ED 305 Calvin College Lesson Planning Form

Teacher:
Grace and Michaela
Big Idea: This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land?

Date: May 2016

Thread: History with ELA crossover

I. Objectives
What is the main focus of this lesson?

The main focus of this lesson is the life of Pocahontas. We want students to know her life
story and understand that she was a mediator between the Powhatans and the English. Many
conflicts and incidents were avoided or resolved due to her help.
How does this lesson tie in to your units Big Idea?

Our big idea has to do with the idea of land ownership and the conflict that occurred between
the English and the Powhatans due to different views of land and ownership. In this lesson
students will learn about how Pocahontas prevented and helped resolve some of these
conflicts over land ownership by learning about her life.
What are your objectives for this lesson? (As many as needed.) Indicate
connections to applicable national or state standards. Include any themes or
major concepts from the thread (themes of geography, Core Principles of Economics,
etc)

Students will be able to read the excerpt from Famous Native North Americans
Students will be able to work in partners to write a summary of Pocahontas life
Students will be able to describe who Pocahontas was and how she fit into the
Powhatan community
Students will be able to compare the informational version of Pocahontas life with the
fictionalized movie version of her life through discussion

5-U1.1.3 Describe Eastern Woodland American Indian life with respect to governmental and
family structures, trade, and views on property ownership and land use. (G, C, E)
5-U2.1.1 Describe significant developments in the Southern Colonies, including
Relations with American Indians (e.g. Powhatan)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6
Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and
differences in the point of view they represent.

II. Before you start

Prerequisite knowledge
and skills.

Assessment (formative
and summative)

Materials-what
materials (books,
handouts, etc) do you
need for this lesson
and do you have them?

Do you need to set up

your classroom in any
special way for this
lesson? If so, describe
it.

Students will have prior knowledge of the Jamestown

history
Students will know how to create a summary

Students reading and writing abilities, as well as their

understanding of the history, will be assessed by
reviewing the summary they wrote with a partner (formal
formative assessment)
The teacher will assess students comparisons of the two
different account of the life of Pocahontas by walking
around the class and listening to the discussions
occurring in the different small groups.
Excerpt from Famous Native North Americans. A copy
for each student
Projector
Projector screen/white wall/white sheet
Access to the internet
Marker board/chalk board
Dry erase markers/chalk
Highlighters

Students will be working in groups of two at the beginning of the

lesson but will have the discussion in groups of 4 or 5
depending on the class size.

III. The Plan

Tim Part
e
s
15
minutes

Motivation
(Opening
Introducti
on/

The description of (script for) the lesson, wherein you

describe teacher activities and student activities
(indicate in parenthesis where you are addressing
standards and themes)

Teacher: Can anyone tell me what we have been studying in

social studies the past few days?..... Anything else?
Students respond (Jamestown, Powhatans, English, property,
land, ownership)

Engageme
nt)

Teacher: Today we are going to learn about a special person who

lived in Jamestown for a few years and was very important in
keeping the peace between the Powhatans and the English. Any
guesses?
Students respond (John Smith, John Rolfe, Thomas Dale,
Pocahontas)
Teacher: We are going to be learning about Pocahontas today.
Before we start learning new things we are going to make a KWL
chart to show what we already know and what we want to know
about Pocahontas at the end of the day.
Teacher draws KWL chart on the board
Teacher: What do you know about Pocahontas/
Students respond (she was an indian, she had a raccoon, she
likes to sing, she lived in the woods, she loves John Smith, she
married the other John from the second movie)
Teacher writes a few answers in the Know section of the chart
Teacher: What do you want to know about Pocahontas?
Students respond (Which John does she love? Was she a
princess? How old was she when she met John Smith? )
Teacher writes a few answers in the Wonder section

10
minutes
Developm
ent

Teacher: Alright, now we have most of our chart filled out. We will
fill in the rest after we learn about Pocahontas. I am passing out a
sheet with an excerpt from Famous Native North Americans. The
excerpt gives an informational summary of Pocahontas life. When
I say go, I want you to start reading the text and highlighting the
important events. Any questions? Ok, go!
(5-U1.1.3 Describe Eastern Woodland American Indian life with
respect to governmental and family structures, trade, and views
on property ownership and land use. (G, C, E))
Students read the excerpt silently to themselves and highlight key
events.
Teacher: Alright class, now that you have finished reading a
highlighting, I want you to work with your partner to write a
summary of Pocahontas life. You will not be quoting the book, you
have to put it into your own words. Your summary should have at
least two paragraphs and at least three sentences in each
paragraph. Any questions? Ok, go!

20
minutes

Students will write a summary of Pocahontas life with their

partner

Teacher: Now that you have finished writing your summaries, I

want you to put your summaries face down on your desk and put
your pencils away.
Students follow directions

10
minutes

Teacher: Now we are going to watch part of the Disney

Pocahontas movie. While we are watching this clip I want you to
think about how these two version of the story are similar and
different.
Teacher plays this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=hcqnQKvlnTc
Teacher: I want you to discuss the similarities and differences
between the two different accounts of Pocahontas life. Consider
these questions
Students discuss the similarities and differences
5 minutes
Closure

Teacher points to Learn section of KWL chart

Teacher: Now that we have read some, wrote some, and watched
some, what have we learned about Pocahontas?
Students respond (She didnt love John Smith, she married John
Rolfe, she was a tween when the English first landed, she died in
England, she had a son, her father was Powhatan-the leader of
the Powhatan tribe)
Teacher fills in the Learn section of the chart
Students turn in their summaries

Explain how this lesson supports your Big Idea. What is the takeaway?

In this lesson students learn about the life of Pocahontas. They will learn about the culture she
grew up in as well as how she was a mediator between the Powhatan Indians and the English
settlers. This lesson will help students understand that without her mediation there could
have been many more conflicts between the natives and the settlers over land, food, and
weapons. This will set students up for the next lesson where they learn about the battle of 1622
which happened after Pocahontas death.