Taking a Trip of Your State

Back when I was in fifth grade, I remember having to put together a report on my state, Florida. This report included a whole variety of information about the state such as geography, climate, population, culture, etc. I learned so much about the place I live through doing this project that I thought I would share a similar lesson plan with you here: http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst014.html

Through this activity, the student has to research using the school library or the internet information about the state they live in. They then write a report presenting their findings on many of the same topics discussed above. Finally they bring all the information together into a presentation to the class.

In having the students do research, they are doing Independent Work. By having the students write a report, the students are working on improving their writing skills. By having the students go in front of the class, the students are Presenting.

Black History Month Lesson

With us being in February, an excellent idea for a lesson would be to teach students about Black History. The following lesson is designed for the lower grade levels (K-5) offered through Scholastic's "The Underground Railroad" found in the third (3) section in the link below.

Link: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/2012/01/five-fab-favorites-black-history-month

In this lesson, students will be able to listen to the story being told through the real life accounts of those who lived through the slavery era. After students listened to the accounts, the teacher then asks a series of questions to check for comprehension. This activity incorporates a Questioning teaching strategy to check for understanding and comprehension.

One more activity suggested by the Scholastic publishers is to have the students write a coded letter as if they were one of the people partaking in the Underground Railroad. This is an excellent idea since it allows the student to imagine themselves in the shoes of the people they just listened to in the prior lesson. Through this activity, the students gain a better understanding of the setting and theme of the story. This activity incorporates both Creative Writing and Role Playing strategies since it places the students in another person's shoes and has them writing in code.