Lesson Plan Format 1/17/2020

Teacher: Melissa Ojasoo

Grade: 1st
Content Area: Social Studies

Content and Standards: 6.1.4.A.10, 6.1.4.D.13, 6.1.4.D.15

Prerequisites: Check student allergies list to ensure using m&ms is safe for all
students. Students must be familiar with expressing themselves using simple
sentences.

Essential Questions:How the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights
leaders served as catalysts for social change.

Materials and Equipment: Bag of m&ms candy (enough for one per-student), I have a
dream activity sheet, BOOK: My First Biography Martin Luther King Jr.,

Instructional Objective: At the conclusion of this lesson students will identify Martin
Luther King and describe at least 1 action he took that served as catalysts for change.
Students will construct 1 idea of something they can do to change our world for the
better.

Instructional Procedures: List instructional strategies and learning experiences that are
in alignment with the objective(s). Include information about what teaching strategies
you will use to engage students. Include information about what type of technology,
manipulatives, etc. you will use to facilitate students meeting the objectives.

● Before: Students gather on the carpet for large group, sitting on the perimeter
of the carpet. Display a plate of m&ms for all to see. Ask students, using just
their eyes what can they tell you about the m&ms. Guide students as they
offer ideas. Remind them that they can only tell what they see with their eyes.
Make it a point to recognize that all we can really tell is about the shape and
color of the m&m’s. Tell the students that people are also like m&ms. We are
 all different. Have students turn and talk about those differences. Bring
students’ attention back to you and give each student an m&m letting them
know we are not eating it yet. Once everyone has their m&m demonstrate how
the bite it in half. Then have students bite their m&m in half. Point out that
even though the m&ms are are all different on the outside, they are all the
same on the inside. People are like that too! All people have organs in their
body like your brain, stomach and heart and most importantly we all also have
feelings. We all have things that make us different but inside we are all the
same. Long ago some people did not believe that. They thought people who
looked different were not as good. Martin Luther King thought this was wrong
and worked hard to help others see that we are all the same. We are going to
read about how he was a great leader and how he made our world a better
place. Read: My 1st Biography Martin Luther King. While reading the book
ask students to think about what they could do to make the world a better
place. Transition students into the worksheet activity by having them share a
fact they learned about Dr. King. During: Students brainstorm ideas of how
they can make the world a better place and write 1-2 sentences about their
idea. Scaffold students who need a little support by giving them a sentence
starter of “I would change the world by…”.
● After: Have a few students share their work. Talk about how even little things
can make a difference. Close by having 3 students share a fact they learned
about Dr. King.

Assessment: Students will share a fact they learned about Dr. King from the book
reading as they transition to their desks to complete their activity sheet.

Differentiated Instruction: Students in need of extra support will be given a sentence

prompt to help get their ideas written on the paper. Students who need a challenge
will be encouraged to add more and be specific about what they choose to say.

As I reflect on this lesson I will identify the areas of Domain 1 in Danielson’s Framework for
Teaching that was addressed in this lesson.
Domain 1a Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
This lesson was broken up into 3 parts. We started with a quick demonstration that reinforced
the idea that we might all look different but we are all the same on the inside. Starting the
lesson with the demonstration actively engaged students in the lesson and also got them
thinking about the topic we were about to learn about. Knowing the developmental level of 1st
graders I choose to use a My First Biography book. This book provided information in a format
that was developmentally appropriate for first graders.
Domain 1b. Demonstrating Knowledge of Students:
16 students were present for this lesson. 5 of those students are students who leave the room
for math and reading support. Keeping this in mind I differentiated by providing those students
extra support (Domain 1b). During the independent writing time, I provided them a sentence
starter that will aid in their success as they filled out their activity sheet. One student needed
further support so we brainstormed ways one on one and used our school-wide “bucket filling”
program as a good example of how to spread kindness. Another moment that the area of
domain 1a was met was during the m&m tasting. One student in our class does not like
chocolate. At an event earlier in the year she told me she doesn't like chocolate. At the event,
she tried a chocolate cookie and ended up spitting it out. When I gave her m&m I told her she is
free to try it or she could just throw it away and look at her neighbors m&m to see the inside. I
did not want her to feel pressured to try the m&m since I already knew she did not like
chocolate. Giving her the option allowed her to make her own choice about how to participate.
Domain 1c Setting Instructional Outcomes:
The outcome of this lesson was to introduce the students to one of our country’s great leaders.
The objective was to have students name one thing that Dr. King did that helped change our
world and make it better.
Domain 1d Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources:
While planning this lesson I wanted to come up with something that the students would be able
to relate too. When I came across the m&m idea online I felt that 1st graders would be able to
use this popular candy as a great way to connect with the lesson. I anticipated that many of the
students had prior experience of what an m&m was and that would aid in my demonstration. I
also thought since the candy is so popular that hopefully, future encounters with m&ms would
remind students of my lesson and Dr. Martin Luther King’s message.
Domain 1e Designing Coherent Instruction:
The structure of this lesson provided students with a connection (m&m demo), new information
(biography) as well as a connection to our reading and writing unit on nonfiction, and high-level
thinking activity (construct a way they could make the world better). These include some of the
indicators found in Domain 1e. The book read during large group was personally selected to
include information and examples of Dr. King’s work. Examples in the book could be directly
connected to the m&m demonstration and also used when the students constructed a sentence
or two about how they could make the world better.
Domain 1f Designing Student Assessments:
The formative assessment used during the transition in this lesson served two purposes. The
first purpose was to smoothly have students move from the large group carpet area to their
desks to begin independent work. The second purpose was for me to see if students could
identify a fact from the book that they learned about Dr. King.