THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE

The Communication Between People by OMisha Allison

I.

Lesson Plan Overview and Description

1. Expected duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes
2. Social Sciences: History and Sociology
3. Concepts (Big Ideas): The focus of this lesson is the communication technology
advances between people in the world. The communication between people will
specifically focus on: 1) the then and now of technological communication advances,
2) how and why people communicate information verbally vs. nonverbally, and 3)
non-technological communication between people.
4. Vocabulary
Communication The act of transferring information through verbal messages, the
written word, or more subtle, non-verbal signals.
Non-verbal communication Body language, gestures, how we dress or act even
our scent.
Pony Express A former system in the American West of carrying mail and express
by relays of riders mounter on ponies, especially the system operating (1860-1861)
between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California.
Technological Communication The way in which people communicate through
television, phones, satellites, computer, etc.
Verbal communication Face-to-face, telephone, radio or television and other media.
Written communication Letters, e-mail, books, magazines, the Internet or via other
media.
5. Skills: The ability to discuss respectfully in a group. The ability to conduct extended
research on a specific topic. The ability to work well in a group setting. The ability to
listen and absorb information in a discussion and lecture. The ability to present
information orally.
6. Broad Goals of Lesson: By the end of this lesson, students should have a basic
understanding of the past and present concept of communication between people.
Students should also be able to work cooperatively in a group.

II.

Content Outline
A. Types of communication (ways to communicate) / When each one was created and by
whom
i. The ways in which and the devices people use to communication information to
each other
Telephone (1876 Alexander Graham Bell)
Cell Phone (1973 Fluh and Nussbaum)
Computer (1939 Konrad Zuse)
(Pony Express) Mail (1860 Majors and Waddell)
B. Technological communication (then and now)
i. Communication technology, also known as information technology, refers to all
equipment and programs that are used to process and communicate information.
ii. Communication (Now)
Cell Phones
Text messaging

FaceTime
Instant communication
Social Media Communications
FaceTime, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
E-mail
Yahoo, AOL, Outlook, etc.
C. Non-technological communication
i. Communication (Then)
Face-to-Face conversations
Print communication
People wrote letters in order to communicate.
Mail Transportation
In order to receive messages, people had to wait for their mail to
come, and it generally took many days to receive.
Home Telephone Communication
D. Why people communicate (verbally vs. non-verbally)
i. Give and receive information
ii. Verbal communication
Communication is very clear
Word are either spoken or written.
iii. Non-verbal Communication
Communication through facial expressions, gestures and postures.
III.

Standards
PDE SAS Standards PA Civics, History, Geography;
NCSS Thematic Strands and Performance Indicators
1. Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System
Subject Area - 8: History
Standard Area - 8.2: Pennsylvania History
Grade Level - 8.2.3: GRADE 3
Standard 8.2.3.C: Identify and describe how continuity and change have
impacted Pennsylvania history.
Subject Area 7: Geography
Standard Area 7.1: Basic Geographic Literacy
Grade Level: 7.1.3: GRADE 3
Standard 7.1.3.A: Identify how basic geographic tools are used to
organize and interpret information about people, places and environment.
2. PDE Common Core
N/A
3. National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Thematic Strands and Performance
Indicators
II.
Time, Continuity, & Change
a. Demonstrate an understanding that different people may describe the
same event or situation in diverse ways, citing reasons for the
differences in views.

VIII.

Science, Technology, &Society

a. Identify and describe examples in which science and technology have
changed the lives of people, such as in homemaking, childcare, work,
transportation, and communication.

IV.

Lesson Objectives
A. Students will be able to understand the evolution of communication starting with the
invention of the Pony Express.
B. The students will be able to work in groups to strengthen their understanding of the
evolution of communication by researching.
C. Students should be able to report to the class what they found interesting about their
research and report information that may could be questionable.
D. Each student will take a test of comprehension as an assessment.
E. Students will be able to participate in a discussion as a class.

V.

Teaching Procedures
1. Introduction/Anticipatory Set
i. Before the lesson begins, pass out a sheet with 4 images on it. These images will
include the first inventions of the telephone, the cell phone, the computer, and an
example of pony express mail. Underneath each image, there will be an excerpt of
what the invention is, when it was invented, and by whom. We will discuss the
images and the inventions briefly and have a class discussion on who uses these
inventions today.
ii. Distribute the outline of how the lesson will progress and what they should know
for the exit ticket at the end of the lesson.
iii. Introduce the lesson by discussing how students communicate today. We will then
move into how people in the world communicated before the advanced technologies
in the 1900s made is easier for communication to transpire between people.
2. Lesson Input
i. The main component of this lesson will be discussion and direct-teaching.
ii. There will be supplement material provided to the students as they learn what
communication is, how people in the early years communicated, how people use
communication today, and the types of communication available for people today.
The students will be encouraged to use the fill in the blank outline for study purposes
(this is just one example of the supplemental aids that will provided).
iii. Set aside time for students to ask questions, clarify questions and vocabulary, and
solidify their understanding.
3. Guided Practice
i. The class will discuss the topic of communication with their base groups and use
the port.
4. Independent Practice
i. Each person will use the computer to research a way technology is used to
communicate information between people (it is ok if some students research the same
topic, but they will be researching independently). They will share with a small group

what they found about the technology they picked and how this technology is helpful
when trying to communicate to family and friends.
5. Differentiation
Lesson will be differentiated based on the specific learning and behavioral needs of
students in classroom, such as ELL, gifted (above level), and remediation (below
level).
6. Closure
i. Students will participate in a think-pair share activity where each pair of students
will discuss one they learned with each other. Each student must come up with
something different than their partner. Each pair will share what their partner said
(this will take place before the 5 multiple choice exit ticket).
VI.

Teacher and Student Resources and Evaluation of Resources

A. Student Reading Resources: This will be used as an extension to the lesson. The
students will be required to take a tweaked portion of this article home, read it,
and predict future technology and how we will communicate in the future. The
follow-up activity will include a short communication technology creation, in
which the students will create their own communication instrument and explain
how they would work.
http://www.historybuff.com/library/refpony.html
B. Teacher Resources for Lesson Design
http://ponyexpress.org/history/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_communication
http://communication.ucdavis.edu/graduate/ph.d.-program/introduction/history
C. Evaluation of Teacher Resources
Resource
Influence
3+ Characteristics
Accessibility Overall Rating
Title or
Significant
suggesting that the
Access for
and
Website
Influence (SI) or source is a quality
teachers or
Suggestions for
Address
Minor Influence
resource, reliable
others
current, future
(MI) in informing material
use of resource
your thinking,
decisions about
the lesson plan
http://pony Minor Influence in 1) This website clearly
The website
This is a
express.org informing my
explains the history of
can be
mediocre
/history/
thinking and
the Pony Express.
accessed by
website that I
decisions about
2) The website clearly
any one, but will probably
this lesson.
defines what the Pony
it doesnt
not use in the
Express was.
contain much future.
3) This website also
information.
gives information about
the national museum
associated with the site.
http://en.wi Significant
1) This website clearly
The website
This website
kipedia.org Influence in
explains the history of
can be
has solid

/wiki/Histo
ry_of_com
munication

informing my
thinking and
decisions about
this lesson.

http://com
munication
.ucdavis.ed
u/graduate/
ph.d.program/in
troduction/
history

Significant
Influence in
informing my
thinking and
decisions about
this lesson.

communication between
people.
2) The website gives
clear explanation on the
evolution of
communication
technologies.
3) This website is not
guaranteed to be 100%
accurate, therefore extra
research will be
conducted for
confirmation.
1) This website contains
a lot of useful
information.
2) This website is
geared towards older
students and teachers.
3) This website is not
guaranteed to be childfriendly.

accessed by
anyone, but
does not
guarantee
accuracy.

information that
can be used and
could support
future lessons.

The website
can be
accessed by
any one, but
it is not
elementary
student
accessible.

This has solid

information that
can be used and
could support
future lessons.

VII.

Formative/Summative Assessment(s)
Each student will participate in the class discussion about the types of
communication then and now, technological vs. non-technological
communication, and verbal vs. nonverbal communication.
Each student will complete the survey about which students use what
technologies.
Each student will create a graph of their choice with the results of the
survey take in class about who uses what technologies.
Topic test at the end of the lesson (5 multiple-choice questions; exit ticket)

VIII.

Technology/Materials/Equipment
Notebook- to list what technology the students use the most and which
communication devices the students use the least (that way the students will
have a guide to use when taking the survey).
Outline that will include the study guide for a future quiz on communication
(then and now).
Image sheet (images of the first inventions of the telephone, cell phone,
computer, and pony express mail).
Access to a computer

IX.

Reflection on Planning

Since this lesson is on the communication between people back then vs. how simple it
is now for people to communicate all around the world, I decided to do a teacherdirected lesson. I will teach the students the many ways people communicated in the
earlier years and how difficult it was for them to get information back and forth to
each other with the limited technological access. The information in the textbook was
extremely weak so I had to supplement the text to further my understanding (as well
as my students) of concept of communication for my content outline. After this
lesson, my students should have a great understanding of how communication have
evolved to human life easier.