accom pl ishments. S uch expe rie nces not
on l y m ean moving on , but have a feedba ck effect on the Self, in the feeling of
ce rtainty, of ca pability, mas t e ry, self-tru s t, self-esteem.
The ski lls mat e rials given in Step Five sh o u ld afford lea rners the op portunity to
pra ctice w h at th ey have lea rn ed , to try it th e m sel ves. Wor k book pa ges can never
be sub s ti tu t ed for conce ptual lea rn i n g; rather th ey com plement a nd reinforce th e
concepts. We are concern ed about the amount of wor k book pa ges being used in
the schools we visit. It a p pears th at ma ny ti m es th ey are used to tea ch the fa cts,
rath e r than to reinforce conce pts. If th is is true, it i ndicat es th at tea chers are
bypassing Qua drant Two and going di rectl y to ski lls and dri lls wi th o u t the
conceptual unde rp i n n i n gs so necessa ry for unde r s ta nding.
We ask the rea de r to ponde r class room lea rning situations where lea rners are
required to com plete wor k book pa ges as the maj or e m ph as is of the class. Ou r
xv

resea rch indicates th at th is is the case in a great ma ny class room s.

To retu rn to Gi bbon ey again:
ski lls and dri lls must be related to th o u ght. Information is never severed from
th o u ghtful doing. A nd th i n king and doing are inse pa ra ble.
Creative tea chers provide their lea rners wi th the op portunity to extend w h at
th ey have lea rn ed th ro u gh ma king project ch oices and individualizing their own
expe ri m e n tation . The tea ch e r may keep individual lea rning style ch a ra ct e ris tics
in mind when planning activi ties for the lea rners to select. Good tea chers also
require their lea rners to ma i n tain own e r ship of the qua l i ty of the work th ey
ch oose. Step Six of a 4MAT unit is the ideal place for the tea cher a nd stude n ts to
a gree abo u t the rub rics th at wi ll be used to assess the final product creat ed by
the learners. L i kewise, lea rners may apprec i ate the op portunity to ch oose eith e r
to wor k coope ratively in a team or to wor k alone on a project to be sh a red later
wi th the gro u p.
There are a numbe r of excellent examples of creative EXTEND options in the units
in this volume.For instance, in the math unit i n troducing Fractions wri tten by th e
teaching team at Grace m orEle m e n ta rySch ool in Kansas City, ( see pa ge 54-55), a ll of
the stude n ts apply, reinforce, and extend w h at th ey have lea rn ed by creating a
color - coded class mural of a fra ction town. The Our Town literature unit
con tri b u t ed by Lori Ba rn ett ( see pa ge 102 - 103) helps stude n ts pe r sonally extend
what they have lea rn ed about the individual and the collective pe r s pective in their
own lives. They create pe r sonal time capsules, as well as a class time ca p s u le, each
con taining pe rti n e n t artifacts, to represent th e m selves individua ll y and collectively
to pe r sons in a future time pe riod.
Step Six m oves the stude n ts into Self -D iscove ry. Maslow s pea ks of del ight,
expe rie nces which are validat ed by del ight. The word desc ri bes Self -D iscovery
beautifu ll y.
Act or - di rect or Richard Benjamin, s pea king of h is expe rie nce at La Gua rdi a
Performing A rts Sch ool, desc ri bes the del ight of lea rning in th is mode: It
was the luckiest thing th at ever h a p pe n ed to me. It was a lon ge r ( sch ool) day,
but th ey co u ldnt get the kids out of there.
Th is is active th i n ki n g.This is lea rning by doi n g, a nd its esse nce is problem sol vi n g.

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xvi
We solve a problem or make a discove rywhen we impose a puz z le form on a

diffic u l tyto convert it into a problem th at can be solved in such a way th at it gets
us where we want to be. Th atis to say, we recast the di ffic u l tyinto a form th atwe
know how to wor k wi th - then we work it. Much of w h atwe speak of as discovery
con s ists of knowing how to com pose a workable ki nd of form on va rious ki nds of
diffic u l ties. A sma ll but crucial part of discove ryof the high es t order is to invent and
develop effective models or puzzle forms. It is in this area th at the tru l y powerfu l
mind sh i n es. But it is surp rising to w h atdegree perfectl y ordi n a rypeople can, given
the be n efit of i n s truction , con s truct quite interesting and w h at, a centu rya go,
would have been conside red greatl y original models.
I have never seen anybod y improve in the art a nd techniq ue of inq u i ryby any
m eans oth e r than enga ging in inq u i ry.
We ca n not lead our lea rners to inq u i ryby using wor k book pa ges as the maj or
thrust of our lessons. We must motivate them by a n swe ring the ques tion Why? ; we
must teach it to them by answe ring the question What? ; we must lead them from
the abstract to the real by a n swe ring the question How does this work?; and we
must allow them the del ight of self-discove ryby b u i lding in the question If?
Much of w h at we speak of as discove ry con s is ts of knowing how to impose a
worka ble ki nd of form on va rious ki nds of di fficulties. (Maslow)
The goals th at are emph as i zed th ro u gh o u t Q ua drant Three incl ude resol ving contra diction s, ma n a ging ambiguity, computing, collecting data , inquiring,
predicti n g, recordi n g, hypoth esizing, tinkering, meas u ri n g, expe ri m e n ti n g,
proble m - solving, a nd ma king decis ions. Stude n ts may be enga ged in activi ties
s uch as field work a nd lab work, a da pting new knowled ge for pe r sonal
u sefulness, conve r sations wi th tea cher a nd peers, de m on s tration s, wor ksh eets,
chapter q ues tion s, a nd essays; puzzles, di a grams, computer expe ri m e n ts,
i n t e rviews and self - assess m e n t. Tea chers may assess stude n t progress by looking
for evide nce of lea rn e r authenticity, s tude n t ability to integrate knowled ge into
life (usefu l n ess ) , flexibility of thought, con ti n ge ncy logic and reason i n g,
ma n a gea b i l i tya nd ti m el i n es for projects, p roject ch oice pa ra m et e r s, reflective
not es abo u t con t e n t, essays or problems req u i ring multiple meth ods of sol u tion
a nd by accuracy and th oroughness of s tude n t wor k.
Q uadrant Fo u r: Integrating Appl ication and Experie n ce
QUADRA NT FOU R:
A process from Active Experimenting to Sensing/Feeling
I NTEG RATING
A ll of the lea rners go th ro u gh th is process, but

Q ua drant Four a p peals mos t to the Dyn a m ic
Lea rn e r s. The favorite ques tion for the Dyn a m ic
Lea rners is What If? You must give them the
op portunity to integrate w h at th ey have lea rn ed, to
s peak in their own voice, to represe n t w h at th ey now
know in their own best way, a nd to share the del ight
of lea rn i n g.
APPLICATION AND
EXPERIENCE
TEACHERS ROL E EVALUATOR/REMEDIATOR/

CO-CE L E B RATOR
ME THOD EVA LUATION, SELF-DISCOVERY
Now we move into Qua drant Four, where lea rn e r s
dee pen the initi ative th ey began in Step Six.
Here th ey refine the uniq uely pe r sonal th i n gs th ey
have don e. If we have done our j ob well , the impetu s
to explore, to ma n i p u lat e, to ch oose now comes from them. They have been freed
to go beyond the objectives th e m sel ves. The lea rners in con s u l tation wi th th e
t ea ch e r can now eva l uate and re m edi at e. At th is poi n t in the cycle, the lea rn e r s
xvii

can eva l uate th e m selves, their learning, a nd refine and edit their own wor k. The
s tude n ts are truly lea rning from ea ch oth e r.
THE QUADRANT
STEP SEVEN: REFINE
FOUR STEPS
Evaluate the Extension

TEACHERS ROL E EVALUATOR/REMEDIATOR
ME THOD EVA LUATION
QU ESTION TO BE A NSWE R E D WHAT IF?
R EFINE is the step where the lea rners are asked to
analyze w h at th ey have pla n n ed as their p roo f of
lea rn i n g. The left - m ode ch a ra ct e ris tic of Step Seven
lies in the analys is of the planning. Th is analys is
sh o u ld be based on :
1. Releva nce to the con t e n t / ski ll s
2. Origi n a l i ty
3. Excelle nce
4. Agreed - u pon rub rics from Step Six
Step Seven requires the lea rners to appl y a nd refine in some pe r sonal, m ea n i n gful way w h at th ey have lea rn ed . As you wi ll see in the lesson plan sa m ples in th is
book, there are ma ny di fferent ways to ach ieve th is step. The stude n ts (as well as
peers and the tea cher) wi ll be invol ved in edi ting and refining the wor k th at h as
been done so fa r, analyzing for s trengths and weaknesses, ta king a pos i tion , and
e n ga ging in productive self - assess m e n t. Many ki nds of ch oices are poss i ble.
Tea chers sh o u ld move their s tude n ts to immedi ate usefulness. Stude n ts are now
ca pa ble of going beyond the objectives themselves to pe r sonal interes t based on
the com b i n ed expe rie nce in Qua drant One, the knowled ge in Qua drant Two, and
the pra ctice lea ding to pe r son a l i zation in Qua drant Three. The lea rning is being
extended outward into their lives.
STEP EIGHT: PERFORM

Adapting It Themselves and Sharing What They
Create With Others
TEACHERS ROL E CO-CE L E B RATOR
ME THOD SELF-DISCOVERY
QU ESTION TO BE A NSWE R E D WHAT IF?
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xviii
In the last step of the 4MAT unit, PERFORM, th e

lea rners share what th ey have lea rn ed and creat ed
wi th ea ch other, and perhaps wi th the wide r
com m u n i tyat large. This is the place where stude n ts
are asked to sta nd and speak in their own voices as
th ey share in their own bes t way what it is th ey have
lea rn ed from the cycle th ey expe rie nced. So we
retu rn to syn e rgy, where we bega n . But there is a difference, a great di ffere nce. If
we have done our job, we have given our lea rners the ski lls to discover for
themselves w h ether or not w h at we have taught is worth knowi n g.
We may well ask of any item of information th at is taught or th at we lead a child
to discover for (her) himself w h ether it is worth knowi n g. I can think of on l y two
good criteria and one middling one for dec iding such an iss ue: w h ether th e
knowled ge gives a se n se of del ight a nd w h eth e r it bes t ows the gift of intellectua l
travel beyond the information given, in the se n se of con taining wi thin it the bas is
of genera l i zation . The middling cri t e rion is whether the knowled ge is useful. It
tu rns out, on the whole, th at useful knowled ge looks after i tself. So I wo u ld urge
th at we as educat ors let it do so and conce n trate on the first two criteria. D el ight
a nd travel, then. The impl ications of th is concl u s ion are th at we opt for de pth
a nd continuity in our teaching, rather than coverage, a nd th at we re - attend
afresh w h at it is th at gives a se n se of i n t ellectual del ight to a pe r son who is
learning. (Maslow)
The goals th atare emphasized in Qua drant Four are creating, identifying
con s tra i n ts, revis i n g, creating models, coming to clos u re, editing, summarizing,
verifyi n g, syn thesizing, re-presenting, reflecting anew, re-focusing, and evaluating.
Students are actively engaged in edi ting processes (revising, refining); e rror
analyzing;concludi n g; ta king a pos i tion; assessing the qua l i tyof their evide nce;
creati n g, colla borati n g,verifyi n g, and summarizing; synthesizing original
pe rformances; pre pa ring and prese n ting ex h i b i tions and / or publ ications; exi t slips,
and self - assessments. Teachers may be assessing stude n ts by reviewing portfolio
selections, s tude n t products, field notes, exhibits, first and second dra fts, their use of
"best" expe rts, the qua l i tyof ora l / visual presentations (appropriateness,
sensitivi ty to feedback, originality, relevance to a large r audie nce), q ua l i tyof new
insights and question s, willingn ess to push limits, and ability to extend conce pts
and ask new q ues tions.
A nd so
we move our s tude n ts
from the usefulness
of Q ua drant Three,
to the del ight
of Q ua drant Four.
We lead them to Self -D iscovery;
we ta ke them
ba ck around the circle
in ever-increasing com plexi ty.
The cycle begins again wi th energy generat ed by the cycle j u s t com plet ed .
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It seems to me th at good tea chers do four th i n gs well:

They i n s ti ll a love of lea rn i n g,
th ey ma ke the di fficult easy,
th ey help us bel ieve in oursel ves th at the imposs i ble is poss i ble, th at we can help
ch a n ge our wor ld .
a nd th ey give us an awa re n ess of the need to honor ea ch oth e r.
So go forth and tea ch.
A nd mos t of a ll , teach your s tude n ts to celebrate diversity.
For our c u l tu re has a way of giving us la dders when we need trees,
reason when we need myth , a nd se parateness when we need unity.
In the music of the universe, there is harmony.
For when you tea ch your s tude n ts to celebrate diversity,
you wi ll give the gift of grace.
The gra ce to ble nd all th at is, was,
a nd sh a ll be.
CITES:
Atwat e r, C a rol. Special Sch ools, U SAToday, Wedn esday, A p ril 13, 1983. Section 3D.
Bruner, Jerome S. On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand. Belknap Press of Harvard
Un ive r s i ty Press, Cambrid ge, M A. Second Pri n ting, 1980.
Gi bbon ey, Richard A. Toward Intellectual Excellence: Some Things to Look for in
Classrooms and Schools (TIE), Gra duate Sch ool of E ducation, Un iversity of
Pennsylvania, 3 700 Walnut Street, Ph i la delphia, PA 19 104 -3688. 19 82 .
Maslow, Abraham H. Toward a Psychology of Being. Second Edi tion . NY:
Von Nos tra nd Reinhold Com pa ny. 1968.

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McCarthy, Bern ice. The 4MAT System: Teaching to Learning Styles with Right/Left
Mode Techniques. Wa uconda , I L: About Learning, Inc., 1980, 1987.
McCarthy, Bern ice. About Learning. Wa uconda , IL: Abo u t Learning, Inc., 1996.
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About Learning, Inc., 2000.
Prawat, Richard S. Dewey, Pie rce and the Lea rning Para dox, A m e rican
E ducational Research Journal. Vol. 36, No. 1, Sp ring 1999.
4MAT in Action
4th Edition
Susan Morris
Bernice McCarthy
About Learning, Incorporated

Wauconda, Il
www.lessonbank.com
CONTENTS
PRIMARY
FINE ARTS/VISUAL ARTS: Kachina Dolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
FINE ARTS/MUSIC/SOCIAL STUDIES: Wants vs. Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
FINE ARTS/LANGUAGE ARTS: Shadow and Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
LANGUAGE ARTS/PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Action Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
LANGUAGE ARTS: Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13
LANGUAGE ARTS: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15
LANGUAGE ARTS: Working Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17
LANGUAGE ARTS: Make Way for Ducklings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19
LANGUAGE ARTS: Owl Moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21
MATHEMATICS: Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23
MATHEMATICS: Introduction to Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25
MATHEMATICS/SCIENCE: Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
MATHEMATICS: Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29
SCIENCE/LANGUAGE ARTS: Eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31
SCIENCE: Natural Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33
SCIENCE: Plants in the Neighborhood Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-35
SCIENCE: Ecology/Our Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-37
SOCIAL STUDIES: Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-39
SOCIAL STUDIES: The Flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-41
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY:Environment and SurvivalWheel One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-43
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY:Environment and SurvivalWheel Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45
INTERMEDIATE
FINE ARTS/MUSIC: Beethoven Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-47
LANGUAGE ARTS: English Alphabet
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48-49
LANGUAGE ARTS/STUDY SKILLS: Homework Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50-51
LANGUAGE ARTS: Parts of Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53
MATHEMATICS: Fractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54-55
MATHEMATICS: Measurement (1 of 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-57
MATHEMATICS: Measurement (2 of 3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-59
MATHEMATICS: Measurement (3 of 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60-61
MATHEMATICS: Fibonacci Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-63
SCIENCE: Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64-65
SCIENCE: Waste Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66-67
SOCIAL STUDIES: United States Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-69
SOCIAL STUDIES: Local History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70-71
SOCIAL STUDIES: State Counties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-73
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
ENGLISH: Audience Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-75
ENGLISH: Poetry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-77
ENGLISH: Literature/Where the Red Fern Grows
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-79
SOCIAL STUDIES/FINE ARTS: Mayan Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-81
FINE ARTS/VISUAL ARTS: Art Imitates Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-83
FOREIGN LANGUAGE/FRENCH I: Descriptive Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84-85
GUIDANCE: Planning for High School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86-87
LANGUAGE ARTS/SOCIAL STUDIES/STUDY SKILLS: Learning to Learn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88-89
MATH/PRE-ALGEBRA: Writing and Solving Equations (1 of 2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90-91
MATH/PRE-ALGEBRA: Writing and Solving Equations (2 of 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92-93
SCIENCE: Scientific Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94-95
HISTORY: The Great Depression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96-97
HIGH SCHOOL
ENGLISH: A Man for All Seasons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98-99
ENGLISH LITERATURE: Gender Stereotypes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100-101
ENGLISH: Our Town. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102-103
ENGLISH: Symbols in Poetry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104-105
HISTORY: Revisionist History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106-107
HISTORY/HUMANITIES: Slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108-109
MATH/ALGEBRA II: Graphing Sinusoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110-111
MATH/CALCULUS: Maximum/Minimum Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112-113
SCIENCE/BIOLOGY: Enzymes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114-115
SCIENCE/BIOLOGY: Living and Non-living Things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116-117
POST-SECONDARY
ADULT EDUCATION
WOMENS HEALTHCARE: Breast Self-Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118-119
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Telephone Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120-121
ECONOMICS: Elasticity in Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122-123
MATH/BASIC ALGEBRA: Graphing Functions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124-125
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY: Medical Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126-127
TECHNICAL WRITING: Memoranda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128-129
LAW
LAW: Attorney/Client Confidentiality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130-131
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
INSTRUCTOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT: Sources of Power/Use and Misuse.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132-133
ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY: Instructional Design/Perspectives on Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134-135
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
CAREER AWARENESS: Connecting School Work and Careers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136-137
Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139-140
4MAT IN ACTION: PRIMARY

KACHINA DOLLS
SUBJECT
Fine Arts/Visual Arts
DURATION
2-3 class periods
PERFORM
Students appreciate their own work and the work
of others. Share Kachina Dolls.
Activity
Students pair up with a new partner to share their
Kachina's qualities and the techniques they used.
All Kachinas are displayed for the whole class to
enjoy. Students each share one new idea they
have about the qualities of people because of this
unit and their project.
AUTHOR(S)
Jean Bailey is an art
teacher in HamiltonWenham School
District, Hamilton, MA.
She is a certified 4MAT
Trainer and has served
as the Project Leader
for the HamiltonWenham 4MAT
Implementation
Project.
REFINE
Students share their work with a partner and with the
teacher.
Activity
Partners and the teacher try to correctly identify the
special qualities represented by the Kachina dolls.
Students assess the quality of their own work, making
changes in technique as necessary.
EXTEND
Students represent special qualities by making their
own Kachina dolls.
Activity
Students use toilet paper rolls as a base and
appropriate paper sculpture techniques to make a
Kachina Doll which represents at least three qualities
of their special person.
PRACTICE
The teacher reviews paper sculpture techniques
useful for making Kachinas.
Activity
The students practice trying various paper
sculpture techniques useful in making Kachina
dolls.
www.lessonbank.com
CONCEPT
Qualities
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students imagine ideal personal qualities.
Activity
The teacher begins by sharing a personal story of
someone s/he knows well who is exemplary, including
examples of attributes that make this person special.
The students each think of a person who has an ability
or quality they admire.
ATTEND
Students share and express thoughts and experiences.
Activity
Students tell a partner about the qualities of their
chosen person and why this person is special. Then,
they share with the larger group. The teacher creates a
chart summarizing the specific qualities the students
identify.
Students will learn how

artists create works of
art to express the
qualities they see in
others.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Example Hopi dolls for
students to attend; toilet paper rolls and other
materials for paper
sculptures
IMAGINE
Students "feel" what it is like to become a work of art
embodying a special quality.
Activity
Using kinesthetic movement and no words, students
mime a person with a particular special quality and
then become a "statue" of the person.
INFORM
Students learn how Hopi use Kachina Dolls to
represent special qualities.
Activity
The teacher gives a background overview of the Hopi
people, including history, values, and other important
information. S/he shares some example Kachina Dolls
explaining what they are, how and why they are made,
and the qualities they represent.

WANTS VS. NEEDS
SUBJECT
Fine Arts/Music/
Social Studies
DURATION
PERFORM
The children celebrate and portray their learning.
Activity
The children put on a small show for each other
including their movements and melodies, in
character if they wish. The class sings the parody,
"Happy and You Know It", and reviews the
"Gimme" chant.
Several class sessions
AUTHOR(S)
At the time this unit
was first published,
Dianne Mendenhall
taught elementary
music for Indianapolis
Public Schools,
Indianapolis, IN. She is a
certified 4MAT Trainer.
Dianne comments on
this plan: "I use music to
teach basic economic
concepts to young
children. People have
wants and urgent
wants. Those wants
consist of goods and
services. Everyone's
wants cannot always be
fulfilled due to limited
resources. To facilitate
getting one's wants,
people bartered or
traded goods and
services. Money was
created to make
bartering more
practical."
REFINE
Students refine their applications.
Activity
Children work in pairs to practice their performance.
Teacher provides suggestions for enhancing the
pantomimes.
EXTEND
Students compose melodies and create movements that
express the concepts learned.
Activities
1)Give each child a bell set and mallet. Students create
melodies representing wants and urgent wants. Pose
the question to them: "What would wants and urgent
wants each sound like?" 2)Students create movement
patterns to express wants and urgent wants. 3)Give
masks to students. They are now actors and actresses
and may be the character on their mask. Have the
students pantomime their characters and explain
their character's wants and urgent wants.
PRACTICE
The teacher provides activities for practice and
checking for understanding.
Activity
Students name four things they want and four
things they need. They rank the four items in
order of preference, and discuss why they made
their choices.
CONCEPT
Urgent Wants
CONNECT
Students will explore the things they want
but may not need.
Activity
The teacher passes a small empty "magic" gift box from
student to student, seated in circle formation. Each
student imagines what they would want to be in the box
because the box is "magical" and can change sizes and
shapes, and the students can have whatever they want.
Tell children that whenever they hear the word "want" or
"wants," they should touch their head and toes as
quickly as possible.
ATTEND
The children look at the idea of wants and needs
through the example in a song.
Activity
Sing "Old Hogan's Goat" (an echo song).
After singing, ask students the following:
Who is the song about? (Old Hogan and his goat);
What did the goat do to upset Old Hogan?
(Ate 3 red shirts off the line);
What happened to the goat?
(Hogan tied him to the railroad track);
What did the man want from the goat? (His shirts);
What did the goat want when he was tied to the track?
(His life!)
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn that
people want things for
different reasons.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Empty gift box; drawing
paper; crayons; song:
"Old Hogan's Goat";
bell sets and mallets;
recorders; masks for
different characters:
nurse, knight, clown,
witch, farmer, etc.
IMAGINE
Children create imagines of wants and urgent wants.
Activity
Students draw pictures of things they think children want
and things children have to have in order to survive.
INFORM
The children learn the difference between human
wants and needs.
Activity
The teacher explains the difference between "wants" and
"urgent wants." S/he makes reference to the goat song.
Children learn the "Gimme" chant: "Gimme, gimme,
gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, this
and gimme that! Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme,
gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme this and gimme that!

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SHADOW AND MYSTERY
SUBJECT
Fine Arts/Language Arts
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share what they learned and created.
Activity
The students share their artistic products or
Chinese Shadow Play with other classes. As
appropriate, "Carnival of the Animals" is again
used as background music.
2-3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
At the time this plan
Constance Bronner and
Rosemary Coyne were
primary grade teachers
at Belle View
Elementary School,
Fairfax County Schools,
Alexandria, VA.
REFINE
Students implement their project plans.
Activity
Students gather materials and create their unique
mystery expressions. The teacher provides ongoing
advice and assistance to each group.
EXTEND
Students collaborate on a project to express mystery.
Activity
Students form small learning groups. Each group will
collaborate on a plan to express mystery creatively in
an art form (drawing, mural, collage, sculpture,
diorama) or in a Chinese Shadow Play.

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PRACTICE
Students prepare a data retrieval chart to
reinforce and review the elements of mystery.
Activity
In small learning groups, students prepare a
data retrieval chart summarizing the key ideas
presented in the previous lesson. All charts are
shared with whole group. Teacher creates
collective chart displaying all student data.
CONCEPT
Mystery
CONNECT
Students experience how the use of shadow
creates mysterious effects.
Activity
While playing "Carnival of the Animals" by Saint-Saens
for background music, the teacher displays a large print
of the painting," A Jungle Sunset," by Henri Rousseau,
which is hidden by a large piece of fabric. They are
engaged in solving a mystery. S/he uncovers the
painting in stages, "teasing" the students to describe
what they see as piece-by-piece the picture is
uncovered. The lower center portion is uncovered last,
and students discover the shadow.
ATTEND
Students analyze the artist's use of shadows as they
reflect on their "mystery" experience.
Activity
The teacher leads a verbal analysis of the painting, "A
Jungle Sunset," focusing on the artist's use of shadow.
Repeated patterns, overlapping, mood, color, lines,
shape, space, and texture are discussed as they relate
to heightening the shadow's effect.
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn the
concept of mystery
through its portrayal in
both Literature and Art.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Shadows by Larry
Kettlekamp; Shadow by
Marcia Brown; music,
large print of A Jungle
Sunset and a cloth
to hide it from the
children
IMAGINE
Students integrate the concept of shadow and mystery
in Art and Literature.
Activity
Students relax and visualize the scenes as the teacher
reads the book, Shadow, by Marcia Brown, as a
vehicle for an imaginary experience. Students mindmap
their feelings that were generated by their imaginations
as they experienced the story.
INFORM
The teacher provides instruction on the elements of
mysterious expression in Art and Literature.
Activity
The teacher reviews the elements of mystery that were
evidenced in the previously experienced painting and
story. Using the book, Shadows, by Larry Kettlekamp,
the children learn about Chinese shadow plays and how
they provide another way to express mystery.

ACTION VERBS
SUBJECT
Language Arts/
Physical Education
PERFORM
Students take delight in what they have learned
about identifying and using action verbs.
Activity
Children participate in aerobics exercise
demonstrating as many as possible of the action
verbs used by them throughout the unit.
DURATION
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Robin Reilly and
Margaret Wallace teach
third grade at Mary Fisk
School in Salem, New
Hampshire. They are
participants in the
Salem 4MAT
Implementation project
led by their Principal,
Jane Batts.
REFINE
Students evaluate and share their drawings to
determine how well they have represented the
concept of "action.
Activity
In cooperative learning groups, students share their
drawings without showing their sentences. They guess
each other's action verbs correctly and evaluate each
other's sentences. They have the opportunity to edit
and revise their work.
EXTEND
Students further apply and elaborate what has been
learned about action verbs.
Activity
Students select their own example of an action verb,
and using drawing paper and markers, they draw
pictures illustrating their verbs. On a separate paper,
they write sentences using their verbs.
PRACTICE
Traditional guided practice activities are used
to reinforce the concept of action verbs.
Activity
Students use practice worksheets and exercises
in accompanying text.

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10
CONCEPT
Action
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
The teacher engages the students in an
experience expressing action.
Activity
The teacher serves as the "caller." After introducing
the calls and the movements, the children form squares
and participate in a lively square dancing activity.
Students will use

kinesthetic movement
activities to understand
the concept of action as
it is expressed in
language (action verbs).
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
ATTEND
Student dancing squares analyze the calls used
in the dancing.
Activity
Students form cooperative learning groups formed from
their dancing square. Each "square" is given a poster
board and markers for listing the call words that
directed the action. The teacher creates a master list
from contributions of each group of squares.
Square dancing music;

poster board and
markers
IMAGINE
Students see and represent the wider application of the
action words already used.
Activity
Two groups of student squares form two teams. Each
team participates in "charades" using the action words
from the class list.
INFORM
The teacher introduces the word "verb" and expands
student understanding of verbs as "action words.
Activity
Teacher provides direct instruction connecting action
words and verbs. Students read text, and the teacher
uses the overhead projector to review a list of words
which are action verbs and nouns. The teacher checks
for understanding, using "thumbs up, thumbs down"
for student internalization of concept.
11

ADJECTIVES
SUBJECT
Language Arts
PERFORM
Students enjoy sharing what they have created
using adjectives.
Activity
Each group shares its selected riddles and
illustrations with the whole class.
DURATION
3 to 4 days
AUTHOR(S)
Vicky Moriarity teaches
second grade at
Riverview Elementary
School, Marion
Community Schools,
Marion, IN.
REFINE
Students test and edit their riddles.
Activity
Students return to their small groups and test their
riddles on each other. Working with partners, they edit
their riddles for sharing with the whole class. Each
group selects four riddles and four illustrations to
be "tested" with the whole class.
EXTEND
Students apply what they now know about adjectives in
a real-world way.
Activities
1)The children and the teacher plan a "Tasting Party"
which will feature several types of similar foods, i.e.,
four different kinds of apples, several kinds of chocolate
chip cookies, two or more brands of BBQ chips,
different flavors of pickles, etc. In small groups,
children taste-test different foods and generate
adjectives to describe them. 2)Each student writes and
illustrates two or more riddles using lots of adjectives
to describe favorite foods from the Tasting Party.

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12
PRACTICE
Students identify adjectives in written form.
Activity
Students are given paragraphs with missing
descriptors. They fill in the blanks with
adjectives and compare their choices with those
of a classmate.
CONCEPT
Attributes
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged in a game in which they
develop an awareness of attributes.
Activity
Students are divided into two groups. All the children
take off their shoes and put them into a "group" pile.
The teacher conducts a "race" to see which group can
identify their shoes and put them back on without
talking.
Students will learn to

identify, use and
appreciate adjectives.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Foods for Tasting Party
ATTEND
The teacher leads the children in telling how they
were able to find their own shoes.
Activity
The children remain in their groups and the teacher
guides each group in making a list of words that
describe each students shoes. What attributes helped
them to recognize their own shoes?
IMAGINE
Students deepen their perception and understanding of
attributes as described by adjectives.
Activity
Children go on a treasure hunt to find other objects in
the room with the same attributes as their own shoes.
Each child must find something with two or more of the
same characteristics, thereby reinforcing the
understanding that different things may have similar
attributes, and adjectives are the kind of words used to
describe them.
INFORM
Students learn the definition of adjectives and
are able to identify them.
Activity
The teacher provides direct instruction using the class
textbook and teacher prepared overheads. She provides
interactive instruction that allows for checking for
understanding. Students learn the definition of
adjective" and demonstrate understanding by giving
examples.
13

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE,
HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY
SUBJECT
Language Arts
DURATION
3 class sessions
PERFORM
Children celebrate what they have learned
about coping.
Activity
The children create badges for people who "cope"
and develop procedures to award them to each
other. The teacher holds a class "Awards"
ceremony in which each child receives a badge
from a classmate.
AUTHOR(S)
Bernice McCarthy is the
President of About
Learning, Incorporated
and the creator of The
4MAT System.
REFINE
The children share and edit their work.
Activity
Working in Pair/Share teams, students share their
solutions with each other. The teacher follows up by
eliciting ideas for a class list of coping strategies.
EXTEND
The children explore possible ways to change bad days
into good days.
Activities
1)Working in groups, the children rewrite the story with
a new ending. The teacher reminds them of the colors
the authors used to depict the gloom of his bad day
and encourages them to add appropriate color to
their endings when they illustrate them. 2)Working
alone, the children write three ways they could have
changed their terrible day (the one they illustrated in
Step Three, "Imagine") into a not so bad day.

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14
PRACTICE
The students attend the details of the story.
Activity
The teacher helps the children find examples in
the story of Alexander trying to cope. Some
possible examples are:
1)Sneaking up in the car;
2)Deciding 16 wasn't an important number;
3)Telling Paul to go sit on a tack;
4)Wanting to go to Australia to avoid the dentist;
5)Blaming Anthony when he fell;
6)Not wearing his white sneakers.
CONCEPT
To aid understanding in
how we can learn to
cope with bad days.
CONNECT
Children begin to attend the ways people
cope with bad days.
Activity
In small groups, the teacher leads the children in
sharing favorite things they do to feel better when
they're feeling bad. Then they share things theyve
observed adults do when they are feeling bad. The
teacher creates a class list.
ATTEND
The children attend some scenarios
about coping.
Activity
The children listen to the following scenarios: Your
family plans a picnic, but it is raining buckets. You all
decide to spread blankets on the screened-in porch,
play koosh ball, cook hot dogs on the barbeque, and
play a guessing game where everyone wins prizes. A
woodchuck is burrowing a new tunnel. He comes up
under a big rock, he pushes and pushes, but he cannot
move it. He turns around and builds a new tunnel that
goes around the rock. Climbing roses are growing
along a fence. They hit the side of a brick wall that runs
along the walk. The roses climb up and over the wall to
the other side and keep going. What is happening in all
three stories? The teacher leads discussion.
OBJECTIVE
Children will explore
how we can change bad
days into good days by
the ways we learn to
cope.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
A copy of Alexander and
the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day,
by Judith Viorst,
illustrated by Ray Cruz.
New York: Aladdin
Books, 1972.
ISBN 0-689-71173-5;
necessary art supplies
IMAGINE
The children visualize the contrast between a good day
and a bad day.
Activity
The children fold a piece of large drawing paper in half.
They each draw a representation of themselves on a
good day on one half and on a bad day on the other
half. They share their pictures with a partner or a small
group.
INFORM
The teacher uses a story to further explore coping.
Activity
The teacher reads the story, Alexander and the
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The
children talk about the color the artist used to illustrate
the book and relate it to the idea of "coping."
15

WORKING TOGETHER
SUBJECT
Language Arts
DURATION
2 weeks
PERFORM
Students share their completed projects with their
classmates and describe what they learned by
working together.
Activity
Small groups "Show and Tell." They tell their
peers in what ways they decided it was better to
work together, including how they assigned jobs
to different people and how that made the tasks
easier to complete.
AUTHOR(S)
Marlene L. Pulhamus
teaches in the Primary
grades in Paterson (NJ)
Public Schools. She
works in an in-class
model that is a
Preve n tative/Remedial
Program.
REFINE
Students work on projects, evaluating as they go.
Activity
Children work in small groups to complete their
projects. The teacher provides ongoing guidance and
checks that assigned roles are being managed and that
all are being responsible for the completion of the
necessary tasks.
EXTEND
Children select a small group project to apply what they
have learned about cooperation.
Activity
Various projects are presented to the students:
1)making a covered pencil box;
2)creating cartoons that become a "roll movie";
3)creating and illustrating a poetry cube;
4)planting seeds to grow a small terrarium garden.
Children form groups of three, agree upon and select a
project, decide on the roles they will take and the steps
they need to take to complete the project.

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16
PRACTICE
Students practice sequencing a story or a set of
p i c t u res showing a project from beginning to
completion.
Activity
Children will cut and paste a series of five
pictures showing a cooperative project and the
roles different characters play from the beginning to the end. Students write or dictate three
sentences telling what is happening in the story
project.
CONCEPT
Cooperation
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged working together to
complete a 50-piece puzzle.
Activities
1)The teacher begins by showing children a piece of a
picture and asking them to guess what it is.
2)Continue to add pieces a few at a time until the large
picture is seen. Discuss puzzles they have done.
3)Group students in threes and have each small group
complete a puzzle. Do not give any directions
other than to put this puzzle together.
ATTEND
Students discuss their feelings when they worked
together.
Activity
The teacher leads a group discussion and each group
charts those things they liked, agreed with, or did not
like when they put the puzzle together. Question to
ponder: Was there only one leader or did they all make
suggestions on how to do the puzzle?
Children will learn

strategies for working
together cooperatively
to achieve a common
goal.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Story The Enormous
Turnip; record of
children's nursery
rhymes or other music
that lends itself to
rhythm instructions;
set of rhythm
instructions
IMAGINE
Students experience coming together in a rhythm band.
Activity
Children listen to music playing nursery rhymes they
are familiar with. They then select the rhythm
instruments and play along with the music. Children
will realize what it sounds like when instruments work
together in concert.
INFORM
Children listen to a story and decide how
cooperation is important.
Activity
Teacher reads the story The Enormous Turnip. The
children discuss: What was the problem? How was it
solved? The teacher helps them review the sequence of
the story. Do they ever need help with something that
is "Enormous"?
17

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS
SUBJECT
Language Arts
DURATION
3 sessions
PERFORM
The children share their stories with a
wider audience.
Activity
The children add illustrations to their final drafts.
The writings are compiled in a class book, "Our
Favorite Places," and displayed in the media
center for other children to read and enjoy.
AUTHOR(S)
Bernice McCarthy is
President of About
Learning, Incorporated,
4MAT System.
REFINE
The children revise and edit their work.
Activity
Children share their favorite place descriptions with two
classmates and the teacher. They edit their drafts and
make final copies.
EXTEND
The children attend the "the right places" in
their lives.
Activity
The children write about three things they could do to
make their favorite place even more right for them.
Their writing must include a good description of a
favorite place for them, the concept that living things
need to feel they are safe and in a place where they
belong, and additional relevant details of the
enhancement of their place.

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18
PRACTICE
The teacher checks for understanding of the main
points of the story, while enhancing the childrens
appreciation of how public servants help us.
Activity
The children respond to the following:
1)What hazards did Mr. and Mrs. Mallard face?
List them. [Answers: traffic, turtles, foxes] 2)How
did Mrs. Mallard know when she found the "right
place"? 3)Look up what "molting"means. 4 ) Write a
thank you note to Michael, the policeman, for
helping the family make their way through the traffic.
CONCEPT
Belonging
CONNECT
The children look at animals and things
that belong together.
Activities
1)The teacher makes ten cards, each with a word or
phrase and a picture of the following: soap, a cereal
bowl, a puppy, a tree, a bird, a bathtub, a garden, a
flower, a dog house, some cereal. 2)Tell the children to
arrange the ten cards in the following way: Put the
cereal in the garden, the flower in the dog house, the
soap in the cereal bowl, the puppy in the tree, and the
bird in the bathtub. 3)Ask the children if things are
where they belong. When they answer in the
negative, (there should be much laughter)
have them put the things where they belong.
ATTEND
The children ponder the reasons people choose
some things rather than other things.
Activity
The teacher leads discussion and creates a class list to
answer the question: How do we know where things
belong? Look for answers on function, the soap and the
bathtub, physical capabilities, the bird in the tree and
like species, the flowers and the garden.
OBJECTIVE
Children will understand that it is good for
living things to have a
comfortable place to be
and to know they
belong.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
A copy of the book,
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey,
Viking Press, l941, l969.
ISBN 0-670-45149-5.
Winner of the Gold
Caldecott Medal in 194l;
IMAGINE
The children are led to reflect on the personal choices
of things that help people to be comfortable.
Activity
The children draw a picture of a place that really suits
them, a place where they feel "just right.
INFORM
The children enhance their understanding
that each of us is unique while they attend to
and enjoy the story.
Activity
The teacher conducts a brief discussion on
how we are all different, what suits us each
best, and how we are all alike. Then s/he
reads the story, Make Way for Ducklings.
19

OWL MOON
SUBJECT
Language Arts
DURATION
3 class sessions
AUTHOR(S)
President of About
4MAT System.
PERFORM
The children have an opportunity to become
storytellers with younger children.
Activity
The class storybook is compiled containing the
original writings and illustrations. The children
each read their story to a younger child. They
record what the younger children say and share
these responses with the whole class. The
teacher facilitates discussion focusing on the
following: Was the experience enjoyable? Would
they change any part of their story? What did the
younger child learn? What did they learn?
REFINE
The children share their first drafts.
Activity
The children share their stories with a partner and with
the teacher; they have the opportunity to edit based on
the feedback they receive.
EXTEND
The children represent their own excursion story
containing their own similes.
Activity
The class creates a storybook that includes each childs
imagined excursion story. Working with 5th grade
"buddies" in the writing center, each child dictates his
own excursion story that includes at least three similes.
They may include the illustration they previously
created as well as add pictures from magazines to
illustrate their one night journey.

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20
PRACTICE
The children explore the different ways of
"seeing" the world using similes.
Activity
The teacher introduces the children to similes.
Together they attend the story for examples of
similes; they should find at least three.
[Possible answers: Trees like statues; Shadows
that bumped along; Face like a mask; Cold like
an icy hand in my back; Shadows that stained
the snow; Snow like milk in my cereal; Hope
that flies]
CONCEPT
The Natural World
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
The children simulate being out in the natural world.
Activity
The teacher has the children imagine they are on a dark
night excursion with a trusted adult companion to find
some treasure. They imagine they are in a beautiful
place looking for a particular animal. They then tell
their imagined stories to each other.
ATTEND
The children share their imagined experiences.
Activity
The teacher guides a discussion in which the children
share the kinds of special animals they imagined they
were looking for and why. S/he lists the examples
on a chart.
The children will

enhance their understanding of humans
and their relationship
to the natural world.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
A copy of Owl Moon by
Jane Yolen, illustrated
by John Schoenherr.
New York: Philomel
Books, 1987.
ISBN 0-399-21457-7.
Winner of the Gold
Caldecott Medal;
IMAGINE
The children depict their imagined excursions.
Activity
The children draw pictures of their excursions, and
share them with their partners.
INFORM
The children will be attentive in the understanding
and enjoyment of the story.
Activity
The teacher reads the book, Owl Moon. S/he engages
the children in an interactive discussion of the detailed
descriptions in the story of the natural environment on
an "owl moon night", relating back to the childrens
own imagined experiences and the illustrations they
created.
21

ATTRIBUTES
SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
1-2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Katie Woodru ff, a
ce rti fied 4MAT Trainer,
has been involved in
education for many
years including ten years
expe rience in sch ool
administration . She
shares th ese thoughts
about th is unit: Sorti n g,
Grouping, Classifying is
a ski ll which uses and
s tre n gthens logical
thinking. We use
logistical ski lls constantly in life, often without
being aware of i t.
Grouping involves
aware n ess of attri b u t es,
which are ob se rved and
then isolated. Stude n ts
need development of
th is ski ll to help them
make orde r and sense
out of problems and
s i tuation s, which
become increasingly
com plex as th ey grow.
Materials are simple
and instruction uses
lots of thinking,
questioning and
discussion.
22
PERFORM
Students share their collection and system of
classification with the other students.
Activity
Children once again play "Guess My Rule?" Each
student demonstrates her/his method of sorting.
S/he will sort step by step, using her/his
worksheet as necessary. At each step of the
sorting, the other students will try to guess "The
Rule." The game continues until all children have
shared projects.
REFINE
Each student makes a creative and personal application
of their understanding of classification by attributes.
Activity
Using large sheets of cardboard, children separate their
collected objects into smaller and smaller groups, until
each can sort no further. They record the sorting step
by step on a prepared worksheet.
EXTEND
Students create their own collections for sorting.
Activity
Students select bags for collecting objects, and the
teacher asks them to think of one type of object to
collect (leaves, stones, twigs, grass/weeds, pencils,
crayons, etc.). They build their own collections of
sortable objects either within the classroom, out of the
classroom, or for homework, making their own
decisions about what goes in their bag.
PRACTICE
Students practice and reinforce knowledge of
sorting objects by their attributes.
Activity
Students work with prepared worksheets and
bags of objects for sorting (People Pieces,
Attribute Blocks, marbles, 15 dried bean soup
mixes, etc.). Each student selects one bag of
objects to sort. As they sort the objects, they
record their groupings on the worksheet prepared for that set. When finished with one set,
trade with another student until all worksheets
are completed.
CONCEPT
Classification
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
The teacher initiates Classification by personally involving students in a game
in which they sort themselves into groups based on their physical attributes.
Activity
1)Teacher initiates game, "What's My
Rule?" and explains that s/he is thinking of a rule and the class must figure
it out. The teacher separates the children into two groups. Example: "Joan
go to the front of the room. John go
to the back. Sam to the back. Linda
to the front. I wonder where Jim will
go?" Children respond, but teacher
does not share the rule until all children have been sorted. They discuss
other ways they can sort themselves.
2)Children play "What's My Rule?"

Send 3-4 children out of the room.
The remainder decide on a rule for
s o rting themselves into groups.
Outside children re t u rn and can ask
any questions to determine the rule.
Example: "Would I go into this group
or that group?" After they have finished
questioning, they may make only one
guess at the rule. Continue playing
several more times with diff e rent
c h i l d ren going outside the room.
ATTEND
The children focus on specific attributes used in the
game experience.
Activity
Using large chart paper, the teacher leads the children
in listing single word rules used in the "What's My
Rule?" game. These words are then organized into
opposite pairs, such as "boys/girls," "blue eyes/
brown eyes," etc.
The students will

explore the decisionmaking thinking skills
involved in the skill of
classification.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Chart paper and
markers for What's My
Rule? game; Attribute
Blocks and People
Pieces; large variety of
loose buttons; assorted
objects for sorting
IMAGINE
The children will see how attributes can lead to
discriminating similarities and differences.
Activity
The teacher holds up Attribute Blocks one at a time and
solicits responses from students as to characteristics/
attributes of each block (color, shape, etc.). S/he then
holds up two blocks for comparison of differences and
similarities. Students work in pairs, manipulating
Attribute Blocks to solve problems stated by teacher.
Example: Sort by shapes. How many groups? Sort by
colors. How many groups? Using People Pieces,
students continue to practice sorting guided by the
teachers directions, i.e. Make 2 groups. What rule did
you use for your groups? With each new direction,
children create rules and results.
INFORM
The children learn to sort objects successively leading to the smallest possible grouping.
Activity
The teacher uses large chart paper and real or cardboard buttons (including two shapes,
two sizes, two colors, two/four holes). State lesson objective: "Today we are going to learn
how to sort a large amount of buttons into the smallest possible group." At the top of the
chart, place all buttons in a circle and label "Buttons." The teacher keeps sorting the
buttons into smaller groups by size, then color, then shape and finally number of holes. At
each diff e rent sorting, make a circle and label the attribute. On another sheet of paper, sort
the buttons again, but change the order of sorting (Buttons: holes, shape, color, size).
Continue a third time, letting children respond. Give each student a pre p a red worksheet to
fill in for the fourth and final method of sorting.

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INTRODUCTION TO GEOMETRY
SUBJECT
Mathematics
PERFORM
Student final projects are shared.
Activity
The final group displays are posted for other
classes to enjoy.
DURATION
2-3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Dolores Stoklosa is a
resource room teacher
at Mary Fisk School in
Salem, New Hampshire.
She has been a classroom teacher for over
fifteen years. She is a
participant in the
Salem 4MAT
Implementation Project
led by her principal,
Jane Batts.

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REFINE
Student teams critique each others work.
Activity
Each team does a "pair and share" with another team.
Their task is to ensure that each display has correct
visual information. The teacher provides coaching, and
teams are encouraged to edit as necessary.
EXTEND
Students "tinker" creatively with geometric shapes.
Activity
1)Students use cut outs of basic shapes from magazines
pasted on construction paper to create their own collages
of shape designs. Their task is to combine as many
diff e rent shapes as possible while maintaining some
artistic integrity. 2)Working in cooperative groups, each
group is assigned a specific geometric shape. The group
task is to create a display of man-made and natural
items that are composed of the assigned shape.
L a rge items may be re p resented by miniature
models or picture s .
PRACTICE
The teacher provides guided practice for
vocabulary and concepts presented.
Activity
1)Students complete review worksheets working
with space figures and plane figures. 2)Students
take pictures from magazines and coloring
books. They trace and label the basic shapes or
combination of shapes they see for all items in
the picture. 3)Students complete challenge
worksheets containing designs with many overlapping shapes. Their task is to identify as many
as they can.
CONCEPT
Shape
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students will explore shapes in their everyday world.
Activity
Working in cooperative learning groups, students go on
a "shape search," challenged to find examples of things
in our natural world that are not basically shaped in the
form of cylinders or circles, cubes or squares,
pyramids or triangles, or formed from either curved or
straight connecting lines. Second, they are challenged
to brainstorm a list of all things made by man that do
not have the same criteria.
ATTEND
Students analyze the world based on their shape
search experience.
Activity
Students post lists based on their collective brainstorming. The class as a whole decides if all items meet the
set criteria. (The only thing on their lists without shape
will be liquids or gases!) Students discover that all solid
things have a basic shape or combination of shapes.
Students will learn to

recognize and name
basic geometric shapes.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Geometric shaped
materials for sorting
activity and mystery
box; paper for students
shape-folding activity;
magazines with
pictures
IMAGINE
Students broaden their understanding of geometric
shapes.
Activity
1)Working in small groups, students are given a set of
boxes, each of which has one of the basic shapes
represented on it. Given a variety of everyday objects,
students decide each item's basic shape and place it in
the correct box. 2)Students place hands inside several
"mystery boxes" each of which contain an item with a
basic geometric shape. Students identify and draw each
shape they identify. 3)Working in small groups, students will kinesthetically "Be" each shape.
INFORM
The teacher provides necessary information and
teaches new vocabulary.
Activity
Using the text, teacher introduces space figures and
plane figures. The teacher instructs students in folding
paper and drawing on graph paper to better understand
concepts of space figures and plane figures. The
students use new vocabulary to identify, name, and
label their shape drawings from the IMAGINE activity.
25

SIZE
SUBJECT
Mathematics/Science
PERFORM
The class shares its collective drawings with the school.
Activity
The teacher and students create a composite display of
all student series pictures to be shared with the other
classes in the building.
DURATION
1 week
AUTHOR(S)
was written,
Charlene Baloun was a
kindergarten teacher at
Oliver Wendell Holmes
School District #97,
Oak Brook, IL.
REFINE
Children will test their ability to represent and
re-represent relativity of size.
Activity
Children share their "series" with each other to determine if
their own drawings represented a series and if they could
re-represent the series created by their partner.
EXTEND
The children personalize their learning via multimodal activities.
Activity
1)The children play a comparison game. The teacher puts a small
collection of objects in drawstring bags, enough bags for each
group of 3 students to share. Working in their groups the childre n
take turns being the leader, giving directions to their teammates to
reach into the bag and find the largest, smallest, something larger
than my ring, something smaller than your hand, something longer
than your finger, etc. 2)The teacher leads a second game, adding
kinetic practice, by asking the children to stand tall, make yourself
taller, make yourself shorter, etc. 3)The children make up challenge
papers to try on each other. They either draw a series of simple pict u res of objects of diff e rent sizes or cut and paste pictures fro m
magazines or catalogs on art paper. At least three diff e rent drawing
papers must be created by each child. Working with partners, they
each arrange the others pictures in relationship to size.

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PRACTICE
The teacher provides practice in recognizing and
describing the relativity of size.
Activity
The children complete exercises in which they
reinforce size as relative. These might include
matching activities, manipulatives in learning
centers, appropriate computer "games."
CONCEPT
Relativity
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Children explore how their own size is unique
relative to others.
Activity
The teacher sets up a play clothing store with such
items as hats, mittens, gloves, jackets, shirts, dresses
and shoes. However, all the items "for sale" are too
large or too small for the children. The students have
time to "go shopping."
ATTEND
The teacher and children discuss play experience
with emphasis on the children's existing vocabulary
for describing size.
Activity
The class discusses the experience. The teacher poses
questions for the children: Did you "buy" anything in
our store? Did it fit? Do you know anyone it might fit?
Do you think you could have worn it when you were a
baby? Do you think it will fit you tomorrow? Do you
think you could wear it when you are older?
Children will learn that

size is relative.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Variety of clothing
items in various sizes
for clothing store
activity; grab bags and
variety of objects for
experimentation;
variety of magazines
and catalogs for picture
projects
IMAGINE
The children see that size comparisons are relative.
Activity
The teacher gives each child two sheets of drawing
paper. S/he asks the children to place one hand on one
of the sheets with fingers outspread, and draw an
outline around it. Next, they trace an outline of one of
their feet on the other piece of paper. They compare
their two outlines, then compare their hand outline with
another childs, and then compare their foot with
another childs foot. The teacher also traces her hand
and foot for the children to each use for comparison.
INFORM
The teacher reinforces the concept that size
comparisons are relative.
Activity
The teacher instructs the children in relativity of size.
S/he uses appropriate visual aids and manipulatives for
concept reinforcement.
27

NUMBERS
SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
1-1/2 - 2 weeks
PERFORM
Children celebrate, share and promote what they
have learned.
Activity
The children publish the big book: they decide on
page breaks, illustrate each page, and the front
and back covers. Volunteers compose and
perform a commercial to persuade others to read
their book. The children read completed the
book to parents and others in school.
AUTHOR(S)
Lydia Watts teaches
first grade at Jefferson
Elementary School in
Kenmore, NY. She is a
participant in the 4MAT
implementation project
led by former Jefferson
Elementary Principal,
Leona Killock. Jefferson
is a recognized Blue
Ribbon of Academic
Excellence awardwinning school.

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REFINE
The teacher guides the editing of the big book.
Activity
Together the teacher and class read and review the big
book of "twoness." Necessary edits are made before the
final draft is completed.
EXTEND
The children extend their understanding of "twoness."
Activity
1)As an instrumental music tape plays, children listen.
Each time the music stops, children think of and do a
visible physical action twice (jump 2 times, clap twice).
2)The teacher scripts as the children compose a fiction
big book using the idea of "two" in the story. Each child
contributes ideas and is listed as a co-author.
PRACTICE
The children practice distinguishing sets of two
and writing the numeral "2" and word "two."
Activity
Children cut out sets of two similar items from
magazines, worksheets and/or catalogues.
Children paste cut outs onto construction paper.
The teacher provides worksheets for tracing and
writing the numeral 2. Children write the
numeral 2 and the word two on their
construction paper.
CONCEPT
Twoness
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Children use personal experience to show intuitive
knowledge of the property of two.
Activity
Each child draws and colors a picture of self and one
friend having fun together.

the property of two
consists of one and one
more and can be
represented in words
and a numeral symbol.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
ATTEND
The teacher acknowledges each child's experience as
important and evaluates the language children use to
denote number.
Activity
Each child talks to a partner about the drawing.
Volunteers share drawings with the whole class. Post
all drawings on a classroom bulletin board. Informally,
the teacher circulates and writes down language
children use to talk about the number of people in
drawings.
McMillan, B. One, Two,

One Pair!, New York:
Scholastic Inc, 1991;
construction paper,
paste, scissors, markers,
magazines for cut outs,
appropriate background music
IMAGINE
Children find a common interest shared with a
classmate.
Activity
Children work in pairs to think of an activity both enjoy.
As they talk, they are to think of a single object that
best represents the activity (for example, soccer/soccer
ball). Each child uses art scraps to depict the object on
a paper plate background. The teacher posts decorated
paper plates on classroom bulletin board after
discussion of how artwork is similar among different
pairs of children.
INFORM
The teacher introduces the numeral symbol "2"
and emphasizes the words "two" and "pair" as
ways to talk about the idea of two in number.
Activity
Teacher reads aloud the book, One, Two, One Pair!
S/he posts two word cards, "two" and "pair" on the
chalkboard, emphasizing both words by pointing to
them during the reading of the story. Next, s/he writes
the numeral "2" on the chalkboard, explaining that 2 is a
symbol to show two. S/he also clearly explains that
"pair" describes "two" in speech. The children say the
words as the teacher points to them, and respond
as teacher points to the numeral.
29

EGGS
SUBJECT
Science/Language Arts
DURATION
1-2 weeks
PERFORM
The children celebrate and share their egg
projects with a wider audience.
Activity
The children and their 4th grade partners use
colored chalk to replicate the egg/nest drawings
outside the school, thereby creating an outdoor
art gallery to be enjoyed by parents and other
teachers and students.
AUTHOR(S)
Linda Hermanson has
been a Kindergarten
teacher for over 25
years. Her family lives in
Minnesota, and she
teaches in Wisconsin.
REFINE
The children share and edit their projects.
Activity
The children share their projects with their 4th grade
partners; they make necessary changes to their
egg/nest drawings, as well as appropriate edits to
their egg books.
EXTEND
The children use unit information to create multiple
application projects.
Activity
1)The children make nests or safe places in small
groups around the room; 2)they draw any egg and its
nest environment; 3)using unit information, they work
in the writing center to write their own "egg" books.

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PRACTICE
Children use readiness skills to explore information about eggs and to work cooperatively.
Activity
1)Children sort, match, trace, pattern, and graph
eggs; 2)they complete number and alphabet
dot-to-dots; 3)they number, fill (with that
number of objects), and sequence take-apart
plastic eggs to make a dozen; 4)they learn the
poem "5 Baby Chicks" from chart; 5)they keep
records on hatching project; 6)they sequence
themselves (with help) according to candy egg
estimation cards; 7)they count candy eggs by
10's and 1's.
CONCEPT
Fragile Life Cycles
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Children are introduced to the concept of fragility.
Activity
The teacher distributes finger puppets and engages the
children in lyrical recitation and practice of the nursery
rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. Using props, children are
invited to act out the story.
ATTEND
Children discuss Humpty and attend the
fragility of real eggs.
Activity
1)The teacher and the children review Humpty
Dumpty using chart story; 2)the children decorate
blown out eggs to look like Humpty Dumpty; 3)the
teacher breaks fresh eggs for children to attend; 4)they
retell Humpty Dumpty using their own Humptys and
attend broken shells (save shells); 5)the teacher and
children make scrambled eggs using recipe chart.
Children will learn that

many animals lay
fragile eggs that need
to be protected.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
A copy of the
poem/story, Humpty
Dumpty; assorted
audio-visual materials;
assorted Kindergarten
classroom equipment
and supplies; and an
incubator.
IMAGINE
The teacher assists the children in imagining how to
keep an egg safe.
Activity
The teacher conducts a guided fantasy in which
children imagine they are chicks hatching from eggs.
Then, wearing egg headbands, children pretend they
are hatching from eggs. The teacher leads a discussion
exploring how they might keep an egg from hatching.
INFORM
Children learn important characteristics
about eggs and their life cycles.
Activity
Via multiple methods of instruction (fiction and nonfiction books, video, observation of a chick-hatching
project, discussion of photos, posters and charts), the
children learn the following: 1)eggs are places for new
life, 2)birds and some animals come from eggs,
3)some eggs are protected by shells, 4)eggs need to be
safe, 5)the baby from the egg will be the same animal
as the mother, 6)eggs can be food, 7)a dozen equals
twelve.
31

NATURAL SELECTION
SUBJECT
Science
DURATION
2-3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
David Hamaker teaches
fourth grade at
Riverview Elementary
School, Marion
Community Schools,
Marion, IN. He is a
participant in the
Marion 4MAT
Implementation Project
led by Carol Secttor.
PERFORM
Students share, evaluate and celebrate what
was learned.
Activity
Students create paper models of their creatures.
They each hide their creatures in the classroom
while members of the class try to find them. They
discuss why or why not each creature was easy
or difficult to find. They then hide the creatures
and try again. Finally, they invite another class in
to try to find the hidden creatures.
REFINE
Students expand their fictional creature project and
use what was learned about natural selection.
Activity
Students develop written descriptions of their creatures.
The description must include the creature's name, size,
shape, color, special features, etc. Students work in
groups of four to predict how successful each group
member's creature would be hiding in the classroom
environment.
EXTEND
Students apply what they have learned in creative ways.
Activity
Students imagine a fictional creature which could
easily be hidden in the classroom. Then they draw their
creatures in preparation of creating "life-size" model
sketches of their creatures.

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PRACTICE
Students complete guided practice exercises on
the concept of adaptation and new vocabulary.
Activity
1)Students answer questions from the textbook
and complete teacher prepared worksheets.
2)Students go home and find animal hiding
places in their own yards and neighborhoods.
They make lists of what they find and sketch
their findings. 3)They share their findings with
the rest of the class.
CONCEPT
Adaptation
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students discover what they know instinctively
about good hiding places.
Activity
Students are engaged in playing the traditional game,
"Hide and Seek", preferably outdoors, although indoors
will do if weather and environment prevent outdoor
play. Students are selected to "find" hidden students.
ATTEND
The teacher helps the students analyze the elements
of successful hiding places.
Activity
Students work in small groups to answer the following
questions: 1)Why were students found last more
successful in hiding than the others? 2)What makes a
good hiding place? 3)What are common features of
good hiding places? 4)How are these features
important and beneficial to animals seeking shelter?
Students will learn how

animals adapt themselves for safety by
creating or selecting
appropriate habitats.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Illustrations for direct
instruction; drawing
materials and sculpture
materials for student
projects
IMAGINE
Students see the connection between what they know
from their experience about how animals might
instinctively apply the same criteria for survival.
Activity
Students go outside and work in small teams. Each
team uses what they know about good hiding places to
find spots which would be good hiding places for
specific creatures, including insects, as well as larger
animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and other larger
animals. Each student visually depicts the best hiding
place s/he discovered. Drawings are shared, and
student explain their choices.
INFORM
The teacher provides direct instruction on animal
hiding places and natural selection.
Activity
The teacher shares illustrations to define and review the
concept of adaptation and how it contributes to the
process of natural selection, including introduction of
necessary vocabulary. Students read appropriate
textbook chapter(s).
33

PLANTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HABITAT
SUBJECT
Science
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share what they have learned.
Activity
Student plant projects are displayed in the classroom. Each student shares and explains his project to a student "buddy" from a lower grade.
3-4 days
AUTHOR(S)
Marty Kafer and
Alisa Kirschenbaum are
elementary curriculum
specialists with the
Cupertino U.S.D.,
Cupertino, CA. They are
members of the 4MAT
implementation project
led by Suzanne Sanders.
REFINE
Students complete and refine their projects.
Activity
The teacher reviews each student's progress on his/her
project and makes suggestions for enhancing the work
already completed.
EXTEND
Students create plant projects.
Activity
Using what they have learned about plants, students choose one of
the following projects: 1)Collect leaf examples from around the
neighborhood. Mount and label where they came from. 2)Make a
poster by drawing and labeling plants around the neighborhood.
3)Using a manila folder, create a pop-up scene of plants in the
neighborhood. Write a story about the plants in the neighborh o o d .
Mount the story on the folder.

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PRACTICE
Students explore the function of roots.
Activity
1)Put two to three drops of blue food coloring in a
clear glass of water. Put a stalk of celery or a white
carnation in the glass. Have students make predictions of what will happen. Write the predictions on a
chart. Students graph the number of days/hours it
took for the flower/celery to change colors. 2)Students
make a visual representation (graph) of the time it
took for the flower/celery to change colors. Compare
the results. 3)Students reflect upon roots and their
relationship to this experiment. 4)Each student is
given a flower with instructions for carefully
dissecting the diff e rent parts. Students then mount the
parts of the flower on a piece of paper and label.
CONCEPT
Living Things/Plantlife
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience nature through tactile, auditory,
and olfactory senses.
Activity
Students choose partners. To heighten sensory awareness, one person is blindfolded, and the other person
takes his/her partner on a "touch" walk outside, experiencing as many diff e rent natural things as possible.
(Before going outside, the teacher reviews appropriate
behavior and expectations.) Students should try and lead
their partner to trees, plants, weeds, rocks, etc. After five
minutes, they switch roles. When they re t u rn indoors,
students create a visual of the experience on poster paper.
ATTEND
Students each share what was most significant
to them during the "touch" walk.
Activity
Using the Listen, Think, Pair, Share strategy, students
answer the following question, What did you hear?
touch? smell?" Students answer each part of the
question separately, each time using the Listen, Think,
Pair, Share strategy. Students return to the schoolyard
to experience the same objects without the blindfold.
They reflect on the following: What is different? Which
way did you prefer?
Stude n ts wi ll expe rie nce

living pla n ts as a pa rt of
their neighbor h ood
h a b i tat.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Blindfolds, visuals of
plants, plant realia
(twigs, leaves, flower,
etc.), food coloring,
celery, carnations,
pop-up book directions
IMAGINE
Students use texture to deepen their view of plant life.
Activity
Students collect plant samples. Using the side of a
crayon, they make rubbings of various types of plants
and parts of plants.
INFORM
The teacher provides background knowledge
on plants and seeds.
Activity
Teacher-led lecture on vocabulary and functions of
living plants--roots, tree parts, common flowers, seeds,
plants, bush, twig, etc. with accompanying visuals and
realia. Students review the labels on their rubbings, and
compare and contrast the assemblage.
35

ECOLOGY/OUR ENVIRONMENT
SUBJECT
Science
DURATION
1 week
AUTHOR(S)
Juanice Hayslip was a
first grade teacher at
El Jardin Elementary
School, Brownsville, TX.
She is now an
elementary teacher in
Irving, TX. She is a
certified 4MAT trainer.

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PERFORM
The children share, celebrate learning, and
hopefully integrate what they have learned into
their lives.
Activity
The class displays art and posters for the rest of
the school to see. Select children read their books
to a kindergarten class. The teacher facilitates an
E a rth Day celebration in April (or makes "Earth
Day" any day). The children are encouraged to
s h a re with their families what they have learn e d
about their environment and the responsibility
each person has to help save the Eart h .
REFINE
The children refine and edit each others work in a
positive way.
Activity
In small groups, students revise their books, improve
their art objects and polish up their posters. They help
each other to come up with the best results possible.
EXTEND
The children create art projects using recycling principles.
Activity
1)Students create art objects using a variety of trash
objects, making products such as a paper mache globe,
environmental glasses using egg cartons, and a litter
bug using small pieces of trash, etc. They are encouraged to be creative and invent new things. (The teacher
should refer to the ideas they all brainstormed in the
CONNECT step.) 2)The children write "books" retelling
the story of the "Wartville Wizard." 3)Make posters to
promote the 3R's: Recycling, Reusing, and Reducing.
4)The teacher and the students set up a recycling
center in the room.
PRACTICE
The children practice applying what they have
learned.
Activity
1)The teacher provides an assortment of common
everyday objects. In small groups, the children
take turns classifying objects as to how they can
be recycled or reused. 2)The teacher guides the
class in creating a list using the trash from the
CONNECT activity. 3)Children complete a "word
find" worksheet using vocabulary from the unit.
4)Children draw and color the recycle symbol.
5)Children respond in their journals to the prompt,
"What I can do for the Earth?"
CONCEPT
Use and Misuse
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Children realize how trash affects their lives.
Activity
The teacher collects all the trash in the classroom for a
couple of days before beginning the unit. On day one of
this unit, s/he dumps the trash on the floor and has the
students (in small groups) sort through it and decide
what may be used again and what may be recycled. She
engages the children in a discussion in which they
brainstorm innovative ideas on how the various pieces
of trash could be reused (box puppets, box cars, etc.).
ATTEND
The children reflect on their experience with
trash while they develop listening skills and
group discussion techniques.
Activity
The teacher leads a whole group discussion about how
trash looks, smells, and feels. Children respond to the
following: Where does trash go? What happens to it?
What can we do about the amount of trash? S/he
provides several containers with moist garden soil. The
children bury different items such as aluminum foil,
plastic, paper and food scraps as an experiment to see
what is bio-degradable. Results will be checked at the
end of the unit.
IMAGINE
The children connect their trash experience to the material
to be taught by using music and another medium.
Activity
The teacher takes the students on a guided imaginery
trip to the beach (or any other popular locale). The students close their eyes and listen to soft music in the
background as they use their imaginations. After building up their excitement in spending a day at the beach,
they arrive but there is a "Closed" sign at the entrance.
Imagine what the world would look like if we keep
throwing our trash everywhere. Where would they play?
What would happen to the beaches? Children draw their
imaginary "trashed" beach scene. In preparation for the
lesson to come, they view a video clip of "Letters to the
Earth" or any other appropriate video that depicts the
shortage and problems of dump sites.
INFORM
Students learn how they can make a
difference in their environment.
Activity
The teacher provides direct instruction using flashcards,
giving examples using actual trash. Together the class
traces the path of a piece of trash. Where does it go? The
teacher and students make a flow chart. The children
learn important vocabulary related to ecology: recycle,
reuse, reduce. The teacher reads The Wartville Wizard,
and the children discuss the story
First-graders will
increase awareness
that recycling, reusing,
and reducing trash
affects their future and
will make the world a
better place.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Assorted trash such as
empty boxes, containers, aluminum cans,
paper, newspaper,
plastic items, etc.; any
visuals such as newspaper clippings that relate
to the environment;
four containers with
garden soil (i.e. 3-liter
plastic soft-drink
containers); The
Wartville Wizard by
Don Madden; Save The
Animals, Save The
Earth," a musical
cassette; any other
literature or magazines
that can be found that
relate to the
environment
37

FRIENDS
SUBJECT
Social Studies
DURATION
PERFORM
The class shares what was learned with others in
their school.
Activity
The children each add their friendship square to
the quilt. They decide as a class where to display
the quilt so that others in the school may enjoy it.
2 days
AUTHOR(S)
Kristin Nun is a primary
teacher in Geneva, NE.
REFINE
The children evaluate work by sharing with others.
Activity
Students share their picture with a friend and dictate a
summary of their game-playing experience to an adult.
They each share their game playing experiences with
the whole class.
EXTEND
The children engage in active, hands-on activities to
extend what was learned about friendship.
Activity
Each child makes a square for a friendship quilt by
drawing about being with a friend, and they play a
game with a friend at learning center time.

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PRACTICE
The children apply the information received in
previous activities and extend their understanding of friendship.
Activity
Students act out with a partner something
friends could do together based on either
drawings provided by the teacher or their own
ideas.
CONCEPT
Friendship
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
The children connect with previous experiences with
friends and engage in an experience where they work
with a friend.
Activity
Students work in pairs to paint hand prints on a large
paper chart to make a "Circle of Friends. They each
make either pink or gray by mixing one hand in either
red & white paint or black & white paint. They then
draw pictures of each other to share with the class.
ATTEND
The children discuss how it feels to work with a friend.
Activity
The teacher leads a discussion on how students felt
when they worked with a friend, using drawings to
represent these feelings.
The children will

explore the concept of
friendship and the
qualities of friends.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Art materials: paint,
paper, crayons, etc.;
Old Bear by Jane Hissey;

the big book, The More
We Get Together, by
Tom Glazer from
Harcourt, Brace,
Jovanovich
IMAGINE
The children further develop the concept of friendship
and qualities of friends by linking their own experiences
to those in a book.
Activity
The teacher engages the children in singing the song,
"The More We Get Together," using words/pictures in
big book. Together they read Old Bear by Jane Hissey.
Teacher leads discussion on friends in story and uses
drawings to represent the students feelings and
perceptions about friendship.
INFORM
The children explore the qualities of good friends.
Activity
Teacher and the children create a mindmap with details
on who a friend can be, why a person is a friend and
what friends can do together, adding additional
information when needed.
39

THE FLAG
SUBJECT
Social Studies
DURATION
2 weeks
PERFORM
The children enjoy a celebration of our flag
and its symbolism.
Activity
The class makes up a cheer for our country and
our flag. The children have a parade in class with
each child carrying the flag s/he has made while
the teacher plays a recording of Sousa's
"The Stars and Stripes Forever."
AUTHOR(S)
was written, Grace
Glaum was a primary
teacher in District #163,
Park Forest, IL.
She commented on this
plan:This unit can be
extended by having the
children make a flag for
planet Earth. They
would need to extend
their understanding to
the concept of universal
symbols.

www.lessonbank.com
40
REFINE
The children discuss and analyze whether our flag is a
good symbol for our country.
Activity
Have the children analyze the Pledge, phrase by phrase,
and review each of the example flags. Then discuss the
Pledge in relationship to the symbolism of the flag.
EXTEND
The students apply what they have learned about
symbols on our flag.
Activity
Working in small groups, each group makes an
example of one of the American flags, so that all major
examples are represented (i.e. the "Ross" flag up to and
including our present flag). Show the children how to
make stars by folding paper.
PRACTICE
The children practice research skills to learn
more about the history of our flag.
Activity
The children explore the story of our early flags,
flag changes, and how we got our present flag.
Have books available in the classroom and have
the school media specialist assist by having a
table of books and resources for the students in
the media center. They find out what the colors,
the stripes, and the stars stand for, and how and
why the flag has changed over the years. (The
teacher works with individual children about how
to do independent re s e a rc h . )
CONCEPT
Symbols
CONNECT
The teacher engages the children in connecting
to symbols they know in everyday life.
Activity
The children sit in circle groups. The teacher shares pictures of
things that they all recognize and know the meaning of without
having to define in words. Some good examples can include
Smokey the Bear, McDonalds Golden Arches, etc. The childre n
discuss what makes some symbols special. (Possible answers:
they help us to feel something in our hearts, a kind of special
feeling.) Special symbols stand for something much deeper and
m o re important than the symbol itself. When we honor these
symbols we show our loyalty, our feelings of caring, for what the
symbol means. The teacher conducts a brief discussion along
these lines, then asks the children to get together and discuss
what symbols they might use to re p resent the ways their class
is special.
OBJECTIVE
Using the American
Flag as example,
students will learn the
concept of symbols and
what they stand for.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Materials for class flags;
materials for making
early flags
ATTEND
The children share their ideas.
Activity
Bring the group back together, put all their ideas on the
board and discuss them. Hopefully the children
appreciate that a synthesis of their ideas provides a rich
experience.
IMAGINE
Students make personal choices about the symbols
they like best.
Activity
The children select the symbols they each like best and
make a class flag. All flags are hung up in the classroom.
INFORM
The teacher provides facts and information
concerning the national flag.
Activity
The teacher reads the story, "Our Country's Flag," and
they discuss it briefly. (A developmentally appropriate
video on the flag and its symbolism would be a nice
addition here.) The teacher tells the story of Francis
Scott Key and how he wrote "The Star Spangled
Banner." The children practice the Pledge of Allegiance
to the Flag. The children write three sentences
on what the words mean to them.
41

ENVIRONMENT AND SURVIVAL, WHEEL 1
SUBJECT
Interdisciplinary
Science and
Social Studies/Geography
DURATION
4-6 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Sylvia Piper is
Coordinator of Gifted
Education for the Wood
County Office of
Education, Bowling
Green, OH. John Piper is
an independent
consultant and former
Associate Professor of
Health Education at
Bowling Green State
University, Bowling
Green, OH, with over
thirty years of teaching,
coaching, and administrative experience at
the secondary and
collegiate levels. Both
Sylvia and John are
members of the About
Learning Consultants
Group.

www.lessonbank.com
42
PRACTICE
Students reinforce understanding of plant and
animal adaptations for various regions via
research.
Activity
Headings are posted on the bulletin board:
Polar Regions, Deserts, Rain Forests,
Savannas/Grasslands, Woodlands/Forests,
Mountains, Oceans/Rivers, and Islands.
Students find examples of adaptations that
permit plants and animals to survive in these
environments and post their information on
notecards. Student groups each organize the
information from one region in a meaningful
way and share its organizational pattern and the
information about plant and animal adaptations
in their region.
CONCEPT
Adaptation
CONNECT
Students are engaged in a simulation experience
requiring them to adapt their
behavior in order to meet their physical needs.
Activity
Half of the students in the class are placed in a
physically handicapping condition for half the day.
EXAMPLES: 1)taped fingers and thumb of favored hand,
2)preferred arm in a sling, 3)crutches, 4)built up shoe
making one leg shorter than the other, 5)blindfold,
6)mouth taped shut, 7)ear plugs, 8)wheelchair. Students
have "buddies" to assist them with regular class
activities. The roles are then reversed for the rest of
the day, with new buddies and different handicaps.
ATTEND
Students discuss their feelings and behaviors
following the "physical disability" simulation.
Activity
Using "Think-Pair-Share" students discuss their
feelings and behaviors both as a handicapped person and as a "buddy. Using a "T" chart, the teacher
categorizes "Feelings" and "Behaviors."
IMAGINE
Students connect the concept of adaptation to how animals
manage their environment.
Activity
Students play 2 games which illustrate
ways animals adapt to their environment: Different Beaks. One child is a
swallow with a thin, pointed beak
(paper clip with one end unwound)and
another is a sparrow with a thicker
beak (clip clothespin). Their foods are
seeds (nuts) and soft cre a t u re s
(raisins). The "birds" have 20 seconds
to use their "beaks" to "feed" and store
the food in front of them. Children see
that both birds find plenty to eat when
insects are plentiful (summer), but the
swallow must make some kind of
adaptation as winter appro a c h e s
(migration).
Predator and Pre y. Randomly distribute equal numbers of 200 short e n e d

red and green pipe cleaners in a gre e n
vegetation area and in a brown dirt
a rea of about the same size. The pipe
cleaners re p resent insect pre y, and the
students are insect predators. The
p redators have 30 second intervals to
collect as many prey as possible in
the green area and again in the brown
d i rt area. Children see that some
animals are adapted to protecting
themselves by resembling their
natural surroundings (camouflage).
Note: colorblindness would be a
handicapping condition in this activity.
OBJECTIVE
Stude n ts wi ll lea rn th at
a da ptations are
s tructural or be h avioral
res ponses to the
environment and how
pa rtic u la r a da ptation s
relate to important
ski lls and be h avior s, a nd
ultimat ely to survival.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Materials for s i m u lating
handica p s ; a va riety of
classroom and libra ry
resources w h ich enable
s tude n ts to fi nd
a da ptations amon g
pla n ts and animals
living in va rious region s
of the wor ld;
approp ri ate tra de
books dealing wi th
a da ptation
Anno, Mitsumasa.
ALL IN ONE DAY.
New York: Philomel
Books, 1986.
INFORM
Students learn conditions that make it
necessary for plants and animals to adapt.
Activity
Students attend conditions requiring certain
adaptations for plants and animals to survive - climate,
habitat, food supply, natural enemies. Students
concentrate on physical features of the squirrel, horse,
and dandelion that contribute to their survival. The
teacher presents material via film, video, books,
illustrations, observation of live examples, etc.
for student internalization of concept.
43

ENVIRONMENT AND SURVIVAL, WHEEL 2
SUBJECT
Interdisciplinary
Science and
Social Studies/Geography
PERFORM
Students experience the joy of teaching and
learning from one another.
Activity
Students share their work with classmates and
other audiences in a manner appropriate to the
type of project completed.
DURATION
4-6 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Sylvia Piper is
Coordinator of Gifted
Education for the Wood
County Office of
Education, Bowling
Green, OH. John Piper is
an independent
consultant and former
Associate Professor of
Health Education at
Bowling Green State
University, Bowling
Green, OH, with over
thirty years of teaching,
coaching, and administrative experience at
the secondary and
collegiate levels. Both
Sylvia and John are
members of the About
Group.

www.lessonbank.com
44
REFINE
Students evaluate, revise, refine, and
complete their project.
Activity
Class time is provided for students to work on
their projects. Students confer with the teacher
as they analyze and evaluate throughout the
development of the project.
EXTEND
The teacher guides students toward ideas and projects that are commensurate with
their ability and assists them as necessary in finding appropriate resources. Students
finalize plans for an extended learning pro j e c t .
Activity
Multiple project choices, including:
SCIENCE: Select an animal and study its
adaptations. Select a bird such as the
Arctic tern, swallow, snow goose, or
bobolink and research its migration
pattern and illustrate.
Study the different kinds of bird feet and
illustrate them. Beside each illustration,
give at least one example of a bird with
that type of feet and tell how this adaptation is useful to the bird. Attend clean
bird feathers. Find out how birds' feathers
assist with flying. Read to find out the
difference between the root structures of
desert plants and those of woodland
plants. Illustrate and explain the

differences on a chart.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Make a large mural of
the ocean and part of a beach showing
creatures that would live there.
Make a pie plate island with bays,
peninsulas, inlets, etc. and a key. Read
books about mountains. Make and illustrate a booklet entitled: Things to Do and
See in the Mountains. Imagine that you
are a travel agent. Prepare travel plans for
a trip to Alaska or Australia. Work with
the music teacher or librarian to find
songs from several different countries.
Sing or play one or two of them for the
class.
PRACTICE
Students compare and contrast information
about deserts and polar regions.
Activity
The teacher provides a variety of activities to
provide practice using physical and relief maps:
1)Locate various regions on physical maps.
2)Make physical maps using symbols, colors,
shading.
CONCEPT
Adaptation
OBJECTIVE
Stude n ts wi ll lea rn th at
a da ptations are
s tructural or be h avioral
res ponses to the
environment and how
pa rtic u la r a da ptation s
relate to important
ski lls and be h avior s, a nd
ultimat ely to survival.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
IMAGINE
Students see how humans adapt to their location on the
earth, time zones, climate, and seasons.
Activity
Teacher reads ALL IN ONE DAY and the students
study the illustrations. Teacher takes students on a
guided fantasy trip through the eight countries in the
story, leading them to see how the activities and
adaptations of children around the world at the same
moment in time are affected by their location on the
earth, by time zones, climate, and seasons.
Materials for s i m u lating

handica p s ; a va riety of
classroom and libra ry
resources w h ich wi ll
e n a ble stude n ts to fi nd
a da ptations amon g
pla n ts and animals
living in va rious region s
of the wor ld;
approp ri ate tra de
books dealing wi th
a da ptation
Anno, Mitsumasa.
ALL IN ONE DAY.
New York: Philomel
Books, 1986.
INFORM
Students learn about two contrasting regions of the
world desert and polar regions.
Activity
The teacher uses physical maps to teach students how
to recognize and locate land formations and regions.
45
4MAT IN ACTION: INTERMEDIATE

BEETHOVEN STYLE
SUBJECT
Fine Arts/Music
DURATION
2 class periods
PERFORM
The students celebrate style with a physical
response to music heard.
Activity
The class divides into smaller groups, each
taking turns at performing movements
appropriate to the style of the musical pieces
they hear.
AUTHOR(S)
Nancy Paxcia-Bibbins is
the music teacher at
Indian Creek
Elementary School,
Indianapolis, IN. Her
previous experiences
include middle school
and high school choral
music. Nancy has also
taught music education
courses at Ball State
University, Muncie, IN
and Marian College,
Indianapolis, IN. She is a
certified 4MAT System
trainer.

www.lessonbank.com
46
REFINE
Students evaluate their movement activity for
appropriateness to the music heard.
Activity
1)The students analyze whether the movements they
have created fit the music that they hear. 2)The teacher
asks leading questions: What about the mood? Tempo?
Feeling? Melodic movement? Do they fit the style of the
music? Students revise, if necessary.
EXTEND
Students add their own creative responses
to the music heard.
Activity
1)The teacher reviews terms: locomotor (change in
location) and nonlocomotor (movement in place)
movement. Students demonstrate some examples (e.g.,
walking as locomotor, swaying as nonlocomotor).
2)Volunteers serve as models for movement activity,
first listening to music to imagine a movement that fits
with it. 3)The class creates a movement activity to
demonstrate A B A form, combining locomotor and
nonlocomotor movements. They decide how movements can relate to the movement of the themes (e.g.,
Theme 1--going forward? Theme 3--in place?, etc.).
PRACTICE
Students practice recognizing and identifying
themes of the movement.
Activity
1)The teacher plays 45 seconds of of a selected
classical piece while the students listen for
tempo and dynamics. 2)The students listen for
themes and identify which instruments play
which themes, (i.e. A. strings, B. strings,
C. woodwinds, repeated, strings, scalewise).
CONCEPT
Style
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience the connection between the
representation of cultural style and music of a given
period.
Activity
1)The teacher shows students visuals of styles in
different eras (current styles, 1970's, 1960's, big band
of the forties, Charleston era) while they listen to music
of the same eras. 2)They listen to a rock version of
Beethoven's Fifth (Walter Murphy version).
ATTEND
The students and teacher analyze and compare
the visual and aural imagines.
Activity
1)The teacher leads a discussion in which the students
c o m p a re styles of clothes and music. The students try to
match the music with the styles of each era while the
teacher plays the examples one at a time. 2)The teacher
asks them about Beethoven's Fifth. Who recognizes it?
What's the problem with matching styles? (older music,
but modern rhythmic accompaniment). 3)The teacher
plays a small section of Beethoven's Symphony #1, 3rd
movement to re i n f o rce their discussion.
Students will become

familiar with elements
of musical style
(especially the Classic
period) as well as
review the A-B-A
musical form.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Recording of
Beethovens Symphony
#1; visual of clothing
styles in different eras
(e.g., Charleston era, big
band era, rock and roll,
etc., as well as styles of
Classic period); taped
examples of same styles
IMAGINE
The students relate familiar styles of the twentieth
century to styles of the late eighteenth century.
Activity
1)The teacher plays Beethoven Symphony #1--Third
Movement while showing pictures of people/clothes of
that period. The children are led into an imaginary
scene of the people and places of that time as they
listen to the music. 2)The students share their "imagines" using pantomime movement patterns.
INFORM
Students learn about the music style of the Classic period
and concepts about Beethoven and the Symphony #1-Third Movement.
Activity
1)The teacher provides an overview comparing the musical
style of the Classic Period (formality, regularity) with the 20th
century (more variety in forms, harmony, etc.). 2)Students
read about Beethoven and the quality and characteristics of
life in his time period. 3)The teacher plays the themes of the
symphony while the students review the musical score. 4) The
teacher introduces A B A (ternary form) and draws a diagram
of the overall form: A B A.
47

ENGLISH ALPHABET
SUBJECT
Language Arts
DURATION
4-5 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Ke i th L. Boehme is a
Mon t essori teacher in
Ci ncinnati, OH, publ ic
sch ools. He also
pa rtic i pated in a project
which created a
Mon t essori envi ronment for severely brain
da maged ch i ldren. He is
a ce rti fied 4MAT System
trainer.

www.lessonbank.com
48
PERFORM
Students share their completed personal projects.
Activity
Students each present their final projects to the
class as a whole. The students take notes on
each presentation and add these notes to the
book. Note: When all projects have been presented, a reflective question will be asked which
will require each student to review his/her book.
The question should tap into the heart of the
concept and serve as a stepping stone to further
integration/lessons, etc.
REFINE
Students develop, complete and evaluate projects.
Activity
Each student (or small team) completes a research
project plan. This form includes project topic, how it
will be researched, materials needed, how it will be
displayed/presented and any community trips planned.
The project (or its summary) is placed in the book.
EXTEND
Indepth application of what has been learned. Objective:
To personally expand on what has been presented.
Activity
Using the personal research project list, each student
will select a topic they would like to do further research
on. Assessment: Quality/enthusiasm of
exploring/investigating their project selection.
PRACTICE
Students complete activities to reinforce the idea
of the contribution that many cultures have
made to the development of the alphabet.
Activity
1)Students create their own timeline, in book
form. Each culture should have a picture, a
summary of the contribution, and an example of
the symbol that culture used. 2)Students
research the development of one letter from the
alphabet as well as todays present uses.
CONCEPT
Symbols
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience the effectiveness of using
symbols to communicate.
Activity
The class is divided into small teams. Each team is
given a message encrypted with a teacher-created
pictorial "secret code." The teams decode their
messages and perform what the message asks.
ATTEND
Students reflect, through discussion, on
the decoding experience.
Activity
The teacher conducts a class discussion on the
decoding activity. Points in the discussion should
include a) symbols used to convey information
(reflecting directly on the activity), b) the advantage of
having symbols to re c o rd events of the past (note role
of the story teller), c) ask "What would the world be
like today without written symbols. Would computers
be possible?"
IMAGINE
Students build on the decoding experience by
experiencing various symbols used throughout history to
see how we came to use the symbols which have
meaning for us today.
Activity
The following symbols, representing major contributions
to the English alphabet, are placed on large cards: pictographs, Sumerian Cunieform, Egyptian Hieroglyphics,
Semetic writing, the Phoenician
alphabet, the Greek alphabet, the Roman alphabet and an
illuminated tablet, written in English. Eight students are
invited from the class and asked to arrange themselves in
order (while the class watches) according to which they
feel came first in humanities history. Class discussion
follows. Next, these labels are placed on the board:
Prehistoric, Sumerian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Semetic,
Greek, Roman, English. Students are asked which symbol
systems represent the listed cultures.
INFORM
The teacher overviews the major cultural contributions that have
built the English alphabet.
Activity
P resent, orally, timeline cards that highlight significant events in the
development of the English alphabet. Each card consists of a picture
of the cultural contribution on one side and the story on the reverse.
Students read a small essay entitled "The Future of Writing." In small
teams, the students answer questions which are designed to reflect
on the essay. Students begin making suggestions of possible
personal re s e a rch projects based on interest from each presentation.
Using the concept of

the alphabet as written
symbol, students will
learn the major cultural
contributions that led
to the development of
the English alphabet as
they know it.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
8 X 11 cards; pictographs
of Sumerian Cunieform,
Egyptian hieroglyphics,
Semitic writing, the
Phoenician Alphabet,
the Roman Tablet, an
illuminated tablet
written in English
49

HOMEWORK STRATEGIES
SUBJECT
Language Arts/
Study Skills
DURATION
PERFORM
Projects are presented to class and parents.
Activity
Group homework projects are shared with
classmates. Parents are invited to an "I AM
RESPONSIBLE" party where certificates of
responsibility will be awarded to students and
to the teacher.
Interspersed
throughout 4-6 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Dr. B ruce Fischman
teach es fourth gra de at
Hereford Elementary
Sch ool, Up per Perkiomen
Sch ool District, East
Greenvi lle, PA. His
expe riences include
classroom teacher,
rea ding supe rvisor and
rea ding specialis t, and
sta ff development
di rect or for wri ti n g. He
is a ce rtified 4MAT
System trainer for h is
sch ool district.

www.lessonbank.com
50
REFINE
Students complete projects and extend what has been
learned through self-evaluation.
Activity
Students work in response groups and share their
written thinking plans for their homework projects. Each
group writes comments on another group's plan,
adding comments in different colors, until each group
has commented on all other plans. Each group then
completes its own project.
EXTEND
Students apply what they have learned to successful
homework projects.
Activity
Students work in groups to show others (peers, family,
friends) ideas for completing homework. Possible
cooperative group activities are Before/After Skit;
Posters; Class Manual on Homework Hints; Animated
Flip Books; Letter to Parents.
PRACTICE
Students practice various study strategies that
reinforce understanding of individual home
study habits.
Activity
Students keep a weekly Study Log noting
"Before/After" homework routine, schedules,
processes, organization. Teacher incorporates
some practice sheets.
CONCEPT
Responsibility
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience being responsible and irresponsible.
Activity
The teacher starts a week with two plants on his/her
desk. One will receive responsible care for a week, and
one will not. At the end of the week, the teacher will
involve the students in a discussion on the noticeable
d i ff e rences between the two plants. Questions such as
"How is our life of learning like a plant? What makes our
l e a rning grow? What hinders our learning?" will be
asked of the students. The discussion should also
include other areas where students must be responsible,
such as caring for pets and younger siblings,
p e rf o rming family chores, etc.
ATTEND
Students share feelings about personal responsibility, especially as
related to their own learning.
Activity
The teacher leads a discussion of personal responsibilities and things
we each need to do as learners, both in school and out of school. The
teacher focuses on the purpose of homework and the opportunity for
practice geared to individual needs. Feelings about completing
homework and student experiences re g a rding practice should be
s h a red. The teacher should share feelings that most of the time
homework helps learning, but some kinds of homework hinder it.
The teacher will make a commitment to be responsible about
assigning helpful homework.
Stude n ts wi ll unde rstand the purpose of

inde pende n t learning
and success ful strat egies
th ey may apply to be
more responsible
learners.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Two plants to
demonstrate
responsible care;
teacher-prepared
guided imaginery on
Experiences of
Successful and
Unsuccessful
Homework; Shel
Silverstein, A Light in
the Attic
IMAGINE
Students see the personal meaning of homework in the year to
come.
Activity
Teacher shares poems about homework from A Light in the Attic,
by Shel Silverstein. The teacher conducts a guided imaginery, in
which students visualize themselves completing a homework
assignment and not completing an assignment. Teacher and
students create a class mind map with "HOMEWORK" in the center
and "Advantages," "Disadvantages," "Feelings," "Purpose" forming
the spokes of the web. Students brainstorm additions.
INFORM
Students learn the specific study skills strategies.
Activity
Teacher introduces and discusses different study
ideas and methods to help students focus on their
own: organization; time management; ways to study
both difficult and easy material; study breaks; schedules; routine; materials; assignment books, and their
responsibilities. The teacher also describes his/her
responsibilities to plan helpful homework
varied to meet individual student needs.
51

PARTS OF SPEECH
SUBJECT
Language Arts
PERFORM
Students share final projects with each other.
Activity
Students read their stories to the class as
classmates listen for correct sentence structure.
DURATION
2-3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Lucinda Johnson has
had experience
teaching fourth grade,
Chapter 1 reading, 6th
grade, elementary art
and physical education.
She is a teacher at
Weston Elementary
School, Otsego Local
Schools, OH.
REFINE
Students edit their first drafts.
Activity
Students edit, rewrite, and make a final copy
of their story.
EXTEND
Students each write a creative story using
complete sentences.
Activity
Students select one of the sandwich sentences
displayed in the room as a story starter. Students apply
their knowledge of sentence structure while writing their
stories.

www.lessonbank.com
52
PRACTICE
Students practice writing correct sentences,
identifying simple subjects and simple predicates,
and creating more descriptive sentences.
Activity
Pairs of students draw a "recipe" (topic) card from
a deck of teacher made cards. Each card names a
topic and lists several "ingredients" (questions)
students are to consider when writing their
sentence. They choose various colors of
construction paper and markers to build a sentence
in the shape of a submarine sandwich. Each part of
the sandwich has a word in the sentence written on
it. The top bun has the first word and is capitalized,
and the bottom bun will have an ending punctuation mark (. or !). Use worksheets, quizzes, and
creative writing activities to reinforce learning.
CONCEPT
Structure
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students "build" a submarine sandwich recognizing
the importance of some ingredients over others.
Activity
Students bring in food items and paper products for
submarine sandwiches. (Plan to eat lunch in the room.)
The teacher encourages students to build their
sandwich using their favorite meats and as many
condiments as they like.
ATTEND
Students discuss the relative importance of the sandwich ingredients.
Activity
The teacher leads a discussion regarding the items chosen for sandwiches.
Which items were most essential and which added flavor and taste? Are
there several ways to make a good sandwich? Note that bread and meat
was a part of almost everyone's sandwich, and without these ingredients it
would not be a submarine sandwich. The other items could have been left
out, but they made the sandwich taste better.
IMAGINE
Students imagine sandwich parts as the parts of a sentence.
Activity
Students relax while the teacher conducts a guided imaginery. (Sentence Builders) Students
close their eyes and imagine themselves creating a sentence sandwich. The bottom half of the
bun is the period, found at the bottom (end) of the sentence. The top of the bun is the capital
letter, found at the beginning of our sentence. Lift off the top bun to make our sentence. Begin
with mustard, catsup or mayonnaise. Take what you chose and write the word "the" on the
inside of the top bun. Next choose two slices of meat. The first slice is "class." "Class" is the
meat or subject of the sentence. The second slice is "ate" or the predicate. Your sentence is
complete if you want to stop here: "The class ate." It conveys a complete thought, but we may
add to this sentence to improve it. Choose your favorite item to add to the sandwich (tomato,
onion,
lettuce). What did the class eat?-Sandwiches. Add this to the bottom of the sentence. It now
says: The class ate sandwiches. Add more items to make it more descriptive. Add Submarine to
the sentence: "The class ate submarine sandwiches." Choose another item to tell what kind of
sandwiches the class ate-Delicious. How did the class eat?- Slowly. "The class ate delicious
submarine sandwiches slowly." You could continue to add items if you wanted more on the
Students will recognize

the main parts of a
sentence and recognize
the lesser parts that
make a sentence more
descriptive.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Meat, bread, sandwich
toppings, other food
items, plates and
utensils for making and
eating lunch in room;
Schoolhouse Rock
Grammar video;
construction paper,
teacher made "recipe"
(topic) cards, markers
INFORM
Students identify the main ingredients of a good
sentence and the lesser ingredients that make a
sentence more descriptive.
Activity
The teacher uses textbook activities,
transparencies, and the video, "Schoolhouse
Rock Grammar" to teach basic parts of speech
and sentence structure.
53

FRACTIONS
SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share their success with others.
Activity
The Fraction Town Mural is displayed with the
accompanying group stories which are shared
with reading buddies from a class in a lower
grade.
5 days
AUTHOR(S)
Donine Chesher,
Sue Koch, Lisa Hubler,
Susan Buising, and
Elaine Nick are teachers
at Gracemor
Elementary School,
North Kansas City, MO.
REFINE
Students organize and synthesize fraction knowledge
into written words.
Activity
In their cooperative groups, the students create a story
about their section of the Fraction Land that describes
what is in their picture and what might be happening in
their town. Groups exchange stories for peer editing
and review before the stories are prepared for display.
EXTEND
Students creatively apply and reinforce their mastery
of fractions.
Activity
Cooperative groups create a "Fraction Town" scene (land
of Fourths, Thirds, etc.) A class discussion is held on the
different areas you might find in a city or town (i.e. courthouse square, shopping area, apartments, etc.). Students
a re placed in small cooperative groups, and they each
choose an area to illustrate on the class mural. Each
student in the group chooses a fraction of their choice to
re p resent in the illustration. Before each group begins to
draw their section, they determine what items can be
drawn in their scene and how it can be divided equally
into the fraction they have chosen. Example: If a student
chooses 1/2, he must draw objects in the scene that can
easily be divided in 1/2. The student can then color 1/2
of the object one color. The students might also choose
to have only 1/2 of a section of a building showing in
their section of the city. The student must be able to
divide the majority of their scene into their fraction, and
color the fraction part of each object.

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PRACTICE
Students practice fraction skills.
Activity
The teacher provides guided practice in a variety
of activities: worksheets, fraction games and
computer programs.
CONCEPT
Equivalency
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience wholes that can be divided
into equal parts.
Activity
The teacher brings in miscellaneous food items for a
class snack (cookies, Hershey chocolate bars, saltines,
graham crackers). The children are divided into small
groups in which they must divide and distribute their
snack foods equally.
The students will understand the concept that

wholes can be divided
into equal parts called
fractions, and will be
able to add and
subtract fractions.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
ATTEND
Students analyze how they shared their snacks.
Activity
The teacher leads students in a discussion of not only
how they divided their snack foods, but also how
wholes divided into equal parts are used in their lives.
INFORM
Students learn the fractions of a
region, addition and subtraction
of fractions, equivalent fractions.
Activity
The teacher conducts an
interactive lesson using the
fraction plates to check for
understanding of the concepts
presented and practiced.
IMAGINE
Students make their own math manipulative by
making fraction plates.
Activity
Fractions Made Easy With Fraction Plates
Each student makes his own fraction plate pieces. Each
student will need a clock face, pencil/pen, ruler,
scissors, and seven paper plates. The center point of the
clock face is lined up with the center point of the paper
plate. The students use the numbers on the clock as a
guide to know where to divide each paper plate into the
p roper sections. Each of the marked points should be
lined up with the center point of the paper plate and then
using a ruler, a line is drawn from the center to that
point. The students write the name of each fractional
p a rt on the paper plate as it is cut apart, with one plate
for each of the following: Whole, Halves,Thirds, Fourt h s ,
Sixths, Eighths, and Twelfths. Students use the fraction
plates as manipulatives as they learn to add and subtract
fractions and as they learn about equivalent fractions.
Snack foods that can be

divided from wholes to
parts: saltines, Hershey
bars, graham crackers,
etc.; paper plates, rulers,
markers, scissors for
Fraction Plates; worksheets, computer games
for guided practice; art
materials for Fraction
Town class mural
55

MEASUREMENT (1 OF 3)
SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Doreen Schelkopf
teaches intermediate
grades in Geneva, NE.
She received her 4MAT
training in the Doane
College, NE, Master's
degree program taught
by Sue Burch and
Sue Rasmussen.

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PRACTICE
Students engage in guided practice activities.
Activity
Students are given a variety of appropriate
objects and distances to measure throughout the
school to enable them to practice using meters,
centimeters, and millimeters. They also
complete practice worksheets which check for
understanding of these three measures of
linearity.
CONCEPT
Standardization
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students develop an interest in how standard
measurement came to be.
Activity
Students trace and cut out their hands and feet, and
compare and contrast the differences in their sizes.
Cut-outs are hung up in the classroom, arranged
according to size.
ATTEND
Analyze possible uses for hands and feet in
relationship to measurement.
Activity
The teacher leads the students in brainstorming in
small groups what the hands and feet could be used
for. Students view the assemblage of their own
hand/feet cutouts; how would we determine measurements if we could use anyones hand or foot size? The
teacher reads the story, "Jim and the Beanstalk," and
the class discusses why Jim needed to measure the
giant's face for glasses, mouth for dentures, etc.
Students will learn

three basic forms of
standard measurement:
Linear, Liquid, Weight.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Pencils, drawing paper,
writing paper, tape;
meter stick and
centimeter ruler;
Jim and the Beanstalk,
by Raymond Briggs
IMAGINE
Students imagine the world with their own hands or feet
as the measurement guide.
Activity
The teacher conducts a guided fantasy in which
students imagine their own hands and feet to be used
for measuring the world around them. They create
visuals depicting how their own room at home would
be different.
INFORM
Students learn about standard metric measurement.
Activity
Using an overhead for demonstration, meter sticks, and
rulers with centimeters, students learn to identify meter,
centimeter, and millimeter. They also discuss which
measures are appropriate for certain tasks (e.g. in
measuring the length of a pencil, a centimeter is the
best choice).
57

SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Doreen Schelkopf
College, NE, Masters
by Sue Burch and
Sue Rasmussen.

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PRACTICE
Students practice measuring liquids and
applying the use of liters and milliliters.
Activity
Students are given containers and liquids to
practice measurements, with their results
recorded on a worksheet. They re-visit the juice
exercise from the CONNECT step, and use
measuring cups and liter beakers to measure the
amounts in each container, and then place the
containers in order of most liquid to least liquid.
CONCEPT
Standardization
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience difficulty in selecting
juices for a snack.
Activity
Students are placed in small groups of varying
numbers. The children are shown a number of very
different sized and shaped jars (the same number of
jars as there are groups) with varying amounts of juices
in them. Before they can serve and drink their juice
snack, they are challenged to arrange the containers in
an order from the least to the greatest amount of
liquid, so they can best decide which container
holds the right quantity to serve their group.
ATTEND
Students compare predictions and devise a way to
figure out how to determine which group should
receive which container of juice.
Activity
The teacher leads a class discussion while making a
list of all the ideas on how to figure out which container
has the most, least, and so on.
Students will learn

standard measurement: Linear, Liquid,
Weight.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Pencils, drawing paper,
writing paper, tape;
overhead; 5 jars (various
sizes), liquid, liquid
measuring containers
IMAGINE
Students see that container shape and size does not
effect standard volume.
Activity
Using different types of containers, measuring cups,
and water, students explore how standard amounts look
when placed in different containers. The teacher asks
the children to imagine the following: "If you could be a
container of any shape or size, what would it be and
why? What liquid would you like to hold? Share your
choice with a partner and kinesthetically depict how
you might look.
INFORM
Students learn to define and distinguish liter
and milliliter.
Activity
Using overheads and example beakers, the teacher
presents a lesson on liquid measurement. The students
discuss circumstances when they would use liters vs.
milliliters.
59

SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
3 weeks
PERFORM
The students celebrate and share what they
have learned.
Activity
The class hosts Metric Olympic Day with another
class, faculty, and parents participating. Posters
are displayed explaining each event, and awards
are given to all competitors.
AUTHOR(S)
Doreen Schelkopf
College, NE, Masters
by Sue Burch and
Sue Rasmussen.
REFINE
Students test and refine their events.
Activity
Each team partners with one other team to try out their
events to make sure they are workable prior to Metric
Olympic Day.
EXTEND
Students are placed in teams to plan an Olympic event
which will use linear, liquid, or weight measurement.
Activity
In groups of four, students will: 1)Plan an event for the
Metric Olympics using weight, linear, or liquid
measurement. 2)Make a records chart to keep track of
the scores for the competitors. 3)Create awards to be
presented to the winners. 4)Make a chart to explain the
event, delineate the rules, and demonstrate the event.

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PRACTICE
Students practice measuring items with
balance scales.
Activity
The teacher sets up a series of "weight" stations
around the room. Students practice measuring
selected items with balance scales. They re-visit
their boats from the CONNECT step. Each
student identifies exactly how much weight
his/her boat can hold and still remain afloat.
This weight is compared to the actual weight of
the number of bears the student tried to float in
the boat in the first exercise.
CONCEPT
Standardization
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are actively involved in an enjoyable
experience that fosters predicting using creative
design with clay.
Activity
Students each design a clay boat that will hold the most
teddy bears and still float in a large container of water.
They each predict how many bears their boat can hold
and float before they actually place their boat in
the water.
Students will learn

standard measurement: Linear, Liquid,
Weight.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Clay, large containers of
tubs, balance scales, and
gram weights
ATTEND
Students analyze the teddy bear/boat experience.
Activity
The teacher and students discuss and analyze each of
the boat designs. They identify which held the most
bears and try to conjecture why some boats were more
successful than others.
IMAGINE
Students see how equivalent weights balance with
each other.
Activity
Using the teddy bears and a set of balance scales,
students find things in the room that balance, e.g. 5
bears will balance with what? The teacher leads the
students in exploring other ways they have seen weight
equivalency in their lives (examples like a tug of war
game, teeter-totter). Students each draw a picture of
something that depicts "equivalency."
INFORM
Students learn the definition of gram and kilogram
as standards of weight measurement.
Activity
The teacher uses overheads, the balance scale, and a
set of weights to reinforce the students understanding
of standard weight measurement.
61

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
SUBJECT
Mathematics
DURATION
6-8 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Rhonda Garvey
developed and implemented an elementary
and middle school
gifted education program at Napoleon City
Schools, OH, as well as
developed and implemented the G.E.A.R.S.
(Gifted Education
Advancing Rossford
Students) Program, at
Rossford Exempted
Village Schools. She
teaches gifted classes
(grades four through
six) and coordinates the
G.E.A.R.S. Program in
Rossford, OH.
PERFORM
Students celebrate and share their projects.
Activity
Final projects can be displayed for other classes to
enjoy. Students present their projects to an appropriate audience and share what they have learned.
REFINE
Students develop their creativity and higher level thinking
skills as they refine and complete their projects.
Activity
Students meet with teacher periodically to discuss and
evaluate various aspects of the project such as
resources, objectives, final project form, sharing
method, and completion date. Necessary changes and
refinements are made.
EXTEND
Students select a project and design a plan for its completion.
Activity
1)A project to correlate with the Fibonacci Sequence: Make and demonstrate
an abacus. Research how the Moslem's invented their number system.
Complete a detailed design using spirals or helices. Research the spiral and
its meaning in ancient art, philosophy, and arc h i t e c t u re. Research and
diagram or build the DNA double helix molecule. Create a detailed drawing of
fantasy flowers that shows Fibonacci numbers operating on them in diff e re n t
ways. Count the clockwise and counterclockwise spirals and petals of diff e rent species of daisies. Record and diagram your findings. Find and display 3
different pine cone species. Paint the scales of each helix a diff e rent color and
show the four Fibonacci Numbers each sequence. 2)project to correlate with
the Golden Ratio: Measure and diagram the ratios of your family's bodies.
M e a s u re and diagram at least five real statues for the Golden Ratio. Draw and
color five strange faces for a booklet full of Golden Ratios. Create a new ratio,
name it, and write about how you discovered it. Draw a diagram showing how
it would be used. Compare and contrast (include diagrams) spirals of five
different shells.
PRACTICE
Students complete worksheets on the Fibonacci Sequence.
Activity
1)Students complete worksheets on the Fibonacci Sequence: The Pinecone
Numbers, Coloring Sunflower Spirals, Leonardo's Rabbits, Number Secrets
of the Bees. (These correlate with the concepts and vocabulary taught in #1
above.) 2)Students complete worksheets on The Golden Rule: Introducing
Ratios, The Greeks and Their Golden Ratio, Golden Faces, The Golden
Rectangle, A Golden Rectangle Puzzle, The Fibonacci Numbers Strike Again,
The Fibonaccis, The Golden Rule and Some Calculator Tips. (These correlate
with the concepts and vocabulary taught in #2 above.)

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CONCEPT
Patterns
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students find natural patterns in their daily environment.
Activity
Students each have a grocery sack, paper and a pencil.
The teacher takes the group on a nature walk. Students
look for items in nature that contain patterns. When
students observe an item with a pattern that can be
taken with them (example: a leaf), it is placed in their
sack. If the item cannot be taken (example: a tree), they
are to sketch the item and make notes of the patterns
observed.
ATTEND
Students' curiosity about patterns is aroused as they
reflect on the patterns observed in nature.
Activity
Students share the items found on the nature walk and
show the patterns exhibited. Magnifying glasses are
provided to attend patterns in the smaller specimens.
Students discuss why they think nature uses patterns.
IMAGINE
Students depict images of all patterns found.
Activity
1)Using sketch pads and colored pencils each student
draws three examples of the patterns found in nature,
showing how each pattern repeats itself. These images
are displayed throughout the room. 2)Teacher and
students view a Disney video, "Donald Duck in
Mathemagicland" and discuss how the film portrays
patterns in nature.
INFORM
Students learn the concepts and vocabulary of the
Fibonacci Sequence and The Golden Rule.
Activity
From this point, the unit is divided into two main
topics: Fibonacci Sequence and "The Golden Rule.
Students learn the following concepts and vocabulary:
1)Helices, helix, sequence, Fibonacci Sequence,
infinite, finite. Clockwise and counterclockwise curves.
2)"Babies," "youngsters," and "adults" in rabbit life
cycles; "ideal" versus "real" answers in science
Hexagon, parthenogenesis. 3)Ratio, relative and
absolute comparisons. The Golden Ratio, "Classic"
Greek, profile of characteristics, trend, sample, random.
"Perfect" human face Golden Rectangle, arcs, spiral.
Calculus, limit. Commutative.
Students will become

more interested in
math and practice
meaningful
computational skills,
develop higher level
thinking skills, and
integrate history,
design, geometrical
constructions, botany,
zoology, astronomy, and
philosophy with math
as the focus.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Video: Donald Duck in
Mathmagicland;
grocery sacks,
magnifying glasses;
scissors, crayons,
colored pens; pinecones;
a real sunflower; metric
rulers; paper cups,
compass, protractor,
glue, construction
paper, and envelopes;
resources needed for
students to complete
individual projects
63

BIRDS
SUBJECT
Science
DURATION
3-4 weeks
PERFORM
Students experience birds of prey, and celebrate
new understandings.
Activity
1)Student artistic creations are displayed.
2)The class takes a field trip to a local raptor
center to see birds of prey, discover why these
birds need rehabilitation.
AUTHOR(S)
Molly M e rry is a classroom teacher in Sch ool
District Fremont RE 1,
Canon Ci ty, CO. In her
years of teaching
expe rience she has
developed particular
expe rtise at integrating
fine arts activi ties into
the fa b ric of her content
area instruction .A past
Colora do Teacher of th e
Year, Molly is a ce rti fied
4MAT trainer.

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REFINE
Students complete projects and edit letters.
Activity
Students complete projects. They are invited to read big
book and poems to younger students. Letters are
checked and edited before mailing.
EXTEND
Students demonstrate knowledge through creativity.
Activity
A. Choose one of the following:
1)Students make kaleidoscope art using bird shapes.
2)Student groups make large murals of bird habitat and
birds. 3)Students write poems of address. 4)Students
participate in a school bake sale to raise money for a
local raptor rehabilitation center. 5)Students make a big
book of bird habitats or families.
B. Students write letters to Senators and
Representatives asking for legislation to protect
habitat and control pollution and use of pesticides.
PRACTICE
Students practice and demonstrate learning.
Activity
Students: 1)keep folders of bird drawings with
lists of characteristics; 2)complete practice
worksheets; 3)participate in an experiment with
tweezers, toothpicks, and a strainer to simulate
feeding methods in a "pond" of water, using bird
seed, raisins, sliced apples, as well as trying to
crack peanuts with a pliers.
CONCEPT
Adaptation
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students explore the concept of "adaptation"
as it applies to humans.
Activity
Students engage in a traditional "bobbing for apples"
game using a large tub filled with water and apples.
ATTEND
Students discuss and analyze what happened
in the apple bobbing activity.
Activity
The teacher leads a discussion on the process of
bobbing for apples. This discussion could be patterned
in a mindmap. What makes it so difficult for people to
stick their heads under water? What would have to
happen in terms of our human characteristics to make
this activity easy for us? Introduce idea of "Adaptation."
What kinds of activities are we well adapted to, and
what kinds are we not? Transition discussion to other
living things, including birds.
IMAGINE
Students use art forms to represent bird adaptation
following a guided fantasy of a Native American tale.
Activity
1)In guided fantasy fashion, students listen to an oral
story, "The Hermit Thrush", a Native American tale
about the beauty and shyness of the Hermit Thrush.
2)Students will create a "bird" of their design using torn
paper, arranged in a collage. 3)Teacher leads class in
mindmapping "bird adaptation" or "what makes a bird
a bird."
Throughout this unit,

students will learn
about bird species,
habitat, predation, and
population status,
through the lens of
adaptation.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Apples and tub of water
for bobbing activity;
materials for bird
collages; any Field Guide
to Birds," "Audubon," or
National Geographic
"Ranger Rick"
magazines; (our State
Division of Wildlife has
good films on birds of
prey and water birds);
materials for
experiments and art
activities
INFORM
Students learn information and vocabulary relating
to adaptation.
Activity
The teacher teaches: 1)bird characteristics, types of
feathers, migration reproduction, evolution,
communication; 2)bird families: shore birds, forest
birds, birds of prey, water birds, song birds; 3)habitat
and adaptation: camouflage, beaks, feet, legs, flight,
and migration; 4)man's impact on birdlife through
hunting, pollution, pesticides, and loss of habitat.
65

WASTE MANAGEMENT
SUBJECT
Science
DURATION
2-3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Jenny Pfau is a teacher
in Lawrence Township
Schools, Indianapolis, IN,
where she works in a
full-time, self-contained
5th grade classroom
with gifted students.
System trainer.

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66
PERFORM
Projects are shared with the entire school.
Activity
Students display their projects during an "A-Way
With Waste Fair" which they have organized for
their school.
REFINE
Students and the teacher look critically and constructively
at their own work and the work of their classmates.
Activity
3 Plusses and a WishStudents each share their
project with the class. The student presenter(s), other
class members, and teacher both orally and in written
form evaluate the project using three positive
statements and one wish concerning the project.
EXTEND
Students develop and complete group or individual projects.
Activity
Project choices: 1)Develop a questionnaire and conduct a survey to determine attitudes of
neighbors, family, and friends toward solid waste management and recycling. 2)Make
recycled paper. 3)Form an environmental club at our school to encourage recycling. 4)Visit
and interview a local paper, aluminum or glass recycling business in our community. Share
your discoveries with the class. 5)Survey local fast food restaurants to determine how many
of them recycle the packaging they use. Present your findings. 6)Interview an employee of a
garden center to find out more about composting. Make a report on why people should
compost and how it is done. 7)Interview a local community leader to discover what the city
is doing about the solid waste problem. Video or record your interview and make a
presentation to your class. 8)Gather trash at home or at school and make something artistic.
9)Create your own project.
PRACTICE
Students reinforce their understanding of concepts related to
waste and how to manage it.
Activity
1)Divide the class into small groups. Give each group 10-15
index cards on which you have placed pictures of a variety of
municipal solid waste. Ask each group to classify the index
cards into the classification categories they learned about.
2)Give each student a Prowl For Plastics sheet. Ask them to go
home and "prowl" in their pantry for plastics. They should list
the products on their sheet on which they found the appropriate
plastics code. Share items found in class. 3)On large chart
paper, place a picture of an item that has been over-packaged.
Below the picture, write the following: *What function does the
packaging serve? * Is the packaging necessary or unnecessary?
* Design a new package for this item that uses less packaging.
Then, divide the class into small groups; each group will
complete a paper chart with its reactions to the pictures.
CONCEPT
Responsibility
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students develop an awareness of the need for
e n v i ronmental responsibility and recycling in our society
and review strategies for creative problem solving.
Activity
Students collect one or two items of garbage from home
or school. Students work in groups to experience a
t h row-away simulation. Students each share with the
group one throw-away item they have collected. Ask the
group to generate all the possible responsible alternate
uses for each item using the SCAMPER technique in their
brainstorming: S - Substitute this article for something
else. C - Combine it with other item(s). A - Adapt or alter
the item in some way. M - Modify, minify, or magnify the
article. P - Put the article to other uses. E - Elaborate and
add details. R - Rearrange or reverse the article.
ATTEND
Students heighten their awareness that they, too, can do
something to reduce garbage in our society.
Activity
Discuss the simulation experience with the class. As
the class generates ideas of what to do with the garbage
that is thrown away, the teacher tries to increase awareness of their role in this reduction process, while listing
their ideas on chart paper as they are generated.
This unit wi ll introduce

s tude n ts to the
m u n ic i pal sol id was t e
stream and enco u ra ge
them to pa rtic i pate in
managing sol id waste in
res pon s i ble ways.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Just A Dream, by
Chris Van Allsburg,
Houghton-Mifflin, 1990;
Where Does the
Garbage Go? by Paul
Showers, Thomas Y.
Crowell Company, 1974
IMAGINE
Students experience another medium to formulate the
concept of how our actions do make a difference with
the problem of municipal solid waste.
Activity
Students listen while the teacher reads the Chris Van
Allsburg book, Just A Dream."The class discusses the
concepts presented. After the discussion, students hear
soft background music while they each draw their
"dream" for the world in which they live. Drawings are
shared and posted for all to enjoy.
INFORM
Students learn specific information about the
classification of waste, plastic wastes, packaging and
waste and finally, ideas of ways to manage the waste
problem.
Activity
The teacher presents information using lecture, videos,
graphic organizers, and discussion. The teacher reads
the book, Where Does The Garbage Go? to the
class.
67

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
SUBJECT
Social Studies
DURATION
3 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
John Wolf is a fourth
grade classroom
teacher and certified
4MAT trainer for the
Northeast ISD in San
Antonio, Texas.
PERFORM
Students integrate their learning by making
certain class decisions for themselves.
Activity
Allow the student government to meet and make
"laws" for the class. Begin with the legislative
branch, let the President/Governor sign or veto
the bills, and allow the Supreme Court to rule on
controversial bills. Post the laws and allow the
executive branch to take the responsibility of
enacting them. Give all students a voice in the
process.
REFINE
To refine what has been learned by evaluating the
quality of each students contribution to the class
election campaign.
Activity
The teacher and students collectively assess the class
election strategies. Each student writes a journal entry
on "What a Class Government Means to Me."
EXTEND
Students explore the implications of democracy for themselves.
Activity
Students explore a series of mock activities to go along with the concepts presented:
1)Majority Rule: Choose a controversial class problem to solve using majority rule in a
s e c ret ballot election. 2)Legislative Branch: Divide the class into a House of
R e p resentatives and a Senate. Try to make the Senate smaller than the House, but retain
small groups that become "committees." Each committee is to pass two bill proposals,
with at least one legislator sponsoring the bill. Simulate the process of how a bill
becomes a law. 3)The students organize a class election with the teacher moderating.
Class positions can be modeled after either the federal or state government, and should
include all three branches of the government. Students will campaign, register to vote,
and have a secret ballot election.

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PRACTICE
The teacher checks for student understanding of
concepts and vocabulary.
Activity
The students complete standard worksheets,
chapter reviews, and quizzes.
CONCEPT
Democracy
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged in a direct experience in which
there is no order and people's rights are not protected.
Activity
Choose five students to participate in a game. Choose
several aggressive and several timid students. These
students sit in a circle on the floor and the other students can stand around to watch the action. The object
of the game is to have 4 of the 5 dice showing the same
number. The prize is a piece of candy. There are no
rules, except, when the teacher says "freeze," all action
must come to an immediate stop. When the teacher
puts the dice down in the middle of the circle, the game
begins. The other students are to observe the behaviors
of the students chosen to play the game.*
ATTEND
Students discuss what happened in the game and
make adjustments before they play again.
Activity
Allow each student involved in playing the game a
moment to express how s/he felt during the game and
afterwards. Ask for observations about specific behaviors from the students not participating in the game.
Allow each student who was involved in playing the
game a chance to suggest changes in how the game is
played. How are they going to decide which changes to
make? Play the game with the changes. Discuss how
the new "rules" changed the fairness of the game. Allow
other students to play and make changes to the rules.
IMAGINE
Students consider what life would be like without
rules and express it in a visual imagine.
Activity
Students are asked to draw a picture of what life would be
like in a place in their community if there were no laws or
rules. Suggestions for the scene of their drawings might
include: school, a sports event, mall, gro c e ry store, at an
intersection, their neighborhood, or a park. Create a
"gallery" of imagines by taping the drawings to the wall
and allow the students to browse and quietly discuss their
"gallery" pictures.
INFORM
Students learn highlighted vocabulary and concepts
of Democracy, Levels and Branches of Government.
Activity
The teacher uses a variety of instructional methods,
including lecture, text, and video, to teach the vocabulary
and concepts that need to be presented to the students.
Most curriculums and textbooks include standard social
studies content: the idea of self-governance, the
Constitution, majority/minority rule, re p resentational
government, the levels of government, the three branches
of government, campaigns and elections.
Stude n ts wi ll learn that

as citi zens of a
democratic republic, it is
our responsibility to
understa nd and
pa rtic i pate in our
governmental processes.
Our government se rves
us by establ ishing orde r
and j u s tice, prot ecti n g
the rights of i ndividuals
and soc iety, and unde rta king large public
projects.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
5 dice for a game,
candy for prizes
*AUTHORS PERSONAL NOTE:

I have tried this activity with
numerous different classes, and it
has proven to be effective in showing
that a lack of rules is inherently
unfair, with the advantage going to
the most aggressive. I do allow
anything to happen up to the point of
someone getting hurt. It is important
to emphasize the freeze rule. My
students showed predictable
behaviors and did not let these get
out of hand.
69

LOCAL HISTORY
SUBJECT
Social Studies
DURATION
2-3 weeks
PERFORM
Students share and celebrate completed projects.
Activity
Students complete projects and share their
results with the class through visual and oral
presentations. The invite the senior citizens and
Historical Society speaker to return to class to
share in their Celebration of Georgetown.
AUTHOR(S)
Don a ld Weber is former
principal of Georgetown
and Empire Sch ools,
Clear Creek School
District, Georgetown, CO.
He has been involved in
education for over
th i rty-five years as a
classroom teacher and
sch ool adminis trator. He
is a ce rtified 4MAT
trainer. He shares this:
Colora do History is a
required course in th e
Colora do ele m e n ta ry
c u rriculum. Living in a
National Historic Dis trict
wi th many buildi n gs
from the 1800's provides
a wonde rful
op portu n i tyto involve
the stude n ts in th is
great herita ge. Many
oth e r communities in
th is co u n try have a
similar advantage. Th e
objective of th is th reeweek unit is to help th e
stude n ts relate to not
only the early days of
Georgetown, but also to
understand and
appreciate the pion eer
way of life.
70
REFINE
Students implement and evaluate projects.
Activity
Each group writes out a plan for evaluating its project,
including materials needed and time of completion.
Students will conference with the teacher for approval
of their plan.
EXTEND
Students personalize their learning by choosing a
project related to their report.
Activity
Student groups choose from the following suggested
projects: 1)Produce a skit about pioneer days. 2)Make a
model of early Georgetown. 3)Write up a mock
newspaper page from the period. 4)Make a model of a
silver mine or sluice box. 5)Draw scenes from early
Georgetown. 6)Take pictures of buildings, which
existed, in early days. 7)A project of their own.
PRACTICE
Students reinforce learning about the pioneers
and review research skills.
Activity
Students use a computer software program,
Oregon Trail, which deals with some of the
problems pioneers encountered. Students select
an aspect of pioneer life which interests them,
and write a brief paper from materials in the
classroom and media center.
CONCEPT
Heritage
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students will connect with life in Georgetown,
Colorado, in the mid-1800's.
Activity
The teacher conducts a guided imaginery taking students back in time. The imaginery emphasizes the
harsh living conditions of the time and how people of
strong
character emerged from these conditions.
ATTEND
Students develop empathy for these pioneers and
an understanding of their problems.
Activity
Students review photographs and drawings of early
G e o rgetown. (Many of these are available from the local
Historical Society.) See how these photographs compare with
their own imagines from the guided imaginery. Discuss pro blems of the era and how the students feel about these people.
Break students into small groups to make lists of pioneer pro blems and student feelings. Student teams brainstorm and
re c o rd in mindmap form what they already know about their
local history. From their mindmap, the students pre p a re questions for interviewing several native senior citizens who will
visit the class during this unit and share their experiences
about growing up in Georgetown in another time.
Students will connect

to their place in the
history of the town
where they live as well
as see the heritage that
made their area what it
is today.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Teacher-prepared
guided imaginery, going
back in time; old
photographs of the
area; volunteer local
senior citizen to share
personal history;
computer software:
Oregon Trail
IMAGINE
Students compare life of early Coloradoans with those of
the students' ancestors.
Activity
Students bring in photos, family histories, or family trees and
discuss similarities and differences between their own ancestors
and Georgetown pioneers discussed earlier. They each draw
analogs to describe comparisons.
INFORM
Students learn about the lifestyles of early pioneers
and the changes in those lifestyles while reinforcing
their use of summarizing techniques.
Activity
Several native senior citizens visit the class to tell about
their memories of growing up in Georgetown, and
students ask the interview questions developed in the
ATTEND activity. In addition, a guest speaker visits from
the local Historical Society to share information on
local Georgetown history. Students write summaries of
these presentations.

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71

STATE COUNTIES
SUBJECT
Social Studies
DURATION
2 Weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Bob Ti rri is Principal of
School 21 in Paterson, NJ.
His previous expe rience
i ncludes teaching 5th
th rough 8th gra de. He is
a ce rti fied 4MAT System
trainer.
PERFORM
The class brings closure to the unit and share
their knowledge with others.
Activity
Piece together the various county cakes to form a
large cake map of New Jersey. Have students
share information about their counties as they
present their cakes. Invite other classes in to view
the completed state cake. Invite parents in to see
the state cake and hear presentations. Students
and parents may "internalize" learning by eating
their county.
REFINE
Students evaluate the quality of their project for
information represented.
Activity
Student groups each show their "in progress" county
cake to another group for advice and feedback.
EXTEND
Students collaboratively prepare scale outline maps
for the County Cake project.
Activity
Each group creates an outline and cuts a scale manila
outline of their county. They use an appropriate portion
of the sheet cake and their manila outline to create a
"county cake." They decorate their cake with icing and
food coloring to highlight natural and manmade
features within the county.

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PRACTICE
Students reinforce their knowledge of their state
boundaries.
Activity
1)Students label and color code counties of New
Jersey on a blank outline map of the state.
Discussion of scale will occur while reviewing
students' completed maps. 2)The Home
Economics teacher develops and presents a
lesson on how to bake a simple square sheet
cake. (Cakes will be baked during a visit to the
home economics room.) 3)Students are placed
in collaborative groups. Each group is assigned
a county to research to find specific information
requested on a teacher-prepared fact sheet.
CONCEPT
Boundaries
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students personally experience the concept of
boundaries.
Activity
Role play: after students become settled, have one
student move to another student's desk and begin going
through it. The second student should react in an
aggressive way. The role playing should be scripted to
demonstrate a reaction by someone having their
personal "boundary" violated by another.
ATTEND
Students share reactions to the role play.
Activity
B r a i n s t o rmreactions to the role playing activity. The
teacher creates a class mindmap of the responses, then
categorizes responses concerning their feelings and the
causes of the reactions of the role players. In discussion,
the teacher may draw out the concept of boundary and
invaded turf through the brainstorming activity.
Fifth grade students

will gain appreciation
and knowledge of their
state and its counties.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Video of the movie,
Westside Story; city,
county and state maps
(political and outline);
materials for baking 21
cakes; contact with AAA
representative; video on
New Jersey geography
IMAGINE
Students develop a broader conception of boundaries.
Activity
Show clips from the musical "Westside Story" which
depict gangs ownership of turf. Attend the boundaries
involved and expand to the idea of man-made versus
natural boundaries. Each student will depict a map of
his own neighborhood region, showing natural and
man-made boundaries.
INFORM
Students learn about the various regions
and the county boundaries of New Jersey.
Activity
Expand the concept of boundaries by moving from
neighborhood boundaries (school district boundaries,
etc.) through city and county boundaries. When
accomplished, invite a guest speaker in from AAA to
discuss New Jersey boundary divisions through the
presentation of a video about New Jersey. Distribute map
f rom AAA which shows the state's county boundaries.
73
4MAT IN ACTION: MIDDLE SCHOOL

AUDIENCE ATTRIBUTES
SUBJECT
English
DURATION
Two weeks
PERFORM
Students present advertisements to
intended audience.
Activity
Students visit fifth grade classrooms and present
advertisements to the students. The fifth graders
fill in the evaluation form of the presentation. The
teacher and presenters compile the fifth graders
evaluations to determine the success of the
advertising campaign.
AUTHOR(S)
Marilyn Dodd was a
Reading Instructional
Specialist in Pasadena
Independent School
District, Pasadena, TX,
when this plan was
first published. She is a
trainer.
REFINE
Groups critique and refine the created advertisements
for one another.
Activity
Student groups share advertisements with one another.
Using audience checklist, viewing/listening groups
critique presentations and make suggestions for
i m p rovement. They pre p a re an evaluation form which
will be distributed at their presentation.
EXTEND
Students develop an advertisement for a specific
audience to whom they want to "sell" something.
Activity
In groups of four, students develop an "advertisement"
(a rap, a poster, a letter, or other medium of students'
choice) about their school for fifth grade students.

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74
PRACTICE
Students analyze ads to identify intended
audiences and apply checklist to written
communications.
Activity
The teacher provides each group with four written
a d v e rtisements intended for diff e rent audiences.
In pairs, students analyze and evaluate the
a d v e rtisements according to the checklist.
CONCEPT
Communication
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged in an experience that raises their
awareness of how much they already pay attention to
the importance of audience in communication.
Activity
Teacher conducts guided imaginery. Students
remember a time when they wanted a special favor from
parents or another significant adult. Students recall
which specific person they approached, what time of
day it was, where they were, what their tone of voice
was, what kinds of words they used, what
promises they made.
ATTEND
Students analyze the experience of communication
with parents.
Activity
The teacher leads class discussion of student/parental
communication experience and charts students'
responses on the chalkboard. Teacher extends discussion
by asking why students selected the particular parent or
person, time of day, etc. Teacher guides students to
discover that their knowledge influenced their choices.

knowing an intended
audience and its
characteristics can
facilitate effective
communication.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Teacher-prepared
guided imaginery;
teacher-prepared video
clip of popular TV series
appealing to teens
IMAGINE
Students extend their concept of audience to a broader
context.
Activity
Students view a teacher-pre p a red video clip exemplifying
interpersonal communication from a TV program that
appeals to their age group. Students reflect on their
feelings and create a visual metaphor to depict the
significance of communication connections.
INFORM
The teacher delivers direct instruction
in critical attributes of audience.
Activity
Teacher lectures on the importance of recognizing
the significant attributes of an intended audience.
Working in groups of four, students identify and
discuss appealing aspects of the TV program and
answer the following questions: 1)What
knowledge does the creator of a TV program have
about the intended audience? 2)How do you
know? Each group of students analyzes and
categorizes the findings prior to developing a
checklist of what communicators need to know
about their audience. Groups compare checklists
and revise as appropriate to produce one
c o m p rehensive list.
75

POETRY
SUBJECT
English
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share what has been learned.
Activity
Student groups share final projects with rest
of class either orally, in dramatic form, or as
an art form. Visuals are displayed to be
enjoyed by other classes in the school.
1 week
AUTHOR(S)
Diane Rizzetto is an
educational consultant.
She previously was
chair of the English
Department at
Head-Royce School,
Oakland, CA.
REFINE
Students pair and share and make suggestions
to strengthen each others projects.
Activity
Each group develops a statement in response to
the question to accompany its collage.
EXTEND
Students maintain "wall" journal entries and create
drawings or sculptures.
Activity
Students keep "wall" journals for a week from which
creative writing assignments will be generated. They
create individual wall drawings or sculptures with
expressions of what they themselves wall in or out.
Given the question: "Do good fences make good
neighbors?" students work in cooperative groups to
create collages of pictures and magazine or newspaper
articles which are examples of real or symbolic walls.

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76
PRACTICE
Students engage in guided practice to further
develop their ability to analyze a poem.
Activity
1)One half of the class responds as the narrator:
"The fence is used to...copying from the text
lines to complete the statement. The other half
of the class responds as the neighbor in the
same way. Students share their interpretations
with each other, as teacher charts collective
responses. 2)Students individually write
paragraph essays responding to the questions,
"What wall, other than the physical one, exists
between the narrator and the neighbor?" and
"Why do people create walls?" Give examples.
CONCEPT
Symbolism
CONNECT
Students experience being "walled out."
Activity
Teacher divides class into 4 groups, approximately 4
students per group. She distributes cookies to students
in the following ways: "Group Onebecause you are
near the board, you may each have one cookie." "Group
Twobecause you are near the door, you may each
split one cookie." "Group Threebecause you are in
the middle of the room, you may have one cookie for
your whole group." The teacher ignores Group Four.
For about five minutes, the teacher simply shows
pictures and talks about the New England landscape,
with a focus on how hilly, wooded, and full of rocks it
is, and on the piled stone walls which keep cows in.
Winter scatters the stones; each spring, farmers must
rebuild the stone walls.
ATTEND
Analysis and discussion of student experience.
Activity
The teacher leads a class discussion with a focus on
how students felt when they did or did not receive the
cookies. Hopefully responses will include mention of
feeling "closed out" or "closed in." The teacher charts
responses on board. Have students had similar
real-life experiences where they felt this way?
OBJECTIVE
Students will see the
symbolism of "walls" and
of feeling "walled-in and
walled-out" to understand and explicate the
Robert Frost poem,
The Mending Wall.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Cookies for some of the
class; illustrations
(ideally slides) of New
England countryside
IMAGINE
Students clarify and deepen the idea of the
symbolism portrayed by "fencing" or "walling."
Activity
Each student creates a visual analog portraying the
feeling of being walled in or walled out, with an
accompanying completed synectic, "Feeling walled
out is like__________ because __________."
INFORM
Students read and analyze the poem, "Mending Wall,"
by Robert Frost.
Activity
The teacher and students read the poem together. The
teacher leads a discussion on the elements of the
poem such as symbolism, point of view, character.
77

LI TERATURE: Where the Red Fe rn Grows
SUBJECT
English
DURATION
PERFORM
Students celebrate and share personal insights.
Activity
Students share final projects with rest of class.
Artwork is posted, skits are performed, each
student shares a personal statement of their
own learning.
1 week
AUTHOR(S)
Mary Fugate was
Principal of Trailridge
Middle School, Shawnee
Mission School District,
Lenexa, KS. In addition
she has had experience
as an elementary
principal, elementary
classroom teacher, and
math resource teacher.
Anita Webb taught
English at Trailridge
Middle School. She also
has had classroom
teaching experience at
the elementary level.

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78
REFINE
Students share and edit separation projects.
Activity
Working alone and in peer groups, students critique,
edit and refine first drafts of projects. The teacher
provides guidance as final drafts are created.
EXTEND
Students explore various additional aspects of separation.
Activity
1)Students will identify one person to interview for their personal
experiences with separation. 2)Students write a personal separation story
of their own giving examples from their own lives as to how the betrayal of
loyalty and trust is a form of "separation." Students choose one project to
be done alone or with a team: 1)Select a scene from the novel dealing with
separation that would be appropriate for dramatic presentation. Prepare
dialogue and practice for sharing with the class. 2)Role play separation
and the changes it causes. Portray adjustments that lead to a level of comf o rt. 3)Create an illustration or collage of separations, adjustment, comfort .
4 ) Write a paper reacting to T.S. Eliot's statement, "To make an end is to
make a beginning."
PRACTICE
Students further explore the aspect of separation
as a form of change.
Activity
1)Whole group lists adjustments people make
when separation (change) occurs. 2.)In
cooperative learning groups, students create a
"T" chart: on right side cite changes Billy made
to accept the dogs into his life; on the left side
changes when they died. Share "T" charts with
whole class. 3)Students discuss how adjustments help them cope and continue with healthy
lives when change/separation occurs. Share
with whole group. 4)Students will each write a
letter to Billy concerning the death of his dogs,
and another letter from Billy to them.
CONCEPT
Separation
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students engage in a recollection of the experiences
of separation in their own lives and the changes that
separation brings.
Activity
The teacher conducts a guided imaginery in which
students imagine that their best friend is moving 3000
miles away. They may never see each other again. They
recall memories of their times together. How do their
lives change with their friend now gone? Students
are encouraged to add imagines of their own to the
teacher's guided experience.
ATTEND
Students share, discuss, and analyze their own
experience of separation.
Activity
Students write a reflective paragraph expressing their
feelings when separation occurs. They are encouraged
to share their paragraphs with the class in discussion.
The teacher extends the discussion of separation to
elicit other examples from students' lives: divorce,
death of a loved one (even a pet), moving from
elementary school to middle school, examples from
current events.
Students will use the

concept of separation
to read and understand
the book, Where the
Red Fern Grows.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Where the Red Fern
Grows, by Wilson Rawls,
published in Prentice
Hall Literature,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ,
1989.
IMAGINE
Students clarify and deepen additional concepts which
will be further developed in the unit.
Activity
In cooperative learning groups, students create verbal
and pictorial metaphors: "Separation is..." "Loyalty is..."
"Trust is..." Each group member contributes
individually; the group creates a chart to include all
contributions for display to the rest of the class. The
teacher introduces the book, "Where the Red Fern
Grows", and the theme of separation which runs
throughout the story, with emphasis on the bond that
forms in meaningful relationships.
INFORM
The teacher and students read and analyze the
theme of Where the Red Fern Grows.
Activity
Students read Where the Red Fern Grows. They
review the details of the bond between Billy and his
dogs. The teacher elicits from students examples of
separation in other stories. Small group discussion
revolves around the following: Does character influence
how different individuals accept/process feelings
brought about by separation? Students list Billy's
thoughts and actions when Old Dan dies.
79

MAYAN ART
SUBJECT
Social Studies/Fine Arts
DURATION
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Fran Lott teaches K-12
Art at Polk-Hordville
Schools in Polk, NE.
PERFORM
Students celebrate the effectiveness of their glyphs.
Activity
The completed glyphs are displayed with the students
real names shown. Students review each others
glyphs, and based on the visual representation, they
each write statements to interpret what each others
names mean. These guesses are listed on a chart
under each name. Finally, each student explains what
his name really means and explains what they meant
their glyph to communicate symbolically.
REFINE
Students evaluate glyphs for appearance and
success of symbolic representation.
Activity
The teacher conducts a review of the elements of an effective critique:
1)Critique: Description what you see. 2)Analysis - how the work is put together
- balance, unity, focal point, rhythm and texture. 3)Interpretation what does the
work mean and how successfully is the meaning communicated. 4)Judgment
do you like the work, why or why not. Which parts were successful? Which part s
needed more work? 5)Students each complete a written self-critique.
EXTEND
Students create glyphs to represent themselves.
Activity
Using a book that gives the meaning of common names, each student creates a
statement which describes the meaning of his or her own name. Students each
keep these meanings secret. They each sketch ideas for a glyph that can represent
their own name as a visual symbol. The teacher works with individual students to
choose the best sketch for their name. Students create clay reliefs to represent
their glyphs. These will be dried, fired, and finished with glaze, stain, or acrylic
paint. Additional research is done on the colors used by the Mayans and the
meaning of the colors: green/noblemen, blue/sacrifice, yellow/food, red/blood,
black/evil or death.

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PRACTICE
Students explore additional ramifications of
symbolic communication in Mayan art.
Activity
Students each choose several Mayan name
glyphs to re s e a rch; these are the symbols used in
the Mayan written communication. After finding
the meaning of their selected glyphs, they write a
brief explanation of the meaning and how the
glyph is represented symbolically.
CONCEPT
Symbolic
Communication
CONNECT
Students review symbols that have meaning in
their lives.
Activity
The teacher provides small groups of students with
copies of symbols used today. Examples of symbols
might include: pictographs used on street signs, such
as "school crossing", "handicapped parking", "incline";
the pictures used on doors to indicate men and
women's restrooms, etc. The student groups brainstorm
additional examples, and identify what exactly each
symbol means. Which symbols did they know?
Are some unfamiliar?
ATTEND
Students share the results of their groups discussion.
Activity
Each group shares the symbols that they knew and their
guesses for those that they didn't know. Questions for
consideration: How many of the symbols had the exact
same interpretation by every student in the class? Can
universal meaning be conveyed symbolically? Discuss
what makes a successful symbol.
OBJECTIVE
Stude n ts wi ll
understa nd how th e
ancient Mayans
developed a high l y
sophisticated means of
communicating th e i r
culture th rough
sym bolic artis tic
represe n tation.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Copies of symbols, index
cards, examples of
Mayan art, clay
IMAGINE
Students widen their view of the use of symbolic
communication in their environment.
Activity
Each student creates a set of three symbols, each of
which could be used to enhance communication around
the school and/or within classroom (possibilities might
include re s t room identification, office, classroom
identification, library, computer lab, identification of the
contents of cupboards and other storage areas, etc.).
Students each draw their symbols on index cards,
which can be posted for others to view. Working in
pairs, students each identify the meaning of the
part n e rs visual re p resentations.
INFORM
Students learn about Mayan life, art, and the
significance of symbolic communication in
that ancient culture.
Activity
The teacher provides an in-depth overview of the
Mayan civilization with emphasis on Mayan art and the
use of symbolic hieroglyphics. The teacher
demonstrates the steps and techniques involved in
creating a clay relief.
81

ART IMITATES LIFE
SUBJECT
Fine Arts/Visual Arts
DURATION
2-4 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Mitzi George is a middle
school art teacher in
Lake Charles, LA. She
works for the Calcasieu
Parish School System.
Ms. George has teaching
experience on all levels
of the educational
spectrum. She is a
trainer.
PERFORM
Students incorporate work into a final show
to be viewed by the public.
Activity
Students arrange an art show of their work. They
design a title and logo, invitations, the space to be
displayed, arrange the mailing list and invitations.
They plan appropriate re f reshments and music to
be played as accompaniment during the reception.
They issue a press release to local media. The
show opens-CELEBRATE!
REFINE
Students evaluate and describe the quality of work done.
Activity
Students share their work with a partner. Each student
writes a description of the partners piece, including the
message received from it. Students share their
responses with each other. Each student then reflects
on his partners reaction, and conducts a written selfcritique, which is reviewed by the teacher. Each student
then has an opportunity after consultation with the
teacher to revise his/her piece as necessary.
EXTEND
Students create social commentary illustrations.
Activity
Students now take the same issue from the collage
activity and extend their concept into a piece that
provides clear social commentary. Students now will
develop an original drawing, painting, or sculpture
using their emotional response and message.

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PRACTICE
Students select one issue and develop a
thematic collage to express it.
Activity
Students brainstorm current issues, either in the
school or local community, or national or intern ational events that they feel strongly about. Then
they apply a color theme to describe their issue
and their feelings. Next students identify some
imagines that could convey the message of their
concern. Students illustrate their work in the form
of a collage using magazines, newspapers, found
objects, etc.
CONCEPT
Self-expression
CONNECT
Students experience an unjust situation that
causes a strong emotional reaction.
Activity
The teacher and a colleague create a mock incident that
causes strong reaction in the students. (In other words,
create a "discrepant event"perhaps an announcement
that some very unreasonable new rule will be enforced,
and all students will be expected to comply, regardless
of personal circumstances, etc.) The teacher must
engage the class for a sufficient amount of time to
create an emotionally charged discourse. Give
students an opportunity to discuss the feelings
experienced.
ATTEND
Students reflect on the quality of their personal
feelings regarding the event they experienced.
Activity
Give small groups of students time to develop a series of
role plays which identify the issue and portray the feelings
they each experienced. Have class members list issues
that arose from skits. Discuss how diff e rent students
p e rceived the issue, how they felt during the experience,
what caused the issue to be an issue. Have students
identify the issue with a color. On newsprint, have them
s h a re their responses using their selected color.
OBJECTIVE
Students will identify,
clarify, and illustrate
the concept of selfexpression through
the visual arts.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Tape player, musical
tapes, slides or pictures
of reproductions from
various artists, old
magazines, newspapers,
scissors, glue, paint,
brushes, etc
IMAGINE
Students identify further emotional responses
by reacting to musical rhythms and sounds.
Activity
Play a tape of appropriately moving instrumental music.
Ask students to listen with their eyes closed for one
minute and identify emotions that correlate with the
music. Give each student a sheet of large paper, paint,
and brush. Have students respond to the music using
paint and brush changing brush strokes, line, shape,
pattern, and color as the music's mood changes.
INFORM
The teacher and students identify, define, and
discuss the concept of visual self-expression.
Activity
The teacher lectures on the topic of the artist as
historical recorder, social critic, or prophet. Students
view examples of work from artists such as Picasso,
Jose Clemente Orozco, Chagall, Kollowitz, etc. The
class reviews and discusses the ways these artists used
their mediums to express their anger, reactions to
social injustices, feelings of fear, etc.
83

DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE
SUBJECT
Foreign Language/
French I
DURATION
1 week
PERFORM
Students communicate using their new vocabulary.
Activity
Students create and present a fashion show for a
class of younger students during Fore i g n
Language Week with designers, models, critics,
buyers, commentators, advertisers, and investors
using French vocabulary. Everyone contributes
their ideas and has a role in active communication
using new vocabulary, while celebrating "French
is Fun!"
AUTHOR(S)
Jeanine Kopecky teaches
7 th gra de explorat ory
French and 8th grade
French I at D e n ison
Middle Sch ool,
La ke Ge n eva, WI .
REFINE
Students evaluate their own understanding
of new vocabulary.
Activity
The teacher collects the written description of the 2020
graduation clothing, and randomly distributes them to
the class. Each student matches the description s/he
was given to the correct illustration.
EXTEND
Students further apply and experiment with new
vocabulary in written descriptions.
Activity
1)Students draw, illustrate, or paste-up cutouts of
clothing that they would imagine wearing if they were
graduating in the year 2020. The are posted in another
area of the classroom. 2)Students write brief
descriptions of their futuristic clothing using new
French vocabulary.
PRACTICE
Students practice newly learned vocabulary.
Activity
1)Students practice new vocabulary by orally
describing what they are wearing. 2)Students
take turns orally describing other students'
clothing; listeners have to figure out whose
clothing was being described.
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CONCEPT
Attributes
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged in using descriptive language to
react to an array of unusual and outlandish clothing.
Activity
Prior to students arrival in class the teacher prepares
the classroom with a clothesline strung with a wild
array of interesting, unusual, and/or outdated articles of
clothing. (I use old "hippy" clothes, goofy-patterned
socks, tie-dyed shirts, anything wild and unusual.)
Students invariably have various reactions to the
clothing: "Ooh-yuck!", "The tye-dye is cool!",
"You wore those!?"
ATTEND
Students discuss what they observe.
Activity
The teacher conducts a discussion focusing on the
details of the various clothing items hanging on the
line, i.e., colors, patterns, sizes, styles, textures,
accessories. Students are encouraged to express likes
and dislikes, and their rationale for their choices.
Stude n ts wi ll increase
their ability to descri be
and understa nd
desc riptions of articles
of clothing in French ,
while wor king in all four
ski ll areas : listening,
speaki n g, wri ti n g, and
rea di n g.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Unusual and interesting
articles of clothing,
clothesline, magazines,
catalogs
IMAGINE
Students represent their view of current clothing styles.
Activity
(This can be an out-of-class assignment following the
previous discussion). Students use pictures of current
clothing styles from catalogs, magazines, drawings,
and print advertisement to create poster-board collages.
They are encouraged to make their visual representation
as comprehensive and diverse as possible. The final
pieces are displayed throughout the classroom.
INFORM
Students and teacher review necessary French
vocabulary describing articles of clothing.
Activity
1)The class practices describing the clothing on the
clothesline and in the various collages in French. 2)The
teacher gives each student several written descriptions
in French for them to pin on either the correct article of
clothing on clothesline or in one of the collages.
3)Students and teacher brainstorm French descriptions
for additional clothing examples on the clothesline
or in the collages.
85

PLANNING FOR HIGH SCHOOL
SUBJECT
Guidance
DURATION
3 months
AUTHOR(S)
Jim Mosher is a
counselor at Edison
Middle School in
Janesville, WI.
PERFORM
Students share personal insights and knowledge
of their middle school experience with 5th
graders about to enter Edison Middle School.
Activity
Students each write a "Legacy Letter" to a 5th
grade student which responds to the following:
"During my time in the middle school I have
learned a lot about Edison and myself . . . I've
had interesting experiences . . . I have grown
and changed, too! . . . What I have learned may
be helpful to you . . . Good luck!!! Letters are
shared with 5th graders.
REFINE
Students integrate knowledge of self and future
options in a personally meaningful way.
Activity
Students critique their four-year academic plans with a
partner, and then with the teacher or counselor.
Question to consider: Does the plan meet the high
school graduation requirement as well as the students
area of interest?
EXTEND
Students explore how their decisions about courses, levels,
co-curricular activities, work experiences, family life and leisure
time interact to form a lifestyle.
Activity
1)Students spend a half day shadowing either a worker in a career
i n t e rest area or a parent, or they conduct phone interviews of five
workers. The student should identify knowledge and skills necessary
for success on the job. 2)Working in pairs, students take turns manipulating pieces of their high school puzzle to assemble a picture of
their 9th grade year. Students describe a typical day in high school
and determine how they will solve problems of time, space and
priority. 3)Students develop a four-year academic plan that reflects
knowledge of self, graduation requirements and requirements for
transition into the next setting.

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86
PRACTICE
Students identify high school courses and levels
of post high school training needed for five
occupational areas of interest.
Activity
Students complete worksheet and quiz. Students
use the Wisconsin Career Information System
print and software materials to complete a
matrix worksheet listing occupations of
interest and suggested high school courses.
CONCEPT
Cause and Effect
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students develop an awareness of the need
for planning as a life skill.
Activity
Students roll a die to determine the level of education,
marital status, health, income and occupation and
record their findings.
Students will learn

appropriate planning
processes as they begin
to identify their course
selection for their high
school four-year plans.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
ATTEND
Students reflect on a life left to "chance."
Activity
The students and teacher discuss the "roll of dice"
quality of life experience. Each student describes in
detail his/her "future" as determined by the dice. Some
questions for consideration: What do you like about
your "life"? What do you dislike? What elements are
within your control? Outside your control? What would
you keep? What would you change? What would it be
like if someone else made all your choices for you? Do
you have a plan or are you gambling with your future?
Wisconsin Career
Information System
IMAGINE
Students envision the relationship between learning
and work.
Activity
(This could be an out-of-class assignment following
the previous discussion.) Using pictures and short
verbal phrases from magazines and other available print
materials (as well as the addition of original drawings),
each student creates a collage depicting special skills
and abilities that the student possesses. These are
shared and displayed in the classroom.
INFORM
Students identify requirements for successful
completion of high school and entrance requirements
of various post high school settings.
Activity
The teacher provides lectures and multiple speakers
from a variety of post high school settings, such as the
workplace, military, technical colleges, apprenticeship
programs and four-year college programs, etc. Students
read a pamphlet available from the State Dept. of Public
Instruction. The teacher provides an overview of job
shadowing opportunities in the local community area.
87

LEARNING TO LEARN
SUBJECT
Language Arts/
Social Studies/
Study Skills
DURATION
1-2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Beth Reynolds is a 7th
grade Language
Arts/Social Studies
teacher at Nipher
Middle School,
Kirkwood, MO. She is a
certified 4MAT trainer.
This 4MAT plan is the
first cycle of a major
multi-wheel 4MATted
Study Skills unit. This
entire unit is available
in the 4MATION
software program.

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88
PERFORM
Each student now works as a fully participating
member of a group.
Activity
"This Is My Group!" Each group is allowed time to
complete its tasks as given above. Interviews are
conducted. Once names, mascots, and colors are
chosen, groups create a group banner and friendship bracelets for each member using the group's
colors. Celebrate the groups. Ask each to present
itself to the class, introducing each member and
explaining the group banner. These cooperative
g roups are to be used throughout the unit and can
be evaluated at the end.
REFINE
Students evaluate their ability to apply the skills
represented as they create the foundation of their own
well-functioning group.
Activity
"This is My Group!" Students are assigned to cooperative groups that
will work together throughout the remainder of this Study Skills unit.
Each group is asked to complete the following tasks: 1)Interview
each group member in order to get to know each other better.
2)Name the group. 3)Select a group mascot and three group colors.
Groups then introduce themselves to the whole class.
EXTEND
Students portray the essentials of effective group work in a
pictorial collage.
Activity
Students work in small groups to complete a class
collage. Each group is assigned one section of a large mural on
which to show the essentials of group work. They may do so by
cutting pictures from magazines, writing slogans, drawing
p i c t u res, writing riddlesin any way they may choose to
complete their section of the mural. After allowing time for
groups to work, each presents its interpretation
to the class.
PRACTICE
Students demonstrate an understanding of
correct and incorrect group skills.
Activity
"What's There? What's Missing?" Students
complete an activity sheet, evaluating each
situation showing group work. Once finished,
students then discuss their choices and together
write additional descriptions. These are then
presented to the class for a discussion evaluating
the given situations in the activity sheet.
CONCEPT
Cooperation and
Collaboration
CONNECT
Students experience working alone as well as
in a group and recognize the benefits of group work.
Activity
1)Students are given a stack of newspapers and directed
to use them in building the tallest stru c t u re possible.
They are not allowed to use any other materials. Fifteen
minutes are allotted for work time and students work at
separate work stations. Once complete, students share
stru c t u res. 2)Students now participate in the same
activity, but this time they will work as a member of a
team. Again, allow a specified work time, and
s h a re completed structures.
ATTEND
Students compare/contrast the two learning
environments, naming benefits of each.
Activity
Students analyze their experiences in a discussion,
responding to the following:1)Compare the structures
built each way. How are they alike? How are they different? 2)What benefits did you notice as you worked
alone? Together? 3)What problems did you encounter
each way? 4)What special skills do you think you need
when working with others? Did you experience any
problems? 5)How did you feel when working alone?
6)How did you feel when working together?
IMAGINE
Students depict the characteristics of group work.
Activity
"Picture Search: What's the Difference?" Working in
groups, students review magazines for pictures of
people working in groups and others working alone.
Together they create two different class "word" collages,
one for people alone, and one for people in groups.
Discussion should focus on positive attributes that
are observed when people work together.
INFORM
Students explore several scenarios that would be more
effective if appropriate group skills were used.
Activity
Students role-play given situations designed to point to the need for group skills:
1)Students work alone on a given task, each completing each part of an assignment,
then work in a group where there is a division of labor allowing for group roles.
Discuss the difference. 2)Students work alone on a task sitting in desks arranged in
straight rows, then move their desks together to form groups to work together.
Discuss the need for moving into groups efficiently and being seated so that all can
communicate with each other. 3)Students participate in a group activity where different
group members display difficult behaviors: one is bossy, one refuses to work, one is a
practical joker, etc. Discuss the need for all group members to participate. Allow
students to suggest other group skills for which they may have experienced a need.
Make a list of these skills to work through one at a time as the year progresses.
OBJECTIVE
Students will discover
through a variety of
experiences that by
working together
cooperatively we can
improve our own
learning as well as that
of others.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Large stack of
newspapers, pictures of
people working
together, magazines to
cut up, markers,
drawing paper, scissors,
glue, craft paper for
mural, embroidery floss
(enough for one
friendship bracelet per
student), activity
sheets: Whats There?
Whats Missing? Getting
to Know You.
89

WRITING AND SOLVING EQUATIONS (1 OF 2)
SUBJECT
Math/Pre-Algebra
DURATION
2-3 weeks for the unit
AUTHOR(S)
Vera Hayes taught
math at Eisenhower
Middle School in North
East Independent
School District in
San Antonio, TX. She is a
member of the district
4MAT Trainers Cadre.

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90
PRACTICE
Students practice with solving equations/
inequalities.
Activity
Students apply problem-solving skills using a
variety of activities, including textbook exerc i s e s ,
worksheets, and quizzes to check for basic
understanding.
CONCEPT
Balance
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience how balance is manifested physically.
Activity
Students play the following games which illustrate balance:
Twister, Hopscotch, Blockhead, Break-the-Ice, Monkeys in
the Barrel, Kerplunk, Jenga, and participate in relay races
that involve balance, such as "book on head" or "egg in
spoon. In addition, they build houses out of cards to see
which group can build the tallest house.
Students will understand the importance

of balance in solving
equations and dealing
with inequalities.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Games of balance,
rope for tug-of-war,
algebra tiles
ATTEND
Students share thoughts on what helped to win
each game.
Activity
Students write independently for 5 minutes analyzing
the experience of playing the games. They should
express, "What is the winning factor in each game?"
Students share their results as a small group and then
with the whole class.
IMAGINE
Students deepen the connection between balance and
the meaning of a balanced equation.
Activity
Students participate in an actual tug-of-war using ropes
borrowed from the P.E. department. Several arrangements
of teams should be used to illustrate the diff e rences in
balance and what makes imbalance between teams. The
analogy should be demonstrated with kinesthetic movements of student teams to show the result when an action
is taken on one side of an equation and not the other.
INFORM
The teacher provides instruction on
solving and writing equations.
Activity
Using algebra tiles or teacher-made manipulatives,
illustrate an equation. A balance scale and pattern
blocks can illustrate the idea, or a transparency of a
balance scale can simulate the same idea. Stress the
idea that whatever is removed or added to one side of
the equation must also be added or removed to the
other side in order to maintain "Balance." Relate this to
the tug-of-war and how changing one side effected
the other side.
91

WRITING AND SOLVING EQUATIONS (2 OF 2)
SUBJECT
Math/Pre-Algebra
DURATION
2-3 weeks for the unit
PERFORM
Students share and delight in what was learned.
Activity
Students share their machines, reports, videos,
poems or research with class. They each create
their own fill-in-the-blank responses to the
following: "Balance in equations is
like________because __________."
AUTHOR(S)
Vera Hayes taught
math at Eisenhower
Middle School in North
East Independent
School District in
San Antonio, TX. She is a
member of the district
4MAT Trainers Cadre.
REFINE
The teacher provides guidance and feedback to
students' project work.
Activity
In small groups, students share and discuss the progress
on their projects. Suggestions are made for refinements.
EXTEND
Students select and design projects which explore the
usefulness of concepts learned.
Activity
Students will select one of the following projects. They are
given dates for the check/edit day and due date for final
project. Students and teacher negotiate and agree upon
rubrics for project assessment criteria. 1)Design and build a
balance machine. 2)Write a report on the evidence of
balance in mathematics. 3)Pre p a re a research report on the
use of ratio and proportion in professional careers, i.e.,
Forensic Medicine, architecture, artists, etc. 4)Create a story,
poem, or video that illustrates balance and proportion.
PRACTICE
Students reinforce understanding through
practice.
Activity
Students apply new information via standard
activities for guided practice using textbook
exercises, teacher prepared worksheets, and
quizzes.
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92
CONCEPT
Balance
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience ratios and proportions.
Activity
The teacher unevenly distributes chocolate chip cookies
to students, purposely giving some students more than
others. The cookies should be of various sizes, and
some should be loaded with chocolate chips, and some
should have very few chips. Cookies could be prepackaged in baggies. Instruct students not to eat or touch
until everyone is served.

fractions, ratios, and
proportions are used in
their every day lives.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Chocolate chip cookies
in plastic bags
ATTEND
Students discuss equal proportions and analyze
what needs to be done to correct the situation.
Activity
Students are encouraged to react to the fact that the
number of cookies they each received are not equal,
and the food proportions are not equal. Discuss why
and how to correct the situation. Students can
determine the ratios of cookies to students, cookies to
group, chocolate chips to cookie, etc.
IMAGINE
Students depict equal ratios or proportions.
Activity
Students redistribute cookies in equal proportions.
Students can again determine ratios of chips to cookie,
chips to groups, chips to class, chips to person, etc.
Each student creates a visual depiction of "equality,"
based on their cookie experience.
INFORM
The teacher provides direct instruction.
Activity
The teacher follows the standard textbook activities
for instruction on ratios, proportions and percents.
93

SCIENTIFIC METHOD
SUBJECT
Science
DURATION
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
James Ross teaches
science at McCulloch
Middle School, and Alice
Chilgreen teaches
science and math at
Justice Middle School,
in Marion Community
Schools, Marion, IN.
Their 4MAT Project
Leader is Carol Benefiel
Secttor.

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94
PERFORM
Students share final reports and posters are
displayed.
Activity
The students share their rough drafts and finished
drafts with the larger group, and the posters are
displayed in a composite assemblage. For final
discussion and consideration, the teacher
challenges the students to consider the following:
" A re there instances you know of where a scientific
p roblem was successfully solved in a non-analytic
way, via intuition or a hunch? When is it safe to
use this approach, and when is it risky?"
REFINE
Students organize lab data into a lab report. Posters are reviewed for
appropriateness of individual examples and illustration of steps.
Activity
1)The teacher checks for accuracy in the chromatography experiment.
Students write rough drafts of the chromatography lab to be edited by
peers. In small groups they will edit and refine each other's lab re p o rt s .
Each group member must make at least one suggestion for improving
each report. 2)Students exchange the first draft of their posters with a
partner. The teacher informally reviews each students work. Edits are
made before completion of posters.
EXTEND
Students use the scientific method to solve a problem.
Activity
1)The students use the steps of the scientific method in a lab setting
to test the composition of water color markers using paper
chromatography. 2)Students each come up with one solid example to
illustrate how they or someone they know has used these steps to
solve a real problem, perhaps without even knowing it. Real-life
examples are illustrated on a poster which visually depicts how each
step of the scientific method led to a final conclusion.
PRACTICE
Students practice skills associated with the
scientific method.
Activity
Teacher- d i rected activities (worksheets, text
assignments) that develop skills associated
with the scientific method: observation,
hypothesis formation, experimentation and
drawing conclusions.
CONCEPT
Problem-solving
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students hypothesize the possibilities presented by
a given situation using only one of their senses, the
sense of sight.
Activity
The teacher places a box containing a mystery object in
front of each group of students. They are instructed not
to touch the box, but they must list five things that
could not be in their box and five things that could
possibly be in the box.
ATTEND
Students expand their practice-observation using
other senses.
Activity
Students are instructed to pick up their box and
observe it with senses other than sight. They now
hypothesize about what object is in the box, and they
then open the box to check the veracity of their hypothesis. Each group discusses what is involved in good
observation. Students each rate themselves on a scale
of 1-5 on their ability to make a good observation.
Students will develop

an understanding of
the scientific method
and its use for problem
solving.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Array of "mystery
boxes," abstract art
prints, materials for
scientific method
experiment (suggestion:
pendulum), water color
markers for
chromatography
experiment
IMAGINE
Students acknowledge differences in perception.
Activity
The teacher presents students with 3 or 4 abstract works
of art. Each student works alone, given time to carefully
observe each piece. Their task is to hypothesize a
probable title for each piece. In small group discussions,
the students compare their own observations with the
observations of others, they each share the titles they
created, and then each group agrees on one title for each
of the pieces. Finally, each group shares its chosen titles
with the other groups. The diversity of titles is
acknowledged and explore d .
INFORM
The teacher illustrates the steps of the
scientific method.
Activity
The teacher conducts an experiment that illustrates the
steps of the scientific method. This can be any standard
"textbook" experiment that clearly demonstrates the
scientific methodology: careful observation, hypothesis
f o rmation, experimentation, data collection, analysis and
the formation of a conclusion. One example that works
well is an experiment to determine the period of a
pendulum.
95

THE GREAT DEPRESSION
SUBJECT
History
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share insights from final projects.
Activity
Students share their completed project. Each
student shares a personal statement reflecting
one important insight that speaks to us today.
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Patricia DiGiacomo
teaches at Dodd Junior
High School, Cheshire,
CT. She is a certified
4MAT System trainer
for her school district.
REFINE
Students critique and edit first drafts.
Activity
Students complete approved project according to contract. First
drafts are compared to agreed-upon rubrics. Partners pair/share,
and critique each others work. The teacher provides feedback as
necessary.
EXTEND
Students integrate material by exploring personal interpretations.
Activity
Students choose one of the following: 1)Keep a personal diary for one
month, a diary that would describe the daily life and feelings of a
teenager during the Great Depression including photos and/or your
own drawings reflecting that teens daily experiences. 2) Read and
critique a major piece of Depression-era literature. Include in your
critique what message benefits us today. 3) Do a stock market analysis
as to what controls could have prevented the "crash. The teacher
a p p roves each students project choice, and students develop rubrics
for assessing completed projects.
PRACTICE
Students complete activities to reinforce
information.
Activity
Students fill out study guide worksheets on the
film, "Grapes of Wrath," and edit their class
notes.
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CONCEPT
Cause and Effect
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience the ramification of a sudden loss of
income on their lives and the lives of their whole family.
Activity
1) Students work in small groups; each group will be a
"family" which is assigned a decent income, appropriate to
the community in which they live. Each "family" determines
a household budget for its income using guidelines pro v i d e d
by the teacher. Budgets account for basic needs, such as
housing expenses, food, transportation, insurance, medical
and dental services, entertainment, etc. 2)Once each groups
budget is complete, the students are informed by the teacher
that their income will now end, abruptly. Students must
discuss what they would do, and each group must review its
budget and prioritize decision-making. What goes 1st, 2nd,
3rd?
ATTEND
Students reflect on the previous experience.
Activity
Each family shares their experience and writes a diary
entry. Included in the entry are "feelings" in a young
person's life in an economic disaster.
Students will "feel" the

Depression if they
understand the impact
on individual lives
caused by such an
economic upheaval.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Music, poetry,
magazines, and newspapers from the Great
Depression era; video of
The Grapes of Wrath; a
version of the song,
Brother Can You spare
a Dime?
IMAGINE
Students integrate the previous experience and
reflections into the concept of economic, social, and
political upheaval.
Activity
Using a guided imagery approach while reading fro m
original newspaper and magazine accounts, the teacher
engages students in imagining the reality of real people
during the Depression. Students listen to the song,
"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", and view film clips
which show the devastation to individual and family life.
Students refer back to their initial thoughts in their
p revious "family" scenario - How do their "guesses" of
decision-making compare to the real accounts given.
INFORM
The teacher and students review the specific causes of
the Depression and the attempts to remedy the problems.
Activity
Lectures/readings of text and supplemental materials of
the causes of the Depression, with a focus on the
administrations of Hoover and FDR and the Domestic
Policies enacted in the 1930s. The class views the film,
"Grapes of Wrath."
97
4MAT IN ACTION: HIGH SCHOOL

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
SUBJECT
English
DURATION
4 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Lynn P. D iet e r, Ph.D., is an
E n gl ish teacher at Maine
East H igh Sch ool , D is trict
207, Park Rid ge, IL. She is a
ce rti fied 4MAT Trainer.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the
E n gl ish teacher who is
concern ed wi th tea ching
ele m e n ts of a genre, th e
com pa rison of the film
a nd the book, which are
s ign i ficantly di ffe rent,
a llows a lesson focus on
h owthe genre and its
ele m e n ts alter the rea ders'
pe rception s. Th is play h as
con ti n ua lly been a
favorite of my s tude n ts.
One meas u re of th is is
th at as se n iors appl ying to
college one yea r lat e r,
ma ny ch oose to wri t e
about th is play as th e
work of literatu re th at
ma de the mos t impact
u pon them. Many a l so
write abo u t More as a
hero. The play i tself,
beca u se it breaks so ma ny
of the conve n tions of th e
ge n re, allows the tea ch e r
to focus upon th ese. The
wri ting is la den wi th
m eta ph ors and
com pa rison s, a nd th is
a llows ma ny poss i b i l i ties
in the IMAGINE step.
98
PERFORM
Students celebrate with an expression of what
has been learned.
Activity
In triads, using pictures and appropriate
newspaper/magazine articles and/or headlines,
students create collages to symbolically portray
how our characters are built by the choices we
make. These are shared with the school in a
display.
REFINE
Students transfer understanding of personal choices to real life situations.
Activity
Students select a living example of someone who lost something by making
a choice. This person may be a friend, family member, teacher, acquaintance, or themselves. Their subject must be analyzed in terms of the
concepts of guilt and sorrow and the ability to live with the outcome of the
choice s/he made. What did they gain through the choice? How did what
they gained affect their ability to live with their choice? The analysis will be
presented in theme form.
EXTEND
Students further focus on choices they have made and the revelation of self.
Activity
1)Students select one character and show how the outcome of the play
would be different if another choice had been made. 2.)Class will watch the
Paul Scofield movie of the play, and class discussion concerns whether
"seeing" the play alters our opinions. The discussion also refers back to the
idea of the metaphor for "self" and analyzes the techniques of metaphor
creation and use. 3)Students develop epitaphs for More's tombstone, each of
which must be in metaphorical form, e.g., "Here lies the fly from which the
little boy tore the wings."
PRACTICE
Students analyze how the disregard of usual play conventions
and genre format helps convey the characterization and involve
the audience to a greater extent.
Activity
1)Students take each convention in the play, trace its use through
the drama, and show how Bolt's manipulation of it did or did not
work with a focus on his manipulation of character. 2)Traditional
theme assignment to focus on structure and function, comparing
these to the play Hamlet. 3)Students write themes based on an
article in which Albert Speer asserts that the Nazis were just following orders. They must relate this stance to the play and the
idea of individual choices. In addition, they research one real-life
incident in which someone took a stand or did not.
CONCEPT
Choices
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students explore the idea of making choices: how we make
choices, why we feel guilt, and how our values dictate our choices.
Activity
Students work in groups of three. Each group is given a set of
t h ree Scruples (Milton-Bradley game) questions, with the same
set of questions going to at least two groups. After 10-15 minutes
of group discussion, each group must reach consensus on action
and present their positions to the whole class for discussion. After
all groups have presented, for homework students will write a brief
discussion of the hardest choice they have made in life, why it was
d i fficult, what role guilt and/or other people played in the decision,
and what was lost through the choice and what was gained.
ATTEND
Students formulate a concept of how choices are made and
how we rank our values.
Activity
For one weekend, students keep diaries of choices they make. For the next
class, they must prioritize their choices in terms of importance, identifying
which actions really were choices. In class, again in groups, they share their
choices and create a group composite chart, identifying hardest choices, the
function of guilt in choices, the influence of our values in the choices we make,
and what was lost and gained in each choice. Teacher leads class discussion,
helping students recognize that choices are usually "gray" and within each
person is that part of the self which determines who and what we are.
Students will connect

to the concept of
personal choices and
ethical decisions as
evidenced in the play,
A Man for All Seasons.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
The game, Scruples
published by MiltonBradley Co.
IMAGINE
Students see that in our times we see ourselves by what we do, as
opposed to a criterion such as "Renaissance Man" or "Christian
Humanist."
Activity
Each student asks 5 people, "Who are you?" and writes down their
responses. The class as a whole reads ahead in the play to the
metaphor that More uses to describe himself, ..it is an area no bigger
than a tennis court to him. Students write or sketch a metaphor to
express that which is their self: the part of themselves they will not
change or alter for anyone. How often is that part of themselves
involved in a decision or choice?
INFORM
Students read and analyze the play with a focus on its
genre and the choices made by the characters.
Activity
Students read the play, keeping track of page numbers of
events on which More makes a choice. Class discussion
focuses on the genre and thematic ideas running
throughout the play, particularly the Common Man as
antagonist to More and the idea that "No man is an
island." Students take notes, and the teacher checks
for understanding with a short objective quiz.

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99

GENDER STEREOTYPES
SUBJECT
English Literature
DURATION
PERFORM
The class celebrates what has been learned and
observed.
Activity
Students share research findings and display
posters for the wider student body to see.
6 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Lee Huddleston is a
High School English
teacher at Winston
Churchill High School,
Northeast ISD, San
Antonio, Texas.
REFINE
Students evaluate the quality of their work and the work of others.
Activity
Students gather in teams of four to pair/share research findings and progress
on final posters. Suggestions for editing are shared, and projects are evaluated
according to the previously agreed-upon rubrics, with input from the teacher
as appropriate.
EXTEND
Students evaluate personal understandings of stereotypes and plan a
"tolerance campaign.
Activity
1)Students conduct individual research projects in which they explore the origins
of stereotypes and what perpetuates these attitudes. They may focus on American
culture, or extend their search to another culture, and they may take an historical,
sociological, or psychological perspective. 2)Each student uses research findings
to create a tolerance campaign poster to raise awareness of other members of the
student body. Students and teacher agree upon specific rubrics for the
assessment of each final project.

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PRACTICE
Students explore society's role in creating or
perpetuating gender stereotypes while practicing close
reading skills.
Activity
Students read the novel, Mr. Bridge or Mrs. Bridge,
while keeping a double-entry journal (two entries per
30-40 pages) with a short passage from the novel on
left and a personal reaction to or memory evoked by the
passage from novel on the right. Student groups
present a skit of one episode from the novel showing an
understanding of the limits imposed by stereotyping.
CONCEPT
Stereotypes
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students connect stereotypes in a documentary with
current advertisements that impact their view of the
world and their personal decisions.
Activity
Students form small discussion groups, and the teacher
asks them to brainstorm what advertisements they notice
most. Each group leader re c o rds a list of the ones
mentioned. Next, the teacher asks students to identify
which (if any) of these ads are offensive. The class views
the video, Still Killing Us Softly. The student gro u p s
discuss the documentary's representation of stereotypical
ads, comparing to the list they created.
ATTEND
Students analyze their reflections on their personal experiences with
advertisements as they relate to stereotypes.
Activity
The teacher debriefs the above by asking students to recall terms or titles
of specific gender stereotypes, explaining or clarifying terms and adding
definitions, i.e. "Mythical We s t e rn Man has ________ characteristics"
IMAGINE
Students create individual depictions of the "myth" in the "Mythical
Western Man.
Activity
Students create re p resentational collages using advertisements from
c u rrent magazines, newspapers, etc. that show gender stereotypes. The
title of each collage must reflect a known gender stereotype. Students
s h a re their imagines and discussion of personal feelings as students
selected these ads. As a pre-lecture experience, the students view video
clips from Shane and High Noon, as well as all of Pale Rider for
understanding of the characteristics of "Mythical We s t e rn Man" as
p o rtrayed in these films. Students are invited to role play "Mythical Man"
characteristics as they interpret them from the film and video clips.
Students will develop

an awareness of
common gender
stereotypes, from
"Submissive Woman to
Western Man."
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Still Killing Us Softly
(documenta ry available
for re n tal or purchase);
Mr. Bridge or Mrs.
Bridge (pape rback by
Evan Connell) or another
novel portraying
stereotypes - like Ib se ns,
A Doll's House);
video clips from movies,
Shane a nd High Noon,
Pale Rider, video;
select a rticles from
pe riodicals concerning
sex stereotyping and
when it begi n s
INFORM
Students learn formal definitions, background, and history of stereotypes and
mythical figures.
Activity
1)The teacher gives a definition of the "Mythical We s t e rn Man", including all the characteristics normally expected, while students refer to their reflections from the previous activity.
The teacher extends learning to definitions of other gender stereotypes, e.g., Supermom,
Macho Man, Dominating Woman, Submissive Woman, etc. Students write a "Siskel &
E b e rt" style critique of Pale Rider and Clint Eastwoods role as a Mythical We s t e rnMan in
the film. 2)The football coach speaks to the class about Title IX and equity in sports (a
federal law). The Coach should emphasize the reduction of college football scholarships as
well as other scholarships for boys' sports in order to provide more money for girls'
scholarships in sports, as well as new state rulings that allow girls to play football.
101

OUR TOWN
SUBJECT
English
DURATION
PERFORM
Students celebrate the individual as well as the
collective; the small as well as the large; the
present as well as the future.
Activity
Students conduct the burial ceremony and invite
guests to the unearthing to take place in 25 years.
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Lori Barnett is an
English teacher and
staff development
leader in the
Ridgewood, NJ, schools.
Trainer, member of the
About Learning
Consultants Group, and
a consultant to About
Learning for special
projects.

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102
REFINE
Students evaluate their capsule as a true representation
of themselves and their culture.
Activity
In committees, students create a time capsule ceremony
with appropriate contents and protection against the
elements, invitations to the present burial as well as the
future unearthing, burial site and necessary approval,
appropriate speeches and music, town publicity and
yearbook notification.
EXTEND
Students extend what they have learned about the individual and the
collective in their lives.
Activity
Based on the speech in which the stage manager describes the time
capsule Grovers Corners residents buried in the cornerstone of the
bank, students: 1)create individual mini-capsules they are to hide for a
period of time, and 2)create a large time capsule which typifies the life
of a Ridgewood High School student living in the present time in the
state of New Jersey. Students are to include music, literature, art,
photographs, objects, etc.
PRACTICE
Students attend the often painful realization of
our place in the scheme of things as well as the
beauty of our individuality.
Activity
Students compile lists of the contrasts and
conflicts in the play; analyze the contrast
between the universal and the individual in the
stage manager's speeches; write a major paper
on the statement: Our Town is a play about
startling contrasts and excruciatingly quiet
conflicts."
CONCEPT
Perspective
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged in identifying the simple
things in their lives that reverberate with meaning.
Activity
In journals, students make an exhaustive list of the
small, seemingly insignificant things in their lives that
make them smile. Students share lists in groups,
noting similarities, if any.
ATTEND
Students analyze the significance of the small,
everyday events in their lives that have meaning to
them individually.
Activity
After students have shared lists, working in small
groups they classify their lists under the headings:
House, Family, Town, Nature, Other. Groups report
summary of classifications to larger group.
IMAGINE
Students imagine the difference in perspective one
might have if one were to relive a day in one's life.
Activity
Students are told the following: If you were to relive any
day in your life, good or bad, which would it be? Create
a representational or non-representational visual
depicting the difference in perspective between the two
states of "knowing": Each visual must show the day as
it was lived the first time, and the day as it was relived
the second time.
As part of an ongoing
study of the concept of
perspective in junior
English, students will
attend the contrast
between the individual
and the universal as
depicted in Our Town
by Thorton Wilder and
as it is depicted in the
students individual
lives and the culture of
their time.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Our Town, by Thorton
Wilder; Hal Holbrook
version of play on video;
individual time capsule
contents; school burial
site
INFORM
Students develop an understanding of individual and universal
perspective as presented in the play, Our Town.
Activity
Students read and view Our Town, discussing the role of the
stage manager as a character re p resenting multiple states of
"knowing. Students read and discuss various reviews of the
play: some critics view it as a tribute to small town life, others
see it as a very dark play. The class discusses the contrast
between the individual and the universal and how it is depicted
in the play through language, character, set design, miming, and
overall stru c t u re. They discuss the diff e rence in perspectives
between the living and the dead as depicted in the play.
103

SYMBOLS IN POETRY
SUBJECT
English
DURATION
7 class periods
AUTHOR(S)
Judith A. McAfee
teaches English at
Newburgh Free
Academy, Newburgh
City School District,
Newburgh, NY. She is a
certified 4MAT Trainer
AUTHORS NOTE:
This unit has been
particularly effective
with low-achieving high
school students.

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104
PERFORM
Students share their understanding of the value
of Symbolism in visual art.
Activity
Final projects are posted in the gallery for viewing
and/or published for others to read. The class
comes together for a final discussion of symbolism and how it leads to the conceptualizing of our
ideas. Students complete a final essay exam on
symbolism in which they make their own statement of the "Symbol as a visual reinforcement
which enhances and extends meaning."
REFINE
Students analyze the use and appropriateness of symbols.
Activity
Students form four groups and share their individual
plans with their learning partners for analysis of symbol
validity in context used. Each student uses group feedback and suggestions as the final plan is refined and
completed.
EXTEND
Students personalize symbolism and use it
effectively in original work.
Activity
Students plan projects in which they use a symbol in
Art, Literature, or a music lyric. Their plan should
include theme and subject matter as well as what the
symbol is and how it will be used
PRACTICE
Students reinforce their understanding by
working with symbols.
Activity
1)Symbol worksheet with pictures provided;
students label meaning, and check own answers
when complete. 2)Students choose either
"Brown Baby" or "Johnny" to analyze using
system provided by teacher. 3)Students develop
a symbol bank, and a glossary of common
symbols.
CONCEPT
Symbolism
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students see that symbols are all around them as
part of everyday life.
Activity
Divide the board into four quadrants, and have students
divide and number 4 pieces of paper. Put a drawing of a
common Symbol in each quadrant of board
(suggestions: heart, scales, skull and crossbones,
stork, etc.) and have students write a word or phrase
defining each symbol on a paper with same number as
the visual symbol. The teacher answers also, and tapes
his/her responses face down on board for later use.
ATTEND
Students experience that there are common thought patterns on
which Symbolism is based.
Activity
Divide students into four groups and assign each a drawing from
the board. Give each group the submitted papers for what their
assigned drawing means to classmates. Group leaders serve as
record-keepers and tabulate the answers on the board next to their
drawing. Students discuss results, and group spokespersons
present conclusions to class. Finally, the class uncovers the
teachers answers for comparison to the students.
Students will understand that a Symbol

enhances the meaning
of any art form,
especially literature.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
The poems,
Mother to Son by
Langston Hughes;
"Brown Baby" by Oscar
Brown, Jr.; and
Johnny" by M. Merchant
IMAGINE
Students reinforce common insights through commonalities in
visual interpretations.
Activity
Students read the poem, "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes.
Working independently, students draw an interpretive symbol for
the poem and write a word or phrase explanation of its meaning.
Students next tape their interpretations on tack board as they finish,
allowing them to see the similarities in each others work.
INFORM
Students learn how symbols enrich meaning.
Activity
The teacher lectures on symbolism including definition,
purpose, famous examples. "Mother to Son" is used
again to show students how to analyze a poem. Next,
students read "Brown Baby" by Oscar Brown, Jr. and
"Johnny" by M. Merchant.
105

REVISIONIST HISTORY
SUBJECT
History
DURATION
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Patricia DiGiacomo
teaches at Dodd Junior
High School, Cheshire,
CT. She is a certified
4MAT System trainer
PERFORM
Students come full circle in their personal
learning experience.
Activity
Students share final projects and the class
discusses the various points of view presented.
All students collaborate on a written consensus
history to summarize their experiences. The final
projects are graded by the teacher and student,
according to the agreed-upon rubrics.
REFINE
Students are assisted in formulating their opinions and
supporting them with relevant details as their projects
develop.
Activity
1)Teacher guides completion of project. 2)Teacher
provides library opportunities. 3)Teacher checks
progress of students and provides opportunity for
feedback and editing.
EXTEND
Students create a mode of representation to personalize
their learning experience.
Activity
Students choose a project in which they either write,
create a film, orate/perform, etc. an original historical
analysis of the Civil War. While the implementation
must be "factual" the presentation will have a point of
view. Students obtain approval from the teacher for
their project upon submission of a written proposal,
and the students and teacher agree upon rubrics for
the final assessment criteria of each project.

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106
PRACTICE
Students reinforce their concept of different "truths."
Activity
Students view brief video or film clips that show diff e rent aspects and points of view of the Civil War. Some
possible sources are, "Gone With the Wind," "Red
Badge of Courage," "Dances With Wolves," "They Died
With Their Boots On," Ken Burns' "The Civil War."
Students write essays on the questions of point of view
of each film, drawing their own conclusions as to the
" t ruth" about the American Civil War.
CONCEPT
Subjectivity/Objectivity
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students see that history is not a mathematical science,
but rather a constantly changing and vibrant blend of
subjectivity and objectivity.
Activity
1)The class is divided into four sections with each
section facing a different wall. 2)One student is sent out
of the room. 3)Teacher goes about the room doing
usual and unusual things. 4)The student returns; all
students face the front. 5)Each student writes
down what he or she witnessed.
ATTEND
Students reflect on the experience.
Activity
1)The absent student attempts to piece together what actually
happened from student lists. 2)The absent student shares with the
class his/her perception of what happened. 3)Class determines
"accuracy" of that moment of history. 4)Students discuss why their
n a rrowed viewpoint made getting the "big picture" so difficult and,
p e rhaps, then impossible. Students hand in their original list and
a rewrite when all of the knowledge has been pooled together.
Students will involve

themselves in the
writing of history to
understand that no
historical writing is free
from subjectivity.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Musical selections,
film clips
IMAGINE
Students integrate personal reflections with artistic expressions
of the 1960's and 1860's.
Activity
1)Play 1960's pro-war music selections like, "Ballad of the Green
Beret" by Barry Sadler and "Okie from Muskoqee" by Merle
Haggard. Next play anti-war selections, such as, "We're All Going to
Die Rag" by Country Joe and the Fish and "Eve of Destruction" by
Barry Maquire. Ask students to spend 3 minutes free-writing their
own emotional reactions to the messages in these pieces. 2)Then
play two representative pieces from the 1860s, such as "Dixie" and
"Battle Hymn of the Republic." Ask students to again spend 3
minutes free-writing their own emotional reactions to the messages
in these pieces. Compare and contrast the qualities of student
feelings as expressed in their reflections.
INFORM
Students increase their knowledge of various
published histories of the Civil War time period.
Activity
1)Students read their text. 2)Students read "traditional"
Southern historians, William Archibald Dunning and
James Ford Rhodes. 3)Students read revisionist
historian, W.E.B. DuBois. Teacher conducts class
discussion in which students compare and contrast the
factual viewpoints as recorded by each historian.
107

SLAVERY
SUBJECT
History/Humanities
DURATION
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Joseph E. Webb is a
former Instructional
Specialist with the
North Carolina
Department of Public
Instruction, and
currently serves as a
member of the Onslow
County, NC, 4MAT
Training Cadre. He is a

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108
PERFORM
Students share and celebrate learnings.
Activity
1)Hold a public forum on slavery in the antebellum era featuring student
p rojects for invited guests. 2)Make a videotape of the forum to be
included in the school library. 3)Replay and enjoy the video. 4)The
teacher and students aff i rm and celebrate their learnings in the unit by
summarizing new insights about slavery on "post-it" notes. The notes are
then posted on the sheet of newsprint entitled, "What we learned about
s l a v e ry and Antebellum Society" as students leave the classroom. These
notes provide an excellent source of ideas for the next 4MAT cycle
focusing on the American Civil War and the emancipation of slaves.
REFINE
Students edit and revise projects.
Activity
1)Teacher and students develop a planning/evaluation checklist tailored to this unit of
study. 2)Teachers and students collaboratively evaluate, edit and revise projects as needed.
3)Teacher and students collaboratively plan the format and logistics of a public forum that
would showcase their learnings. Planning and logistical tasks are divided among small
groups and individuals. The teacher interacts to facilitate and support student initiatives
as needed.
EXTEND
Students explore ramifications of the concept and related material.
Activity
1)Students in small groups or individually select a topic for further investigation. At this
point, the "history lab" activities assume greater importance as students focus on specific
areas of inquiry. Teacher and students collaboratively add to the resources in the "history
lab." 2)Students select a mode of project presentation suited to their particular learning
pre f e rence and interest. A wide variety of art supplies and other production materials should
be available for student use. 3)Hold large group mini-conferences aff o rding students
opportunities to share their "work in pro g ress" and to learn from each other. The teacher
facilitates such conferences by diverting student questions to one another whenever
possible and linking students with similar interests and needs.
PRACTICE
Students reinforce concepts and explore opportunities for historical research.
Activity
1)Practice the skills of information acquisition, information processing, and
historical interpretation. For example: a)visit a plantation site; b)explore life on the
Chicora Wood Plantation using primary source documents; etc. 2)history lab with
l e a rning stations containing a wide variety of materials, i.e. a)maps depicting the
concentration of slave populations from 1820 to 1860 and the areas where various
crops such as rice and cotton were produced. b)statistical data showing the
p e rcentage of white, slave, and free black inhabitants. c)diaries and other personal
items showing a particular point of view. d)photographs depicting various aspects
of slave culture, etc. 3)construct web charts on slavery and antebellum society.
Students post and share .
CONCEPT
Injustice
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience injustice in the classroom.
Activity
1)Before class, scatter a large quantity of wrapped candy around the room
to re p resent the wealth of the society within the classroom. Some candy
should be hard to reach imperiling the lives of those who might attempt to
h a rvest it. 2)Divide students into three groups of unequal size: one with
the majority of students, one much smaller, and a third of about 4
students. 3)Teacher oversees harvesting of candy. Largest group harvests
the largest space; medium sized group has small area to harvest; small
group watches from a place of prestige. 4)After the harvest, put candy into
three piles of unequal portion. The largest pile should be before the
smallest group (the watchers), the next largest should be before the
middle group, and the smallest should be for the largest gro u p .
Encourage students to eat the fruits of their labor and enjoy! (At this point
t h e re will be grumbling from the students who harvested the most, but get
to eat the least!)
ATTEND
Students process/analyze the experience.
Activity
Form reaction groups to brainstorm and record on newsprint a list of feelings and
thoughts engendered by the experience. As each group reports out, post their
responses. To foster maximum student involvement and to elicit the broadest
possible range of student responses, use the think/pair/share technique.
Stude n ts wi ll inves tigate

the divis ive impa ct of
slavery on the econom ic,
pol i tical and social life of
America du ring th e
Antebellum Era.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Wrapped candies,
newsprint, art supplies,
primary source
materials, artifacts and
reference materials
IMAGINE
Students imagine the incompatibility between slavery and the political ideals of
liberty and equality expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Activity
1)Proclaim the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths
to be self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by the creator
with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; etc." 2)Have students dramatically or graphically represent the inconsistencies between these words and the inequalities experienced in the simulation.
3)Form reaction groups to brainstorm and record on newsprint a list of feelings and
thoughts engendered by the experience. As each group reports out, post their
responses.
INFORM
The teacher defines and characterizes the "peculiar institution of slavery."
Activity
1)Teacher structures mini-lectures, leads class discussions, and employs a
variety of media in order to provide learning experiences accommodating the
need for and interest in specific information generated in the CONNECT
experience. 2)To increase student comprehension of how historians approach the
study of history, pose questions that enable students to compare divergent views
e x p ressed by the experts and the manner in which each supports his/her
arguments. 3)Students maintain an "historians log" in which they re c o rd basic
factual information presented, answers to questions raised in class, personal
reflections and notes to guide individual research/study, etc.
109

GRAPHING SINUSOIDS
SUBJECT
Math/Algebra II
DURATION
4 days
PERFORM
Student teams share their final project poster
with the whole class.
Activity
The student teams each present their function to
the class and discuss its properties. As a final
evaluation, the students take an exam on
graphing the sine and cosine functions.
AUTHOR(S)
Lynn T. Smith is a
Mathematics teacher at
Academic Magnet High
School, Charleston, SC.
Trainer.
REFINE
Students complete and evaluate graphs.
Activity
The students work in their team groups to graph the
pattern of their sinusoid function and to label its
amplitude and period. They make charts depicting their
investigations and results. Each team partners with
another team for peer review and critique.
EXTEND
Students explore evidence of the sinusoid graph in the
world.
Activity
Working in groups, the students select an area of interest
to them and find an example of a sinusoid graph. Some
suggestions are music, tide tables, temperature over a
period of time, moon changes, oscillator, or any other
area the students may notice the sinusoid occurring.

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PRACTICE
Students complete independent guided practice
activities.
Activity
Students complete standard textbook problems
in which they demonstrate their understanding
of the material taught by constructing the graphs
of the sinusoid functions indicating period and
amplitude.
CONCEPT
Patterns
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students are engaged kinesthetically in a
mathematical pattern.
Activity
1)The students line up and do the "wave" (the kinesthetic
wave that is done by fans at a football game). 2)The
students view pictures and physical examples of the
waves in nature. 3)Students are given an assignment to
find at least three examples of waves they observe before
the next class session.
ATTEND
Students describe the characteristics of the patterns
they experienced.
Activity
The students return to class and review all wave
examples. They list descriptions that compare and
contrast the different waves and establish the patterns.
Working in teams of four, the students construct Venn
diagrams comparing and contrasting the different
waves. Diagrams are posted on paper charts that are
shared with the whole class.
The students will be

able to analyze the pattern in a sinusoid graph
and its applications.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Visuals of sinusoid
waves which appear in
nature; graphing
calculators; teacher
prepared worksheets
IMAGINE
Students connect the patterns of the waves they
observed to mathematical algorithms which create them.
Activity
While individual students use their graphing calculators,
the teacher guides them in describing amplitude and
period, and the effects they have on the sinusoid graph.
The teacher has them construct the sine and cosine
graph with the coordinates from the circle graph. Next,
the students will work in groups with the graphing
calculator and discover patterns in changing the amplitude and period using a teacher-designed worksheet to
guide them. In other words, the students discover the
visual effect that results from changing the amplitude
and period of the graph.
INFORM
Students learn the specifics of the mathematical functions
which create the patterns they experienced.
Activity
The teacher lectures interactively while students work
on determining and graphing the amplitude and period
of the sine and cosine functions.
111

MAXIMUM/MINIMUM VALUE
SUBJECT
Math/Calculus
DURATION
1 week
PERFORM
Students share final projects with each other.
Activity
Students make a presentation to the class of their
self-designed problem, including a visual. The
rest of class will set up and solve each team
problem presented. The responses from can
companies are posted in a composite chart which
is shared orally with the rest of the class.
AUTHOR(S)
Stephanie Hostetter
was Foreign Language
chair and Spanish
teacher at South Lakes
High School, Fairfax
County Schools, Reston,
VA. Carla Hunt had
taught Mathematics at
South Lakes High
School. This unit plan
was developed when
Carla and Stephanie
were team partners in
the Fairfax County
4MAT Course.

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112
REFINE
Students edit and complete project assignments.
Activity
1)Students make posters for testing their real-life
problems with the rest of the class. 2)The findings of
the correspondence with can companies are put into a
brief report.
EXTEND
Students develop projects applying what they have learned.
Activity
1)Working in teams, students will design a maximum/minimum pro b l e m
that exists in their own experience. For example, the Student Government
Association wants to sell tickets to the faculty talent show to get the most
people to attend, and also to make the most money. If they give a discount
of 20 for each number of tickets sold over 10 tickets with a single ticket
price of $5.00, how many must be sold to maximize profit? 2)Students write
to a major can company to find out how they do or do not use the "ideal
can" and what factors determine the size of the can that they do use.
PRACTICE
Students develop proficiency in setting up and solving a
variety of maximum/minimum problems.
Activity
1)Students work sample problems in text and teacher-prepared
worksheets using a prescribed pro c e d u re. 2)Student pairs use
Hungry Jack cylinders they made and seal off the bottom
with card b o a rd and tape. Remembering that the two cylinders
have the same lateral area, students mathematically predict the
volume. Using rice or dried beans, they test and verify their
p redictions. 3)Each team brings a sample food can from home.
The team task is to design an ideal can to hold a given volume
but using the least amount of material for total outer surface
a rea. Students take an in-class quiz to check for understanding.
CONCEPT
Optimization
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students form an imagine of "doing the most with
the least.
Activity
Working in cooperative learning groups, students are
given a sheet or two of wrapping paper and several
boxes to wrap. They must get the most "packages"
wrapped with the least amount of paper. They must
think of the best way to proceed to wrap all packages.
Students will learn

concept of optimization
and its application in
daily life.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Boxes and wrapping
paper; sample biscuit
cans
ATTEND
Students explore what is meant by "maximizing and minimizing."
Activity
The teacher leads a follow-up discussion eliciting feedback on how the
g roups solved the problem, connecting the wrapping paper pro b l e m s
to real world. For instance, a department store which provides gift
wrap service would want to use the least amount of paper to provide
the service yet maximize their profit. Student groups are given another
" real world" problem to solve: a soup company wants to make soup
cans to hold a given amount with the least amount of manufacturing
material. How would soup cans be designed to maximize profit? What
factors must be considered?
IMAGINE
Students broaden their understanding of maximum/minimum with
an emphasis on conditions set for the problem.
Activity
Working in pairs, students are given two Hungry Jack biscuit
wrappers or traced copies. Students are to roll wrappers back up to
make two diff e rent sizes of cylinders. They tape these two cylinders to
hold their shape: one is shorter and fatter, and the other is longer and
thinner. The teacher should have two cylinders of the two diff e re n t
sizes prepared as discussion models to expedite the student activity.
Students are instructed to determine if these two cylinders hold the
same amount.
INFORM
Students learn to set up and work a maximum/
minimum problem.
Activity
Using overhead transparencies, the teacher pre s e n t s
p roblem solving strategies for mathematically determ i ning "maximum and minimum" under given conditions.
P roblems are presented for the class to set up and solve
together using realistic examples from business and
i n d u s t ry. The teacher checks for the students ability
to solve sample problems.
AUTHORS NOTE:
This lesson can be used
wi th a pre-ca lculus class
when prese n ting and
i n troducing maximum/
minimum value
problems. It is also
appropriate for a
Calculus AP or Bas ic
class; however, the
teacher may want to
change the presentation
order of the activi ties "on
the w h eel." I have used
th is lesson success fu ll y
in both Pre-calculus and
AP Calculus.
113

ENZYMES
SUBJECT
Science/Biology
DURATION
Approximately 2 weeks
PERFORM
Students share their commercials/advertisements.
Activity
Advertisements are displayed and commercials
are shown. An "Emzy Award" is presented for the
best in each medium. An award can be given for
most creative, most accurate, best layout, best
video.
AUTHOR(S)
Karen C. Dietrich has
been a classroom
teacher of all levels of
biology. In 1991 she
received the
PRESIDENTIAL AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE IN
SCIENCE TEACHING
representing the state
of New Jersey.

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114
REFINE
Students evaluate their progress and quality of work with the teacher and each other.
Activity
The groups check in with each other and the teacher to confirm the accuracy of their
commercials/advertisements as far as the enzyme information is concerned and to
have any "technical" questions answered.
EXTEND
Students take what they have learned about enzymes and apply it in a creative way
that capitalizes on their understanding.
Activity
Working in groups of five, the students generate a list of everyday products which they
know or suspect use enzymes. Detergents and contact lens cleansers are obvious and
excellent examples. One large whole-class list is compiled and diff e rent students volunteer
to write to some of the diff e rent manufacturers of the products for information on the
enzyme activity, and if possible, the process used to test for it. While waiting for the
manufacturing companies to respond, the groups are given one lab period to design a new
commerc i a l / a d v e rtisement for a product of their choice in which the role of the enzymes is
emphasized. The commercial should have a brief segment that explains what an enzyme is.
This project allows for a variety of talents: writing, drawing, video-making, computer
e x p e rtise, acting.
PRACTICE
Students practice their understanding of enzymes
through paper problem analysis and actual lab
experimentation.
Activity
Students work on practice sheets with varied
experimental situations involving the use of enzymes.
Students try some lab experimentation that indirectly
shows the action of an enzyme on a substrate. The
students can 1)write a formal lab; 2)do a flow chart of
what took place; or 3)draw it in terms of a metaphor or
visual like the puzzle pieces.
CONCEPT
Catalysts
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students become intrigued with the concept of
catalyst through the metaphor of a "matchmaker"
in the movies (or real life).
Activity
The students view a clip from the movie, "Crossing Delancy,"
featuring an old-fashioned matchmaker who brings a "nice girl" and a
"good boy" together at a kitchen table. While the couple interacts, the
matchmaker (and the girl's grandmother) leave and go into the kitchen.
AUTHORS NOTE: The connection with enzymes works well, because two
substrates (the girl and boy) are brought together so that they can
react. They may have gotten together eventually, but it may have taken
seventy years. The kitchen table is the active site and the matchmaker
leaves and does not become part of the final reaction.
ATTEND
Teacher leads discussion about how a matchmaker
works.
Activity
As a whole class, students participate in a brief analysis
of how a matchmaker "works." The teacher may supply
some leading questions such as: "What is the job of a
matchmaker?" "Does there need to be a meeting place?"
"Does the matchmaker stay around after the couple are
happy together?"
The students will show

an understanding of
the purpose and
mechanism of the
action of enzymes by
being able to explain
their catalytic effect on
chemical reactions.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
A video-clip from the
film, Crossing Delancy
IMAGINE
Teacher demonstration of a process that requires heat.
Activity
The teacher perf o rms a demonstration of a chemical
reaction that re q u i res heat in order to occur. A simple
and appropriate example might be Benedict's Test for the
p resence of glucose. [This is an indicator reaction that is
commonly used in the average biology class. It is also
good because it can be used again in a lab experience
as a test for the action of an enzyme.] After the demonstration, the students are asked to draw the set up and
indicate with color pencils what happened.
INFORM
Students learn the structure and function of enzymes.
Activity
The students answer some important questions. 1)What is heat?
2)What does heat provide for this reaction? 3)How was heat like a
matchmaker? 4)What is the physical color change an indication of?
5)Can a reaction that needs a boost always make use of heat?
At this point, the teacher introduces the concept of a catalyst or
enzyme, defining the action of bond breaking and forming, activation
energy, substrates, end products, specificity and active site. Use visual
aids. Usually, enzymes are described as lock and keys or puzzle
pieces. Cut out large puzzle pieces from different color poster boards
or actually take your key and fit it in the classroom door, then take
someone else's house key and try it. What makes a key specific is its
shape. Enzymes are proteins that also have a specific shape. If
something de-shapes the enzyme, it doesn't fit anymore. Students
take a short quiz on enzyme structure and function.
115

LIVING AND NON-LIVING THINGS
SUBJECT
Science/Biology
DURATION
1 week
AUTHOR(S)
Leona Killock is the
former Principal of
Thomas Jefferson
Elementary School,
Kenmore Town of
Tonawanda Union Free
School District,
Tonawanda, NY. Her
previous experience
includes twenty-one
years as a secondary
classroom science
teacher. She has also
been a staff development team member
responsible for developing the program in her
district for system-wide
implementation of
4MAT. Leona is a
member of the About
Group.

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116
PERFORM
The class celebrates new understanding of the
significance and delicacy of life.
Activity
Students present their projects to the class. All
presentations are video-taped. Appropriate
presentations are placed in showcases, others
may be presented to health classes or English
classes as an example of the controversy in our
world today over living vs. nonliving things.
REFINE
Students determine the modes of presentation they will use for their final sharing,
to assign tasks, and to complete their projects.
Activity
Students decide the method(s) to be used when presenting their findings. Some
form of visual and oral presentation must be included. The teacher monitors
student progress assessing for accuracy of content and recommending
refinements as appropriate.
EXTEND
Students explore the fact that the line between living and non-living is not well defined.
Activity
Students select a topic from a list that contains the following choices to investigate. They
may work in groups of 3 and only one group may report on a given topic. 1)Are viruses
considered to be living or non-living? 2)When does life begin for humans? 3)When does
human life end? 4)Design and conduct an experiment that will show if radish seeds are
alive or non-living according to the defined characteristics of life. 5)What are the issues
associated with the use of tissue from aborted human fetuses for research and treatment
of human conditions? 6)What are the issues associated with using organs for transplant
from infants born with only a brain stem?
PRACTICE
Students practice the new information.
Activity
Assign reading from the text and appropriate
questions for students to answer. Students
complete an objective quiz.
CONCEPT
Attributes
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students consciously reflect about the similarities
and differences between living and non-living objects.
Activity
Students are assigned to bring to class one living and
one non-living object. (Living objects must be
contained in a humane environment and returned to
their natural environment before the end of the
school day!)
Students will be
introduced to the
characteristics of living
vs. non-living forms.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Video equipment
ATTEND
Students observe and determine the attributes of living and
non-living objects.
Activity
1)Place students in groups of four. 2)Each member of the group
places his/her living object in the center of the table. After observing each of the living objects in their group, a list of similarities
found in all of the objects is compiled. Repeat this process for the
non-living objects. 3)Each group shares their lists with the whole
class. 4)One list of common attributes is compiled for the living
objects and another list for the non-living objects.
IMAGINE
Students express in color and shape some common phrases
associated with living and non-living things.
Activity
Using chart paper and colored markers, each group of students is
i n s t ructed to select one of the following. They must illustrate their
choice while incorporating the characteristics that were listed in the
ATTEND step: "Teeming with life"; "Living from hand to mouth"; "A
b reath of life" ;"Living on the edge"; "Fit for life"; "Living beyond
your means"; "Nine Lives"; "Living the good life" "Over my dead
body"; "Dead as a door nail"; "In the dead of winter"; "Light of my
life." The teacher debriefs with a class discussion while students
s h a re their visual depictions.
INFORM
Students learn the scientific interpretation of the
characteristics of living things.
Activity
The teacher presents vocabulary and new information
using lecture, demonstration, and discussion while
assessing the level of student interest and the quality of
questions and comments.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This unit is taught
within the first week of
school. One incentive to
encourage participation is by giving 10
homework points for
the living and another
10 points for the
non-living objects. An
additional 10 points
may be earned if the
object is unique, that is,
no other student in the
class brought in the
same type of object.
117
4MAT IN ACTION: POST-SECONDARY

BREAST SELF-EXAM
SUBJECT
Womens Healthcare
DURATION
Two-hour workshop
AUTHOR(S)
Thea Spatz, Ed.D., CHES,
Professor of Health
Education in the
Biology Department of
the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock,
a position she has held
since 1987. She has over
thirty years teaching
and administration
experience in the field
of Health Education,
and has received
numerous grants and
awards, including The
Susan G. Komen
Foundation Recognition
Award and The Profiles
In Progress Award for
her contributions to
national breast cancer
education. Dr. Spatz is a
member of the About
Group.

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118
PERFORM
Participants commit to use what has been learned in their
personal lives.
Activity
Participants are each asked to make a commitment to the
group by:
1)Declaring they will practice BSE skills this month.
2)Identifying the best time for them to personally practice
BSE and to write it on their personal calendar. 3)Naming a
significant other with whom they will share what they have
learned about BSE.
REFINE
Participants analyze what has been learned and clarify any remaining questions.
Activity
In whole group format, participants evaluate their learning in this program. Using chart
paper, the facilitator collates responses from participants in the following areas: "What
information was new?" "What information was most interesting?" "What questions now
need clarification?"
EXTEND
Participants explore further BSE practice and assist each other in developing correct
technique.
Activity
Participants continue to work in small groups. They demonstrate proper breast examination
techniques to each other, choosing a prosthesis that is about the same size and shape of
their own breast. The participants are encouraged to observe and critique each other's
technique; the teacher emphasizes the importance of helping each other. After they become
adept at examining their own prosthesis, each participant should practice using the other 2
or 3 as well.
PRACTICE
To practice proper breast self-examination techniques.
Activity
Working in groups of three or four, participants are given
breast models with simulated cancer lumps. The facilitator
first demonstrates proper breast self-examination using the
prosthesis model and then demonstrates improper BSE
techniques. Participants practice proper BSE techniques
using the distributed breast models while the facilitator
observes and provides feedback.
CONCEPT
Commitment
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Participants recognize what kinds of personal experiences lead them to make serious commitments.
Activity
Participants sit in groups of four. The facilitator assigns a leader to each group. Participants are asked to
share their responses to the following questions: "What are the kinds of activities or behaviors that you
are committed to doing on a regular basis? What is the basis for your commitment and follow-through?"
Each group leader makes a paper chart list of the examples generated by participants.
ATTEND
Group lists are shared and patterned.
Activity
The facilitator invites each smaller group to share its list. Together the large group looks for patterns in
the composite examples, and the facilitator leads the process of identifying and listing possible
categories. Generally the same category examples emerge, such as, "Commitment to Physical Health,
i.e. exercise routine, healthy diet management, etc.; "Commitment to Spiritual Health, i.e. time for daily
prayer, meditation, or reflection, and the like; "Commitment to the Well-being of Family, i.e. keeping
communication lines clear, maintaining family rituals, etc.
AUTHORS NOTE: The purpose of this dialog is for participants to clearly see that they have already made
very serious commitments to important personal practices on a regular basis, practices which are good
for them and their loved ones.
IMAGINE
Participants see the importance of personal commitment in regard to breast care and cancer prevention.
Activity
The facilitator posts paper charts on which are written the following: "Current statistics indicate the
following: a)1 out of every 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer; this incidence rate
has been increasing in the last 10 years. b)90% of breast cancer cases can be cured with early detection
and treatment and the earlier the stage of development at detection and treatment, the better the odds for
full recovery. c)The earlier the stage of development at detection, the less radical is the treatment. d)For
every 5 women with breast cancer symptoms, one will actually have breast cancer."
Based on the above-posted statistics, the teacher seats the participants in groups of 8. Each participant
receives a "lottery" card. Five participants draw a card that identifies them as having a symptom of breast
cancer. Three draw a card which has a relative or close friend identified as having a breast cancer symptom.
P a rticipants role-play with each other how they would actually feel and react if their "lottery" card were real.
Their discussion is followed by a brief guided imaginery in which they are instructed by the facilitator to
relax and close their eyes while they imagine going through the process from finding a symptom of bre a s t
cancer to imagining pursuing the appropriate diagnostic treatment. As a prelude to the information to be
presented next, participants view a 6-minute film on breast self-exam and the technique involved in a
successful exam.
INFORM
The facilitator presents an overview of facts, techniques of self-examination, and risk factors of breast cancer.
Activity
The facilitator distributes literature from the American Cancer Society. In a lecture/discussion format, the
information is reviewed with participants.
Pa rtic i pa n ts wi ll unde rstand the need for

regu lar breas t self-exam,
the prope r t echniques
used, and wi ll make a
pe r sonal commitment
to following a regimen
to monitor their own
breas t health.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Chart paper, markers,
breast prostheses,
brochures: "Special
Touch" American Cancer
Society, 9/89-No. 209 5LE;
"How to do Breast Self
Examination" American
Cancer Society,
9/89-2674; and a video:
"Breast Self
Examination: A Special
Touch," American
Cancer Society." 8:30
mins., ACS Code: 2361.05.
AUTHORS NOTE:
this workshop was first
developed for presentation by Home Extension
Agents with the clients
in their cachement
areas. Most of the
participants were middle aged or older. A
research study indicated that a significantly
high percentage of
these women followed
through responsibly
with their monthly BSE.
119

TELEPHONE SKILLS
SUBJECT
Customer Service
DURATION
4 hours
PERFORM
The staff celebrates learning and adopts a
mission statement for their program.
Activity
Each team shares its mission statement poster.
The group discusses what they like and dont like
about each example. As a total staff, they agree
upon one statement that will be printed, framed,
and hung in the Center for all customers to see.
AUTHOR(S)
Susan Caldwell is
Coordinator of
Enrollment
Management Services
at Palm Beach
Community College,
Lake Worth, FL. She
supervises one full-time
and nine part-time
staff members who are
also students at the
college. She is a certified
4MAT Trainer for the
Palm Beach County
4MAT Project.

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120
REFINE
Staff reviews what was learned from the "koosh" ball toss experience.
Activity
The supervisor debriefs the game and reviews the key points learned. Staff work in
smaller teams to write a mission statement defining our commitment to our customers.
Each teams statement is written on poster board for the whole staff to review.
EXTEND
The staff explores how they will use what they have learned.
Activity
1)Staff works with a partner to create three phone calls scenarios in which they give the
callers only a portion of the call. These are written on index cards. 2)The supervisor
collects all notecard sample scenarios. Staff arranges their seats in a circle so that they
can all see each other. The supervisor tosses a "koosh" ball into the group. The first
person to catch it draws a card and responds quickly to the scenario, speaking into a
large, funny play telephone. The "game" continues until all staff have participated at least
twice and all notecards are used.
PRACTICE
Staff practices these skills with each other.
Activity
1)The supervisor presents several sample
scenarios. Staff works with partners to devise
strategies they would use in each situation.
2)Staff takes turns practicing new vocal skills
with each other. The supervisor challenges them
to handle interruptions and background noise
without losing their poise. 3)Staff completes a
brief objective quiz to check for understanding
of the principles presented and practiced.
CONCEPT
Quality
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Student workers develop a personal sense of what
"quality" means and connect this concept to themselves.
Activity
The supervisor begins with an open invitation for staff to
share their own perceptions and opinions about the
following question: "What do we know about quality?"
Set up certain items beforehand: paper towels (brand
name and generic), food items (chips, colas, etc. of
different quality), music on CD and tape, etc. Groups
experience each set of items and share personal
opinions as to the relative quality of each item.
ATTEND
Staff members further attend the concept of quality in respect to
customer service.
Activity
1)Working in smaller groups, staff members make lists of the reasons
why we consider one product a higher quality than another similar
product of the same type. 2)Groups create their own definitions of quality
using some of the above generated reasons. 3)Each group shares its
definitions and individual staff share additional stories of quality customer
service experiences.
Student employees in
the Customer Service
Department of a
community college will
fine-tune their
telephone skills.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Phone skills video;
statistical data;
Powerpoint presentation equipment; craft
supplies; large toy
telephones; koosh ball;
notecards; poster board
IMAGINE
Staff shift their focus from a personal view of "quality" to what form
quality takes in the arena of "customer service."
Activity
Staff members each select and cut-out numerous pictures from an array
of magazines to create a group collage depicting "quality customer
service." Small teams work together to create a jingle for an imaginary
company that wants to advertise its excellent customer service.
INFORM
S u p e rvisor provides direct instruction on quality customer service
telephone skills. Narrow the concept down to the topic - phone skills.
Teach the class what the experts say on phone skills. What have surv e y s
told us? inform it. How is it done? Give information from the experts.
Activity
1)Supervisor presents Powerpoint presentation/lecture on phone
skills including how to handle the angry caller, transferring calls, how
to say "no," etc. What do surveys by colleges say students look for in
regards to customer service? Staff watches a humorous video on
phone skills. 2)Supervisor gives a short lecture on use of voice and
shows a short film on how the vocal cords work. A handout summary
of the important telephone skills is distributed.
121

ELASTICITY IN ECONOMICS
SUBJECT
Economics
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share findings and examples with the
whole class.
Activity
Students briefly report their research findings to
the class. Each example product is reviewed for
elasticity and inelasticity.
2 weeks
AUTHOR(S)
Scott Hunt, Ph.D., is
Assistant Professor of
Economics at Columbus
State College in
Columbus, OH. He is a
REFINE
Students share and critique projects.
Activity
Students form learning partner teams of four. Each student in turn shares his/her
projects with team members for critiquing and suggestions for editing.
EXTEND
Students apply knowledge learned in the classroom to real world scenarios.
Activity
1)Students conduct a field-based study where the concept of elasticity applies.
Their task is to go to a store and choose one product to analyze. They must ask 15
customers how many units of their product they would buy at the actual price, as
well as how many they would buy at each of 3 alternative prices (within 5% of the
actual price). Students sum the customers' quantities to create a market demand
curve using the 4 prices. Students use their intuition and hypothesize what degree
of elasticity their product exhibits. Then they calculate elasticity of demand
between each of the points on the demand curve and interpret the results. Finally,
using these results they also determine the effect on customers' total expenditures
and what effect an increase in an excise tax would have. 2)Students write a
description of where else the concept of elasticity can be applied, i.e. the brakes in
an automobile--What happens to your speed as you depress the brake pedal by a
certain percent of pressure? The car slows down, but by how much? If the applied
pressure is more than 1%, the result is elastic; if the pressure is less than 1%, the
result is inelastic.

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122
PRACTICE
Students work through traditional guided
practice activities for mastery.
Activity
Students complete traditional text problems,
mathematical problems, and teacher-prepared
word problems.
CONCEPT
Elasticity
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
The teacher engages students in two different experiences
that have the potential for opposite emotional impact.
Activity
The teacher begins class with two announcements each of
which is posted on official school letterhead: 1)there is a
new Latin course being offered next quarter. The teacher
sincerely encourages students, if they are interested, to sign
up for this course; and 2)parking passes have become more
expensive and will rise $15 per quarter to fee of $100.
Generally, the second announcement will bring forth a range
of emotional responses from the students.
ATTEND
Students analyze the differences in their emotions as
the two announcements were made.
Activity
The teacher conducts a class discussion to debrief the
"announcements" experience, with a focus on the
quality and range of student emotions.
Students will gain an

understanding of the
concept of elasticity in
economics and be able
to apply it to various
circumstances.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Two sample
announcements on
school letterhead;
sketch paper and
drawing materials
IMAGINE
Students create depictions of elasticity.
Activity
Without previous definition, students are assigned to
draw objects that they feel are "elastic" and "inelastic,"
as preparation for delving into the technical side of the
concept. Students post their visuals and explain why
the pictures are elastic or inelastic.
INFORM
Students acquire knowledge and skills to
apply elasticity in economic situations.
Activity
Lecture: The lecture provides definition of the following: elasticity
of demand; supply elasticity; cross price elasticity; income
elasticity; degrees of elasticity; elasticity along a straight line
demand curve; total revenue and expenditures and the elasticity
of demand; determinants of elasticity of demand; incidence of a
tax. Students take notes and hand in summary papers in either
linear or concept-map form indicating mastery of concepts
and terms presented.
123

GRAPHING FUNCTIONS
SUBJECT
Math/Basic Algebra
DURATION
PERFORM
Students share their findings with the class.
Activity
Students form teams of 3 or 4 participants who
have each chosen similar professions. They pool
their composite knowledge and share what they
have learned with the class as a whole.
6 hours
AUTHOR(S)
Cindee Davis taught
High School Math and
Art for 10 years in Reno,
NV. She has been a Math
professor at Truckee
Meadows Community
College in Reno since
1985. Initially she saw
4MAT as a vehicle to
enable her to make
better use of cooperative learning strategies.
She was honored as an
Outstanding Faculty
member in 1991 and was
the 1997 Truckee
Meadows Community
College nominee for the
University of Nevada
System Regents'
Outstanding Teacher
Award. She is a certified
4MAT Trainer.

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124
REFINE
Student teams critique and edit each others projects.
Activity
Students work in teams of four. In turn, each student
shares preliminary project findings with the rest of the
team. Peers explore clarifying edits before projects are
put in final form. The instructor moves from group to
group, making additional suggestions as appropriate.
EXTEND
Students connect the topics covered to the real world.
Activity
1)Students gather data that interests them, create a graph or picture using the data, look
for patterns in the data, and try to make a prediction about a new event based on the data.
2)Students explore a profession which interests them, and identify how that profession
utilizes data gathering for decision-making, concluding or predicting. Students write a
s h o rt paper on the findings, and create a visual display of the various types of graphs for
data display produced for use within their chosen profession. They must make predictions
and draw conclusions about that profession from their data display
PRACTICE
Students practice the different graphing techniques
and equations.
Activity
After each new topic or technique is explained and
demonstrated, students are assigned appropriate
problems for practice and reinforcement. For some
problems, students work collaboratively with learning partners or learning teams. Selected problems
from homework are edited and critiqued by peer
editing and returned after review by the instructor.
Students take a short quiz after each topic is covered
and practiced.
CONCEPT
Relationships
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Student partners demonstrate how they measure a
"high" in their lives.
Activity
The teacher engages the entire class in an energizing,
stretch/kinesthetic movement activity with music. When
the music stops, students are instructed to shake hands
with the person nearest them and demonstrate with
their hand the distance from the floor that shows the
best feeling they have ever experienced. Then, they
each quickly show where they are today relative to that
high feeling. Both partners demonstrate simultaneously.
ATTEND
Students take an interval of time and see relative
differences in their experience in that time interval in
terms of feeling good or bad.
Activity
Individually students reflect on a personal time interval
and assess their good or bad feelings in that time
interval, with an emphasis on their high or low points.
Each student records a list of personal events, marking
the high/low quality of each event along a timecontinuum, resulting in a pictorial representation of the
relative relationship between events.
IMAGINE
Students depict the changes in their lives.
Activity
Students draw a picture or create a song, poem or slogan to depict the major changes in their lives during
the previous week. In groups of four, students share
and explain their depictions to each other. The teacher
debriefs in class discussion showing how life's "upsand-downs" can be illustrated by pictorial graphs.
Students look for patterns in their own pictorial
representations.
INFORM
Students learn various graphing functions.
Activity
Direct instruction addresses the following: linear,
quadratic, power, and rational functions and how to
graph each one. Included is a discussion of intercepts,
asymptotes, vertices, slope, and symmetry.
Students will
understand graphing as
a way to visually
demonstrate
relationships and
changes.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Lecture instructorprepared presentation
materials on linear,
quadratic, power,
exponential,
logarithmic functions
or whatever functions
are being studied
AUTHORS NOTE:
Th is is a warped w h eel,
where the CONNECT/
ATTEND/IMAGINE
a ctivities begin the unit
followed by i n s truction
on different functions,
one at a ti m e, with
gu ided pra ctice on each
of their graphs (INFORM /
PRACTICE). The w h eel
concludes (EXTEND/
REFINE/PERFORM) when
the appl ications and
profess ions are sh a red
at the end of the last
class.
125

MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
SUBJECT
Medical Technology
DURATION
1 quarter
AUTHOR(S)
Robin McCree is the
Science Department
Head and in-house
4-MAT trainer at Stanly
Community College,
Albemarle, NC.
AUTHORS NOTE:
This is an adapted
4MAT wheel. The
CONNECT, ATTEND,
IMAGINE steps are
experienced in the
order presented here.
The INFORM, PRACTICE,
EXTEND, and REFINE
steps are experienced
for each of the topics
studied, and then
repeated for the next
topic.

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126
PERFORM
Students celebrate their newly gained ability to
communicate using correct medical terminology.
Activity
Celebration Project: each student bakes a small
cake and decorates it with a symbol that
represents a word part, i.e., cardiovascular
represented with a heart-shaped cake. Arrange
cakes into as many words as possible. Then the
class eats and enjoys!
REFINE
Students evaluate their own ability to use and apply appropriate terminology to a
clinical setting.
Activity
After each topic is studied, students write a case history in their journal using at least 10
terms from that topic. Students work in learning teams of four persons to debrief and edit
their journal entries as each topic is concluded. Students take a quiz on the content as
each topic is covered.
EXTEND
After each topic studied, students develop various creative representations of content
to reinforce retention of terminology.
Activity
Each topic is expanded by students doing the following:
1)Creating representational models of diff e rent words, i.e., cardia- could be represented with
a clay model of a valentine heart, -stasia could be represented with a picture of a stop sign.
2)Constructing own models of the anatomy of the skin and the lungs in action. 3)Writing
jingles for the urinary and male re p roductive systems, using as many medical terms as
possible. 4)Constructing and labeling a model of the female re p roductive system with one of
the conditions described in the text, i.e., endometriosis. Students present models to class for
other students to determine the condition. 5)Playing charades using words from the
cardiovascular chapter. 6)Creating audionyms for word parts associated with the digestive
system. 7)Drawing cartoons of the musculoskeletal system by choosing one disorder and
incorporating in their cartoon as many words that would be associated with the disorder.
8 ) Writing lyrics using familiar tunes, i.e., "Jingle Bells," using the medical terms of nervous
and endocrine systems.
PRACTICE
Students apply lecture information via
guided practice and reinforcement activities.
Activity
Each chapter has accompanying workbook
activities which provide various reinforcement of
the content presented. Students are encouraged to
make "flash cards" to provide hands-on practice for
memorizing critical terminology. They create visual
representations of the parts and functioning of each
of the systems covered in the lectures.
CONCEPT
Communication
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience the need for proper communication,
both oral and written.
Activity
First, the instructor enters the classroom carrying on a foreign language
conversation with another person Students are then asked to define in one
word, "What was the instructor doing?. Hopefully, they respond with "communicating." Next, each student is assigned a learning partner. Each team is
given a sentence written in a different language. One person per group is
instructed to read the sentence, while the other tries to figure out what the
meaning is. Students then answer the following questions:
1)How do you feel when you don't understand what is being said? 2)How do
you feel when you are practicing to explain or give information to someone
who does not understand you? 3)How do you feel when you are not comfortable speaking the language? 4)What mistakes did both the speaker and
interpreter make? 5)Why is it so important to be able to communicate?
Students will enhance

their ability to
understand, remember
and correctly use
specific and necessary
medical terminology.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Art supplies
ATTEND
Students discuss why different types of communication are necessary.
Activity
The teacher conducts a brainstorming session to identify different types
of communications, i.e. verbal, visual, action, language, etc. Students
evaluate each one and determine why each type is necessary, and how it
is best used.
IMAGINE
Students imagine what it is like to not be able to communicate.
Activity
Divide students into groups of four. Each group receives a medical case history. Assign one or
two students to role play the health care provider and the other student(s) are the patient(s).
The health care provider will read the case history as if it was the patient's. The patient will ask
lots of questions about the case history, while the health care provider will respond using
medical terminology and then layman's terms. After the role play, ask, "How does it feel not to
be able to communicate?" and "Has it ever happened to you?" Each student creates a personal
visual analog depicting what their personal feelings have "looked like" when they have not
understood something important, or when they have experienced the frustration of not being
able to explain something important to someone else.
INFORM
The instructor conducts traditional lectures on
pertinent content information.
Activity
Lectures followed by guided practice on the following:
the respiratory system; the urinary and male
reproductive systems; the female reproductive system;
the cardiovascular system; the digestive system; the
musculoskeletal system; and the nervous and
endocrine systems.
127

MEMORANDUMS
SUBJECT
Technical Writing
DURATION
Several class periods
AUTHOR(S)
was written, Dr. Mary
Bess Dunn was
Assistant Professor of
Reading and Special
Education at Tennessee
State University,
Nashville, TN.
PERFORM
Students appreciate what they have learned about
precision and form in communication.
Activity
In teams of four, class members exchange final
draft memos in round-robin fashion. Each student
completes the following synectic: "Precision and
F o rm in written communication is like
__________ because _________. Individual
examples are posted on a composite class paper
c h a rt for all to enjoy.
REFINE
Students pair/share for peer editing of memos.
Activity
Students complete the written assignment. They
exchange their work with a partner and analyze their
memos for form and content, editing as necessary.
They agree upon written grades for their finished
products, using an established rubric.
EXTEND
Students apply what they have learned.
Activity
The students each write a memorandum to a member of
the next technical writing class informing him/her of the
following information: date and time of class meeting,
location of class, personal perceptions of course
content, effectiveness of instruction (they are to be free
to be honest). Students and the instructor develop a
rubric that will be applied to assess and grade the
final drafts.

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128
PRACTICE
Students practice memo writing skills.
Activity
1)Students complete activities at the end of the
text chapter. 2)Students bring to class memos
they have either received or written to someone
themselves. They critique these memos according
to what they have learned and rewrite them as
necessary.
CONCEPT
Precision and Form
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students experience how clarity of communication
can impact them in their everyday lives.
Activity
Divide the class into groups of no more than five. Groups are given
the following worksheet. 1)Discuss with each other the concept of
communication and its facets. 2)Using the blank newsprint and
magic markers provided, your group must draw a picture that
represents communication. 3)You may approach this task in any way
that is comfortable for the group as a whole. 4)All group members
will sign the picture and tape it to the wall of the classroom.
AUTHORS NOTE: This activity has been used with numerous groups
with the same picture never repeated. The activity works very well as
a connecting experience.
Stude n ts wi ll lea rn th e
com pon e n ts of effective,
orga n i zed wri tten
communication.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Newsprint a nd
markers; geom etric
figu re vis uals for
communication activity
ATTEND
Students develop composite descriptions of what communication means to them.
Activity
The class reconvenes as a whole. Taking each group picture singularly, ask the
class members for their interpretations of the picture. Following their reactions
and comments, each group spokesperson will share his/her group's discussion
that led to the development of the picture. At the close of the class session, each
student completes the following sentence stem: "This activity . . . "
AUTHORS NOTE: Display a composite of the sentence stem completions at the
beginning of the next session.
IMAGINE
Students integrate the experience with a need for the expansion of their present skill levels.
Activity
1)Ask for a pair of volunteers. Give one volunteer a drawing of an arrangement of geometric
f i g u res. He or she is to tell the other how to draw the figure on the chalkboard. The drawer and
the describer must stand back to back so they cannot see each other. The describer tells the
drawer what to do using any words s/he may choose, but the drawer may not speak to the
describer. [This approximates what happens in written communication: the receiver is at the
" m e rcy" of the sender.] 2)Ask for a second pair of volunteers. They have the same task with
another drawing, except that the two may speak to but not look at each other. The drawer may
ask for clarification of instructions. [This approximates telephone communication.] 3)A third
pair of volunteers has the task with another drawing. This time the describer may watch the
drawer, and they may communicate fre e l y. [This approximates two-way face to face
communication.] Students journal their own reflections on this activity including
implications for their own skill development needs.
INFORM
The instructor provides information on the form, style, and
o rganization of a memorandum.
Activity
Students read the assigned text chapter, and the instructor
lectures with visuals using the text as basis.
129

ATTORNEY/CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY
SUBJECT
Law
DURATION
As needed
AUTHOR(S)
Cynthia Kelly Conlon,
J.D., Ph.D. is Assistant
Professor of Law at
Loyola University
School of Law in
Chicago, Illinois.
PERFORM
Students share their insights about the strengths and weaknesses of the
current code provisions regarding confidentiality.
Activity
The students share their "model code provisions" and are asked to vote for
one such provision that reflects the consensus of the group (by at least a
simple majority). The students will present this "model provision" to a panel
of non-lawyers, consisting of the following: a faculty member from the
philosophy department, a physician, a priest, a business executive, and a
high school principal. The panel members evaluate the proposed code
provision in terms of their view of the purpose of attorney/client confidentiality in our society. Students respond to any questions/criticisms raised by
panel members. At the end of the discussion, each student writes a short
statement as an addendum to his/her own "model code provision" which
describes his/her reaction to the discussion. Would the student now revise
his/her draft provision in any way? Why or why not?
REFINE
Students evaluate their understanding of the values underlying the
concept of confidentiality
Activity
Each student drafts his/her own provision of a model code of
professional responsibility which defines the nature of the attorneys duty
to preserve a clients confidences. The code should include both a
statement of the ethical standard, as well as background "comments"
which explain the values underlying the code.
EXTEND
Students attend the ethical issues in a case from the perspective of the
e n t i re community.
Activity
Students participate in a simulation of a television interview program
that is examining the attorneys actions in the case they read in the
PRACTICE step. Students role play the following: attorneys in case,
father of one victim, chief of police, member of state bar ethics commit-
PRACTICE
Students apply the principles of the ABA Code
to a particular factual situation.
Activity
Three case studies are given; students write
essays in which they justify their personal
agreement or disagreement with the decision,
citing specific reasons for their positions.
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130
CONCEPT
Confidentiality
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Students clarify their own values concerning
confidentiality.
Activity
Pose this scenario to the students: A friend admits
plagiarism of an article in order to make appointment to
the Law Review. The group must choose: Would they
tellA) if they were not involved except as a fellow
student; B)as editor of the Review; C)as someone
whose own article was runner-up.
ATTEND
Students identify the values of loyalty and privacy
underlying the concept of confidentiality and the
competing societal need for accurate information.
Activity
Professor leads class discussion focusing on the group
responses to the scenario, identifying relevant factors,
the process used, and individual self-interest issues.
IMAGINE
Students depict their own values about how this
concept applies in the context of criminal defense.
Activity
Illustrate the dilemma of client confidentiality and
societys rights in some abstract art form. Students each
explain their illustration of their position and the
complexity of the issue as they see it.
INFORM
The professor identifies the provisions of the American
Bar Association Code of Professional Responsibility
which defines the attorneys ethical responsibilities in
this situation.
Activity
Students read assigned materials outlining the
attorneys ethical duties to client confidences and
client/societal rights. Summarize readings and
discuss in class.
Students will be introduced to the concept of

confidentiality and the
legal/ethical ramifications for attorneys.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Teacher-prepared
scenario case study;
panel of guests for
panel discussion
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Annotated Code of
Professional
Responsibility,
American Bar
Foundation, Chicago,
Illinois. 1979.
Opinions of the
Committee on
Professional Ethics,
American Bar
Foundation, Chicago,
Illinois. 1967.
Redlich, Norman,
Professional
Responsibility: A
Problem Approach.
Little, Brown and
Company, Boston,
Massachusetts. 1976,
pp. 60-62.
131

SOURCES OF POWER/USE AND MISUSE
SUBJECT
Instructor-Staff
Development
DURATION
six sessions
AUTHOR(S)
President of About
4MAT System.
PERFORM
Participants will further their understanding of how
exemplary instructors are perceived by their students.
Activity
Participants will overlay their ideas on the best uses of
power on each of the 4MAT quadrants. Some
suggestionsQuadrant One: You are authentic and fair
with them. Quadrant Two: You are a competent expert .
Quadrant Three: They see you use your power fairly and
well. And Quadrant Four: They see you as someone who
will help them reach their goals. Finally the participants
reflect on and share: Which of the quadrants are they the
most comfortable with and which do they need to work on?
REFINE
Participants will overlay their learning on Navy policy.
Activity
Individuals write a reflective essay on the Navys policy of sexual harassment and the
Navys policy of fraternization in light of what they have learned about the sources of power.
EXTEND
To afford participants practice in knowing the best uses of both kinds of power in
instructional situations.
Activity
The participants practice moving from personal to position power and from position to
personal power through scenarios. They attend the diff e rence circumstances when these two
d i ff e rent ways of using power would exemplify best practice. Small groups then share their
strategies with the large group.

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132
PRACTICE
The participants take part in a discussion
concerning learning style approaches to power
abuses.
Activity
Participants discuss in small groups what the
four different learning styles would consider to
be abuses of power. Would they differ?
CONCEPT
The Sources of Power:
Their Use and Misuse
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Participants will create list of people and things that have power over them in order to
discriminate between those that are coercive and those that require commitment.
Activity
Participants individually create a list of people and things that have power over them
Participants are then asked to classify their choices in terms of Compliance/ Coercion
versus Commitment/Persuasion. The list includes: "my children, my students, moral law,
civil law, people in high places, people I resonate with, my clients, my supervisors/my
superiors." The point here is, that in the ideal, all the check marks would be on the
commitment side. If that were the case then an individual would be in agreement with the
rules, regulations, laws, and the relationships with people that have power over him or
her. The question then, is who has the power? The answer is the individual doesin all
the power issues that make up his or her commitments. When the power stems from
compliance or coercion, someone else, not the individual, has the power. The small
groups share their lists with each other and discuss briefly how they willingly or
unwillingly submit to the power of others over their lives. The question then becomes
what is the balance, and moreover, what is the ideal?
ATTEND
Participants take part in the One Great Teacher Exercise.
Activity
Participants are asked to recall one great teacher they had. This memory does not have to come
f rom a formal teaching circumstance. It might be a grandfather, or a friend, or even a single
event. The moment recalled needs to be one of great learning, something that has never been
f o rgotten. The participants are asked to tell their small groups the story of that teacher, or that
moment and the impact it has had on their lives. After the stories are told, each individual lists
one trait that made that learning so lasting, a trait in the teacher, or in the moment etc. The traits
are listed on each groups paper charts and then classified according to the following: Position
Power: the extent to which re w a rds, punishments and sanctions can be brought to bear; that
which comes from above, from position. Personal Power: the extent to which confidence and
t rust exists between and among people in terms of influence; the cohesiveness, commitment
and rapport of a relationship. Are the characteristics that were listed for the teaching moment,
the result of position power or personal power?
IMAGINE
Participants move to a metaphor to further conceptual understanding.
Activity
Participants will read quotes on power and create a visual highlighting anything that has real
meaning for them. They share the highlighted material with their small groups. Then
together, as a group, create a visual representation of "The Ideal Use of Power".
INFORM
The instructor provides an overview of power.
Activity
The instructors lecture on power, includes the
use and misuse of power and Blanchards seven
perceptions of power.
Participants will
understand the two
major sources of power:
position (bestowed) and
personal (earned), and
how to best use both in
instructional settings.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
US Navy policy on
sexual harassment and
fraternization; various
definitions and quotes
on power (gathered by
the author);
art supplies;
Compliance and
Commitment List
(created by the author);
Situational Leadership:
Perception and the
Impact of Power, Ken
Blanchard, Chapter 9.
AUTHORS NOTE:
*The concept for this
unit was taken from
the Navy Education and
Instruction Training
Manual, March, 1991;
Specifically, Topic 2,
Knowledge and
Comprehension of
Group-Based
Instruction
133

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN/
PERSPECTIVES ON ORGANIZATIONS
SUBJECT
Organizational Theory
DURATION
Several class sessions
AUTHOR(S)
Ursula Clare and
Louise Portway
PERFORM
Participants formulate a contingency theory of management,
based on their experiences with the four theoretical models
studied.
Activity
The facilitator conducts a general discussion followed by
participants assigned to create a contingency theory of
management, illustrating the best approach to take in
different situations and contexts, and using all four theories.
These are presented to the class as a whole, to be compared
and contrasted for relative merit and feasibility.
REFINE
Participants evaluate the managers responses to their questions.
Activity
Participant "consulting" teams analyze the managers responses to their
questions. They then make recommendations to the manager within the
parameters of the theoretical organization approach they are taking.
EXTEND
Participants apply one theory to an organizational setting.
Activity
Participants self-select into one of four different "consultant" teams. Each
team is restricted to one of the four organizational theories. Their task is
to 1)develop a logo and name for their group; 2)develop questions,
congruent with their particular theory, to obtain pertinent information
about an organization; and 3) ask a manager these questions (if possible,
the facilitator will have a courageous real-life manager take this role with
the group.

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134
PRACTICE
Students reinforce knowledge using a hands-on
classification activity.
Activity
Groups are given a set of cards which have key
words written on them. Their task is to sort the
cards into the four main instructional theories:
behavioral, bureaucratic, scientific and systems.
The cards are color coded to distinguish between
the assumptions underlying each theory, how to
diagnose the differences and the strategies that
could be used to improve things. This activity
enables them to use theory as a tool.
CONCEPT
Perspective
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Participants conceptualize their own perception
of their own organization.
Activity
Participants describe their organization using three
different metaphors: as an animal; as a situation
comedy, story or drama; and as a form of transport.
Participants will
understand and be able
to appropriately apply
four main
organizational theories.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
Paper charts and
markers; sketch paper
and art supplies
ATTEND
Participants reflect on the qualities represented in
their metaphors.
Activity
Participants share metaphors in small groups,
identifying the different kinds of information that each
metaphor reveals about their organizations. A summary
of each persons perception is posted on a paper chart
for the larger group to see.
IMAGINE
Participants move from perceived metaphor to a vision
of the ideal.
Activity
Participants choose their preferred metaphor and draw
their ideal version of their organization. (In one session,
participants produced ten healthy animals, eight
efficient vehicles, one sunny house by the water, and
some happy people.)
INFORM
The facilitator provides an overview of the history of organizational theory.
Activity
General group discussion should establish that people have their own
pre f e rred way of seeing things. The facilitator may address the concept of
paradigms, using the classic old woman/young woman picture, and
excerpts from current organizational development theory. The presentation
includes a brief history of organizational theory in terms of changing
paradigms, with diagrams to illustrate the inter- relationships, with
re f e rence to management texts.
135

CONNECTING SCHOOL WORK AND CAREERS
SUBJECT
Career Awareness
Workshop for
Teachers/Counselors
DURATION
Two and one-halfhours
PERFORM
Participants share insights and understandings
for implementing the program.
Activity
Participants post and share lessons created in the
EXTEND section. They demonstrate or illustrate
key ideas. If possible, the trainer captures these
lessons and makes them available to the
participants at a later date.
AUTHOR(S)
Ch a r lotte Davis learned
4MAT w h i le she was a
classroom teacher wi th
the Shawn ee Mission
Sch ool Dis trict, Shawn ee
Miss ion, KS. She appl ied
the pri nc i ples in self conta i n edelementa ry
classrooms and in sta ff
development programs
for the district and in
the region . She is now
using 4MAT in a new
career as an educational
consultant for Career
Communication s, Inc.
She has inspired th e
company to use 4MAT
principles in developing
American Careers
programs for
elementary, middle and
high sch ool stude n ts as
well as the training
programs th at are
o ffered by the company.
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136
REFINE
Participants formulate a response to the integration of
career paths with their existing programs.
Activity
Participants respond in writing to the following two
questions: What part/s of the program can you integrate
immediately? What parts will require some reflection
time? Then they share the ideas in small or the large
group, depending on total number.
EXTEND
Participants envision and work with synthesizing the
materials for use in their classrooms.
Activity
Following a videotape
presentation from a classroom that shows different
lessons in action, participants use the text to create
their own lesson, incorporating specific connections
from their community
PRACTICE
Participants correlate an existing career lesson
with their own academic and guidance
curriculum objectives.
Activity
Participants work with a lesson from the student
activity book to find correlations with their own
state and/or local standards. Then they present
their correlations to the group.
CONCEPT
Integration of Systems
OBJECTIVE
CONNECT
Participants explore relationships and symbolic
meanings for objects that function as organizing tools
in life.
Activity
Participants form small groups to view an object on
their table, discuss and share with the larger group
personal opinions about how their object relates to
careers. (Compass, Map, Legos, Dinosaur, Magnifier,
Calculator, Address and Phone Book, Computer
Mouse and Pencil)
ATTEND
Participants discover their own unique preferences and recognize
diversity in the total group.
Activity
Participants complete a career path pre f e rence inventory that identifies
their own interests. The individual results show a numerical proportion
between the six career paths. They stand with others who share their
same pre f e rence and notice a visual display of diversity.
IMAGINE
Participants develop an understanding of career paths as clusters of jobs
that share common ideas, interests and abilities.
Activity
The trainer uses a hollow ball notched with different shapes to illustrate
the point that individuals tend to gravitate toward their academic and personal strengths when choosing a career. They are more successful when
they understand both the concept of career paths and their own unique
abilities in relation to those paths. Participants then work in small groups
to create a collage of symbols to illustrate the essence of one of the six
career paths. All six paths are illustrated and shared with the total group.
INFORM
Participants learn about the contextual framework of the
program to be used with fourth or fifth grade students.
Activity
Trainer presents an overview of the program, using
classroom anecdotes from different subject areas. Using
the student text, student activity book and teachers guide,
participants see how the three pieces use the topic of
careers to apply and practice academic standards in
language, math, science, social studies and
life skills.
Tea chers and co u n selor s

wi ll explore ways to use
career aware n ess as a
tool for helping stude n ts
discover the connection
between "school work"
and wor k in the real
world, and the releva nce
and pra ctical
applications of lea rn i n g.
REQUIRED
RESOURCES
American Careers for
Kids Program Materials;
video clips from a
classroom; assorted
markers and paper;
manipulatives for
connecting section;
academic and guidance
standards for the
specific site
AUTHORS NOTE:
This plan is shared with
permission and encouragement from Career
Communications, Inc.,
Barbara F. Orwig,
Publisher. If you would
like more information
about American Careers
programs, call
1-800-669-7795.
137
AUTHOR INDEX
Bailey, Jean. FINE ARTS/VISUAL ARTS: Kachina Dolls 4-5
Baloun, Charlene. MATHEMATICS/SCIENCE: Size 26-27
Barnett, Lori. ENGLISH: Our Town
102-103
Boehme, Keith L. LANGUAGE ARTS: English Alphabet
48-49
Bronner, Constance. FINE ARTS/LANGUAGE ARTS: Shadow and Mystery 8-9
Buising, Susan. MATHEMATICS: Fractions
54-55
Caldwell, Susan. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Telephone Skills
120-121
Chesher, Donine. MATHEMATICS: Fractions
54-55
Chilgreen, Alice. SCIENCE: Scientific Method
94-95
Clare, Ursula. ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY: Instructional Design/Perspectives on Organizations
Conlon, Cynthia Kell,y J.D., Ph.D. LAW: Attorney/Client Confidentiality
130-131
Coyne, Rosemary. FINE ARTS/LANGUAGE ARTS: Shadow and Mystery 8-9
Davis, Charlott e. CAREER AWARENESS: Connecting School Work and Careers
136-137
Davis, Cindee. MATH/BASIC ALGEBRA: Graphing Functions
124-125
Diet e r, Lynn P., Ph . D. ENGLISH: A Man for All Seasons
98-99
Dietrich, Karen C. SCIENCE/BIOLOGY: Enzymes
114-115
DiGiacomo, Patricia. HISTORY: The Great Depression 96-97
DiGiacomo, Patricia. HISTORY: Revisionist History
106-107
Dodd, Marilyn. ENGLISH: Audience Attributes
74-75
Dunn, Dr. Mary Bess. TECHNICAL WRITING: Memorandums
128-129
Fischman, Dr. B ruce. LANGUAGE ARTS/STUDY SKILLS: Homework Strategies
50-51
Fugate, Mary. ENGLISH: Literature/Where the Red Fern Grows
78-79
Garvey, Rhonda. MATHEMATICS: Fibonacci Sequence
62-63
George, Mitzi. FINE ARTS/VISUAL ARTS: Art Imitates Life
82-83
Glaum, Grace. SOCIAL STUDIES: The Flag 40-41
Hamaker, David. SCIENCE: Natural Selection 32-33
Hayes, Vera. MATH/PRE-ALGEBRA: Writing and Solving Equations (1 of 2)
90-91
Hayes, Vera. MATH/PRE-ALGEBRA: Writing and Solving Equations (2 of 2)
92-93
Hayslip, Juanice. SCIENCE: Ecology/Our Environment 36-37
Hermanson, Linda. SCIENCE/LANGUAGE ARTS: Eggs 30-31
Hostetter, Stephanie. MATH/CALCULUS: Maximum/Minimum Value
112-113
Hubler, Lisa. MATHEMATICS: Fractions
54-55
Huddleston, Lee. ENGLISH LITERATURE: Gender Stereotypes
100-101
Hunt, Carla. MATH/CALCULUS: Maximum/Minimum Value
112-113
Hunt, Scott, Ph.D. ECONOMICS: Elasticity in Economics
122-123
Johnson, Lucinda. LANGUAGE ARTS/Parts of Speech
52-53
Kafer, Marty. SCIENCE: Plants in the Neighborhood Habitat 34-35
Killock, Leona. SCIENCE/BIOLOGY: Living and Non-living Things
116-117
Kirschenbaum, Alisa. SCIENCE: Plants in the Neighborhood Habitat 34-35
Koch, Sue. MATHEMATICS: Fractions
54-55
134-135
139
Kopecky, Jeanine. FOREIGN LANGUAGE/FRENCH I: Descriptive Language

84-85
Lott, Fran. SOCIAL STUDIES/FINE ARTS: Mayan Art
80-81
McAfee, Judith A. ENGLISH: Symbols in Poetry
104-105
McCarthy, Bernice. INSTRUCTOR-STAFF DEVELOPMENT: Use/Misuse of Power
132-133
McCarthy, Bernice. LANGUAGE ARTS: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 14-15
McCarthy, Bernice. LANGUAGE ARTS: Make Way for Ducklings 18-19
McCarthy, Bernice. LANGUAGE ARTS: Owl Moon 20-21
McCree, Robin. MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY: Medical Terminology
126-127
Mendenhall, Dianne. FINE ARTS/MUSIC/SOCIAL STUDIES: Wants Vs. Needs 6-7
M e rry, Molly. SCIENCE: Birds
64-65
Moriarity, Vicky. LANGUAGE ARTS: Adjectives 12-13
Mosher, Jim. GUIDANCE: Planning for High School
86-87
Nick, Elaine. MATHEMATICS: Fractions
54-55
Nun, Kristin. SOCIAL STUDIES: Friends 38-39
Paxcia-Bibbins, Nancy. FINE ARTS/MUSIC: Beethoven Style
46-47
Pfau, Jenny. SCIENCE: Waste Management
66-67
Pi per,John. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY:Envi ronment and SurvivalWheel One 42-43
Pi per,John. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY:Envi ronment and SurvivalWheel Two 44-45
Pi per, Sylvia. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY:Envi ronment and SurvivalWheel One 42-43
Pi per, Sylvia. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY:Envi ronment and SurvivalWheel Two 44-45
Portway, Louise. ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY: Instructional Design/Perspectives on Organizations
134-135
Pulhamus, Marlene L. LANGUAGE ARTS: Working Together 16-17
Reilly, Robin. LANGUAGE ARTS/PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Action Verbs 10-11
Reynolds, Beth. LANGUAGE ARTS/SOCIAL STUDIES/STUDY SKILLS: Learning to Learn
88-89
Rizzetto, Diane. ENGLISH: Poetry
76-77
Ross, James. SCIENCE: Scientific Method
94-95
Schelkopf, Doreen. MATHEMATICS: Measurement (1 of 3)
56-57
58-59
60-61
Smith, Lynn T. MATH/ALGEBRA II: Graphing Sinusoids
110-111
Spatz, Thea, Ed.D., CHES. WOMENS HEALTHCARE: Breast Self-Exam
118-119
Stoklosa, Dolores. MATHEMATICS: Introduction to Geometry 24-25
Ti rri , Bob. SOCIAL STUDIES: State Counties
72-73
Wallace, Margaret. LANGUAGE ARTS/PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Action Verbs 10-11
Watts, Lydia. MATHEMATICS: Numbers 28-29
Webb, Anita. ENGLISH: Literature/Where the Red Fern Grows
78-79
Webb, Joseph E. HISTORY/HUMANITIES: Slavery
108-109
Webe r, Don a ld. SOCIAL STUDIES: Local History
70-71
Wolf, John. SOCIAL STUDIES: United States Government
68-69
Woodru ff, Katie. MATHEMATICS: Attributes 22-23
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4MAT in Action

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PRACTICE

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

pe r sonal con n ection , lea ding to

Hu man be i n gs pe rce ive expe rie nce

Hu man be i n gs process expe rie nce

There are four maj or ide n ti fi a ble

They are all equally valua ble.

Type One Lea rners are pri ma ri l y

2001 About Learning, Inc.

s uccess ful pa rt of the time while be i n g

The 4MAT System moves thro u gh the

Ea ch of the four lea rning modes needs

The development a nd integration of

Lea rners wi ll come to accept their

The more comforta ble we are about

Lea rning is fundamentally social.

Lea rning is fu nction a l .

The Ima gi n ative Lea rn e r s,

The A n a l ytic Lea rn e r s,

The Com m on Sense Learners,

The Dyn a m ic Lea rn e r s,

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

where all lea rners have an eq ual ch a nce to lea rn ;

Quadrant One: Connecting the Concept with the Self

A process from Sensing/Feeling to Reflecting.

TEACHERS ROL E MOTI VATOR/WITN ESS

STEP ONE: CONNECT

TEACHERS ROL E MOTI VATOR

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

STEP T WO: ATTEND

2001 About Learning, Inc.

Quadrant Two: Concept Formulation

A process from Reflecting to Developing Concepts.

A ll of the students go through this process, but

TEACHERS ROL E CONC E PTUALIZER/TEAC H E R

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

STEP THREE: IMAGINE

2001 About Learning, Inc.

STEP FOUR: INFORM

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

Quadrant Three: Practice and Personalization

A process from Developing Concepts to Active Experimenting

A ll of the stude n ts con ti n ue on th rough th is process,

2001 About Learning, Inc.

Maslow s pea ks eloq ue n tly of ch oices encouraged by a sa fe envi ron m e n t. We

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

Th is is beca u se of the proxi m i tyto th e

STEP FIVE: PRACTICE

Work on Defined Concepts (Reinforcement and Manipulation)

2001 About Learning, Inc.

Good unit plans have lea rners enga ge

as pect of Se paration as a form of ch a n ge. They develop lis ts of adjustm e n ts

STEP SIX: EXTEND

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

resea rch indicates th at th is is the case in a great ma ny class room s.

2001 About Learning, Inc.

We solve a problem or make a discove rywhen we impose a puz z le form on a

Q uadrant Fo u r: Integrating Appl ication and Experie n ce

A process from Active Experimenting to Sensing/Feeling

A ll of the lea rners go th ro u gh th is process, but

TEACHERS ROL E EVALUATOR/REMEDIATOR/

4MAT IN ACTION: INTRODUCTION

STEP SEVEN: REFINE