Stephanie's Lesson #10

Date of Lesson:  Second Friday
Teacher:  Stephanie Voight
Grade Level:  Kindergarten
Subject Area:  Social Studies
Time Needed:  One hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon
Topic:  If We Designed Kindergarten


What School of Education standard/s did you try to address in this lesson?
Standard #11 – Uses Technologies
By creating a PowerPoint and using digital photographs I am displaying my comfort in using technology in the classroom.

NCSS Standards:
·   help learners to understand the various forms institutions take, their functions, their relationships to one another and how they develop and change over time
·   assist learners as they explain and apply ideas and modes of inquiry drawn from the behavioral sciences in the examination of persistent social issues and problems

MMSD Standards:
·   identify changes in the classroom and school environment by acquiring information from observation
·   demonstrate confidence in expressing one's own beliefs and feelings
·   work together to find solutions to classroom problems

Materials Needed:
·   When You Go to Kindergarten by James Howe
·   White board, markers
·   Large pieces of construction paper
·   Various art supplies
·   PowerPoint about the unit
·   Digital pictures from the unit
·   Artifacts collected from the unit's lessons
·   Snacks for parent presentation

Objectives:
·   SWBAT apply their learning throughout the unit to a creative project.
·   SWBAT use their new knowledge in a presentation format.

Lesson Context:
After two weeks about learning about different kindergartens, students will take charge of their own education by designing their ideal kindergarten.

Lesson Opening:
We will join at the carpet, and I will read the picture book When You Go to Kindergarten.  As I read each page, we will talk about how the different elements from our past unit came into play. 

Procedures:
-> During literacy, we will first overview the different kindergartens we studied.  I will write these on the white board.
       o  Historical kindergartens
       o  Another kindergarten at Franklin
       o  Another kindergarten in Madison
       o  Kindergarten in Pakistan
       o  Kindergarten in Korea
       o  Home-school kindergarten
-> We will talk about the unit as a whole and what we learned.
       o       How did we get our information?
           §         Field trips
           §         Guest speakers
           §         Picture books
           §         E-mail
       o       What kindergartens seemed the most similar to ours?
       o       Which kindergarten did we know the least about before starting the unit?
       o       What did we find out about other 5 year-olds?
       o       If we had to choose to go to another kindergarten, where would we go?  Why?
-> I will ask the students to go back to their table and draw a picture of their ideal kindergarten.  If they could create their own kindergarten, what would it look like?  I will provide them with large pieces of paper and a variety of materials so that they do not feel restricted when designing their ideal classroom.  Many students in this class enjoy making things in a 3D format, so I will provide enough materials to allow them to do that.  I will also let them use words in their pictures if they cannot think of a way to draw something.  When the students are finished, we will come back as a group and share our drawings with each other.
-> Because this is the end of our unit, I will invite the principal and parents to join us in the afternoon.  I will have created a PowerPoint to display pictures of our field trips and activities and also to give an overall outline of the unit.  Then students that are interested in sharing can show their picture of what their kindergarten would look like.

Closure:
We will have snacks as students share artifacts from our unit scattered around the room with their parents.

Special Considerations:         
Although parent involvement is high in this classroom, some parents might have prior commitments, so I will pair students with another parent or the principal during share time.

Assessment:
What the students choose to share and incorporate into their drawings is most likely the pieces of the unit that were most important and meaningful to them, so I will spend time studying the parts of the unit that affected them most in order to gauge my success and their interest for planning of a future unit.

What personal goal (teaching strategy) are you working on in this lesson?
I am hoping to run a smooth parent presentation.