Designing a Learning Experience

The Blueprint
Name(s): Mardi Sansone, Abby Moran, Holly Romans
Project Title: The Teddy Bear Project
Project Essential Question: How is your life the same
and/or different from the life of your partner?
Lesson Title: Famous American Landmarks

Grade Level: Third

Subjects: Social Studies and ELA
Duration: Two-day lesson (Day 1- 1 hour; Day 2- 1
hour and 35 minutes)

PURPOSE OF THE LESSON

Connection to Global Mini Project
This lesson connects to our Global Mini Project because this is a smaller lesson plan that fits into the big
picture of our project. Every lesson plan within the Teddy Bear project will follow a similar outline.
Through this learning experience, the students continue to learn more about the United States and in
turn, will be educated about Australia as well. This lesson plan will create a sense of uniformity and
routine for the students throughout the course of the project. The information compiled in the students
email, as well as the email they receive from their pen pals, will be used towards creating the big class
book at the end of the project. In addition, students will continue to explore multiple perspectives and
learn more about the world around them. This learning experience will occur during the third week of
the Teddy Bear project after the initial introduction email and an email that focuses on the different types
of food in America and Australia. After this learning experience, the students will focus on learning
about the similarities and differences between currency in the United States and Australia.
Curriculum Alignment (Standards)
1) Domain: Standards for language
Cluster: Conventions of standard English
L1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
2) Indicator: Use formal writing, such as multi-paragraph essays, historical investigations, research
reports, letters and summaries to inform.
Objectives:
Organize facts and/or data to support a topic.
Provide introduction, body, and conclusion.
Cite sources of information.
Objectives
1) Students will be able to design and create their own landmark based on the definition created as a
class.
2) Students will be able to research famous American landmarks by browsing the sources provided by
the teacher and cite the sources used.
3) By studying famous American landmarks, the learners will be able to write about these landmarks to
their Australian pen pals using the conventional standards of mechanics, usage, and sentence formation.

Knowledge

Skills/Processes

We want our students to have a general

understanding of both America and Australia.
Moreover, we want ours students to be able to

After the creation of the class definition of a

landmark, students will be able to create their own
masterpiece based on their understanding of the

efficiently research and write a letter in pen pal

format. Students should be using conventional
English writing (mechanics, usage, sentence
formation) while formulating their letters. By
exchanging these letters back and forth, students
will practice their writing skills.

term. In addition, we want students to be able to

produce a letter based on the research that they
conducted. We would like students to be able to
put the information they researched into their own
words instead of simply copying and pasting
information. This learning experience will be
useful to develop research skills and become more
familiar with the importance of citing sources.

Understanding (Big Idea)

Dispositions/Habits of Mind

Students will understand how to efficiently

conduct research and write letters. Most
importantly, we want the students to understand
the world around them and how their world may
differ from others. Students will become familiar
with and learn to appreciate multiple perspectives.

Students need to use time in the computer lab

efficiently and write letters to their pen pals in an
appropriate manner. Students should practice using
conventions of English language. Through the
process of designing their own landmark, students
will: create, imagine, and innovate; and apply past
knowledge to new situations. During the
research/writing process, students will: think and
communicate with clarity and precision; apply past
knowledge to new situations; and remain open to
continuous learning.

Assessment: In the beginning of the learning experience, students will create their own landmark based
off of the class definition. The teacher will assess the students by making sure the drawing is complete,
it expresses creativity, and it answers the proposed questions. The next step of the learning experience is
the research process. The research included in the email will be produced from the information collected
from sources provided to the students from the teacher. The teacher will asses the quality of the research
written in the email seeing if the student included why the landmark is famous, where the landmark is
located in the United States, and if the student included proper citations for the sources used. Lastly, the
students will produce an email to their pen pal based on the research conducted. The teacher will assess
the email by examining the format, the conventional standards of English writing (usage, mechanics,
and sentence formation), the spelling and grammatical errors, and the amount of information included
about each landmark.
Product/
Evaluation
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
Records to be
Criteria
Exceeds
Meets
Approaches
Does not meet
Assessed
Expectations
Expectations
Expectations
expectations
Making their
I.
The drawing
own
is complete.
landmark
II.
The drawing
expresses
creativity.
III.
The drawing
answers the
proposed

questions.

Research
included in
email

Creation of
the email

IV.

Includes why
the
landmark is
famous.
V.
Includes
landmarks
location in
America.
VI.
Includes
proper
citation of
sources.
VII. Written in
letter format.
VIII. Includes
conventional
standards of
English
writing.
IX.
Spelling and
grammatical
errors.
X.
Amount of
information
about each
landmark.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Vocabulary & Terms
Landmark: Object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen and recognized from a distance; a
historic building
The Lincoln Memorial: The memorial building in Washington containing a large marble statue of

Abraham Lincoln
The Golden Gate Bridge: A suspension bridge across the Golden Gate
The Statue of Liberty: A large monumental statue symbolizing liberty on Liberty Island in New York
Bay
Citation: A short note recognizing a source of information
Letter: A written message, usually intended to be received by someone far away
Instructional Materials and Supplies:
Computer paper (one full package)
Pens/pencils (5 packages)
Teddy Bear folders that have already been created (One per student)
Markers (one package per table)
Colored pencils (one package per table)
Crayons (one package per table)
Computers (One per student)
Computer lab time (about an hour)
Teacher created landmark
Poster paper (1 for each table group)
Technology: Computer (One per student)
Resources:
Websites for kids to use:
http://dictionary.kids.net.au/
http://www.kidsclick.org
Websites for teachers to explore and additional websites for students:
http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/resources/kidfriendly.html
https://askatechteacher.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/20-great-research-websites-for-kids/

DAY 1

Event

Procedure/Activity; Questioning Strategies; & Management Considerations:

Because of the many things weve been learning about the United States in our
project so far, I was thinking about my favorite landmark the other day, and there are
so many that I couldn't choose just one. By the way friends, who can explain to the
class what a landmark is?
Teacher calls on three to four students and hears their definitions of what a landmark
is. Teacher will write the students definitions of a landmark on the board and after
collaborating a few ideas, the teacher and students will create and write one class
definition of a landmark on the board.

LAUNCH
(5 minutes)

That was a great definition of a landmark! Can anyone share any famous landmarks
they know or have been to?
Teacher calls on three to four students to share names of landmarks, and at the same
time, the teacher will pull up images of these landmarks on the internet and project
them on the smart board.
After realizing I couldnt choose just one landmark to be my favorite, I was thinking
how cool it would be to create my own! I drew this last night.
Teacher shows the class the drawing of his or her landmark and explains why it is a
landmark, why its important to him or her, and where it would be located in the United
States.
What do you think, boys and girls, should we all try to create our own landmarks?
Teacher will pass out computer paper for students to draw on using the art supplies
(markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc.) from their desks. Teacher will inform students
that they have 15 minutes to create their own landmark and should focus on the
questions on the board before beginning to draw. The questions on the board will be:
What would the name of your landmark be? Why do you think this would be
significant enough to be a landmark? Where would you put this landmark in America
and why?

EXPLORE
(20 minutes)

Students will begin drawing and creating their landmarks. Teacher will be walking
around stopping at tables and asking students questions such as: What would the
name of your landmark be? Why do you think this would be significant enough to be a
landmark? Where would you put this landmark in America and why?
After drawing for fifteen minutes, the teacher will say, I want everyone to turn and
talk to their shoulder partner and ask each other the questions listed on the board.
This way, the students will be prepared with responses based off of their conversations
with the teacher as well as their shoulder partner.

Now that everyone has finished making their landmarks, were going to do a gallery
walk. Everyone leave their landmark on their desk for your friends to see and then
walk around the room and look at other friends landmarks. Try to remember what
really stands out to you in other peoples landmarks.
Students walk around and look at each others landmarks for approximately two to
three minutes.
PRESENT
(15 minutes)

Can everyone please return back to their seats?

After all of the students are in their seats, the teacher will call on three to four students
to share what inspired them about other peoples landmarks.
Does anyone want to share with the class what they specifically liked about someone
elses landmark?
The teacher gives the students time to share.
The teacher will pass out blank poster paper to each table and instruct the students to
write LANDMARK in the middle of the page.

APPLY
(15 minutes)

Okay boys and girls, now we will be creating a word web in order to showcase our
understanding of our new vocabulary word, landmark! Please have one person from
your table take a marker and write LANDMARK in the middle of the page. As a table,
you will brainstorm words that come to mind that are associated with the word
landmark.
Students will work on their word webs as a team and then share their ideas with the
class. The teacher will call on each table and one student from each team will explain
the words they chose with the class.

CLOSURE
(5 minutes)

Students will be asked to clean up and put their markers away. One student from each
group will come to the front board and hang their poster up. After doing so, that
student will return to his/her seat.
Now that we are experts on the term landmark, we will be researching American
landmarks in the computer lab tomorrow afternoon. Please keep what youve learned
about landmarks locked away in your brains, ready to use for tomorrow!

DAY 2
Event

Procedure/Activity; Questioning Strategies; & Management Considerations:

Prior to the start of the day, the teacher will hang the students drawings on a bulletin
board. When the students are in class, the teacher will direct their attention to the board
and remind them what they did the day before.

LAUNCH
(5 minutes)

Now that we created our own landmarks, wouldnt it be fun to teach our Australian
pen pals about American landmarks and learn more about their Australian landmarks
as well? Today we will be going to the computer lab to write another email to our
Australian pen pals! But before we can write to them, we need to review what we
should include in our emails. All of us will be researching facts on The Statue of
Liberty, The Lincoln Memorial, The Golden Gate Bridge, and another one of your
favorite landmarks.
While the teacher is saying this, he/she will be writing the names of the landmarks that
the students should be researching on the board.
After the teacher has listed the three mandatory landmarks that the students must
research, the teacher will ask:
Does anyone know of or has visited any famous American landmarks?

EXPLORE
(15 minutes)

Students will raise their hands and share a landmark they know with the class when
called on. The teacher will write down the landmarks on the board for the students to
see.
After naming a few landmarks, the teacher will pass out a KWL Chart to each student.
Students will be instructed to fill out the K and W sections of the chart on their own.

PRESENT
(6 minutes)

Students will be given a few minutes to turn to their shoulder partners in order to
discuss what they already know about the provided landmarks as well as what they
want to learn about the landmarks. In addition, they can discuss their chosen landmark
if they already have it in mind.
Students will line up at the door and walk to the computer lab.

APPLY
(1 hour)

The teacher will write what landmarks the students should be researching on the board
in the computer lab as a reminder. Students will research the landmarks the teacher
explained in class as well as a landmark of their choice. While the students are working
on their research and emails, the teacher will be walking around the room helping
students when need be. Once they have collected enough information, students will
draft an email in letter format to their pen pal explaining their findings on the

landmarks in a Word Document. Each student will then look over his or her own work
and create a final draft. Students will save their emails in the designated folder on their
class school drive so the teacher can access them later. Students will print out their
final draft and hand it in to the teacher.
Students will log off and line up at the door to return to the classroom. Students will
return to their seats when they get back to the classroom.
After returning back to the classroom, the teacher will ask the students, Can anyone
share with the class the landmark you chose to teach your Australian pen pal about
that wasnt on the list?
Teacher will record the answers on the board in order for the students to see all of the
different landmarks chosen throughout the United States.
CLOSURE
(8 minutes)

Can anyone share something you learned about a specific landmark that you
researched? For those of you who didnt research the same landmark, can you share
something that you learned based on what one of your friends shared?
Teacher will give students time to share with the class.
You guys did such a great job creating your own landmarks and writing your emails!
Lets continue thinking about important things in the United States that you are excited
to share with your pen pal.

Resources and Materials

Teacher example drawing of a landmark:

KWL Chart:

KNOW

WANT TO LEARN

LEARNED