Facts About Christopher Columbus

I. HEADING:

April 26, 2014
Social Studies
Fifth Grade – 24 students
50 minutes

II. RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND:

The purpose of this lesson is for the students to read alternative sources about Christopher Columbus and express their opinion about whether he should be celebrated. The students will read an article about Christopher Columbus and highlight in one color the positive influence of Columbus’s life and in another color the negative influence of Columbus’s life. Then, the class will discuss the positives and negatives and the teacher will write each in columns on the board. The students will write in their own columns on a worksheet. The students will write a paragraph stating their opinion on whether we should or shouldn’t
celebrate Christopher Columbus. They must support their opinion with at least three positives or negatives. The lesson will meet the Common Core Standard CC.1.4.5.G: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts and the Common Core Standard CC.1.2.5.D: Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
The students learned about Columbus in their last class and read several of his journal entries.
The students have had experience with supporting their essays from their readings. The students also have experience with writing multi-paragraph essays.

Facts about the learners:
• Talkative class.
• Several students who are in learning support. Specific, required adaptations:
• Interactive instruction will help students stay focused instead of talking. The teacher will walk around the room and observe students to ensure all students are on task.
• Students will be allowed to finish the essay at home as homework if they need more time. The teacher will be available to answer questions.

III. LESSON OBJECTIVES:

A) When given an article on Christopher Columbus, the students will be able to find and list positive and negative influences of his life.

B) When given an article on Christopher Columbus that lists positive and negative influences of his life, students will be able to write a three paragraph essay stating their opinion on whether he should be celebrated. The essay must be supported by three positives or negatives from the article. The essay should be at least 90% free of grammatical
errors.

IV. LIST OF MATERIALS/RESOURCES:

A) I developed this lesson based on a lesson I observed during my PSI experience.

B) "Solar System Exploration: : Planets." Solar System Exploration: : Planets. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

C) Articles (24)
Highlighters (24)
Smart board (1)
Negative and Positive Columns (26)

IV. PROCEDURES:

A) Initiation/Motivation (3-5 minutes)
1. The teacher will ask the students why they think we celebrate Columbus Day. The teacher will inform the students that Columbus is one of only 3 people that we celebrate with a national holiday. The teacher will explain that some people find the celebration to be controversial or disagreement. The teacher will ask if any of the students know why people don’t agree on the holiday. The teacher will inform the students that they will be reading an article about the negative and positive actions of Christopher Columbus and writing their opinion on whether he should be celebrated.

B) Lesson Body (30 minutes)
1. The teacher will ask a student to help distribute the articles, positive and negative columns, and highlighters. Each table gets four highlighters in at least two different colors. The teacher will instruct the students to read the article quietly and highlight negative and positive actions of Columbus. While reading, they may quietly discuss the negatives and positives with students in their group.

2. After the class is finished, the teacher will ask the students what positives they found. The teacher will write the positives in the positive column on the smart board. The teacher will instruct the students to write it in their columns as well. The teacher will continue to ask for positives until the students can’t find more.

3.
The teacher will then ask the class what negatives they found. The teacher will write their answers in the negative column and instruct the students to write in their negative columns as well. The teacher will continue to ask for negatives until the students can’t find more.

4. The teacher will then instruct the students to write a 3 paragraph essay stating their opinion on whether we should celebrate Christopher Columbus. The teacher will state the requirements that it must be supported with at least three negatives or positives and that the essays should be grammatically accurate.

5. The teacher will give them the rest of the class to work individually on their essays. If students finish before class ends, they can hand in their essays. If they need additional time, they can work at home and bring their essays to class the next day.

C) Lesson Closure (5-10 minutes)
1. The teacher will ask if there are any volunteers who thought we should celebrate Columbus who will read their essay. Then the teacher will ask if there are any volunteers who thought we shouldn’t celebrate Columbus who will read their essay. The teacher will ask if the students were surprised by anything that they learned today.

V.
EVALUATION:

A) Student Assessment:
1. Informal Assessment: The teacher will informally assess students’ learning through their discussions in class.

2. Formal Assessment: The students will be formally assessed based whether their essays met the requirements of being three paragraphs long and supported their opinions through at least three negatives or positives. The essays will also be graded for grammatical accuracy. The essays are worth five points.

B) Self-Evaluation
1. What are three strengths displayed in this lesson?

2. What are three areas that still need improvement?

3. Based on closure and student evaluation portions of this lesson plan, identify any students who were not successful in meeting the stated objectives. Indicate how shortcomings will be addressed with these students to ensure success.