Secondary Lesson Plan: Field Experience III (EDUC 329) and IV (EDUC 429), Clinical

Practice ( EDUC 461), HIST 451/461

Instructions: Please write a lesson plan that includes the following components for each lesson you teach in your
placement setting. Be aware that, should they occur, one point will be deducted for every two
grammatical/mechanical errors. You must provide a copy of your lesson plan to your cooperating teacher or university
supervisor BEFORE you teach the lesson to students. Your teacher must sign and date the hard copy of your draft
plan.

Teacher Candidate
Matthew Whitmire
School (NA for HIST 451)
Brewer Middle School

Date/Time of Lesson

(NA for

HIST 451)

Observer
Dr. Rebecca Fernandez

17 April 2015 / 8:00 AM

Subject/Grade Level
Cooperating Teacher (NA for HIST
Contemporary Cultures: 1600 to 451)
Mrs. Shannon Owensby
the Present / 7th Grade

Description of Lesson (a general description in two or three sentences of what you will do with your students)
Students will learn about the significance of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the extent
to which the Soviet Union was willing to go in order to spread communism across the globe. Students
will build their own Berlin Wall in an attempt to distinguish the difference between communism and
capitalism/democracy.
Lesson Plan Component
Lesson Topic/Title

Description
The Berlin Wall and a Divided World

Title of lesson, similar to a book title

Curriculum Standards
Addressed

SC Curriculum Standard(s): 7-5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of

international developments during the Cold War era.

NCSS Standard(s): List the number and

title of the theses addressed and then
briefly explain how this lesson addresses
each theme. (HIST 451 and EDUC 461
only)
SC Curriculum Standard(s): List the
number of the standard addressed and
then briefly explain how this lesson

This lesson addresses the standard by covering the Berlin Wall, a major hotbed of international
debate during the Cold War era. It will be stressed that the tension in Berlin, Germany, existed not
only in Europe, but around the globe, specifically in Cuba.
SC Academic Indicator(s): 7-5.1 Compare the political and economic ideologies of the United
States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War; 7-5.4 Analyze the political and technological
competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for global influence, including the

Lesson Plan Component

Description

addresses each standard.

SC Academic Indicator(s): List the
number and write the indicator.

Korean Conflict, the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War, the Cuban missile crisis, the space race, and
the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Cross-Curricular Connections

This lesson incorporates ideas from Government/Political Science and Economics, as the difference
is made between Soviet Socialist Communism and American Democratic Capitalism.

Write how the lesson is integrated with

other social studies subject areas.

Instructional Objectives
What should students know or be able to
do by the end of the lesson?
Students will (VERB)
Every lesson should address
(Historical Thinking Skills and
Literacy)
Objectives should be observable
and
measureable
List the numbers for the standards
that each objective addresses; i.e.,
NCSS 1, SC GS-6.1

Materials/Resources

List all materials needed to

implement your lesson; e.g.,
pencils, notebook, selected
reading(s), video, PowerPoint...
If digital technology will be
integrated in the lesson to
enhance the learning experience,
address how.

Prerequisites (Prior
Knowledge)

Given the proper construction materials, students will understand the concepts of communism and
capitalism/democracy by constructing their own Berlin Wall in the time given in class. (7-5.1, 75.4)
Students will understand communism and capitalism/democracy further when given a pencil and a
worksheet that instructs them to apply the knowledge they have learned previously about the two
differing ideologies. (7-5.1)
After constructing their own Berlin Wall and utilizing the worksheets provided to them, students will
discuss what Soviet intentions were in the late 1950s and early 1960s. (7-5.1, 7-5.4)

Students will need pencil, paper, worksheets, markers, colored pencils, crayons, poster boards,
signs, printed flags, tape, an iPad, and a PowerPoint presentation.
Students will utilize iPads if they need information
Students will be observing a PowerPoint in order to see representations of graffiti on the Berlin Wall.
The PowerPoint will have pictures of the Berlin Wall that will hopefully inspire students imaginations
for the exercise. It will also help students conceptualize what exactly the differences between the
two sides were.

Students will need to draw upon their previous discussions about communism and
capitalism/democracy in order to completely participate in the exercise of building their own Berlin
Wall; the lesson will be meaningless if they do not understand it. Students will also need to
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Lesson Plan Component

Description

List skills/abilities students will need to

successfully participate in their learning
experience according to the following
developmental needs:
Social
Cognitive
Physical
Emotional

understand the ramifications of the Berlin Wall in order to connect it with the rest of the materials
involving the Cold War.

Accommodations

This lesson appeals to many different types of learning. The lesson involves memory recall for
students that have memorized information regarding the Cold War era. It also involves hands-on
learning by having the students actually act out the construction of the Berlin Wall. Regarding
hands-on learning still, students will either write or draw ideas and concepts about communism and
capitalism/democracy. The assignments in the exercise should be paced enough so that students
finish at the same time.

How will you accommodate for

varying rates of learning (early
finishers/slower-paced learners),
learning styles, and any relevant
diversities?
What accommodations will be
made for students with special
needs?

Students will also need to understand how to work in a group effectively; they need to
communicate their ideas and present their ideas effectively to one another.

Students with special needs will be given more personal instruction and will be monitored more
closely than their peers.

Contemporary World History: 1400 Present Interactive Student Notebook. (2013). Columbus, OH:
Cite all references for materials/resources Lewis and McMahon.
used in preparing the lesson. Citations
James, N. (2011, May 9). Trying Teaching: Rebuilding the Berlin Wall. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
should be in APA, 6th edition format.
http://www.tryingteaching.com/2011/05/rebuilding-berlin-wall.html

References

World History: Journey Across Time -- South Carolina Standards Reinforcement Guide. (2010).
Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill.

Procedures

Motivation
Grouping
Instructional Strategies (steps in
the lesson)
to include questioning
techniques and
lesson closure
*Examples: Bell Ringer
activity, primary

The class will first be prompted with some review questions about the Cold War, such as a key
terms discussion. After students discuss ideas such as the Truman Doctrine, the Berlin Airlift, and
the Korean War, they will be asked specifically if they remember what communism was and what its
ideas were, and what capitalism/democracy was and what its ideas were.
After being prompted, students will be given a brief PowerPoint presentation about the Berlin Wall
where they will see the difference between East and West Berlin. In this presentation, it will also
highlight the differing ideas between communism and capitalism/democracy. Once this is done, a
slide will come up with the following date: August 13, 1961. Students will be asked what happened
on this day, and they will then be instructed to make their own Berlin Wall.
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Lesson Plan Component

Description

source activities, debates, Using their desks, chairs, tape, poster boards, and provided signs, students will construct their own
Berlin Wall. They will be given directions about their roles in either East or West Berlin and how
analysis, closing activities things will go. Students will clear their desks of materials and begin filling out their worksheets.
that recap
After the class has done this for 25 minutes, they will clean up.
the lesson
Once students have straightened up the room they will discuss why the DDR built the Wall and its
*Be sure to explain how
ramifications. Students will also discuss whether or not they enjoyed building their Berlin Wall and
you will teach
the exercise they conducted.
historical thinking and
literacy.
video

Assessment(s) of the
Objectives
What assessment(s) will you use to
determine what students learned and
achieved during the lesson?
The assessment(s) must be aligned with
instructional objectives.

The assessments used in the lesson will be pre-, during, and post-assessments. The pre-assessment
will be the class discussion reviewing the Cold War and important terms. The during assessment
will be the class activity when they build their own Berlin Wall and utilize the worksheets provided
to them (these will be taken up at the end of class). The post-assessment will be the class
discussion about what they learned from the activity.

Evaluation of Lesson
Were objectives successfully achieved?
What went well? What would you like to
improve? What adjustments will be made
in succeeding lessons?
Instructions:
a) BUILD BERLIN WALL
a. Instructions
i. West: with markers, crayons, and colored pencils, they are to write or draw a word associated with democracy and
capitalism and tape it to Wall.
ii. East: on a provided sheet of paper, write what life is like in Communist East Germany and must get it to the other side;
CANNOT tape it to the wall, two guards stand there and ensure no one puts anything on the wall or throws anything over
the wall.
i. Guards will be rewarded extra if no one can get anything across the wall, must take down names of people who
get too close to the wall.
ii. If anyone approaches the wall, they also will not be rewarded when the time comes.
iii. When a piece of paper comes from east to west, someone on the west will read aloud what they have found.
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iv. EVERYONE MUST FILL OUT AT LEAST ONE WORKSHEET and follow the directions labeled on it.
b) Candy will be given out
a. Review of Communism and democracy/capitalism
i. In East Germany, everyone will get one piece of grape Jolly Rancher; the Guard will be given two if they prevented
anyone from getting their paper across.
ii. In West Germany, a bowl will be given of every flavor Jolly Rancher except grape and be told to take as much as they
want.
c) Timeline:
Time

Event

Time

Event

8:05 AM 8:15 AM

Morning announcements

9:13 AM 9:20 AM

Review of Cold War

8:16 AM 8:20 AM

Review of Cold War

9:21 AM 9:30 AM

Overview of the Berlin Wall

8:21 AM 8:30 AM

Overview of the Berlin Wall

9:31 AM 9:55 AM

Classroom exercise Berlin Wall

8:31 AM 8:55 AM

Classroom exercise Berlin Wall

9:56 AM 10:00 AM

Clean up classroom

8:56 AM 9:00 AM

Clean up classroom

10:01 AM 10:10 AM

Discussion of exercise

9:01 AM 9:10 AM

Discussion of exercise

10:11 AM 10:18 AM

Final announcements