Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

Social Studies: DSS LESSON PLAN
2007 ACEI Standards

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s)
i. Students will know artifacts from the Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs.
ii. Students will find artifacts that are important to their lives.
B. Objective(s)
i. Given internet resources, students will research either Mayan, Incan, or Aztec artifacts.
ii. Students, thinking about their own lives, will identify personal “artifacts” and analyze the potential
for it to be influential in the future.
C. Standard(s):
i. NCSS: Culture and Time, Continuity, and Change
ii. IAS: 6.1.1 Summarize the rise, decline, and cultural achievements of ancient civilizations in Europe
and Mesoamerica.
iii. ISTE: Empowered Learner
II. Materials & Management
A. Materials
i. Chromebooks
ii. Doc-Camera
iii. Timeline
iv. Maps
v. Paper
vi. Markers/Crayons
vii. Artifacts: piano book, chapter book, cell phone, picture of dorm, picture of family, item of food
B. Time
i. Anticipatory Set: 5 minutes
ii. Lesson: 30 minutes
iii. Closure: 10 minutes
C. Space
i. Desks
D. Behavior
i. During the lesson input, students will be expected to stay in their seats and listen while I am
talking. They can raise hands to ask questions and make comments on the items that I show them.
During the activity, they can talk to their partner and teachers for information or questions.
Students already know this is the behavior expected during class. A student will be given three
warnings to not disturb the learning of other students before being asked to leave.
E. Technology:
i. Chrome books
ii. Doc-Camera
III. Anticipatory Set
A. “Today, I have a box with items in it. I’m going to pull out each item individually and describe each one. After
all the items are out, talk with your partner and make an educated guess about how to categorize or connect
these items together.” Items to include: piano book, favorite chapter book, cell phone, picture of dorm life,
picture of my family, and item of food that I enjoy. Use the doc camera to show the items for people in the
back. “Some of you have guessed, but all of these items are objects that describe my life. Here, is a piano
book because I love playing the piano. This book is one of my favorite books to read. My cell phone is in here
because this is how I communicate with my friends and family when I need something. Some of you have
asked me what dorm life is like, so here is an example of the dorm that I live in with my roommate. Then, I
have a picture with my family and lastly, a food item that I love. These are items that represent my life, they
are evidence, or artifacts that tell you something about my life.”

IV. Purpose:
A. “Today we are going to talk about the Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs and the artifacts that they left behind for us
to find.”

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PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION
A. Adaptation to Diverse Students—
a. Remediation: N/A
b. Enrichment: N/A
c. ELL: N/A
d. Exceptional Needs: Periods 2 and 4 have a paraprofessional in the classroom. They will be informed of
the activity and asked to help students during the activity. Students may need help with further
clarification, reading, and thinking of a creative idea to show their artifact. All students are capable of
completing this activity without any accommodations, except for the help of a paraprofessional.
(ACEI 3.2)

III.Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

a. Input: “Over 20,000 years ago, Historians believe that humans were beginning to travel south. Which is now
known as North America, South America, and Central America. During these years, people were learning how to
farm, hunt for food, and build structures to live in. Towns and civilizations began forming. The three most
known civilizations are the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas. If you look up at the Doc-Camera, I created a timeline to
show you when each of these Indian tribes lived in America. If you see here, the Aztec Indians were a tribe
while the Mayas were still here. Then, here the Inca tribe is here while the Aztecs are still in America. Also, I
have included a map to show you were these tribes were today.”
b. Raise your hand if you have ever heard or seen the word, archaeologist? Well, an archaeologist is someone who
find artifacts from civilizations before us. An artifact is an object left behind that links back to a civilization.
Think back to the beginning of class, every object that I showed you could be considered an artifact. Years from
now, archaeologists could find them and point them back to my life.”
c. Output: Today each row is going to one of the three tribes. Your task is to become an archaeologist and dig up
information about an artifact from your tribe. Now, when you came to class today, you may have noticed a
piece of paper taped to your desk. This paper will help you and your partner research your artifact. Every pair
has a different artifact that they will be researching. These artifacts will be about the religion of the culture,
something from their daily life, how they entertained themselves, what weapons they used, and how they
communicated with one another. On every paper there is a website for you to use and a list of questions to
answer about your given artifact. After you answer your questions, on a blank sheet of paper, that I will pass
out in a few minutes, you can draw a picture, diagram, write a song, rap, or something else, to demonstrate
what you learned about your given artifact. Once you’re done, you’re going to tape your paper up on the back
board under your tribe’s name. Now, I know that was a lot of information, so what questions do you have?”
d. Giving the students 20 minutes to work, I will walk to the board and talk about what the students completed. If
there is time, then I will ask students to talk about their work, but if time is short, I will give a brief summary on
their work.
IV.Check for understanding
a. Students will create a diagram, picture, song, rap, or something else creative to demonstrate what they
researched for their given artifact.
b. As students are working on their artifacts here are questions I will ask them:
i. What were other artifacts you saw for your topic?
ii. Why did you choose the that artifact?
iii. How did this artifact affect your tribe?
iv. Is there a similar tool or material we use today that your artifact is like?
V.Review learning outcomes / Closure
a. “Today we talked a lot about artifacts and how important they were to uncover because it allowed us to know
what civilization was for the three tribes, but also we learned how to build modern day items from what
archeologist found. At the beginning of this lesson, I showed you items from my own life, the items that I
showed you are artifacts to describe me. On a single sheet of paper, I want everyone to brain storm what
artifacts you could leave behind that would describe who you are. Everyone here is unique and has something
to leave behind that will make a difference in the world. Look at all the artifacts we discovered during class
today. Back in their time, they probably did not realize that what they were making and doing made a big
impact on how our society is today. Someday, there may be something that you do or leave behind that could
make an impact for the future. Think back to the questions you answered on your artifact and answer those
questions for your own life. How do you communicate, where do you come from, or questions like that. Then,
write me one sentence about the artifact you researched and how it impacted modern day’s society. I’ll give
you about 5 minutes, but I do ask that you stay quiet and on task.”

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PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT
A. Formative: Under check for understanding, questions are listed that will be asked and the artifact they
create will be checked. When asking questions, I will be looking to see if students are understanding what
an artifact is and the importance of it. During the closure, students will write artifacts from their lives and
how the artifact they researched impacted modern day’s society. This assignment will show that the
students put work into finding research for their artifact.

(ACEI 4.0)
REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
a. Bloom’s Taxonomy
b. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence
7. Does the activity and lesson incorporate multiple intelligences to meet the diverse learning styles?
8. What can be added to the content to further their understanding on artifacts?
Revision Date: August 25, 2015
2007 ACEI Standard

Timeline and Maps that will be used during input

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Religion
4
Directions: Using the following website for your given civilization,
answer the questions and challenge yourself to create and find the
answer to questions you have. Then, create a picture, diagram, song,
rap, poem, or something else to show what you discovered on your
artifact.

Type in the website for your group:

Mayan: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/mayans/
Inca: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/inca/
Aztec: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/aztec/

Questions:

What is it?

How was it used?

What civilization used this?

What can be learned from this artifact?

Does this or how does this compare to something we have today?

Architecture
5
Directions: Using the following website for your given civilization,
answer the questions and challenge yourself to create and find the
answer to questions you have. Then, create a picture, diagram, song,
rap, poem, or something else to show what you discovered on your
artifact.

Type in the website for your group:

Mayan: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/mayans/
Inca: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/inca/
Aztec: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/aztec/

Questions:

What is it?

How was it used?

What civilization used this?

What can be learned from this artifact?

Does this or how does this compare to something we have today?

Entertainment
6
Directions: Using the following website for your given civilization,
answer the questions and challenge yourself to create and find the
answer to questions you have. Then, create a picture, diagram, song,
rap, poem, or something else to show what you discovered on your
artifact.

Type in the website for your group:

Mayan: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/mayans/
Inca: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/inca/
Aztec: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/aztec/

Questions:

What is it?

How was it used?

What civilization used this?

What can be learned from this artifact?

Does this or how does this compare to something we have today?

War/Weaponry
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Directions: Using the following website for your given civilization,
answer the questions and challenge yourself to create and find the
answer to questions you have. Then, create a picture, diagram, song,
rap, poem, or something else to show what you discovered on your
artifact.

Type in the website for your group:

Mayan: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/mayans/
Inca: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/inca/
Aztec: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/aztec/

Questions:

What is it?

How was it used?

What civilization used this?

What can be learned from this artifact?

Does this or how does this compare to something we have today?

Communication
8
Directions: Using the following website for your given civilization,
answer the questions and challenge yourself to create and find the
answer to questions you have. Then, create a picture, diagram, song,
rap, poem, or something else to show what you discovered on your
artifact.

Type in the website for your group:

Mayan: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/mayans/
Inca: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/inca/
Aztec: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/search/aztec/

Questions:

What is it?

How was it used?

What civilization used this?

What can be learned from this artifact?

Does this or how does this compare to something we have today?