Bridgewater College Teacher Education Program Lesson Plan

Name: Kelsi Wood

Subject/Grade
Level: 4th,
Virginia Studies

Lesson Title: Ironclad Battle

Unit: The Civil

War

Date or
Lesson #:
Lesson #8

Virginia SOL/National Standard:

VS.7 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the issues that divided our
nation and led to the Civil War by
b) describing Virginias role in the war, including identifying major battles that
took place in Virginia.
Essential Knowledge: An important sea battle between the Monitor (Union) and the Merrimack
(Confederacy), two ironclad ships, took place in Virginia waters near Norfolk and Hampton. The battle
was fought to a draw.

Measurable Lesson Objective(s):

Learners will be able to

compile information about the battle between the Monitor and Merrimack
identify 5 key points of the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack
describe the importance of the battle between the Monitor and Merrimack

Materials/Technologies/Resources Needed:

Assessment

One piece of wood

One piece of iron
Chart paper
Markers
Book created for teaching portion
https://www.mystorybook.com/books/96615/
Laptops
10 direction worksheets (1 for each group)
20 key terms homework sheets
(Formative and/or Summative):

Learners will create a storybook including all of the important information

regarding the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack
Learners will complete a worksheet in which the identify the 5 key points of the
battle, and write a statement as to why the battle was important
Anticipatory Set (Hook & Agenda)

Teacher will:

Students will:

Have a piece of wood in

hand. Ask the students to
identify what the material
is and to predict whether or
not it would break if
someone tried to bend it,
then have one or two
students come and try. (It
should break)

One or two students will

come forward to try and
bend or break the
material, other students
will predict if they think it
will break or not.

Next, show the students a

piece of metal and ask
them to identify the
material. Then, have them
predict whether or not it
would break if someone
tried to bend it, then have
one or two students come
and try. (It should not
break)

One or two students will

come forward to try and
bend or break the
material, other students
will predict if they think it
will break or not.

Listen to the teacher

quietly.

Once this is completed,

explain to the students that
ships used to be made out
of wood, but as we now
know, wood breaks very
easily meaning the ships
would break easily too!
During the Civil War, ships
started to be made out of
iron (a really strong metal)
which made them able to
withstand a lot more and
not break as easily! Two of
the first ships to be
ironclad, were the Monitor
and the Merrimack.
Access /Review Prior Knowledge

Accommo
dations/Di
fferentiati
on:
Select the
students
who have
trouble
focusing for
long
periods of
time to
keep them
engaged.

Anticipate
d Time:
5 minutes

Teacher will:

Students will:

THIS WILL HAPPEN BEFORE

THE ANTICIPATORY SET!!
Write a story about the Civil
War so far and have the
students give sentences or key
terms as to what should be
included. Ask them questions to
guide them in the right
direction. Write this story on
large chart paper so that it can
be posted in the classroom for
a reference point if needed.

Accommoda
tions/Differe
ntiation:

Anticipa
ted
Time:
5
minutes

Help the teacher to write a

story about the Civil War so
far, including events, people,
and keywords.

Teaching Process & Modeling (Content is presented, accessed or built)

Guided Practice & Checking for Understanding
Independent Practice
There is no prescribed order to this section; you must tailor the order to the students and the
content. This should be the longest portion of your lesson plan.

Teacher will:

Students will:

Teaching Process & Modeling

(Content is presented,
accessed, or built)

Read the book that you created

on the Battle of the Ironclads.
(This book does not contain all
of the information, as it is just
an example!)
What does
ironclad mean?

Accommoda
tions/Differe
ntiation:

Anticipa
ted
Time:

Have the book

on screen so
that they can
see it too.

5
minutes

Ironclad means
covered in iron

When the book is finished,

explain to the students that
they will be getting into groups
of two to create a book about
this on their own!
Modeling

Explain to the students how to

use the website
https://www.mystorybook.com
to create their story! Include
information about how to login,
they will use your login

The students will ask any

questions they have about the
assignment.

2 minutes

information. The students will

go to my Symbaloo and use the
two tiles labeled Monitor and
Merrimack.The students should
use a laptop to complete this
project.
Guided Practice/Checking for
Understanding

Pair the students up and make

sure each group is equipped
with laptops. Hand out direction
worksheet, which includes a
reminder as to how to login,
and what to include as far as
information in their book.

The students will be in groups

of two, equipped with a laptop.
They will use one site with
information about the Monitor
and Merrimack battle and will
create a storybook on this
topic using My Storybook. The
students will include
information such as the date it
occurred, why it occurred, who
was participating, what an
ironclad ship is, who won the
battle, and the battles overall
importance.

30
minutes

Independent Practice:

The students will use their

storybooks at home to
complete a homework
worksheet on the key points of
the battle and the overall
importance of it.

Closure:

The students will complete a

worksheet at home in which
they will give the 5 key points
of the battle and the overall
importance of the battle.

If the student
does not have
internet
access at
home, print
out the
storybook for
the student to
use at home.

10
minutes

Teacher will:
Now that we know
that both ships
survived and didnt
get hurt too badly,
do you think that
more people
started to use iron
instead of wood?
What was the
importance of this
battle?

Students will:

Yes!

Accommodations/
Differentiation:

Anticipated Time:
1 minute

It was
the first
ironclad
battle ever!

Declarative Summary Statement: Today, we learned that the Battle of the Monitor
and the Merrimack in Hampton Roads, Virginia was the first ironclad battle ever.
We also learned that in this battle, neither side won.
Activity If Extra Time Remains or Technology Fails
Teacher will:

Students will:
If technology fails:
Create their books
using paper instead
of the internet!

Accommodations/
Differentiation:

Anticipated Time:

Note: Attach or provide hyperlink to all handouts, external documents, resources,

etc.