Lesson Plan Activity #1

Procedure: Prior to class we have polled each student in the class to find their interests. The class
will be participating in a hands on historical timeline from 1854-2013. (8-10 minutes) Each
students is assigned to contribute two events in history for the timeline. One of the events was
chosen with the students interest in mind, and relates to the students interests. For the other event
in history, students are allowed to select one of eight options. After the timeline is completed, we
will go over answers of the timeline. (3 minutes) After we discuss the answers, students will
discuss things that they learned that may have surprised them. (5 minutes) At the end of the
lesson students will understand when their specific event in history happened in time, and
understand misconceptions in history. After completion of the timeline we will have students
work on discussion and ask students how this project relates back to schema and meaningful
reception learning (5 minutes)

Below are the pictures students will attempt to date on the timeline:

Above is a picture of Ham, whose name was an acronym for H olloman A ero M ed, he was the
first chimpanzee in space, aboard the Mercury Redstone rocket on a sub-orbital flight. What year
did Ham go to space?
The Jungle was a book that exposed issues in the meat packing industry. The Jungle was written
by Progressives in hopes to reform the drug and food industry. Just months after this book was
written, President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act (FDA). What year was
Pure Food and Drug Act created?
Above is a picture of the first year volleyball was in the Olympic Games. What year was
volleyball recognized as an Olympic sport?
Two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the United States during World War II. The code
names of the bomb were Little Boy and Fat Man. 80,000 people died instantly in Hiroshima,
Japan. This would be the first time ever an atomic bomb was used in war. What year were Little
Boy and Fat Man dropped on Japan?

What year did Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season and with it set a record that would
stand for 34 years?
In what year did Hartford voters approve spending over $100,000 in public funds for land that
would become a municipal park (Bushnell Park). It would be the first park in the country built
and paid for by the community.

When was hiking included for the first time in the Recreational Usage Report of the Report of
the Chief, the annual report of the Forest Service?
The accordion was created in Germany in the early 1800s. What year did the 'Golden Age of the
Accordion' end?

What year did the Amateur Athletic Union drop its ban on women participating in U.S. road
races?
 What year was Anne Frank, Barbara Walters, Martin Luther King Jr., Audrey Hepburn,
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Yasser Arafat, Bob Newhart, Grace Kelly and Dick Clark born?

Above is a picture of the last known widow of a Civil War vet, Maudie Hopkins. What year did
the last known widow of a Civil War Veteran pass away?

Youre the best thing since sliced bread! What year was pre-sliced bread invented?

What year was Aram Ayalon born?
When did Mississippi officially abolish slavery?

What year was Coke invited?


What year was the Eiffel Tower open to the public?

What year was Nintendo founded?

Answers Key:
1854-On January 5, 1854, Hartford voters approved spending over $100,000 in public funds for
land that would become a municipal park. It would be the first park in the country built and paid
for by the community.
*1882- Coke was invited
*1889- Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in 1889 for the World's Fair
*1889- Nintendo was founded in 1889.
*1906 Pure Food And Drug Act created
1927- On September 30, 1927, Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the 1927 season and with it
sets a record that would stand for 34 years
*1928- Pre-sliced Bread
*1929- Anne Frank, Barbara Walters, Martin Luther King Jr., Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, Yasser Arafat, Bob Newhart, Grace Kelly and Dick Clark were all born in
1929.
1933 Hiking included for the first time in the Recreational Usage Report of the Report of the
Chief, the annual report of the Forest Service published since 1891
1945- Fat Man and Little Boy dropped in Japan
*1954-Aram Ayalon born
1957- September 24, 1957, the IOC session in Sofia recognized Volleyball as an Olympic sport
and FIVB as the sole worldwide Volleyball governing body in all its disciplines.
1960- 'Golden Age of the Accordion' started in 1900 and ended
1961-On January 31, 1961, Ham, whose name was an acronym for H olloman A ero M ed,
became the first chimpanzee in space, aboard the Mercury Redstone rocket on a sub-orbital flight
1972- The AAU allows women to register for marathons after dropping its 1961 ban on women
competing in U.S. road races.
*2008- The last known widow of a Civil War vet, Maudie Hopkins died in 2008.
*2013- Until February 7, 2013, the state of Mississippi had never submitted the required
documentation to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, meaning it never officially had abolished
slavery

Goals:
Goal #1 Students will be able to accurately explain schema and meaningful reception learning in
their own words
Goal #2 Students will understand how schema and meaningful reception learning applied to the
lesson
Goal #3 Students will be able to come up with ideas of how to use schema and meaningful
learning in their own classroom
Goal #4 Students will be able to connect to history through something they enjoy
Goal #5 Students will become familiar with general dates in history

Learning Theory Concept

Schema: A schema is an abstract concept proposed by J. Piaget to refer to our abstract concepts.
Schemas (or schemata) are units of understanding that can be hierarchically categorized as well
as webbed into complex relationships with one another.

Meaningful Reception Learning: Meaningful Reception Learning is a teaching method by

Ausubel where the new knowledge to acquire is related with previous knowledge. It a conscious
process that allows learners to connect their existing knowledge to the subject being learned
through meaningful signs, symbols, concepts, or propositions are related to and incorporated
within a given individual's cognitive structure"

Assessment
For this activity, students will be informally assessed based on the completion and effort
they put into creating the timeline.This activity can be used in a History, English, Psychology
class and many more. There are different concepts in the activity that can be emphasized to fit
the needs of different subjects. They will also be assessed based on their participation in group
and classroom discussion of how this activity relates to the idea of schema and meaningful
receptive learning. Depending on prior knowledge and the era of your class, you can increase the
difficulty of the events, or dates on the timeline.
Name ______________________________ Date _______

Well done and thank you for participating in our time line activity!

Schema: A schema is an abstract concept proposed by J. Piaget to refer to our abstract

concepts. Schemas (or schemata) are units of understanding that can be hierarchically
categorized as well as webbed into complex relationships with one another.

Meaningful Reception Learning: Meaningful Reception Learning is a teaching method by

Ausubel where the new knowledge to acquire is related with previous knowledge. It a
conscious process that allows learners to connect their existing knowledge to the subject
being learned through meaningful signs, symbols, concepts, or propositions are related to
and incorporated within a given individual's cognitive structure"

In pairs discuss,
1. Did you disagree with any of the events on the timeline? Why did you disagree? Was
there previous knowledge that helped you piece together the timeline?
2. Which events, if any, were easier to place on the timeline?

In groups discuss,
3. What is an activity that you can use in your class that models meaningful learning and
schema?

As a class discuss,
4. How did this activity model the two learning concepts - schema and meaningful learning?
 Reflection Mini Lesson Chapter 4

My peers seemed to enjoy this activity and gave great positive feedback. My peers

enjoyed the timeline idea because it had everyone work together, and no one was left out. Each

peer participated in placing their significant event somewhere on the board. One peer wrote, It

was very engaging and interesting. I liked the collaborative aspect to the activity. My peers also

learned from this activity how to incorporate meaningful learning in their classroom. We gave

one example of the timeline, and then in groups and class discussion we brainstormed other ideas

to apply interests of our future students into our particular subjects and lessons. On peer wrote, I

have a better understanding of schema and how I can relate it to my discipline. It seemed that

the class really grasped the understanding of schema by the end of the activity.

There are a few ways we can improve this activity. On the peer review sheets one peer

wrote, Some of the pictures on the timeline were misleading. If we were to do this again we

could individually go over each picture and clue with the class beforehand so they were not

confused when they were free to place their event on the board. Another peer wrote, Have less

specific events, some I had no idea what era they would even be in. We made this activity more

challenging because we are college age students, and we should be able to use context clues to

help us in placing the different events. However, I believe again that by by going over each

picture and clue beforehand could have suppressed this confusion.

 Overall this activity was fun and easy to plan, and it benefited the class as a whole. The

activity can be formed to fit any age group and any subject. Having students create a timeline

rather than given a timeline already filled out creates interaction and better understanding of the

schema as a whole.