Common Core Aligned Lesson Plan Template

Subject(s): Social Science History

Teacher(s): Lindsey Parish

Grade: 4th

School: Kaiser Elementary

3 2016

Date: March

rd

Part I GOALS AND STANDARDS

1. Common Core Learning Standard(s) Addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.

2. ELD and State Content Standard Addressed (History/Social Science, Science, Physical Education, Visual and
Performing Arts):
H-SS 4.2.8. Discuss the period of Mexican rule in California and its attributes, including land grants, secularization of
the missions, and the rise of the rancho economy.
Gr.4.PII.C.6.Ex: Combine clauses in an increasing variety of ways to make connections between and join ideas in
sentences, examples, cause/effect or to make a concession.
3. Learning Objective: (What will students know & be able to do as a result of this
lesson?)

After reading the text, students will be able to identify and analyze the changes
that came to the California Indians due to Mexican rule.

STUDENT-FRIENDLY
TRANSLATION
I can identify and describe how
Mexican rule affected California,
and write about it in my own
words.

4. Language Objective(s): (What is the type of language that EL's will need to learn and use in order to accomplish
the goals of the lesson? Ex) Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Academic vocabulary, Language functions, Language
Learning Strategies)

Learners will be frontloaded with academic vocabulary, then engage in speaking and listening during the lesson, and
then take part in a writing component.

5. Relevance/Rationale: (Why are the outcomes of this lesson important in the

real world? Why are these outcomes essential for future learning?)

Students will understand the history of California, and the sequence of

events that led to Mexican rule in California. These components are
essential to grasp to determine equality in our societies, how certain rules
come to be, and individual opinions on the matter.

STUDENT-FRIENDLY
TRANSLATION
I can understand the history of
Mexican rule in California, and
give my opinion about past
injustices.

6. Essential Questions:
What changes did Mexican rule bring to California? How did Mexican rule affect the region and its people? How would
you feel if you were a Californian Indian during this time?

Part II STUDENTS INFORMATION

7. Class Information:
a. Total number 29 students
b. EL/Special Needs Four students in the class are English Language Learners, however one is currently
being reclassified. One student struggles with his speech, and regularly sees a speech pathologist. Two
students have academic IEPs.
c. Cultural/Health One student has cerebral palsy. While this is currently not a problem for him in the
classroom, it is hypothesized to become a struggle when he advances to middle school and must transfer
classrooms with all his materials.
d. Physical The students all appear to be at the typical 4th grade level. They are advancing their fine motor
skills at this point, and all are 9 or 10 years old. Girls are on the onset of puberty, and often experience a

growth spurt. This is the time at which students decide if they are naturally inclined in sports, and label
themselves sporty or not sporty. Physical Education is majority a favorite activity for the students, and
they all enjoy participating.
e. Social Students at this age group often have a small group of good friends, or even just one. They have
greater interest in peer relationships, which can also produce exclusion and bullying. Students are often
hard on themselves when they make a mistake, and often shift blame as not to be found fully responsible
for any conflict.
f. Emotional This is the time students begin to be more and more responsible for their own emotions.
Students should be exhibiting self-awareness and self- management. They are held accountable for their
actions, such as daily reading logs, accelerated math and accelerated reading.
g. Interests/Aspirations Students are very interested in performing well, and achieving in the class. As a
whole, they are determined to succeed, and it is regarded highly when others do well on academic
components of the class. They are therefore interested in success, and have high amounts of involvement in
class discussions and work.
8. Anticipated Difficulties (Based on the information above, what difficulties do you think students may have with the
content?):

EL learners may have difficulty with the vocabulary in the passage, such as tax, or primary sources. This lesson is the
end of the unit, so learners may be ready to move onto a new topic. While the class as a whole appears to be
dedicated to learning, there may be one or two instances of disengagement or disinterest in the topic.
Part III - LESSON ADAPTATIONS
9. Modifications/Accommodations (What specific modifications/accommodations are you going to make based on the
anticipated difficulties?)

I will frontload students with vocabulary words students may be unfamiliar with, such as tax, or primary source. In
order to continually check progress of all learners, I will consistently ask questions and engage all learners through
different depth of knowledge questions. I will also allow time for an application piece, for the students to all be able
to voice their opinion and present their own opinion.

10.

21st Century Skills Circle all that are applicable

Communication

Collaboration

Creativity

Critical Thinking

Describe how the 21st century skill(s) you have circled will be observed during the lesson:
Communication will take place in the group setting, with all learners communicating in whole class and group
discussions about the said questions. Creativity and critical thinking are both essential components of the
writing application in this lesson, because students must first think critically about the topic at hand, and use
creativity to respond appropriately. They must use mature judgment to convey empathy of the California
Indians and accurately describe how they are feeling.
11.

Technology - How will you incorporate technology into your lesson?

In this lesson we will use the overhead projector to display the text, questions, and model the letter the students will
write at the end.
12.

Part IV - ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING

Assessment Criteria for Success: (How will you & your students know if they have successfully met the

outcomes? What specific criteria will be met in a successful product/process? What does success on this lessons
outcomes look like?)

a. Formative:
Students will create a response piece to the information we present, in the form of an opinioned letter. They will take
up the perspective of a California Indian, and write to the government at this time. Students will then be able to
present the information discovered in the lesson, summarize how the California Indians were treated, and formulate
a perspective as if they are a California Indian.

b. Summative (if applicable):

c. (Attach rubric here, if applicable):

13.

Part V - INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE

Instructional Method: Circle one Direct Instruction
Inquiry

14.

Resources/Materials: (What texts, digital resources, & materials will be used in this lesson?)

Cooperative Learning

-History- Social Science for California: Early People in California by Scott Foresman
-Primary sources within the text, including quotes and map
-Pencils
-Overhead projector
-Letter template
15.
Procedure (Include estimated times. Please write a detailed procedure, including questions
that you are planning to ask.):
OPEN:
Anticipatory Set:
To introduce the topic, I will question the students about what they have been studying. I will frame it in the way of
having them be the experts, filling me in. Okay scholars, what have you been studying lately in book? Who can
give me some points that you learned? I will project a sequencing chart on the projector and will write in the center,
California Missions. Then, I will extend comments outwards as the students call them out when I pick on them. We
will briefly timeline the factors leading up to Mexican rule in California, and I will scaffold learning when appropriate. I
will make sure students recount Spanish rule over California, Mexico winning Independence, and now Mexican rule.

Objectives and Purpose

Once a few students have spoken, I will tell the students to open their books to page 61, and read the title. Today
we will be going over how Mexican rule affected California. When Mexico took over California, a lot of changes
happened. We are going to look at what these changes were, and how they affected the people and region. Before
we begin, I want you to turn to the person sitting next to you and share a prediction about what you think happened
during this time. This is going to be a quick prediction though, and when you hear the timer go off I want everyone
back facing forward listening and ready. Can we do this? I will set a timer for 30 seconds. Ready, predict! Once the
timer rings, I will focus students back up front. We will discuss a few predictions, and then move on.
BODY:
Instructional Input
Before we begin reading, I want to go over a few words and talk about what they mean. The first one is, tax. Does
anyone know what a tax is? Allow time for students to think, and respond or read it. A tax is money the
government collects to pay for its services. We are going to see how taxes play a role in our lesson soon.
Another word is primary source, does anyone know what a primary source is? We are going to look at a specific
primary source during our lesson today. A primary source, also called an original source, is an artifact,
document or recording of information that was created at the time of study. So for our lesson, we are going
to look at a source from 1848! That was a long time ago!

Okay, now we are ready to read Mexican rule in California, on page 62. Who would like to read our first question to
look out for? And the second? Great! Now we know what we need to be on the look out for. Lets get our pencils out

so we can underline what we think the answer to the question is if we find it. Who would like to read our first
paragraph? Wonderful! After the chunk: Great job reading, did anyone find an answer to question 1? Support
response to say under Mexican rule the missions were turned into Mexican and California Indian
settlements, and the soldiers and priests lost their power and control. Have students write answer in their
textbook. How do you think the soldiers and priests felt when they lost all their power? Has anyone ever been to the
San Juan Capistrano Mission? Thats the place this happened! Okay, to refresh our 2nd question is, Why did the
ranchos become powerful? If you find the answer, underline it. Lets keep reading to find out the answer! Ill read
this section. Did anyone find the answer to our next question? Support answer to say, The ranchos became
powerful because they were an important part of the economy and replaced the missions as the center
of our government. Lets write our answer in our book. One more section! Our last question is, What effect did
Mexican rule have on the California Indians? Can I have someone read the last section? Okay, what did we
learn? Support answer to say, Mexican rule effected Californian Indians by changing their lives in many
ways. They ended up working on ranchos instead of missions, they werent given the land they were
promised, and then ended up with no land or money. Transition to allow students to respond in a personal
application. Now we are going to take our learning a step farther. Im going to give you all a postcard, for you to
write a letter. Who can tell me what is on the front of our postcards? Thats right, its a map! There was a word I
brought up in the beginning of our lesson, and this is an example of it! Does anyone remember what it was? Its a
primary source! This map was used to show the locations of plots of lands and tell who owned what in
Sonoma County Rancho in 1848. This was what people looked at to determine what was their land! For

our letter, I want you to think about HOW the California Indians felt when the Mexican government took over, and
write the letter as if you are a California Indian writing to the government. Before we begin, can you think of
examples? Turn to your tablemates and come up with some ideas. Give students time to briefly discuss, and then
pull back into large group. Who can share with me some ideas? What do we think we would be feeling at this time?
How has your life changed? We can use the text and the questions we answered to help us out.
Checking for understanding
As mentioned above, students will be asked questions throughout our reading, and have time to formulate a
response and share with the class. The questions are:
1) How did the missions change under Mexican rule?
2) Why did the Ranchos become powerful?
3) What effect did Mexican rule have on the California Indians?
As we answer the questions as a class, I will support answers by questions students about specific events. For
example in question 3, I will say, The California Indians ended up working on the ___ and werent given any ___. This
is allow student input and for me to check whole class understanding.
Modeling
As we discuss the questions and answers, I will write them in my own copy of the textbook. I will model thinking out
loud through questions, and how to underline helpful details to the text questions.
Guided Practice
On the projector, I will model for the students what the letter will begin with. I will write, To the Mexican

Government in 1834: I feel unwanted in my own land. You told me I could have some of the mission land, but I have
none. I also have no money, or work. So I will stay and work on the Ranchos, just like I did the missions. This is my
home, and I miss it. So much has changed and I am sad.
Independent Practice
I will then give the students time to work independently on their postcards. I will walk around and monitor progress
during this time. If students are stuck, I will refer back to the text and give them examples of how to best tell how
the California Indians felt, and how they would feel in that situation.

CLOSE:
2 minutes: When it seems most students are done, I will return to the front of the classroom. Amazing work
learners! Who wants to share what you wrote? I will choose a few students to stand up and say what they wrote.
We will discuss the feelings explained, and why students wrote what they did. Thank you for being such good
listeners, and participators today my friends, I loved getting to learn about Mexican rule in California with you!

Part VI - REFLECTION
1. What instructional strategies did you use to help students achieve the lesson objective?
I began my lesson by directly pulling the students into conversation. I asked them what they knew about California
Missions. I explained that I needed their expertise on the subject, and then I projected a circle map on the document
camera for them to see. Instantaneously, students were raising hands and adding thoughts about what they
previously learned. Then, I had them get with a partner for a quick 30-second prediction of what will happen in our
lesson today, when Mexico takes over California. Both of these instructional strategies pulled the students into the

lesson, engaging them with a purpose and action for them to accomplish. As we read, I additionally had students
read different sections and questions, in order to engage all learners in the content. I asked multiple questions, and
modeled the written answers on the document camera once we had discussed them. Before we began our writing
portion, I called on specific students to share their opinions, and point to the section on the text that proved their
point. This gave the students an idea of what the letter could entail, and the textual evidence to support it. Then, I
modeled on the document camera the beginning of the letter, for students to best understand the letter component.
I monitored student learning at this time by moving around the classroom and assisting students when needed.

2. Were the students successful at achieving the lesson objective?

a) If so, provide student evidence.
Yes, the students were all incredibly engaged in the lesson and participated very well. I assessed this participation
through how many students raised their hand throughout the lesson when a question was asked. Throughout the
lesson, about 90% of the students were consistently answering questions and focusing. For the writing component,
100% of the students were successful in completing the task, through both responding to the prompt, and providing
evidence in their writing for their opinion. This gave me insight into what sections in the lesson were most significant
to the children, and would of pointed out any areas of confusion, had their been any.
Student evidence and comments attached.

b) If not, why do you think they were not able to achieve the lesson objective? What are your next steps?
The students successfully achieved the lesson objective.

3. What would you change about the lesson and why?

I was very pleased with the outcome of this lesson, due to the feedback from the students and the master teacher. If
I changed anything in this lesson, I would designate a specific student to come to the front of the class and be the
class scribe for the lesson. They would be in charge of writing the correct answer, once we had discussed it, in the
book for the students to all see. This would allow me to travel around the classroom, engaging students even more

and causing them to keep focus on me. It would additionally allow me to monitor student learning even more, by
assessing what they are individually writing or group discussing.

Classroom Lessons ONLY: After presenting your lesson in your BST classroom, please review and reflect on student
work related to this lesson. Make copies of student work for levels of high, middle, and low, and write your comments
on the copies.