UMF Unit-Wide Lesson Plan Template

Name: Joe Brichetto Program: SMED Course:

EDU 460
Lesson Topic / Title: Comparative Essay: Cold War vs. Modern Era

Lesson Date: 4/8 & 4/10 Lesson Length: Grade/Age: Juniors

one 80-minute class (+WT)
Learning Objectives & Content Standard Alignment - Selects, creates, and sequences learning
experiences and performance tasks that support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals
based on content standards.
Learning Objective(s) Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Students will be able to develop a thesis for a compare and The summative product has students
contrast essay. comparing and contrasting the events we
Students will be able to create an essay based off of analysis of have studied with events that have
both Cold War and modern events. happened in their lifetime. To do that well,
they should be able to hit these learning
targets that encompass planning and
writing.
Content Standard(s) Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Label A: Students apply critical thinking, a research process, and discipline-based
processes and knowledge from civics/government, economics, geography, and history in
This standard felt most appropriate for what the
authentic contexts. students will be doing to try and meet the learning
Standard A1: Researching and Developing Positions on Current Social Studies Issues targets. Since they will have to use different
Grade Level Span: Grade 9-Diploma Students research, develop,
present, and defend positions on current social studies issues by developing and modifying
sources like information from previous lessons
research questions, and locating, selecting, evaluating, and synthesizing information from and outside research for events from their
multiple and varied sources. lifetime, the selected performance indicator
Performance Indicator: D. Synthesize information from varied sources, fieldwork, experiments,
and/or interviews that reflect multiple perspectives
seemed to be the right fit.
Assessment - Uses assessment flexibly to expand and deepen understanding of learner performance
and determines best supports for continued learner growth.
Assessment Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Pre: Venn diagram GO The different assessments help give the students
Formative: 1-on-1 conference regarding thesis statements the skills needed to complete the summative
Summative: 350+ word essay on prompted topic product at a proficient level, which will show
achievement of both learning targets. There is
a sneak peak of progress of the first learning
target with the formative assessment, but the
summative shows that they were able to develop
a thesis with a historical lens.

Instructional Materials and Resources - Stays current in content knowledge and expands expertise in
reviewing instructional materials from the perspectives of both the discipline and individual learner
needs.
Materials, Resources, and / or Technology Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
https://bit.ly/2J5ZN9E - Venn Diagram GO This lesson is pretty low-tech overall. Students
https://bit.ly/2vmhGij - Essay prompt will likely prefer to type an essay over writing it
https://bit.ly/2qBDYYK - Essay rubric by hand, but a laptop isn't paramount to the
Students will likely prefer laptops for word processing. lesson per say. The social awareness part
Some social awareness of students' interests will go a long way comes in during the hook that will engage the
students in the pre-assessment at the least.

Rev 8/17
Instructional Methods: Selects, creates, and sequences learning experiences and performance tasks
by using a variety of instructional approaches, strategies, and technologies that make learning
accessible to all learners and support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals.
Teaching and Learning Sequence Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Hook/Pre-assessment (15 minutes) This lesson starts with having students compare
things they are familiar with (Snapchat vs.
Thesis development (5 minutes)
Instagram, Ford vs. Chevy, etc.) Rancorous
1-on-1 conferences (10 minutes) class discussion is encouraged. Once they have
Intro to prompt and rubric (5 minutes) completed that, ask them to put their findings
Work time (45 minutes) into a concise sentence, typically with
similarities first. After a little work time, meet with
each student to make sure they have a
satisfactory thesis and then introduce the prompt.
Answer any questions and give the class the rest
of the period to start on their essays.
Meeting students’ needs (differentiation, extensions, Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
modifications, accommodations) While this lesson doesn't get the most MIs, it
Linguist, visual, logical does grab students from the start because of
the great opportunity for student choice.
Students get more involved because they get to choose a topic, Throughout the following classes, work time
potentially outside of academia, that interests them in the hook. was given to students to complete the essay in
Absent students will get extra time, along with the allotted in-class class.
work time, to get the essay done.

Field Courses Only – Post lesson

Reflection
I feel like the instruction for this lesson was solid and the essays I have so far gotten back are alright. Some
students felt like the lesson was rudimentary, and maybe it was, but having never asked them to write before,
I didn't want to give them a Sisyphean task. Students, for the most part, responded to the hook well, which
kept them engaged through the prompt. I found that the more inflammatory comparisons, like Ford vs. Chevy,
often sparked the most conversation, which I loved, even if it wasn't the most productive conversation. The
1-on-1 conference I used as a formative assessment was a game time decision that I was happy worked
well, as it helped me get face time with the students all while making sure their thesis writing was going well.
Overall, I wasn't super thrilled with the quality of the essays and had to scale the grades a bit, but I feel
confident that the learners did engage their critical thinking and were able to reach the learning targets, even
if their writing mechanics weren't particularly strong.

Teaching Standards and Rationale

Standard 6 - Assessment (d): Indicator d wants a teacher that gets specific with assessment and is able to
communicate that specificity to the learner in the name of producing the best product. The assessment
portion of this lesson includes the a rubric that the students use to create their summative product.
The students know from the outset what will net them an exceeds proficiency and what will fail to meet
expectations. Furthermore, the 1-on-1 conference that is the formative assessment gives the instructor the
opportunity to correct any misconceptions and work with every learner to make sure they are capable of
creating a proficient summative product. The compare and contrast essay that the learners will be
creating encourages students to consider multiple perspectives of the American people and their interactions
with the government in the Cold War and in events that have happened in their own time.

Standard 1 - Learner Development (b): This indicator wants discusses the importance of creating learning opportunities and
assessments that are appropriate for where the learners are developmentally. The specific word length and other guideline
choices were developed with the students in mind. Because the students hadn't been required to write in the history class
beforehand, a lighter word count was developmentally more appropriate, as decided by myself and my mentor teacher.
Furthermore, the students were given ample independent work time in class, as deemed appropriate with expectations of
previous assignments.